In this book Anthony O'Hear examines the reasons that are given for religious faith. His approach is firmly within the classical tradition of natural theology, but an underlying theme is the differences between the personal Creator of the Bible or the Koran and a God conceived of as the indeterminate ground of everything determinate. Drawing on several religious traditions and on the resources of contemporary philosophy, specific chapters analyse the nature of religious faith and of religious experience. They examine connections between religion and morality, and religion and human knowledge - the cosmological, teleological and ontological arguments, process thought, and the problem that evil presents for religion. The final chapter returns to the inherently dogmatic nature of religious faith and concludes that rational people should look beyond religion for the fulfilment of their spiritual needs.

First published in 1988, the aim of this book can be stated in Nietzsche's words: 'To look at science from the perspective of the artist, but at art from that of life'. The title contests the notions that science alone can provide us with the most objective truth about the world, and that artistic endeavour can produce nothing more valuable than entertainment. O'Hear argues that art and the study of art are not indispensable aspects of human life, and that this is equally as important as the investigation of the natural world.

First published in 1988, the aim of this book can be stated in Nietzsche's words: 'To look at science from the perspective of the artist, but at art from that of life'. The title contests the notions that science alone can provide us with the most objective truth about the world, and that artistic endeavour can produce nothing more valuable than entertainment. O'Hear argues that art and the study of art are not indispensable aspects of human life, and that this is equally as important as the investigation of the natural world.

Sir Karl Popper was a major thinker of the twentieth century, one who – as Anthony O'Hear writes in his new Foreword – 'has had a beneficent influence on those who have come under the spell of his thought and of the inimitable prose in which he articulates it'. It is now twenty-five years since Popper died, and thus seems – after a quarter of a century – an apposite moment to revaluate his impact, significance, and influence. The several chapters in this classic volume focus on many key elements of Popper's thought and philosophy. They are by no means uncritical, but afford Popper the respect due to a philosopher who wrote always with a degree of clarity, precision, and directness rare in the academic world of his time, and – as O'Hear puts it – 'even rarer subsequently'. This important book constitutes an essential introduction to some of the most esteemed philosophical writing of our times.

Intended primarily for education students this book provides an introduction to the philosophy of education that tackles educational problems and at the same time relates them to the mainstream of philosophical analysis. Among the educational topics the book discusses are the aims of education, the two cultures debate, moral education, equality as an ideal and academic elitism. It examines the limitations of a purely technological education, and suggests the shape of a balanced curriculum. It critically analyses important educational theses in the work of Rousseau, Dewey, R S Peters, P H Hirst, F R Leavis, Ronald Dworkin and G H Bantock, among many others, and considers the philosophical copics of relativism, the nature of knowledge, the basis of moral choice, the value of democracy and the status of religious claims.

This book is available either individually, or as part of the specially-priced Arguments of the Philosphers Collection.

This book expounds and analyses notions of transcendence, creation and incarnation reflectively and personally, combining both philosophical and religious insights. Preferring tender-minded approaches to reductively materialistic ones, it shows some ways in which reductive approaches to human affairs can distort the appreication of our lives and activities. In the book's first half it examines a number of aspects of human life and experience in the thought of Darwin, Ruskin, and Scruton with a view to exploring the extent to which there could be intimations of transcendence. The second half is then devoted to outlining an account of divine creation and incarnation, deriving initially, though not uncritically, from the thought of Simone Weil. The text concludes by examining the extent to which grace is needed to engage in religious practice and belief. Taking in art, literature, music and classical Greek writings, this is a multifaceted thesis on transcendence. It will, therefore, will be of keen interest to any scholar of Philosophy of Religion, Theology, Aesthetics and Metaphysics.

