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Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Western philosophy
Nietzsche's famous attack upon established Christianity and
religion is brought to the reader in this superb hardcover edition
of The Antichrist, introduced and translated by H.L. Mencken. The
incendiary tone throughout The Antichrist separates it from most
other well-regarded philosophical texts; even in comparison to
Nietzsche's earlier works, the tone of indignation and conviction
behind each argument made is evident. There is little lofty
ponderousness; the book presents its arguments and points at a
blistering pace, placing itself among the most accessible and
comprehensive works of philosophy. The Antichrist comprises a total
of sixty-two short chapters, each with distinct philosophical
arguments or angle upon the targets of Christianity, organised
religion, and those who masquerade as faithful but are in actuality
anything but. Pointedly opposed to notions of Christian morality
and virtue, Nietzsche vehemently sets out a case for the faith's
redundancy and lack of necessity in human life.
The Fable of the bees and the Treatise of human nature were written
to define and dissect the essential components of a 'civil
society'. How have early readings of the Fable skewed our
understanding of the work and its author? To what extent did
Mandeville's celebrated work influence that of Hume? In this
pioneering book, Mikko Tolonen extends current research at the
intersection of philosophy and book history by analysing the two
parts of the Fable in relation to the development of the Treatise.
Focussing on the key themes of selfishness, pride, justice and
politeness, Tolonen traces the evolution of Mandeville's thinking
on human nature and the origins of political society to explore the
relationship between his Fable and Hume's Treatise. Through a close
examination of the publishing history of the Fable and F. B. Kaye's
seminal edition, Tolonen uncovers hitherto overlooked differences
between Parts I and II to open up new approaches in Mandeville
scholarship. As the question of social responsibility dominates the
political agenda, the legacy of these key Enlightenment
philosophers is as pertinent today as it was to our predecessors.
Anxiety looms large in historical works of philosophy and
psychology. It is an affect, philosopher Bettina Bergo argues,
subtler and more persistent than our emotions, and points toward
the intersection of embodiment and cognition. While scholars who
focus on the work of luminaries as Freud, Levinas, or Kant often
study this theme in individual works, they seldom draw out the deep
and significant connections between various approaches to anxiety.
This volume provides a sweeping study of the uncanny career of
anxiety in nineteenth and twentieth century European thought.
Anxiety threads itself through European intellectual life,
beginning in receptions of Kant's transcendental philosophy and
running into Levinas' phenomenology; it is a core theme in
Schelling, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. As a symptom
of an interrogation that strove to take form in European
intellectual culture, Angst passes through Schelling's romanticism
into Schopenhauer's metaphysical vitalism, before it is explored
existentially by Kierkegaard. And, in the twentieth century, it
proves an extremely central concept for Heidegger, even as Freud is
exploring its meaning and origin over a thirty year-long period of
psychoanalytic development. This volume opens new windows onto
philosophers who have never yet been put into dialogue, providing a
rigorous intellectual history as it connects themes across two
centuries, and unearths the deep roots of our own present-day "age
of anxiety."
A wide range of specialists provide a comprehensive overview of the
reception of Pythagorean ideas in the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance, shedding new light especially on the understudied
'Medieval Pythagoras' of the Latin West. They also explore the
survival of Pythagoreanism in the Arabic, Jewish, and Persian
cultures, thus adopting a multicultural perspective. Their common
concern is to detect the sources of this reception, and to follow
their circulation in diverse linguistic areas. The reader can thus
have a panoramic view of the major themes belonging to the
Pythagorean heritage - number philosophy and the sciences of the
quadrivium; ethics and way of life; theology, metaphysics and the
soul - until the Early Modern times.
Addressing Merleau-Ponty's work Phenomenology of Perception, in
dialogue with The Visible and the Invisible, his lectures at the
College de France, and his reading of Proust, this book argues that
at play in his thought is a philosophy of "ontological lateness".
This describes the manner in which philosophical reflection is
fated to lag behind its objects; therefore an absolute grasp on
being remains beyond its reach. Merleau-Ponty articulates this
philosophy against the backdrop of what he calls "cruel thought", a
style of reflecting that seeks resolution by limiting,
circumscribing, and arresting its object. By contrast, the
philosophy of ontological lateness seeks no such finality-no
apocalypsis or unveiling-but is characterized by its ability to
accept the veiling of being and its own constitutive lack of
punctuality. To this extent, his thinking inaugurates a new
relation to the becoming of sense that overcomes cruel thought.
Merleau-Ponty's work gives voice to a wisdom of dispossession that
allows for the withdrawal of being. Never before has anyone engaged
with the theme of Merleau-Ponty's own understanding of philosophy
in such a sustained way as Whitmoyer does in this volume.
Bringing together leading scholars from across the world, this is a
comprehensive survey of the latest phenomenological research into
the perennial philosophical problem of truth. Starting with an
historical introduction chronicling the variations on truth at play
in the Phenomenological tradition, the book explores how Husserls
methodology equips us with the tools to thoroughly explore notions
of truth, reality and knowledge. From these foundations, the book
goes on to explore and extend the range of approaches that
contemporary phenomenological research opens up in the face of the
most profound ontological and epistemological questions raised by
the tradition. In the final section, the authors go further still
and explore how phenomenology relates to other variations on truth
offered up by hermeneutic, deconstructive and narrative
approaches.Across the 12 essays collected in this volume,
Variations on Truth explores and maps a comprehensive and rigorous
alternative to mainstream analytic discussions of truth, reality
and understanding.
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