This book is concerned with the evaluation of natural argumentative discourse, and, in particular, with the language in which arguments are expressed. It introduces a systematic procedure for the analysis and assessment of arguments, which is designed to be a practical tool, and may be considered a pseudo-algorithm for argument evaluation. The first half of the book lays the theoretical groundwork, with a thorough examination of both the nature of language and the nature of argument. This leads to a definition of argumentation as reasoning expressed within a procedure, which itself yields the three frames of analysis used in the evaluation procedure: Process, Reasoning, and Expression. The second half begins with a detailed discussion of the concept of fallacy, with particular attention on fallacies of language, their origin and their effects. A new way of looking at fallacies emerges from these chapters, and it is that conception, together with the understanding of the nature of argumentation described in earlier sections, which ultimately provides the support for the Comprehensive Assessment Procedure for Natural Argumentation. The first two levels of this innovative procedure are outlined, while the third, that dealing with language, and involving the development of an Informal Argument Semantics, is fully described. The use of the system, and its power of analysis, are illustrated through the evaluation of a variety of examples of argumentative texts.

This book examines the cogency and value of Nietzsche's idea of eternal recurrence, as an antidote to the nihilism resulting from the catastrophic event of 'the death of God'. Its significance to Nietzsche's philosophy as a whole (when presented either as an imaginative thought experiment, a cosmological hypothesis, or a poetic metaphor) is analysed, alongside the manifold criticisms the idea has attracted. In this original reading of eternal recurrence, McNeil explores the strength of metaphorical meaning contained within Heraclitean and Stoic cosmologies, revealing their influence on Nietzsche's own cosmology, along with their holistic approach to life which Nietzsche endorsed. Furthermore, an extensive critique of Heidegger's interpretation of eternal recurrence is given. McNeil argues that Heidegger ignores not only the life-affirming Dionysian aspects of the concept, but also the Heraclitean sense of play evident in the cosmology, and the importance of this for developing a positive, celebratory attitude towards our lives and creative projects.

Hegel's critique of Early German Romanticism and its theory of irony resonates to the core of his own philosophy in the same way that Plato's polemics with the Sophists have repercussions that go to the centre of his thought. The Anti-Romantic examines Hegel's critique of Fr. Schlegel, Novalis and Schleiermacher. Hegel rarely mentions these thinkers by name and the texts dealing with them often exist on the periphery of his oeuvre. Nonetheless, individually, they represent embodiments of specific forms of irony: Schlegel, a form of critical individuality; Novalis, a form of sentimental nihilism; Schleiermacher, a monstrous hybrid of the other two. The strength of Hegel's polemical approach to these authors shows how irony itself represents for him a persistent threat to his own idea of systematic Science. This is so, we discover, because Romantic irony is more than a rival ideology; it is an actual form of discourse, one whose performative objectivity interferes with the objectivity of Hegel's own logos. Thus, Hegel's critique of irony allows us to reciprocally uncover a Hegelian theory of scientific discourse. Far from seeing irony as a form of consciousness overcome by Spirit, Hegel sees it as having become a pressing feature of his own contemporary world, as witnessed in the popularity of his Berlin rival, Schleiermacher. Finally, to the extent that ironic discourse seems, for Hegel, to imply a certain world beyond his own notion of modernity, we are left with the hypothesis that Hegel's critique of irony may be viewed as a critique of post-modernity.

French philosopher and Talmudic commentator Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) has received considerable attention for his influence on philosophical and religious thought. In this book, Victoria Tahmasebi-Birgani provides the first examination of the applicability of Emmanuel Levinas' work to social and political movements. Investigating his ethics of responsibility and his critique of the Western liberal imagination, Tahmasebi-Birgani advances the moral, political, and philosophical debates on the radical implications of Levinas' work.

Emmanuel Levinas and the Politics of Non-Violence is the first book to closely consider the affinity between Levinas' ethical vision and Mohandas Gandhi's radical yet non-violent political struggle. Situating Levinas' insights within a transnational, transcontinental, and global framework, Tahmasebi-Birgani highlights Levinas' continued relevance in an age in which violence is so often resorted to in the name of "justice" and "freedom."

Sebastian Gardner competently tackles one of Sartre's more complex and challenging works in this new addition to the "Reader's Guides" series."Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness': A Reader's Guide" follows the successful format of "Continuum's Reader's Guides" series, designed specifically to meet the needs of undergraduate students. Gardner provides a brief biographical and contextual sketch, introducing Sartre's novels and political activism. He also includes an overview of contemporary French philosophy and the influence of World War II. The book gives a unified view of the (seemingly disparate) topics discussed in "Being and Nothingness" by taking them as answers to the problem of human freedom. It also shows how Sartre's work can be placed in a long and distinguished tradition of philosophical reflection deriving from Kant.Gardner's 'Reading the Text' section reveals the systematic nature of Sartre's thought and the subtleties of his arguments (both of which can remain hidden form the first-time reader in his dense prose). Finally, the book includes a discussion of the post-war reception of existentialism; criticisms of Being and Nothingness, including Sartre's own following his conversion to Marxism and Merleau-Ponty's in the Phenomenology of Perception; the temporary eclipsing of Sartre's thought by structuralism and Sartre's influence and importance today. This is an invaluable companion to study of this important and influential philosophical text."Continuum Reader's Guides" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to key texts in literature and philosophy. Each book explores the themes, context, criticism and influence of key works, providing a practical introduction to close reading, guiding students towards a thorough understanding of the text. They provide an essential, up-to-date resource, ideal for undergraduate students.

