This volume is an investigation into the silence of the feminine voice in Western thought, considering the important relationship between maternity and philosophy. The author shows how maternity has often been appropriated by some male theorists and explores ways of approaching motherhood and pregnancy from a feminist perspective. Drawing on examples such as Plato's allegory of the cave, the "productive man" of Marx philosophy, Sigmund Freud's and Melanie Klein's writings on the mother and the mother-daughter relationship, and the psychoanalytic and feminist insights of Irigaray and Kristeva, she shows how terms such as denial, repression and foreclosure offer insight into the philosophical construction of the maternal body. The book also draws upon the work of Althusser and Lyotard, showing how their work bears importantly on the silence of the feminine. Throughout the text Michelle Boulous Walker questions the assumptions that silence is simply the absence of language and presents new strategies for understanding how silence operates.

Cultural Semiosis traces the theoretical itinerary of the signifier in the continental tradition. Cultural semiosis provides links for cultural studies to the philosophical, the literary, the historical and the social. Understood semiotically, cultural signs and signifiers are inscribed in the fabric of cultural practices. Cultural semiosis enters the spaces of everyday language, visuality, sexuality and symbolization. These original essays interpret and provide tools for the understanding of cultural studies within a philosophical framework.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415919541

"Cultural Semiosis" traces the theoretical itinerary of the signifier in the continental tradition. Cultural semiosis provides links for cultural studies to the philosophical, the literary, the historical and the social. Understood semiotically, cultural signs and signifiers are inscribed in the fabric of cultural practices. Cultural semiosis enters the spaces of everyday language, visuality, sexuality and symbolization. These original essays interpret and provide tools for the understanding of cultural studies within a philosophical framework.
Contributors: M. Alison Arnett, Debra Bergoffen, Peter Carravetta, Alessandro Carrera, Julia Kristeva, John Llewelyn, Michael Naas, Kelly Oliver, Adi Ophir, Francois Raffoul, Mark Roberts, Stephanie Sage, Hugh J. Silverman.

"Yielding Gender" explores and reconsiders the tensions that deconstruction poses for feminist philosophy. Emphasizing the important role of deconstruction in revealing the ambiguity and unstable nature of gender, Penelope Deutscher asks the crucial question: does the very instability of gender mean that we can no longer talk of a man or a woman of reason in the history of philosophy?
Using the work of Judith Butler, Jacques Derrida and Luce Irigaray, Deutscher explores this question by examining the issue of gender as "trouble," deconstruction and feminist criticism of the history of philosophy. She then considers and challenges feminist interpretations of some key figures in the history of philosophy. Deutscher sketches how Rousseau, St. Augustine and Simone de Beauvoir have described gender and argues that their readings of gender are in fact empowered by gender's own contradiction and instability rather than limited by it.

THIS IS PHILOSOPHY "The second edition of This is Philosophy improves upon an excellent first edition. This clear, succinct book is quite possibly the best introduction to Western philosophy on the market." --Gregory Morgan, Stevens Institute of Technology "This is a terrific book. The writing is not only extremely clear, it is downright gripping--with relevant and detailed examples at every turn. Steven Hales has produced not just a great little introduction to philosophy--he has produced a great little book in philosophy, period." --Michael Lynch, University of Connecticut "Hales clearly explains important philosophical ideas with a minimum of jargon and without sacrificing depth of content and he consistently gives a fair and accurate presentation of both sides of central philosophical disputes." --Matthew Van Cleave, Teaching Philosophy As the oldest discipline in the academy, philosophy began by asking questions of the world and of human nature. Philosophers are responsible for the Enlightenment and laid the foundations for constitutional governments. Yet, while it may have given birth to the natural sciences, philosophy has earned a contemporary reputation as an esoteric and impractical field out of touch with everyday life--but it doesn't have to be that way. This is Philosophy: An Introduction expertly guides students through the fundamentals of philosophy by illuminating difficult, abstract ideas with straightforward language. Assuming no prior background in the subject, this volume brings philosophical concepts into sharp focus through relatable examples and clear explanations of philosophy's big questions and arguments. The second edition of this accessible textbook is organized around seven central philosophical problems, including ethics, the existence of God, free will, personal identity, philosophy of mind, and epistemology. New to this edition is a chapter on political philosophy that explores the state of nature, anarchy, contractarianism, libertarianism, and the liberal state. These self-contained chapters have been reordered and recalibrated to best suit the needs of introductory philosophy courses, and can be taught independently or in sequence. Enhanced by updated examples, new hyperlinks and references, and detailed bibliographies, the book is complemented by extensively-revised online resources available to instructors, including a 200-question test bank and over 450 PowerPoint slides designed to strengthen student comprehension of key concepts. Strengthening the popular first edition which launched the series, This is Philosophy: An Introduction, Second Edition is the perfect primary textbook for beginning philosophy students as well as general readers with an interest in philosophy.