What is moral philosophy? That is the question with which this important volume grapples. Its starting point is the famous critique made in 1958 by Elizabeth Anscombe, who argued that moral philosophy begins from a mistake: that it is fundamentally wrong about the sort of concept that the word 'moral' represents. Anscombe rejected moral philosophy as it was then (and mostly now still is) practised. She offered instead a blueprint for the task moral philosophers must embrace if they are to speak intelligibly to society about good and bad, right and wrong, duty and obligation. The chapters in this book are inspired by Anscombe's classic text. One of the most powerful voices here, among many authoritative voices, is that of Philippa Foot - Anscombe's lifelong friend - who asserts that 'any account of practical reason evacuated of an understanding of what human beings need to flourish is inadequate and must be rejected.'

This book expounds and analyses notions of transcendence, creation and incarnation reflectively and personally, combining both philosophical and religious insights. Preferring tender-minded approaches to reductively materialistic ones, it shows some ways in which reductive approaches to human affairs can distort the appreication of our lives and activities. In the book's first half it examines a number of aspects of human life and experience in the thought of Darwin, Ruskin, and Scruton with a view to exploring the extent to which there could be intimations of transcendence. The second half is then devoted to outlining an account of divine creation and incarnation, deriving initially, though not uncritically, from the thought of Simone Weil. The text concludes by examining the extent to which grace is needed to engage in religious practice and belief. Taking in art, literature, music and classical Greek writings, this is a multifaceted thesis on transcendence. It will, therefore, will be of keen interest to any scholar of Philosophy of Religion, Theology, Aesthetics and Metaphysics.

This volume brings together leading thinkers who offer reflections on the place of Western civilization in the academy, at a time when there is indifference or even antipathy toward the study of the West at most institutions of higher learning. Alternative narratives-including multiculturalism, diversity, and sustainability-have come to the fore in the stead of Western civilization. The present volume is designed to explore the roots, extent, and long-term consequences of this educational climate: How and why did undergraduate education turn its back on what was once an important component of its mission? To what extent has such change affected the experience of undergraduates and the ability of colleges to educate citizens of a constitutional republic? What are the likely individual and social outcomes of such a shift in educational priorities? The volume's theme is, and will continue to be, the subject of national scholarly and media attention.

In this book Anthony O'Hear examines the reasons that are given for religious faith. His approach is firmly within the classical tradition of natural theology, but an underlying theme is the differences between the personal Creator of the Bible or the Koran and a God conceived of as the indeterminate ground of everything determinate. Drawing on several religious traditions and on the resources of contemporary philosophy, specific chapters analyse the nature of religious faith and of religious experience. They examine connections between religion and morality, and religion and human knowledge - the cosmological, teleological and ontological arguments, process thought, and the problem that evil presents for religion. The final chapter returns to the inherently dogmatic nature of religious faith and concludes that rational people should look beyond religion for the fulfilment of their spiritual needs.

A deep concern with consciousness and intentionality is one of the several things that has lately moved into the centre of the philosophy of mind. The issue of consciousness is often treated as something distinct from intentionality, but - as Tim Crane notes in his incisive new Foreword - there is now something of a sea-change. This classic volume may be at least partly responsible for the shift in how philosophy of mind is starting to be understood. Before its first appearance, discussions of consciousness and intentionality in the context of perception were in their infancy. The book was a departure from the way this part of philosophy was conceived. It pointed to new ways to look at the discipline, addressing both the epistemology of mind, and intentionality and consciousness, especially in connection with perception. Showcasing many leading figures in the field, it offers a splendid overview of the issues at stake.

In this powerful re-examination of the purpose and direction of philosophy for the new century O'Hear engages with our most pressing questions. Is there knowledge outside of science? Does religion still have meaning and coherence today? What is beauty and why do so few contemporary artists believe in it? In making a strong case for the relevance of philosophy O'Hear presents a coherent and compelling vision for recovering wisdom in our time.

