'Grayling brings satisfying order to daunting subjects' Steven Pinker 'An enthusiastic thinker who embraces humour, common sense and lucidity' Independent _______________ From the eminent philosopher, an authoritative exploration of the great questions of how to live 'There is a question everyone has to ask and answer - in fact, has to keep on asking and keep on answering. It is, 'How should I live my life?' meaning, 'What values shall I live by? 'What sort of person should I be? What shall I aim for?' The great majority of people do not ask this question, they merely answer it unthinkingly, by adopting conventional views of life and what matters in it...' From Stoics to existentialists, in philosophy and literature, discussion of the philosophy of life -- of love and death, of courage, fortitude and wisdom -- challenges us all to think about what kinds of life are truly worth living. In this summation of a lifetime thinking and writing about this great question, A. C. Grayling explores with clarity and depth the ideas that each of us must use in answering it for ourselves. Drawing on the lives, experiences and works of a fantastically eclectic range of thinkers -- taking in not only philosophers such as Confucius, Seneca and Nietzsche, but also authors from Shakespeare to Ursula LeGuin, and modern thinkers such as Martha Nussbaum and Simon May - Philosophy and Life brings together wisdom from across eras and continents in a tour de force on the philosophy of being human in a complicated world.

A "New York Times" Editors' Choice

Most readers think they know Henry David Thoreau: the solitary curmudgeon with the shack out in the woods. In this delightfully engaging book, Robert Sullivan gives us the Thoreau we "don't" know: the gregarious adventurer, the guy who liked to go camping with friends (even if they sometimes accidentally burned the woods down). Here is no lonely eccentric but a man who danced and sang, who worked throughout his short life at the family pencil-making business, who moved into his parents' house after leaving Walden Pond and always paid his father rent. Passionate yet whimsical, "The Thoreau You Don't Know" asks us to cast off our misconceptions as we reexamine our everyday relationship with the natural world and one another.

What do sex doll sales, locust swarms and a wired-brain pig have to do with the coronavirus pandemic? Everything--according to that "Giant of Lubliana," the inimitable Slovenian philosopher Slavoj i ek. In this exhilarating sequel to his acclaimed Pandemic!: COVID-19 Shakes the World, i ek delves into some of the more surprising dimensions of lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing--and the increasingly unruly opposition to them by "response fatigued" publics around the world. i ek examines the ripple effects on the food supply of harvest failures caused by labor shortages and the hyper-exploitation of the global class of care workers, without whose labor daily life would be impossible. Through such examples he pinpoints the inability of contemporary capitalism to safeguard effectively the public in times of crisis. Writing with characteristic daring and zeal, i ek ranges across critical theory, pop-culture, and psychoanalysis to reveal the troubling dynamics of knowledge and power emerging in these viral times.

A new edition of the bestselling guide to the study of philosophy: the ideal intellectual 'toolkit' for sharpening analytical skills and building philosophical acuity Whether used as a guide to basic principles or a resource for key concepts and methods, The Philosopher's Toolkit equips readers with all the intellectual 'tools' necessary for engaging closely with philosophical argument and developing fluency in the methods and language of philosophical inquiry. Featuring accessible explanations, practical examples, and expert guidance, this text empowers readers to understand traditional philosophical thinking and to engage with new ideas. Focuses on the practical methods and concepts necessary for philosophical inquiry Presents a versatile resource for both novice and advanced students in areas of philosophy, critical theory, and rhetoric Adopts a pluralistic approach to teaching philosophy, making this a suitable resource for many courses Delivers extensive cross-referenced entries, recommended readings, and updated online resources Covers an array of topics, from basic tools of argumentation to sophisticated philosophical principles Fully revised and updated to include new topics and entries as well as expanded recommended reading lists to encourage further study

Historians have long debated the nature of the relationships between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. This study traces a cultural and doctrinal current from the intellectual revolution of the seventeenth century to 1789, arguing that the contribution of the philosophes to this current had a fundamental bearing on the events of the revolutionary decade. How might a state in decline reform, in not transform, its constitution? Two generations of French philosophes struggled to answer this question. Their conclusions took the form of a deistic political theology, according to which comprehensive reform had to be the work of an enlightened legislatior. The generation of 1789 inherited this outlook and set about enacting the reforms of their philosophic forefathers. Important to this enterprise was the rich variety of symbolic representations accompanying the theoretical writings of eighteenth-century publicists and activists. Enlightenment historiography, reflecting the reforming tendencies in the writing of the philosophes, included multiple allusions to the figure of the lawgiver in history, all the while looking for improvement. By the 1770s such reform appeared both necessary and imminent. Meanwhile, the various loci of enlightenment sociability took in the air of the 'constitutional arena'. But the philosophes also invested their movement with a variety of religious forms, which complemented the logic of their political theology. Theirs was indeed a cult of the legislator. These varied tendecies crystallised during the early years of the Revolution. The author shows how Frenchmen self-consciously imitated their historic role models as they participated in revolutionary assemblies. A new phase in history seemed to be dawning, one in which goodness would reign supreme. As Hegel put it some decades later, it appeared as if the heavens and the earth had been rejoined. Such sentiments found a central place in Jacques-Louis David's Serment du Jeu de Paume, commissioned in 1790 by the Paris Jacobin Club to hang in the chambers of the National Assembly. In a novel interpretation of David's project, the author demonstrates how his composition wove the strands of the Enlightenment cult of the legislator into a lively canvas in which future generations of French men and women would be confronted with the providentially inspired founding act of the new regime.