Traditional accounts of the feminist history of philosophy have viewed reason as associated with masculinity and subsequent debates have been framed by this assumption. Yet recent debates in deconstruction have shown that gender has never been a stable matter. In the history of philosophy 'female' and 'woman' are full of ambiguity. What does deconstruction have to offer feminist criticism of the history of philosophy?
Yielding Gender explores this question by examining three crucial areas; the issue of gender as 'troubled'; deconstruction; and feminist criticism of the history of philosophy. The first part of the book discusses the work of Judith Butler, Jacques Derrida, and contemporary French feminist philosophy including key figures such as Luce Irigiray. Particular attention is given to the possibilities offered by deconstruction for understanding the history of philosophy.
The second part considers and then challenges feminist interpretations of some key figures in the history of philosophy. Penelope Deutscher sketches how Rousseau, St. Augustine and Simone de Beauvoir have described gender and argues that their readings of gender are in fact empowered by gender's own contradiction and instability rather than limited by it.

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in ethics, particularly in the approaches of deconstruction and hermeneutics. At the same time, questions of identity have risen to prominence in philosophy and beyond into cultural studies and literature. Strong Hermeneutics is a clear and accessible investigation of both the enlightenment and postmodern or 'weak' approaches to contemporary discussions of ethics. The weak view, which can be traced back to Nietzche and seen in the recent work of Rorty and Lyotard, is sceptical of any universal principles in ethics. The enlightenment view, starting with Kant and more recently seen in the work of Habermas, views identity as subject to universal but formal moral constraints, the renewing of which is the proper task of ethics. Nicholas Smith argues that neither of these views can provide a proper framework for ethics. He puts forward a third position - a strong hermeneutics - drawing on the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur and Charles Taylor. Strong Hermeneutics presents a defence of this view, compares it with the realism and anti-realism debate in philosophy, and demonstrates its relevance to contemporary issues, particularly ecological responsibility.

"Strong Hermeneutics" presents a compelling case for the importance of hermeneutics in understanding ethics today. It provides a critical comparison of the enlightenment view of ethics with the postmodern or "weak" view of ethics. The weak view, which Nicholas H. Smith traces back to Nietzsche and identifies in the recent work of Rorty and Lyotard, is skeptical of any universal principles in ethics. The enlightenment view, starting with Kant and taken up in the work of Habermas, casts identity as subject of universal but formal moral constraints.
Smith argues that neither of these views can provide a proper framework for ethics. Drawing on the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur and Charles Taylor, he presents a fascinating reworking of key issues in ethics and continental philosophy.

Concerned with conversation and cognition in young children, this text assesses their profound conceptual limitations, that is, that they have little understanding of numerical and causal relations and are incapable of insight into the minds of others. The text considers how this inability has led researchers to accept a model of the young child as plagued by conceptual deficits. With this in mind, the text assesses how a greater degree of competence should be attributed to children to reflect the position that development in evolutionary important domains is guided by implicit constraints on learning.

Self-Interest discusses the reconciliation of inevitable self-concern with its manifest potential for harm. This anthology brings together the efforts of twenty three renown philosophers to address the matter of how to bring about such a reconciliation. The drive for self-preservation, as observed by Aquinas, is the first law of nature. With this self-love, however, comes the threat of "the excessive love of self." Self-Interest brings into discussion the reconciliation of necessary self-concern with its manifest potential for harm.
This anthology brings together the work of twenty-three important philosophers to address the question of how to bring about such a reconciliation. Contributors include: Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine of Hippo, Aquinas, Hobbes, Nicole, Mandeville, Butler, Hutchenson, Hume, Smith, Kant, Bentham, Mill, James, Nietzsche, Dewey, Rand, and Gauthier.

Self-Interest discusses the reconciliation of inevitable self-concern with its manifest potential for harm. This anthology brings together the efforts of twenty three renown philosophers to address the matter of how to bring about such a reconciliation. The drive for self-preservation, as observed by Aquinas, is the first law of nature. With this self-love, however, comes the threat of "the excessive love of self." Self-Interest brings into discussion the reconciliation of necessary self-concern with its manifest potential for harm.
This anthology brings together the work of twenty-three important philosophers to address the question of how to bring about such a reconciliation. Contributors include: Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine of Hippo, Aquinas, Hobbes, Nicole, Mandeville, Butler, Hutchenson, Hume, Smith, Kant, Bentham, Mill, James, Nietzsche, Dewey, Rand, and Gauthier.

