For centuries philosophers have argued about the existence and nature of God. Do we need God to explain the origins of the universe? Can there be morality without a divine source of goodness? How can God exist when there is so much evil and suffering in the world? All these questions and many more are brought to life with clarity and style in The God of Philosophy. The arguments for and against God's existence are weighed up, along with discussion of the meaning of religious language, the concept of God and the possibility of life after death. This new edition brings the debate right up to date by exploring the philosophical arguments of the new atheists such as Richard Dawkins, as well as considering what the latest discoveries in science can tell us about why many believe in the existence of the divine.

First published in 2000. This is Volume IV of six in the Library of Philosophy series on the Philosophy of Science. Written in 1930, this volume looks at the nature of vital phenomena, which has been for so long the subject of dispute between vitalists and mechanists. It discusses the concepts of purpose, explanation and phenomena, the attitudes around and differences of categorisation.

One of Europe’s greatest living philosophers, Giorgio Agamben, analyzes the life and work of one of Europe’s greatest poets, Friedrich Hölderlin. What does it mean to inhabit a place or a self? What is a habit? And, for human beings, doesn’t living mean—first and foremost—inhabiting? Pairing a detailed chronology of German poet Friedrich Hölderlin’s years of purported madness with a new examination of texts often considered unreadable, Giorgio Agamben's new book aims to describe and comprehend a life that the poet himself called habitual and inhabited.   Hölderlin’s life was split neatly in two: his first 36 years, from 1770 to 1806; and the 36 years from 1807 to 1843, which he spent as a madman holed up in the home of Ernst Zimmer, a carpenter. The poet lived the first half of his existence out and about in the broader world, relatively engaged with current events, only to then spend the second half entirely cut off from the outside world. Despite occasional visitors, it was as if a wall separated him from all external events and relationships. For reasons that may well eventually become clear, Hölderlin chose to expunge all character—historical, social, or otherwise—from the actions and gestures of his daily life. According to his earliest biographer, he often stubbornly repeated, “nothing happens to me.� Such a life can only be the subject of a chronology—not a biography, much less a clinical or psychological analysis. Nevertheless, this book suggests that this is precisely how Hölderlin offers humanity an entirely other notion of what it means to live. Although we have yet to grasp the political significance of his unprecedented way of life, it now clearly speaks directly to our own.  

Despite the great differences between them, both Marx and Wittgenstein reject Cartesian dualism by showing that the mind is a property of action and that hte meaning of an action lies not in subjective consciousness but in the system of social praxis in which an action occurs. This common view provides groundwork for undercutting the enduring debate between 'subjectivism' and 'objectivism' in the social sciences, and is the key to their notionof social explanation. Because the meaning of an action, in their view, is a feature of social order rather than individual consciousness, the form of analysis implied in their work cannot be termed either subjectivist or objectivist. Rather it incorporates the useful aspects of both forms of analysis since understanding action, in this view, presupposes an understanding of the system of social practices in which it occurs. It is argued at several points that both subjectivism and objectivism are largely efforts to resolve the problems posed for social science by dualism, and that the key to the ability of Marx and WIttgenstein to transcend the debate is in their shared rejection of Cartesian dualism. The unique objectives of the study will be of particular interest to all philosophers and social scientists, and all those interested in the interrelationship between the two disciplines.