This book covers the gamut of historical and contemporary arguments of metaphysics, engaging readers through three profound questions: what are the most general features of the world, why is there a world and what is the place of human beings in the world?

This study illustrates the significance of Jean-Jacques Dortous de Mairan's networking in the spread of Enlightenment thought. It focuses primarily on the unpublished correspondence between Mairan and the Geneva scientists, Firmin Abauzit, Gabriel Cramer, Jean Jallabert and Charles Bonnet. Mairan was an assiduous correspondent whose letters reveal the progress of scientific thought in the first three quarters of the eighteenth century. Despite the high regard in which of his contemporaries, he has been, until recently, relatively neglected by Enlightenment scholars. This is the first full-length study devoted to Mairan's relations with scientists in other countries, to the process of cross-fertilisation in the production of scientific knowledge, and to his considerable influence on the development of scientific thought on key issues. The topics covered in the letters range from the Shape of the Earth and vis vivacontroversies and the medical powers of electricity, to the nature of the Seichesin the Lac du Leman and the origin of monsters. One of the major interests of the correspondence is Mairan's obvious fascination with Newton. Neglect of his contribution to the history of ideas can be partly explained by the fact that he was unfairly considered a 'last-ditch' Cartesian in a triumphantly Newtonian world. The detailed analysis of the letters in this study amply shows a constant preoccupation with both the Opticks and the Principiaand a fairly sophisticated understanding of scientific method. The letters abound in references to other scientists, such as the Bernoullis, Nollet, Dufay and Maupertuis. They provide an exciting, unguarded and 'behind-the-scenes' view of scientific developments before they were finalised and appeared in published works. It is particularly revealing, therefore, to compare the letters to Mairan's contributions to the Memoires de l'Academie royale des sciences, his early dissertations, and his mature works. Mairan's unpublished correspondence with Geneva scientists is a treasure-house of information on personalities, ideas and controversies of crucial importance to the international scientific community from 1717 to 1769.

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Literature is an in-depth examination of literature through a philosophical lens, written by distinguished figures across the major divisions of philosophy. Its 40 newly-commissioned essays are divided into six sections: historical foundations what is literature? aesthetics & appreciation meaning & interpretation metaphysics & epistemology ethics & political theory The Companion opens with a comprehensive historical overview of the philosophy of literature, including chapters on the study's ancient origins up to the 18th-20th centuries. The second part defines literature and its different categories. The third part covers the aesthetics of literature. The fourth and fifth sections discuss the meaning and consequences of philosophical interpretation of literature, as well as epistemological and metaphysical issues such as literary cognitivism and imaginative resistance. The sixth section contextualizes the place of philosophy of literature in the "real world" with essays on topics such as morality, politics, race and gender. Fully indexed, with helpful further reading sections at the end of each chapter, this Companion is an ideal starting point for those coming to philosophy of literature for the first time as well as a valuable reference for readers more familiar with the subject.

The definitive guide to yoga in everyday life from B.K.S. Iyengar, the world's most respected yoga teacher. B.K.S. Iyengar has devoted his life to the practice and study of yoga. It was B.K.S. Iyengar's unique teaching style, bringing precision and clarity to the practice, as well as a mindset of 'yoga for all', which has made it into a worldwide phenomenon. His seminal book, 'Light on Yoga', is widely called 'the bible of yoga' and has served as the source book for generations of yoga students around they world. In 'Tree of Yoga', the collected wisdom of his many years of practical practice and its application in real life are brought into a single-volume work. A collected philosophy for life researched through decades of practice by B.K.S. Iyengar, the world's most respected yoga teacher. These are his core teachings and advice for living a long, healthy, happy life. Using the tree as a structural metaphor for both life and yoga practice, the essays cover many aspects of life and practice which are vital to health and happiness and in need of care. This includes: * Yoga and health * Yoga as part of daily life * Childhood and parenthood * Love * Death * Faith - hope and spirituality * Teachers and teaching

The Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment series, previously known as SVEC (Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century), has published over 500 peer-reviewed scholarly volumes since 1955 as part of the Voltaire Foundation at the University of Oxford. International in focus, Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment volumes cover wide-ranging aspects of the eighteenth century and the Enlightenment, from gender studies to political theory, and from economics to visual arts and music, and are published in English or French.