Donald Cress's highly regarded translation, based on the critical Pleiade edition of 1964, is here issued with a lively introduction by James Miller, who brings into sharp focus the cultural and intellectual milieu in which Rousseau operated. This new edition includes a select bibliography, a note on the text, a translator's note, and Rousseau's own Notes on the Discourse.

Nietzsche's vision of the 'overman' continues to haunt the postmodern imagination. His call that 'man is something that must be overcome' can no longer be seen as simple rhetoric. Our experiences of the hybrid realities of artificial life have made the 'transhuman' a figure that looks over us all. Inspired by this vision, Keith Ansell Pearson sets out to examine if evolution is 'out of control' and machines are taking over.
In a series of six fascinating perspectives, he links Nietzsche's thought with the issues at stake in contemporary conceptions of evolution from the biological to the technological. Viroid Life; Perspectives on Nietzsche and the Transhuman Condition considers the hybrid, 'inhuman' character of our future with the aid of Nietzsche's philosophy. Keith Ansell Pearson contrasts Nietzsche and Darwin before introducing the more recent figures such as Giles Deleuze and Guy Debord to sketch a new thinking of technics and machines and stress the ambiguous character of our 'machine enslavement'.

Evolution is seen to be entering a bio-technological phase. Nietzsche's affirmation that "man is something that must be overcome" no longer has a rhetorical ring given the means at our disposal at the end of the twentieth century. "Viroid Life" boldly challenges existing explanations of these changes inherited from modernity, arguing that they have exhausted their usefulness and new models are needed to guide us in mapping through the future.
Exploring and critically examining the new realities of artificial life that confront us, "Viroid Life" brings together the tradition of Nietszchean thought with new work in exploratory biology and machinic thinking. Offering insights from Darwin to Gilles Deleuze and Guy Debord and the Situationist movement, Pearson provides a brave starting point for any inquiry on the future of the "human."

Originally published in German in 1936, "The Natural Law" is the first work to clarify the differences between traditional natural law as represented in the writings of Cicero, Aquinas, and Hooker and the revolutionary doctrines of natural rights espoused by Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. Beginning with the legacies of Greek and Roman life and thought, Rommen traces the natural law tradition to its displacement by legal positivism and concludes with what the author calls "the reappearance" of natural law thought in more recent times. In seven chapters each Rommen explores "The History of the Idea of Natural Law" and "The Philosophy and Content of the Natural Law." In his introduction, Russell Hittinger places Rommen's work in the context of contemporary debate on the relevance of natural law to philosophical inquiry and constitutional interpretation.Heinrich Rommen (1897-1967) taught in Germany and England before concluding his distinguished scholarly career at Georgetown University.Russell Hittinger is William K. Warren Professor of Catholic Studies and Research Professor of Law at the University of Tulsa.

What is the place of the Eastern thought in the West? This volume shows how despite current talk of "globalization", there is still a reluctance to accept that the West could have borrowed anything of significance from the East, and offers a critique of the "orientalist" view that we must view any study of the east through the lens of western colonialism and domination. The text provides an introduction to the fascination Eastern thought has exerted on Western minds since the Renaissance. This survey argues that any adequate history of Western thought must take into account how philosophical, religious and psychological ideas from India, China and Japan have been drawn into Western thought from the 17th century onwards. Tackling debates on orientalism, post colonialism and postmodernism, the text provides a perspective on cross cultural exchanges between East and West.

The Cambridge History of Modern European Thought is an authoritative and comprehensive exploration of the themes, thinkers and movements that shaped our intellectual world in the late-eighteenth and nineteenth century. Representing both individual figures and the contexts within which they developed their ideas, each essay is written in a clear accessible style by leading scholars in the field and offers both originality and interpretive insight. This first volume surveys late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European intellectual history, focusing on the profound impact of the Enlightenment on European intellectual life. Spanning twenty chapters, it covers figures such as Kant, Hegel, Wollstonecraft, and Darwin, major political and intellectual movements such as Romanticism, Socialism, Liberalism and Feminism, and schools of thought such as Historicism, Philology, and Decadence. Renouncing a single 'master narrative' of European thought across the period, Warren Breckman and Peter E. Gordon establish a formidable new multi-faceted vision of European intellectual history for the global modern age.

