These essays reveal Mikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975)--known in the West largely through his studies of Rabelais and Dostoevsky--as a philosopher of language, a cultural historian, and a major theoretician of the novel. The Dialogic Imagination presents, in superb English translation, four selections from Voprosy literatury i estetiki (Problems of literature and esthetics), published in Moscow in 1975. The volume also contains a lengthy introduction to Bakhtin and his thought and a glossary of terminology.

Bakhtin uses the category "novel" in a highly idiosyncratic way, claiming for it vastly larger territory than has been traditionally accepted. For him, the novel is not so much a genre as it is a force, "novelness," which he discusses in "From the Prehistory of Novelistic Discourse." Two essays, "Epic and Novel" and "Forms of Time and of the Chronotope in the Novel," deal with literary history in Bakhtin's own unorthodox way. In the final essay, he discusses literature and language in general, which he sees as stratified, constantly changing systems of subgenres, dialects, and fragmented "languages" in battle with one another.

Paul Kurtz has been the dominant voice of secular humanism over the past thirty years. This compilation of his work reveals the scope of his thinking on the basic topics of our time and his many and varied contributions to the cause of free thought. It focuses on the central issues that have concerned Kurtz throughout his career: ethics, politics, education, religion, science, and pseudoscience.

The chapters are linked by a common theme: the need for a new enlightenment, one committed to the use of rationality and skepticism, but also devoted to realizing the highest values of humanist culture. Many writings included here were first published in magazines and journals long unavailable. Some of the essays have never before been published. They now appear as a coherent whole for the first time. Also included is an extensive bibliography of Kurtz's writings. "Toward a New Enlightenment "is essential for those who know and admire Paul Kurtz's work. It will also be an important resource for students of philosophy, political science, ethics, and religion.

Among the chapters are: "Humanist Ethics: Eating the Forbidden Fruit"; "Relevance of Science to Ethics"; "Democracy without Theology"; "Misuses of Civil Disobedience"; "The Limits of Tolerance"; "Skepticism about the Paranormal: Legitimate and Illegitimate"; "Militant Atheism vs. Freedom of Conscience"; "Promethean Love: Unbound"; "The Case for Euthanasia"; and "The New Inquisition in the Schools."

Content and Consciousness is an original and ground-breaking attempt to elucidate a problem integral to the history of Western philosophical thought: the relationship of the mind and body. In this formative work, Dennett sought to develop a theory of the human mind and consciousness based on new and challenging advances in the field that came to be known as cognitive science. This important and illuminating work is widely-regarded as the book from which all of Dennett's future ideas developed. It is his first explosive rebuttal of Cartesian dualism and one of the founding texts of philosophy of mind.

The first truly introductory text on Lyotard, this book situates Lyotard's interventions in the postmodern debate in the wider context of his rethinking of the politics of representation. Bill Readings examines Lyotard's relationship to structuralism, Marxism and semiotics, and contrasts his work with the literary deconstruction of Paul de Man; he positions Lyotard's work so as to draw out the implications of poststructurlaism's attention to difference in reading. Lyotard's willingness to question the political and examine the relationship between art and politics is shown to undermine the charge that deconstruction abdicates political and social articulation.

The anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss was one of the greatest intellectuals of the twentieth century. His work has had a profound impact not only within anthropology but also linguistics, sociology and philosophy. In this short book he examines the nature and role of myth in human history, distilling a lifetime of writing into a few sharp insights. It is a crystalline overview of many of the basic ideas underlying his work, including the theory of structuralism and the difference between 'primitive' and 'scientific' thought and shows why Levi-Strauss remains a hugely important intellectual figure. With a new foreword by Patrick Wilcken.

First published in 1992, this book represents the first major attempt to compile a bibliography of Derrida's work and scholarship about his work. It attempts to be comprehensive rather than selective, listing primary and secondary works from the year of Derrida's Master's thesis in 1954 up until 1991, and is extensively annotated. It arranges under article type a huge number of works from scholars across numerous fields - reflecting the interdisciplinary and controversial nature of Deconstruction. The substantial introduction and annotations also make this bibliography, in part, a critical guide and as such will make a highly useful reference tool for those studying his philosophy.

Since 1972, the journal "Radical Philosophy" has provided a forum for the discussion of radical and critical ideas in philosophy. This anthology reprints some of the articles which have appeared in the journal during the past five years. It covers topics in social and moral philosophy which are central to current controversies on the left, focusing on theoretical issues raised by the socialist, feminist and environmental movements. Topics covered include feminist perspectives on a range of traditional philosophical issues and contemporary problems, theoretical questions involved in the rethinking of socialism and Marxism, and questions about the relation between humanity and nature raised by environmental debates. The pieces included engage with contemporary issues in critical terms, and represent the recent philosophical work on the left. The book should be interesting reading for anyone involved in studying the current state of radical thought.