Winner - AERA 2011 Outstanding Book Award Jacques Rancire: Education, Truth, Emancipation demonstrates the importance of Rancires work for educational theory, and in turn, it shows just how central Rancires educational thought is to his work in political theory and aesthetics. Charles Bingham and Gert Biesta illustrate brilliantly how philosophy can benefit from Rancires particular way of thinking about education, and go on to offer their own provocative account of the relationship between education, truth, and emancipation. Including a new essay by Rancire himself, this book is a must-read for scholars of social theory and all who profess to educate.

The questions have been with us since the dim, dark dusk of early humanity. Who are we? How did we get here? Who is in charge? In "The Discovery of Everything, the Creation of Nothing, " author Jim Robert Bader communicates his personal philosophy on these age-old enigmas as they apply to modern society.Intended as a primer for the mind of the layman, "The Discovery of Everything, the Creation of Nothing" presents a manifesto of the soul that insists the truth is not only out there, but easily accessible to anyone. Based on years of research and observation, Bader distills the complexities and addresses relevant topics from an "everyman" perspective by pondering the nature of the universe. He reflects on the thoughts and discoveries of others to bring knowledge to the common man.In "The Discovery of Everything, the Creation of Nothing, " Bader offers a new way of understanding the world. He confronts old assumptions, and he challenges the traditional way of thinking to better cope with and comprehend the nature of the world around us.

Although there is a significant literature on the philosophy of Jacques Derrida, there are few analyses that address the deconstructive critique of phenomenology as it simultaneously plays across range of cultural productions including literature, painting, cinema, new media, and the structure of the university. Using the critical figures of "ghost" and "shadow"-and initiating a vocabulary of phantomenology-this book traces the implications of Derridean "spectrality" on the understanding of contemporary thought, culture, and experience.This study examines the interconnections of philosophy, art in its many forms, and the hauntology of Jacques Derrida. Exposure is explored primarily as exposure to the elemental weather (with culture serving as a lean-to); exposure in a photographic sense; being over-exposed to light; exposure to the certitude of death; and being exposed to all the possibilities of the world. Exposure, in sum, is a kind of necessary, dangerous, and affirmative openness.The book weaves together three threads in order to format an image of the contemporary exposure: 1) a critique of the philosophy of appearances, with phenomenology and its vexed relationship to idealism as the primary representative of this enterprise; 2) an analysis of cultural formations-literature, cinema, painting, the university, new media-that highlights the enigmatic necessity for learning to read a spectrality that, since the two cannot be separated, is both hauntological and historical; and 3) a questioning of the role of art-as semblance, reflection, and remains-that occurs within and alongside the space of philosophy and of the all the "posts-" in which people find themselves.Art is understood fundamentally as a spectral aesthetics, as a site that projects from an exposed place toward an exposed, and therefore open, future, from a workplace that testifies to the blast wind of obliteration, but also in that very testimony gives a place for ghosts to gather, to speak with each other and with humankind. Art, which installs itself in the very heart of the ancient dream of philosophy as its necessary companion, ensures that each phenomenon is always a phantasm and thus we can be assured that the apparitions will continue to speak in what Michel Serres's has called the "grotto of miracles." This book, then, enacts the slowness of a reading of spectrality that unfolds in the chiaroscuro of truth and illusion, philosophy and art, light and darkness.Scholars, students, and professional associations in philosophy (especially of the work of Derrida, Husserl, Heidegger, and Kant), literature, painting, cinema, new media, psychoanalysis, modernity, theories of the university, and interdisciplinary studies.

Wisdom and Philosophy: Contemporary and Comparative Approaches questions the nature of the relationship between wisdom and philosophy from an intercultural perspective. Bringing together an international mix of respected philosophers, this volume discusses similarities and differences of Western and Asian pursuits of wisdom and reflects on attempts to combine them. Contributors cover topics such as Confucian ethics, the acquisition of wisdom in pre-Qin literature and anecdotes of stupidity in the classical Chinese tradition, while also addressing contemporary topics such as global Buddhism and analytic metaphysics. Providing original examples of comparative philosophy, contributors look at ideas and arguments of thinkers such as Confucius, Zhuangzi and Zhu Xi alongside the work of Aristotle, Plato and Heidegger. Presenting Asian perspectives on philosophy as practical wisdom, Wisdom and Philosophy is a rare intercultural inquiry into the relation between wisdom and philosophy. It provides new ways of understanding how wisdom connects to philosophy and underlines the need to reintroduce it into philosophy today.

How are artificial intelligence (AI) and the strong claims made by their philosophical representatives to be understood and evaluated from a Kantian perspective? Conversely, what can we learn from AI and its functions about Kantian philosophy's claims to validity? This volume focuses on various aspects, such as the self, the spirit, self-consciousness, ethics, law, and aesthetics to answer these questions.

All five volumes of George Santayana's philosophical masterwork exploring the manifestations of reason in life are united in this superb edition. The Life of Reason begins boldly, with Santayana explaining his concept of reason in great detail. How a mind may embark and progress on applying rational thought to life is explained, and the practical value of such thinking methods are demonstrated. The second volume sees the author questioning whether men can be exhorted to virtuous behaviors without the concept of a creator, heaven, hell or other supernatural concepts. The third volume, Reason in Religion, is an emotional and at times autobiographical account of Santayana's own struggles with faith. Volumes four and five concern science and art, respectively. The basis of artistic expression and its grounding in reasoning is discussed, with chapters dedicated to the visual art of painting and also music.

The International Kierkegaard Commentary-For the first time in English the world community of scholars systematically assembled and presented the results of recent research in the vast literature of Soren Kierkegaard. Based on the definitive English edition of Kierkegaard's works by Princeton University Press, this series of commentaries addresses all the published texts of the influential Danish philosopher and theologian. This is volume 9 & 10 in a series of commentaries based upon the definitive translations of Kierkegaard's writings published by Princeton University Press, 1980ff.