Amidst a revival of interest in the novels of the abbe Prevost, this study addresses some of the interpretive issues that are being raised concerning his work, namely what intellectual, moral and aesthetic meaning should we seek in works that were designed as entertainments, and should we persist in rating Manon Lescaut more highly than the rest of Prevost's output? The narrative strategies and types of distortion inherent in each of Prevost's narrators are examined. More general observations are made on the mechanics of Prevost's narration such as the deceptive rhetorical devices of juxtaposing different accounts of the same event by two or more narrators and the use of the double registre or separation of narrator from protagonist. Other aspects of Prevost's fictional technique are considered - for example, the extent to which he drew upon contemporary traditions in the novel. Another important theme is the relationship between Prevost's fictional world and the real world in which topics such as other-portrayal and the handing of time reflect the degree of unreliability of the narrator's vision. Parallel episodes and interpolations are also used to illuminate subtly the work's central themes. The latter part of this study is dedicated to the moral dilemmas raised in Prevost's work in which the world - and the author's heroes - appear to be governed by three complex and often conflicting codes of behaviour - those of religion, honour, and 'love' or 'sensibility'. In particular, the problems of women are represented as well as the failure of the heroic ideal amongst the aristocracy. In religious matters, Prevost is revealed as a man of tolerance, ultimately concerned with human nature. The Prevost who emerges from this study combines a high degree of technical mastery with a serious moral interest in the human heart. His demystification of the ideal of heroism and his fragmented vision of the human personality are likely to appeal to the modern reader. The powerful dramatisation of moral conflict, familiar in Manon Lescaut, is indeed to be found throughout his work.

The Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment series, previously known as SVEC (Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century), has published over 500 peer-reviewed scholarly volumes since 1955 as part of the Voltaire Foundation at the University of Oxford. International in focus, Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment volumes cover wide-ranging aspects of the eighteenth century and the Enlightenment, from gender studies to political theory, and from economics to visual arts and music, and are published in English or French.

The Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment series, previously known as SVEC (Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century), has published over 500 peer-reviewed scholarly volumes since 1955 as part of the Voltaire Foundation at the University of Oxford. International in focus, Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment volumes cover wide-ranging aspects of the eighteenth century and the Enlightenment, from gender studies to political theory, and from economics to visual arts and music, and are published in English or French.

In this modern tale for the ages, hit Instagram illustrator @iuliastration takes us a on a healing journey. Following the story of a traveller as they move from darkness to light through the rhythm of the seasons, this is a deeply relatable quest for inner peace told through calming and original illustrations. Using ancient wisdom and philosophical quotes from around the world - from Rumi to Emily Dickinson - to anchor her striking visual storytelling, Iulia Bochis weaves a timeless story of personal growth and self-love.

We no longer inhabit earth and dwell under the sky: these are being replaced by Google Earth and the Cloud. The terrestrial order is giving way to a digital order, the world of things is being replaced by a world of non-things - a constantly expanding 'infosphere' of information and communication which displaces objects and obliterates any stillness and calmness in our lives. Byung-Chul Han's critique of the infosphere highlights the price we are paying for our growing preoccupation with information and communication. Today we search for more information without gaining any real knowledge. We communicate constantly without participating in a community. We save masses of data without keeping track of our memories. We accumulate friends and followers without encountering other people. This is how information develops a form of life that has no stability or duration. And as we become increasingly absorbed in the infosphere, we lose touch with the magic of things which provide a stable environment for dwelling and give continuity to human life. The infosphere may seem to grant us new freedoms but it creates new forms of control too, and it cuts us off from the kind of freedom that is tied to acting in the world. This new book by one of the most creative cultural theorists writing today will be of interest to a wide readership.

Max van Manen offers an extensively updated edition of Phenomenology of Practice: Meaning-Giving Methods in Phenomenological Research and Writing to provide an eloquent, accessible, and detailed approach to practicing phenomenology. Phenomenology of practice refers to the meaning of doing phenomenology on experiences that are of significance to those in professional practice such as psychology, health care, education, and in contexts of ordinary living. A special feature of this update is the role of examples, anecdotes, stories, and vignettes, and the singularity of fictionalized empirical fragments in making the unknowable knowable. Accordingly, the various chapters are enriched with many intelligible examples of phenomenological essays and excursions on ordinary and extraordinary topics. These examples show that a phenomenological method can be engaged to explore virtually any lived experience or event. Max van Manen provides penetrating portrayals of depthful insights by brilliant phenomenologists. He identifies and distinguishes a variety of phenomenological orientations that are alive and current today. This book is relevant to scholars, students, and motivated readers interested in the originary meanings and methods of phenomenological human science enquiry. Max van Manen's comprehensive work is of significance to all concerned with the interrelation between being and acting, thoughtfulness and tact, in human sciences research and the phenomenology of everyday life.