First published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

International Library of Psychology Philosophy and Scientific Method Possibility Possibility By SCOTT BUCHANAN LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER Co., LTD. NEW YORK HARCOURT, BRACE COMPANY, INC. 1927 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 9 INTRODUCTION i I. INTELLECTUAL IMAGINATION . 17 II. SCIENTIFIC POSSIBILITY . . 33 III. ABSOLUTE POSSIBILITY . . 67 IV. DEFINITION OF POSSIBILITY . 81 V. POSSIBILITY AND ACTUALITY . 97 APOLOGY FOR HISTORICAL PIRACY . . . . in VI. KANT .... 115 VII. ARISTOTLE . . . .141 VIII. DYNAMISM .... 161 IX. CONCLUSION . . . .177 INDEX 197 POSSIBILITY INTRODUCTION THE life of man might be portrayed as a series of rebirths, each of which consists in a passage from one world into another. The state of affairs at any given instant is an unstable equilibrium between opposing forces and values. One lives in one world and believes in another, suffering this and at the same time expecting or desiring that. It would seem highly important to know which world this is, and to be able to describe that. But most of us are hard-pressed when we are compelled to do so. Even poets and prophets, whose business it is to speak of such matters, admit the difficulty. Some years ago Walter De la Mare wrote an essay on the Intellectual Imagination. It was originally an address at Eton on the occasion of a memorial service to Rupert Brooke. It was an attempt to capture the spirit of a young man who died before his poetry had disclosed the height and depth of the world in which he lived. What he had expressed was enough to place him among those artists, who instead of taking permanent flight from this world, are content to see the commonplace in the shifting crosslights POSSIBILITY of the ideal.The result was an intellectual insight which only philosophers are supposed to achieve in rare moments of clarity. The majority of persons achieve something less. The other world is for them a heaven, sometimes distant and unreal, at other times just round the corner. If it is near, they are bold, shrewd, obstinate, fanatic. If it is far away, they are timid, diffident, uncertain, apologetic. They are at the extremes of the Aristotelian measures of virtue. Most of us vary along this scale. In moments of naive enthusiasm heaven is around us, the child believes in fairies, the middle-aged man sees himself as saviour of the world, the old man dreams dreams. In moments of sophisticated review of our adventures, our persistent disposition to seize the unseen heaven takes on the sinister guise of a fatal credulity, rendering us subject to the whims of a malevolent and deceitful Cartesian demon. The belief in a heaven easy to attain is the cause of a hell on earth. At such times faith often turns into rage at a world that does not allow the prophets vision to come true, or into self-condemnation for our childish fancies. We appear in the true colours of a citizen of an otherworldly kingdom. Such is the dialectic of mans knowledge and faith. One may as well submit and resolve to make the best of two worlds, heaven and earth, illusion and certainty, INTRODUCTION imagined happiness and real disappointment, possibility and actuality. Unfortunately, our present culture is not so simply black and white. It is rather a scene of many possible worlds with all degrees and kinds of value claiming our consideration. This aspect of things causes certain temperaments to hasten transmigra tion and tomultiply rebirths in the hope that breadth of experience will teach stability in the end. To other temperaments this is dissipation of mind, and recourse is sought by another route to a place of vantage from which all may be seen in perspective. This latter, I take it, is the philosophers temperament and mood. It is his duty to be the good shepherd of his thoughts and let wool-gathering take care of itself. This essay takes this task seriously, yet, I hope, lightly. It takes the position of the bewildered individual seeking an intellectual way of life...

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 2000. This is Volume II of six in the Library of Philosophy series on the Philosophy of Science. Written in 1938, this text explores the author's interest in the freedom of speculation, and the doubts and fears of individual thinkers who may doubt the intellectual process and fear its consequences. He considers the profession of contemporary medicine who has fought and won the battle for freedom of thought.

This translation and commentary are guided by scholarship, and devotion in spirituality, in the ligne of the greatest Gaudiya Vaishnavas such as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Maharaja, the spiritual master of the author, which is directly descending from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The translation and commentary of Srila Prabhupada strictly adheres to the book's intention, assuring you of a legitimate understanding of the depths of spiritual knowledge and realization.

Evolutionary Psychology: The Basics is a jargon-free and accessible introduction to evolutionary psychology, which examines behaviour, thoughts, and emotions in relation to evolutionary theory. Reader and Workman outline how evolutionary thinking can enhance the core areas of psychology: social, developmental, biological, cognitive, and individual differences/abnormal psychology. Covering topics such as genetics and natural selection, mate choice, culture, morality, mental health, and childhood, among others, the book integrates psychology into the biological sciences and explains the different approaches in the field by evaluating current and past evolutionary research and theory. Key studies and theories are explored in an accessible way, with the work of key evolutionary and behavioural scientists from Darwin to Dawkins examined and explained. Including a glossary and further reading, this is the essential introduction to evolutionary psychology for students of psychology and related areas, and academics and researchers, as well as anyone interested in learning more about this fascinating field.

Originally published in 1995, The Antievolution Pamphlets of Harry Rimmer is the sixth volume in the series, Creationism in Twentieth Century America. The volume brings together original sources from the prominent evangelist and pastor Harry Rimmer. The consortium of pamphlets in this volume detail Rimmer’s antievolutionist sentiments, a notion which characterized his early writings. The pamphlets detail Rimmer’s rhetoric on evolution and science from the early part of the 20th century as he travelled across America to disseminate his writings. The works in this volume address Rimmer’s polemic on the danger posed by modern science and the consequential disassociation with religion. While Rimmer did not discount science itself, he argued for, what he termed, ‘true science’, claiming that modern science was based only in scientific opinion and not fact. As a self-proclaimed scientist, these writings take a unique view of the relationship between religion and science from this period through Rimmer’s dual nature as both scientist and pastor. This volume will be of great interest to historians of natural history, science and religion.

