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Books > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy
Best known for his groundbreaking and influential work in Buddhist
philosophy, Mark Siderits is the pioneer of "fusion" or "confluence
philosophy", a boldly systematic approach to doing philosophy
premised on the idea that rational reconstruction of positions in
one tradition in light of another can sometimes help address
perennial problems and often lead to new and valuable insights.
Exemplifying the many virtues of the confluence approach, this
collection of essays covers all core areas of Buddhist philosophy,
as well as topics and disputes in contemporary Western philosophy
relevant to its study. They consider in particular the ways in
which questions concerning personal identity figure in debates
about agency, cognition, causality, ontological foundations,
foundational truths, and moral cultivation. Most of these essays
engage Siderits' work directly, building on his pathbreaking ideas
and interpretations. Many deal with issues that have become a
common staple in philosophical engagements with traditions outside
the West. Their variety and breadth bear testimony to the legacy of
Siderits' impact in shaping the contemporary conversation in
Buddhist philosophy and its reverberations in mainstream
philosophy, giving readers a clear sense of the remarkable scope of
his work.
Timeless wisdom on generosity and gratitude from the great Stoic
philosopher Seneca To give and receive well may be the most human
thing you can do-but it is also the closest you can come to
divinity. So argues the great Roman Stoic thinker Seneca (c. 4
BCE-65 CE) in his longest and most searching moral treatise, "On
Benefits" (De Beneficiis). James Romm's splendid new translation of
essential selections from this work conveys the heart of Seneca's
argument that generosity and gratitude are among the most important
of all virtues. For Seneca, the impulse to give to others lies at
the very foundation of society; without it, we are helpless
creatures, worse than wild beasts. But generosity did not arise
randomly or by chance. Seneca sees it as part of our desire to
emulate the gods, whose creation of the earth and heavens stands as
the greatest gift of all. Seneca's soaring prose captures his
wonder at that gift, and expresses a profound sense of gratitude
that will inspire today's readers. Complete with an enlightening
introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, How to Give is
a timeless guide to the profound significance of true generosity.
In his philosophical reflections on the art of lingering, acclaimed
cultural theorist Byung-Chul Han argues that the value we attach
today to the vita activa is producing a crisis in our sense of
time. Our attachment to the vita activa creates an imperative to
work which degrades the human being into a labouring animal, an
animal laborans. At the same time, the hyperactivity which
characterizes our daily routines robs human beings of the capacity
to linger and the faculty of contemplation. It therefore becomes
impossible to experience time as fulfilling. Drawing on a range of
thinkers including Heidegger, Nietzsche and Arendt, Han argues that
we can overcome this temporal crisis only by revitalizing the vita
contemplativa and relearning the art of lingering. For what
distinguishes humans from other animals is the capacity for
reflection and contemplation, and when life regains this capacity,
this art of lingering, it gains in time and space, in duration and
vastness. With his hallmark ability to bring the resources of
philosophy and cultural theory to bear on the conditions of modern
life, Byung-Chul Han's meditation on time will interest a wide
readership in cultural theory, philosophy and beyond.
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In one of the most charming works to survive from classical
antiquity, Xenophon's Symposium depicts an amiable evening of wine,
entertainment, and conversation shared by Socrates, and a few of
his associates, with certain Athenian gentlemen who are gathered to
honor a young man for his recent victory in the Panathenaic games.
The subtle playfulness which characterizes the animated discussions
conceals a light-hearted, yet surprisingly philosophical inquiry
regarding the rival claims of virtue, articulated and defended by
the Socratics and gentlemen to establish the praiseworthiness and
excellence of their competing ways of life. Gentlemanliness, taken
as an admired political virtue, and philosophy, as pursuit of
wisdom and self-sufficiency, emerge as contested ideas about what
constitutes the path to human happiness, especially in response to
the beautiful and its compelling arousal of erotic desire in the
body and soul. Offering a comprehensive account and interpretation
of the Symposium, this book follows the speeches and action of the
dialogue through its many twists and turns, from beginning to end,
with particular attention to the place of rhetoric in the argument
of the work as a whole. Thus, Xenophon's Socratic Rhetoric examines
foundational aspects of the philosophic life manifest in the words
as well as deeds of Socrates in this dialogue--starting from an
original reading of the opening scene as a harbinger of the
competition in wisdom that occurs over the course of the symposium,
and concluding with a provocative consideration of conjugal erotics
as the continuation and completion of the Socratic logos about the
role of love in guiding human beings toward virtue and happiness.
Dialogue and the New Cosmopolitanism: Conversations with Edward
Demenchonok stands in opposition to the doctrine that might makes
right and that the purpose of politics is to establish domination
over others rather than justice and the good life for all. In the
pursuit of the latter goal, the book stresses the importance of
dialogue with participants who take seriously the views and
interests of others and who seek to reach a fair solution. In this
sense, the book supports the idea of cosmopolitanism, which-by
contrast to empire-involves multi-lateral cooperation and thus the
quest for a just cosmopolis. The international contributors to this
volume, with their varied perspectives, are all committed to this
same quest. Edited by Fred Dallmayr, the chapters take the form of
conversations with Edward Demenchonok, a well-known practitioner of
international and cross-cultural philosophy. The conversations are
structured in parts that stress the philosophical, anthropological,
cultural, and ethical dimensions of global dialogue. In our
conflicted world, it is inspiring to find so many authors from
different places agreeing on a shared vision.
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