Bruno Latour is among the most important figures in contemporary philosophy and social science. His ethnographic studies have revolutionized our understanding of areas as diverse as science, law, politics and religion. To facilitate a more realistic understanding of the world, Latour has introduced a radically fresh philosophical terminology and a new approach to social science, Actor-Network Theory . In seminal works such as Laboratory Life, We Have Never Been Modern and An Inquiry into Modes of Existence, Latour has outlined an alternative to the foundational categories of modern western thought D particularly its distinction between society and nature D that has major consequences for our understanding of the ecological crisis and of the role of science in democratic societies. Latour s empirical philosophy has evolved considerably over the past four decades. In this lucid and compelling book, Gerard de Vries provides one of the first overviews of Latour s work. He guides readers through Latour s main publications, from his early ethnographies to his more recent philosophical works, showing with considerable skill how Latour s ideas have developed. This book will be of great value to students and scholars attempting to come to terms with the immense challenge posed by Latour s thought. It will be of interest to those studying philosophy, anthropology, sociology, science and technology studies, and almost all other branches of the social sciences and humanities.

Gilbert Ryle was one of the most important and yet misunderstood philosophers of the Twentieth Century. Long unavailable, Collected Essays 1929-1968: Collected Papers Volume 2 stands as testament to the astonishing breadth of Ryle's philosophical concerns. This volume showcases Ryle's deep interest in the notion of thinking and contains many of his major pieces, including his classic essays 'Knowing How and Knowing That', 'Philosophical Arguments', 'Systematically Misleading Expressions', and 'A Puzzling Element in the Notion of Thinking'. He ranges over an astonishing number of topics, including feelings, pleasure, sensation, forgetting and concepts and in so doing hones his own philosophical stance, steering a careful path between behaviourism and Cartesianism. Together with the Collected Papers Volume 1 and the new edition of The Concept of Mind, these outstanding essays represent the very best of Ryle's work. Each volume contains a substantial preface by Julia Tanney, and both are essential reading for any student of twentieth-century philosophies of mind and language. Gilbert Ryle (1900 -1976) was Waynflete Professor of Metaphysics and Fellow of Magdalen College Oxford, an editor of Mind, and a president of the Aristotelian Society. Julia Tanney is Senior Lectuer at the University of Kent, and has held visiting positions at the University of Picardie and Paris-Sorbonne.

Leading British, American and European philosophers contribute to this collection of essays, first published in 1976, in political philosophy. They are essays which have to do in different ways with better societies than the ones we have, and with ways of getting them. They exemplify what can fairly be called real political philosophy. Its past makers have been Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel, Mill and Marx, and it consists in advocacy of certain social ends and of certain means, rather than uncommitted inquiry or comment. The advocacy is of a kind, of course, which depends on analysis and argument. The book will be of interest not only to those who are primarily concerned with philosophy, but students of politics as well.

John Dewey was a pioneer of progressive educational approaches, as well as a politically active liberal and an unconventional philosopher. His highly original version of pragmatism--his "instrumentalism"--has held a pre-eminent place in American philosophy during the first half of this century.
The dominant characteristic of Dewey's thought was his desire to resist thinking of the main aspects of human life in isolation from one another, and to resist the institutionalization of their separation. J. E. Tiles traces the consequences of Dewey's philosophy by relating them to the views of his fellow pragmatists, James and Peirce, and confronting them with the criticisms of his contemporaries, such as Russell and Lovejoy. This book also contrasts Dewey's ideas with doctrines advanced by philosophers of the past such as Aristotle and Hume, as well as by philosophers who have risen in prominence since Dewey's death, such as Bernard Williams and Thomas Nagel.

G. E. M. Anscombe's Intention is a classic of twentieth-century philosophy. The work has been enormously influential despite being a dense and largely misunderstood text. It is a standard reference point for anyone engaging with philosophy of action and philosophy of psychology. In this Routledge Philosophy GuideBook, Rachael Wiseman: situates Intention in relation to Anscombe's moral philosophy and philosophy of mind considers the influence of Aquinas, Aristotle, Frege, and Wittgenstein on the method and content of Intention adopts a structure for assessing the text that shows how Anscombe unifies the three aspects of the concept of intention considers the influence and implications of the piece whilst distinguishing it from subsequent work in the philosophy of action Ideal for anyone wanting to understand and gain a perspective on Elizabeth Anscombe's seminal work, this guide is an essential introduction, useful in the study of the philosophy of action, ethics, philosophy of psychology and related areas.

The twentieth century witnessed the birth of analytic philosophy. This volume covers some of its key movements and philosophers, including Frege and Wittgenstein's Tractatus.

The English philosopher Michael Oakeshott (1901-1990) is known as a conservative who rejected philosophically ambitious rationalism and the grand political ideologies of the twentieth century on the grounds that no human ideas have ultimately reliable foundations. Instead, he embraced tradition and habit as the guides to moral and political life. In this book, Aryeh Botwinick presents an original account of Oakeshott's skepticism about foundations, an account that newly reveals the unity of his thought.