Originally published in 1995, The Selected Works of George McCready Price is the seventh volume in the series, Creationism in Twentieth Century America, reissued in 2021. The volume brings together the original writings and pamphlets of George McCready Price, a leading creationist of the early antievolution crusade of the 1920s. McCready Price labelled himself the ‘principal scientific authority of the Fundamentalists’ and as a self-taught scientist he enjoyed more scientific repute amongst fundamentalists of the time. This interesting and unique collection of original source material includes five of his writings between 1906 and 1924, challenging the new Darwinian theory of evolution and natural selection through his writings on the natural sciences. His literature covers the topics of evolution and biology and critiques biological arguments for evolution. He also wrote widely on geology offering his own alternative argument of ‘flood geography’ in opposition to the Darwinian theory concerning palaeontology and geology. This volume will be of interest to historians of natural history and the creationism movement, as well as scholars of religion and American history.

From the bestselling author of The Black Swan, a bold book that challenges many of our long-held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance and personal responsibility Why should we never listen to people who explain rather than do? Why do companies go bust? How is it that we have more slaves today than in Roman times? Why does imposing democracy on other countries never work? The answer: too many people running the world don't have skin in the game. In his inimitable, pugnacious style, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows that skin in the game applies to all aspects of our lives. It's about having something to lose and taking a risk. Citizens, lab experimenters, artisans, political activists and hedge fund traders all have skin in the game. Policy wonks, corporate executives, theoreticians, bankers and most journalists don't. As Taleb says, "The symmetry of skin in the game is a simple rule that's necessary for fairness and justice, and the ultimate BS-buster," and "Never trust anyone who doesn't have skin in the game. Without it, fools and crooks will benefit, and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them".

How to Read a Book, originally published in 1940, has become a rare phenomenon, a living classic. It is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader. And now it has been completely rewritten and updated.

You are told about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them -- from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading, you learn how to pigeonhole a book, X-ray it, extract the author's message, criticize. You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science.

Finally, the authors offer a recommended reading list and supply reading tests whereby you can measure your own progress in reading skills, comprehension and speed.

The follow-up to the BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week Other Minds A Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year A Waterstones Best Book of 2020 The scuba-diving philosopher explores the origins of animal consciousness. Dip below the ocean's surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals and flower-like worms, whose rooted bodies and intricate geometry are more reminiscent of plant life than anything recognisably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom - the Metazoa - they can teach us about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds. In his acclaimed book, Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus - the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, he expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of experience with the assistance of far-flung species. Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the first animal body form well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. He charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments - eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment - shaped the lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers these stories together to bridge the gap between matter and mind and address one of the most important philosophical questions: what is the origin of consciousness? Combining vivid animal encounters with philosophy and biology, Metazoa reveals the impossibility of separating the evolution of our minds from the evolution of animals themselves.

Playwright, novelist, political theorist, literary critic and philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-80) remains an iconic figure. This book examines his philosophical ideas and methods. It is an introductory guide for the student who wishes to understand Sartre's philosophical argumentation. It reconstructs in plain language key instances of Sartre's philosophical reasoning at work and shows how certain questions arise for Sartre and what philosophical tools he uses to address those questions. Each chapter considers a range of issues in the Sartrean corpus including his conception of phenomenology, the question of self-identity, the Sartrean view of conscious beings, his understanding of the self, his theory of value, human action as both the originator and the outcome of social processes, dialectical reason, and his conception of artistic activity. Hatzimoysis uncovers the philosophical argumentation, identifies Sartre's most important philosophical ideas and addresses the arguments in which those ideas are employed. Readers are able to get a real understanding of Sartre's approach to the activity of philosophising and how his method favours certain types of philosophical analysis.