Oor Gode En Afgode is ’n herdruk van ’n vyftal essays van die Suid-Afrikaanse filosoof Marthinus Versfeld.

Die bundel het oorspronklik reeds in 1948 verskyn, maar die kwessies wat hierin bespreek word, is vandag steeds aktueel. Versfeld se groot bekommernis hier is dat die Westerse mens se opvatting van redelikheid en sy verhouding met die wêreld om ons, sedert die Verligting baie verskraal het. Met verwysings na die kerkvader Augustinus en groot Middeleeuse filosowe soos Thomas van Aquinas, toon Versfeld aan dat hierdie ouer denkers se sienings van die skepping en die Skepper tot ’n meer geïntegreerde beeld van die mens en sy plek in die werklikheid kan bydra, ’n siening wat ook in ons postmoderne era aanklank by denkende lesers behoort te vind.

Die bundel bevat verder ’n kritiese bespreking van die Franse filosoof Jean-Jacques Rousseau en die oordrewe rol van die Staat in ons tyd (iets wat bekommerde Suid-Afrikaners met instemming kan lees), die verval in moraliteit en die oorheersing van die masjien in die lewe van die gewone mens. Dit is nie Versfeld se toeganklikste werk nie, maar die skrywer slaag steeds daarin om ingewikkelde filosofiese begrippe in eenvoudige taal oor te dra.

Die bundel word ingelei deur prof. Ernst Wolff, ’n kenner van die werk van Versfeld.

A collection of enlightening quotes, delivering some of the most important lessons The School of Life has to offer. This is a selection of the very best and most psychologically acute quotations from The School of Life, covering such large and diverse topics as relationships, regret, anxiety, work, friends, family, travel and, not least, the meaning of life. Some of these quotations elicit an immediate nod of recognition, others leave us thoughtful and a few are just plain funny. The book is organised by The School of Life's key themes - Relationships, Self-Knowledge, Sociability, Work, Calm and Leisure - that together amount to a tour around the most profound sorrows and joys of the human mind and heart. Offering comfort and consolation in a compact format, The School of Life Book of Quotations is ideally suited to our impatient, anxious and searching times. Quotations: 'The best cure for unrequited love: get to know them better.' 'Anyone who isn't embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn't learning enough.' 'The only people we can think of as normal are those we don't yet know very well.' 'Insomnia is the mind's revenge for all the thoughts we forgot to have in the day.'

Zen Buddhism is a form of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China and is strongly focused on meditation. It is characteristically sceptical towards language and distrustful of conceptual thought, which explains why Zen Buddhist sayings are so enigmatic and succinct. But despite Zen Buddhism's hostility towards theory and discourse, it is possible to reflect philosophically on Zen Buddhism and bring out its philosophical insights. In this short book, Byung-Chul Han seeks to unfold the philosophical force inherent in Zen Buddhism, delving into the foundations of Far Eastern thought to which Zen Buddhism is indebted. Han does this comparatively by confronting and contrasting the insights of Zen Buddhism with the philosophies of Plato, Leibniz, Fichte, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger and others, showing that Zen Buddhism and Western philosophy have very different ways of understanding religion, subjectivity, emptiness, friendliness and death. This important work by one of the most widely read philosophers and cultural theorists of our time will be of great value to anyone interested in comparative philosophy and religion.

Zygmunt Bauman is one of the most inspirational and controversial thinkers on the scene of contemporary sociology. For several decades he has provided compelling analyses and diagnoses of a vast variety of aspects of modern and liquid modern living. This book considers the theoretical significance of his contribution to sociology, but also discusses and adopts a critical stance towards his work. The Sociology of Zygmunt Bauman introduces and critically appraises some of the most significant as well as some of the lesser known of Bauman's contributions to contemporary sociology. An international team of scholars delineates and discusses how Bauman's treatment of these themes challenges conventional wisdom in sociology, thereby revising and revitalizing sociological theory. As a special feature, the book concludes with Bauman's intriguing reflections and contemplations on his own life and intellectual trajectory, published here for the first time in English. In this postscript aptly entitled 'Pro Domo Sua' ('About Myself'), he describes the pushes and pulls that throughout the years have shaped his thinking.

Provides an original approach to the elaborate and complex world of Lacan. Places Lacanian thought in historical context. Presents basic Lacanian concepts and ideas, defines them in a simple, concise manner and places them in a logical easy-to-follow developmental context.