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In this controversial new book O'Hear takes a stand against the fashion for explaining human behavior in terms of evolution. He contends that while the theory of evolution is successful in explaining the development of the natural world in general, it is of limited value when applied to the human world. Because of our reflectiveness and our rationality we take on goals and ideals which cannot be justified in terms of survival-promotion or reproductive advantage. O'Hear examines the nature of human self-consciousness, and argues that evolutionary theory cannot give a satisfactory account of such distinctive facets of human life as the quest for knowledge, moral sense, and the appreciation of beauty; in these we transcend our biological origins. It is our rationality that allows each of us to go beyond not only our biological but also our cultural inheritance: as the author says in the Preface, "we are prisoners neither of our genes nor of the ideas we encounter as we each make our personal and individual way through life."

Intended primarily for education students this book provides an introduction to the philosophy of education that tackles educational problems and at the same time relates them to the mainstream of philosophical analysis. Among the educational topics the book discusses are the aims of education, the two cultures debate, moral education, equality as an ideal and academic elitism. It examines the limitations of a purely technological education, and suggests the shape of a balanced curriculum. It critically analyses important educational theses in the work of Rousseau, Dewey, R S Peters, P H Hirst, F R Leavis, Ronald Dworkin and G H Bantock, among many others, and considers the philosophical copics of relativism, the nature of knowledge, the basis of moral choice, the value of democracy and the status of religious claims.

Contents:
Volume I: Biography, Background and Early Reactions to Popper's Work

Part 1: Biography and Background.
1. David Miller, 'Karl Popper: A Scientific Memoir', Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society of London., 43, 1997, pp 369-409.
2. John Watkins, 'Karl Popper. A Memoir.', The American Scholar, 66, 2, 1997, pp 205-219.
3. Malachi Haim Hacohen, 'Red Vienna, the "Jewish Question" and Emigration', in Karl Popper, The Formative Years 1902-45, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp 290-335.
4. Roger Sandall, 'Karl Popper', Salisbury Review, 15, 1, Autumn 1996, pp 12-17.
5. Joseph Agassi, 'Sir Karl Popper in Retrospect' in The Gentle Art of Philosophical Polemics, (La Salle, Ill, Open Court, 1988), pp 479-501.
Part 2: Early Reactions to Logik der Forschung.
6. Viktor Kraft, 'Popper and the Vienna Circle' in P. A. Schilpp (ed), The Philosophy of Karl Popper, (La Salle, Ill, Open Court, 1974), pp 185-204.
7. Hans Reichenbach, 'Induction and Probability: Remarks on Karl Popper's The Logic of Scientific Discovery', translated by Elizabeth Hughes Schneewind, in Maria Reichenbach and Robert S. Cohen, eds., Hans Reichenbach's Selected Writings, 1909-1953, Vol 2, (Dordrecht: Reidel, 1978), pp 372-387. (Originally published as 'Uber Induktion und Warscheinlichkeit: Bemerkungen zu Karl Poppers Logik der Forschung', Erkenntnis, 5, 1935, pp 267-284).
8. Rudolf Carnap, 'Review of The Logic of Scientific Discovery. On the Epistemology of Modern Science. (Writings on the Scientific Conception of the World, vol. 9)', translated for this volume by Roger Hausheer. (Originally published in Erkenntnis, 5, 1935, pp 290-294).
9. Otto Neurath, 'Pseudorationalism of Falsification', in Robert S. Cohen and Marie Neurath, eds. and trans., with the editorial assistance of Carolyn R. Fawcett, Otto Neurath: Philosophical Papers 1913 - 1946, (Boston: Reidel, 1983), pp 121-131. (Originally published as 'Pseudorationalismus der Falsifikation', Erkenntnis, 5, 1935, pp 353-365).
10. Max Black, Review of Logik der Forschung, Mind, 45, 1936, pp 104-106.
11. Kurt Grelling, 'Review of Logik der Forschung', translated for this volume by Roger Hausheer. (Originally published in Theoria, 1, 1937, pp 134-143).
12. Haskell Fain, Review of The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Philosophy of Science, 28, 3, July 1961, pp 319-324.
Part 3: Early reactions to the Social and Political Philosophy
13. C.G.F. Simkin, Social Engineering and Economic Collectivism; lecture given in Christchurch, New Zealand, 22nd July 1945, (Christchurch, NZ: Caxton Press, 1945).
14. H.R. Trevor-Roper, 'The Open Society: Review', Polemic, 3, May 1946, pp 59-65.
15. Gilbert Ryle, Review of The Open Society and Its Enemies, Mind, New Series, 56, 222, April 1947, pp 167-172.
16. Robert Strausz-Hupe, Review of The Open Society and Its Enemies, Philosophy of Science, 15, 3, July 1948, pp 269-271.
17. Leon J. Goldstein, Review of The Poverty of Historicism, Ethics, 68, 4, July 1958, pp 296-297.
18. Charles Taylor, 'The Poverty of The Poverty of Historicism', Universities and New Left Review, 4, Summer 1958, pp 77-78.
19. Maurice Cornforth, 'The Open Society and its Enemies', in The Open Philosophy and the Open Society, Part 3, Chapter 6, (London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1968), pp 373-389.