Idealism is philosophy on a grand scale, combining micro and macroscopic problems into systematic accounts of everything from the nature of the universe to the particulars of human feeling. In consequence, it offers perspectives on everything from the natural to the social sciences, from ecology to critical theory. Heavily criticised by the dominant philosophies of the 20th Century, Idealism is now being reconsidered as a rich and untapped resource for contemporary philosophical arguments and concepts. This volume provides a comprehensive portrait of the major arguments and philosophers in the Idealist tradition. The book demonstrates how Idealist philosophy provides a fruitful way of understanding contemporary issues in metaphysics, the philosophy of science, political philosophy, scientific theory and critical social theory.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In this work, first published in two volumes in 1890 and 1894, Erwin Rohde (1845 1898), the German classical scholar and friend of Nietzsche, describes the ancient Greek cult of souls and establishes the sources of the belief in the immortality of the soul, exploring its relation to life both before and after death. This belief in the survival of the soul already existed in the earliest Greek writings, but when and from where did it originate? Volume 2 examines the question in the context of the worship of Dionysos, arguing that there were originally many sides to the cult of the wine-god, and that one of these may have been the source of this belief. Psyche, reissued here in the 1898 edition, remains a standard reference work on this topic.

Making tangible connections between theory and practice, ideas and form, this book encourages debate about the artistic, conceptual, and cultural significance of the way things look. What are the metaphysical concepts at the heart of design education, theory, and philosophy? Why do we assume that design is impossible to teach?

This book challenges the traditional foundations of perception and takes an imaginative, radical approach, setting itself apart from the traditions of analytical philosophy, evolutionary psychology, and phenomenology which underpin much of current design theory and discourse. The new definition of perception produces startling consequences for conceptions of language, intelligence, meaning, the senses, emotions and subjectivity. This is an innovative, fresh view on design and how we can improve it for both practitioners and students in the architecture and design fields as well as philosophers.

This volume is a critical investigation into the contemporary phenomenon of the dissensus of the globe and the planet, and the new terrains of consciousness that need to be negotiated towards a possibility for transformation. It examines the possibilities of alternate, sustainable modes of being and existing in a world which requires a unified, ethical, biopolitical worldview. The book explores themes like philosophical posthumanism and planetary concerns; disruption of cultural and intellectual inequality; bodily movement through nomadic subjectivity; dystopic spatialities of game(re)play; globalization, and speculative imaginaries of the body; and theory of multiplicity. It also discusses the impact of COVID-19 on human beings, the role of the neoliberal media, the question of rights of robots and cyborgs in sci-fi movies, and representation of refugees in literature. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of English literature, political philosophy, cultural studies, literary cultures, post-colonial studies, critical theory, and social anthropology.

First published in English in1966, The True and The Evident is a translation of Franz Brentano's posthumous Wahrheit und Evidenz, edited by Oscsar Kraus. The book includes Brentano's influential lecture On the Concept of Truth, read before the Vienna Philosophical Society, a variety of essays, drawn from the immense wealth of Brentano's unpublished material, and letters written by him to Marty, Kraus Hillebrand, and Husserl.

Brentano rejects the familiar versions of the correspondence theory of truth and proposes to define the true in terms of the evident. In criticising the metaphysical assumptions presupposed by the correspondence theory, he sets forth a conception of language and reality that has subsequently become known as reism.

The Thucydides trap and a US-China face-off are not structurally inevitable; US-China relations are what the US and China make of them. Phua focuses on the ability to see "US as US" and "China as China" to trigger both countries' cultural tendencies towards pragmatism. Phua examines China's arduous journey to fit in the Westphalian system, the deep cultural misunderstandings by the West of Sunzi's The Art of War, and attempts to offer an inside-out cultural synthesis of classical and modern Chinese thought as a proxy of their operational code, beyond the standard cliches about Confucian and Daoist thought. He builds on Jervis' perception and misperception as well as Alastair Johnston's cultural realism. Readers will benefit from a culturally-Chinese, western-educated and politically neutral understanding of "China as China". An essential primer for academics, practitioners and students of international relations, diplomacy and Chinese culture.

Before schooling was widely available, for most people the classroom was at the fireside, the field and the country lane, where the bards told their tales. Many such folk tales exist to convey life-lessons in an entertaining way. These stories are not the pontifications of ancient philosophers: they are the gleanings of countless storytellers, everyday men and women with hard-won life experiences and pockets full of folklore. The tales reflect the times and places of their origin, but have been handed down from generation to generation, evolving to meet changing times. Some are amusing; some are thought-provoking; all have been polished and honed for so long that their message slips, almost imperceptibly, into the mind. Fools and Wise Men retells these stories for new generations - repaying our debts to the bards of old.