Botwinick argues that, despite Oakeshott's pragmatic conservatism, his rejection of all-embracing intellectual projects made him a friend to liberal individualism and an ally of what would become postmodern antifoundationalism. Oakeshott's skepticism even extended paradoxically to skepticism about skepticism itself and is better described as a "generalized agnosticism." Properly conceived and translated, this agnosticism ultimately evolves into mysticism, which becomes a bridge linking philosophy and religion. Botwinick explains and develops this strategy of interpretation and then shows how it illuminates and unifies the diverse strands of Oakeshott's thought in the philosophy of religion, metaphysics, epistemology, political theory, philosophy of personal identity, philosophy of law, and philosophy of history.

First published in 1985. Bertrand Russell's observations on education ace world famous. He discusses the different stages of education emphasizing the importance of education at a very young age. The education of character begins at home with wise parents training their children to be affectionate and fearless. Among the most important themes covered is education in knowledge in which a balance must be sought between interest and accuracy, and between utility and disinterestedness. Russell argues that if the basis of all education is knowledge wielded by love then society can be transformed.

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The twentieth century brought enormous change to subjects such as language, metaphysics, ethics and epistemology. This volume covers the major developments in these areas and more.

In Ecce Homo (1908) Friedrich Nietzsche calls himself "the first immoralist" and adds "that makes me the annihilator par excellence". Lester Hunt examines this and other radical claims in order to show that Nietzsche does have a coherent ethical and political philosophy. He uses Nietzsche's writings as a starting point for a critique of a wider, contemporary ethical project - one that should inform our lives as well as our thoughts.

In this work, originally published in 1989, the author establishes a tradition of radical historicism from Hegel to the Budapenst School. He charts both its continuous evolution from the early 19th century to the late 20thh, and its transformation in the context of European social, economic and cultural change. Through a reappraisal of historical interpretation from Hegel to Foucault, the book demonstrates the contemporary relevance of radical historicism. It includes detailed analyses of Marx, Dilthey, Simmel, Weber, Lukacks, Horkheimer, Adorno and Habermas.

This wide-ranging and assured book, written by one of the leading Weber scholars in the English-speaking world, shows us the many sides of Max Weber. The book provides an authoritative guide to the current burning issues in social theory, religion, rationalization, the body, modernization and capitalism. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in Weber's claim that the aim of sociology must be to explain what is distinctive about the times in which we live.

Not available since the 1980s, this up-dated edition by the leading political philosopher, John Gray, outlines his new position on Hayek. In a substantial new chapter, Gray assesses how far the historical development of the last ten years can be deployed in a critique of Hayek's thought. His reassessment is not only a provoking study of a classical philosopher. It is also a timely contribution to the debate over the future of conservatism, as Gray argues that Hayekian liberalism - 'the most well-articulated political theory of the new right' - is flawed.

On 26 August 1974, Michel Foucault completed work on Discipline and Punish, and on that very same day began writing the first volume of The History of Sexuality. A little under ten years later, on 25 June 1984, shortly after the second and third volumes were published, he was dead. This decade is one of the most fascinating of his career. It begins with the initiation of the sexuality project, and ends with its enforced and premature closure. Yet in 1974 he had something very different in mind for The History of Sexuality than the way things were left in 1984. Foucault originally planned a thematically organised series of six volumes, but wrote little of what he promised and published none of them. Instead over the course of the next decade he took his work in very different directions, studying, lecturing and writing about historical periods stretching back to antiquity. This book offers a detailed intellectual history of both the abandoned thematic project and the more properly historical version left incomplete at his death. It draws on all Foucault s writings in this period, his courses at the College de France and lectures elsewhere, as well as material archived in France and California to provide a comprehensive overview and synthetic account of Foucault s last decade.

First published in 1981. This collection includes a careful selection of some of the wittiest and most pungent of Russell's writings, that are instructive and delightful, both for the philosopher and the layman. The reader will gain an appreciation of the serious thought and keen humour of Russell's writings as well as understand why Russell has been both an influential and controversial figure for more than half a century.

Originally delivered as a series of lectures for the Halley Stewart trust in 1926, Lodge's work was collected and first published in 1927. Lodge uses his scientific training to inquire into such general issues as religion, human progress, and societal advances with an aim to better understand the physical order of the universe. This title will be of interest to students of philosophy, particularly those interested in the development of early twentieth century thought.

Bertrand Russell was regarded as one of the twentieth century's greatest minds. Well known for his profound knowledge and controversial approach to a myriad of different issues and subjects, his prolific works also exhibited great intellectual wit and humour. Bertrand Russell's Best is a collection of Russell's wittiest and most pungent writings. First published in 1958, this delightfully funny and entertaining book is a striking testament to the remarkable life, work and wit of Bertrand Russell.