Volume II: Philosophy of Science 1 (Induction, The Empirical Basis and Demarcation)

Part 1: Induction
20. Wesley Salmon, 'Rational Prediction', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 32, 2, June 1981, pp 115-125.
21. David Miller, 'Induction: A Problem Solved', in J.M. Bohm, H. Holweg and C. Hoock, eds., Karl Poppers Kritische Rationalismus Heute, (Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002), pp 81-106. Updated for this volume.
22. David Stove, 'Cole Porter and Karl Popper: the Jazz Age in the Philosophy of Science', in The Plato Cult and Other Philosophical Follies, (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991), pp 1-26.
23. Hilary Putnam, 'The "Corroboration" of Theories', in P.A. Schilpp, ed., The Philosophy of Karl Popper, (La Salle, Ill: Open Court, 1974), pp 221-240.
24. Zuzana Parusnikova, 'Two Cheers for Karl Popper', manuscript, 19 pages.
25. Andrew J. Swann, 'Popper on Induction', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 39, 3, September 1988, pp 367-373.
26. Colin Howson, 'Must the Logical Probability of Laws be Zero?', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 24, 2, June 1973, pp 153-163.
27. Colin Howson, 'Popper, Prior Probabilities and Inductive Inference', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 38, 2, June 1987, pp 207-224.
28. Alan Musgrave, 'How Popper (Might Have) Solved the Problem of Induction', Invited Address at the Karl Popper 2002 Centenary Conference, Vienna, 3-7 July 2002 (forthcoming in Philosophy).
Part 2: The Empirical Basis
29. John Watkins, 'The Empirical Basis', in Science and Scepticism, (London, Hutchinson, 1984), pp 247-278.
30. E. G. Zahar, 'The Problem of the Empirical Basis' in A. O'Hear, ed., Karl Popper: Philosophy and Problems, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp 45-74.
31. A. O'Hear, 'Observation and Theory', in Karl Popper, (London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1980), pp 68-89.
Part 3: Demarcation
32. Thomas Kuhn, 'Logic of Discovery or Psychology of Research?', in I. Lakatos and A. Musgrave, eds., Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970), pp 1-23.
33. Paul Feyerabend, 'Consolations for the Specialist', in I. Lakatos and A. Musgrave, eds., Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1970), pp 197-230.
34. Imre Lakatos, 'Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes', in I. Lakatos and A. Musgrave, eds., Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1970), pp 91-195.
35. Adolf Grünbaum, 'The Degeneration of Popper's Theory of Demarcation', Epistemologia, 12, 1989, pp 235-260.
36. Elie Zahar, 'The Popper-Lakatos Controversy in the Light of 'Die beiden Grundprobleme der Erkenntnistheorie' ', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 34, 2, June 1983, pp 149-171.
37. William Kneale, 'Scientific Revolution for Ever?', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 19, 1, May 1968, pp 27-42.
38. Herbert A. Simon, 'Does Scientific Discovery Have a Logic?' Philosophy of Science, 40, 4, December 1973, pp 471-480.
39. Nicholas Maxwell, 'A Critique of Popper's Views on Scientific Method', Philosophy of Science, 39, 2, June 1972, pp 131-152.
40. John Worrall, '"Revolution in Permanence": Popper on Theory-Change in Science', in A. O'Hear, ed., Karl Popper: Philosophy and Problems, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp 75-102.

