Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Financial services with global reach are becoming ever more important in the conduct and organization of the trade and investment of nations, and currencies that lack international standing lose out in this business. The result of financial development has been destabilizing currency and portfolio substitution - in favour of international currencies and against local ones. This book analyses formal approaches to overcoming monetary divisions within countries and within integrating regions, focusing on the consequences of monetary union for trade among union members and their financial development and stability. The authors discuss hard pegs such as those attempted by the currency board of Argentina, outright dollarization, such as in Ecuador, and multilateral monetary union, as in Europe, the least reversible form of monetary union and the most powerful elixir of financial integration and trade. The political classes and central banks in most countries have been reluctant to admit the market- and technology-driven forces of currency consolidation, much less yield to them. International financial institutions too are still in the habit of proffering advice about national monetary and exchange-rate policies on the assumption that getting rid of both is not even an option. Emerging-market countries, in particular, have to choose between retaining what independent monetary means they still have - and can safely use in the presence of widespread liability dollarization and currency mismatches - and formally replacing the domestic with an international currency to reduce exposure to debilitating financial crises. In concrete investigations of this choice, this volume shows that monetary union deserves a much more sympathetic hearing.

Intended for those who already know the Java language, this book will help programmers get the most out of Javas capabilities. Topics covered include: good Java style for reusable components, using Java beans, the JDBC, optimizing and testing code, using the IFC tools, and the new JFC. It also explores the significant and exciting developments in Java and covers techniques that will be fundamental to programmers developing significant applications in Java.

Those inquiring into the nature of mind have long been interested in the foundations of mathematics and vice versa. A better understanding of mathematical thought should clarify the conceptual foundations of mathematics, and a deeper grasp of the latter should in turn illuminate the powers of mind through which mathematics is made available to us. This volume's contributors have taken the link between conceptions of mind and mathematics as their topic, exploring and probing it from different perspectives.

A touchstone of the Enlightenment dispute between rationality and religious belief, David Hume's essay "Of Miracles" has elicited much commentary from proponents and critics ever since it was published over 250 years ago. Alexander George's lucid and sustained interpretation of Hume's essay provides fresh insights into this provocative, occasionally elusive, and always subtle text. The Everlasting Check will be read with interest by both students new to Hume and seasoned scholars. George does justice to the letter and spirit of Hume's essay, explaining the concepts and claims involved, making intelligible the essay's structure, and clarifying remarks that have long puzzled readers. Properly interpreted, the essay's central philosophical argument proves to be much hardier than Hume's detractors suggest. George considers a range of objections to Hume-some recent, some perennial-and shows why most fail, either because they are based on misinterpretations or because the larger body of Hume's philosophy answers them. Beyond an analysis and defense of Hume's essay, George also offers a critique of his own, appealing to Ludwig Wittgenstein's thoughts on magic and ritual to demonstrate that Hume misconstrues the character of religious belief and its relationship to evidence and confirmation. Raising a host of important questions about the connection between religious and empirically verified beliefs, George discusses why Hume's master argument can fail to engage with committed religious thought and why philosophical argumentation in general often proves ineffective in shaking people's deeply held beliefs.

Life throws ethical questions at us every day, some momentous and difficult, some fairly trivial and easily worked out. To help the average person deal with such puzzling issues, the website AskPhilosophers.org brings together a panel of distinguished philosophers who use their knowledge of the history of philosophy, as well as their own life experiences and native ingenuity, to respond to questions sent in from all over the world.
What Should I Do? is a collection of some of the most interesting questions about ethics to have appeared on the website during its first five years. The questions addressed here come from young and old, from the educated to the barely schooled. The philosophers offer down-to-earth, often personal responses--indeed, stimulating, engaging, and candid conversations--that point readers in a helpful direction and refine further reflection. The book explores questions about how to behave toward one's friends, members of one's family, those we love, and even toward oneself. It looks at the moral dilemmas faced in professional relationships, in our treatment of animals, in our use of the environment, and even in our relation to God. Broadening still further, we find questions about the morality of a nation's actions, such as its right to punish its citizens or to wage war against other nations. Finally, the book considers some of the many questions people have about the nature of morality itself.
A delightfully fresh look at philosophical questions, What Should I Do? will encourage readers to think a bit more deeply about the moral questions they frequently encounter, and will provide them with the tools to do so.

Dieses Buch blickt in eine bedeutende Epoche der Philosophie der Mathematik zuruck, deren Stroemungen die heutige Gestalt der Mathematik pragten. In der Wende vom 19. zum 20. Jahrhundert befand sich die Mathematik in einem fundamentalen Umbruch, der die Mathematiker dieser Zeit herausforderte. Sie mussten Stellung beziehen. Die Grundsatze und Wege der philosophischen Richtungen, die dieses Buch verstandlich, kritisch und anerkennend beschreibt, wurden von Mathematikern formuliert. Eine Zeit gravierender Disharmonien begann, die bis in Streit und Feindschaften mundeten und zugleich faszinierende und fruchtbare Ergebnisse hervorbrachten, mathematisch wie philosophisch. Es war ein aufregendes, intellektuelles Abenteuer zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts auf einem aussergewoehnlich scharfsinnigen und kreativen Niveau. Die Debatte uber die unversoehnlichen Ansichten versiegte allmahlich und inzwischen ist wieder relative Ruhe in die Gemeinde der Mathematiker eingekehrt. Zentrale philosophische Fragen aber, die damals die Protagonisten spalteten, sind nach wie vor unbeantwortet. Die Suche nach dem Wesen der Mathematik geht weiter und greift auf die Ideen dieser Kontroversen zuruck.