"The Two Pragmatisms - From Peirce to Rorty" maps the main movements within the pragmatist tradition. Two distinct forms of pragmatism are identified, that of Peirce and that of the "second" pragmatism stemming from James' interpretation of Peirce and seen in the work of Dewey and, above all, Rorty. Both the influential work of Rorty and the way in which he has transformed contemporary philosophy's understanding of pragmatism are clearly explained. "The Two Pragmatisms - From Peirce to Rorty" is essential reading for those interested in the history of this increasingly influential movement, whether first-time philosophers or more advanced readers.

Substance has been a leading idea in the history of Western philosophy. Joshua Hoffman and Gary S. Rosenkrantz explain the nature and existence of individual substances, including both living things and inanimate objects. Specifically written for students new to this important and often complex subject, Substance provides both the historical and contemporary overview of the debate.
Great Philosophers of the past, such as Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Locke, and Berkeley were profoundly interested in the concept of substance. And, the authors argue, a belief in the existence of substances is an integral part of our everyday world view. But what constitutes substance? Was Aristotle right to suggest that artefacts like tables and ships don't really exist?
Substance: Its Nature and Existence is one of the first non-technical, accessible guides to this central problem and will be of great use to students of metaphysics and philosophy.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415916399

Substance has been a leading idea in the history of Western philosophy. Joshua Hoffman and Gary S. Rosenkrantz explain the nature and existence of individual substances, including both living things and inanimate objects. Specifically written for students new to this important and often complex subject, Substance provides both the historical and contemporary overview of the debate.
Great Philosophers of the past, such as Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Locke, and Berkeley were profoundly interested in the concept of substance. And, the authors argue, a belief in the existence of substances is an integral part of our everyday world view. But what constitutes substance? Was Aristotle right to suggest that artefacts like tables and ships don't really exist?
Substance: Its Nature and Existence is one of the first non-technical, accessible guides to this central problem and will be of great use to students of metaphysics and philosophy.

The central theme running throughout this outstanding new survey is the nature of the philosophical debate created by modern science's foundation in experimental and mathematical method. More recently, recognition that reasoning in science is probabilistic generated intense debate about whether and how it should be constrained so as to ensure the practical certainty of the conclusions drawn. These debates brought to light issues of a philosophical nature which form the core of many scientific controversies today. Scientific Method: A Historical and Philosophical Introduction presents these debates through clear and comparative discussion of key figures in the history of science. Key chapters critically discuss
* Galileo's demonstrative method, Bacon's inductive method, and Newton's rules of reasoning
* the rise of probabilistic `Bayesian' methods in the eighteenth century
* the method of hypotheses through the work of Herschel, Mill and Whewell
* the conventionalist views of Poincaré and Duhem
* the inductivism of Peirce, Russell and Keynes
* Popper's falsification compared with Reichenbach's enumerative induction
* Carnap's scientific method as Bayesian reasoning

The debates are brought up to date in the final chapters by considering the ways in which ideas about method in the physical and biological sciences have affected thinking about method in the social sciences. This debate is analyzed through the ideas of key theorists such as Kuhn, Lakatos, and Feyerabend.

Dualism is a doctrine engaged on two fronts. It affirms a thesis about the mind, in opposition to various forms of materialism and mental reductionism, and a thesis about the physical world, in opposition to various forms of mentalism and idealism. This book is an examination of one dualist account of the mind. It is a defence of the Cartesian account in which the immaterial contents of the mind are assigned to an immaterial mental subject. The book provides an attack on alternative accounts of the mind - both those, like functionalism and the identity theories, which are opposed to dualism as such, and those which accept dualism in a Humean (non-Cartesian) form. It also tries to rebut the standard objections brought against the dualist or Cartesian positions, paying particular attention to the issues of psychophysical causation and the nature of the self. In its final sections, the book develops positive accounts of the attachment of the self to the body, its power of free agency, and its role in personal identity. This book should be of interest to students and teachers of philosophy of the mind.

Naomi Scheman argues that the concerns of philosophy emerge not from the universal human condition but from conditions of privilege. Her books represent a powerful challenge to the notion that gender makes no difference in the construction of philosophical reasoning. At the same time, it criticizes the narrow focus of most feminist theorizing and calls for a more inclusive form of inquiry.

Contents:
1. Feeding the Hungry, 2. The Pleasures of Food, 3. Food as Art, 4. Food Duties, 5. Hospitableness, 6. Temperance