Volume III: Philosophy of Science 2 (Verisimilitude; Propensities and Quantum Theory; Science, Rationality and Metaphysics; Biology, Evolution and World 3)

Part 4: Verisimilitude
41. Pavel Tichy, 'On Popper's Definitions of Verisimilitude', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 25, 2, June 1974, pp 155-160.
42. David Miller, 'Popper's Qualitative Theory of Verisimilitude', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 25, 2, June 1974, pp 166-177.
43. Graham Oddie, 'The Poverty of the Popperian Programme for Truthlikeness', Philosophy of Science, 53, 2, June 1986, pp 163-178.
44. D. Goldstick and B. O'Neill, 'Truer', Philosophy of Science, 55, 4, Dec 1988, pp 583-597.
45. Adolf Grünbaum, 'Can a Theory Answer more Questions than one of its Rivals?', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 27, 1, March 1976, pp 1-23.
Part 5: Propensities and Quantum Theory
46. Paul K. Feyerabend, 'On a Recent Critique of Complementarity', Part One, Philosophy of Science, 35, 4, December 1968, pp 309-331; and Part Two, Philosophy of Science, 36, 1, March 1969, pp 82-105.
47. Michael Redhead, 'Popper and the Quantum Theory' in A. O'Hear, ed., Karl Popper: Philosophy and Problems, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp 163-176.
48. Henry Krips, 'Popper, Propensities and Quantum Theory', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 35, 3, September 1984, pp 253-274.
49. David Miller, 'Propensities and Indeterminism', in A. O'Hear, ed., Karl Popper: Philosophy and Problems, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp 121-147.
50. Donald Gillies, 'Varieties of Propensity', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 51, 2000, pp 807-835.
Part 6: Science, Rationality and Metaphysics
51. G.E.R.Lloyd, 'Popper versus Kirk: A Controversy in the Interpretation of Greek Science', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 18, 1, May 1966, pp 21-38.
52. Peter Urbach, 'Francis Bacon as a Precursor to Popper', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 33, 2, June 1982, pp 113-132.
53. Joseph Agassi, 'The Nature of Scientific Problems and Their Roots in Metaphysics', in Mario Bunge, ed., The Critical Approach to Science and Philosophy, (Chicago, Free Press, 1964), pp 189-211.
54. Michael Mulkay and G. Nigel Gilbert, 'Putting Philosophy to Work: Karl Popper's Influence on Scientific Practice', Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 11, 1981, pp 389-407.
55. William W. Bartley III, 'Rationality versus the Theory of Rationality', in Mario Bunge, ed., The Critical Approach to Science and Philosophy, (Chicago: Free Press, 1964), pp 3-31.
56. Noretta Koertge, 'The Methodolgical Status of Popper's Rationality Principle', Theory and Decision, 10, 1979, pp 83-95.
57. John F. Post, 'Paradox in Critical Rationalism and Related Theories', Philosophical Forum, 3, 1, 1971, pp 27-61.
58. W.W. Bartley, 'Theories of Rationality' in G. Radnitzky and W.W. Bartley, eds., Evolutionary Epistemology, Rationality and the Sociology of Knowledge, (La Salle, Ill: Open Court, 1987), pp 205-214.
59. John Watkins, 'Comprehensively Critical Rationalism: A Retrospect' in G. Radnitzky and W.W. Bartley, eds., Evolutionary Epistemology, Rationality and the Sociology of Knowledge, (La Salle, Ill: Open Court, 1987), pp 269-277.
Part 7: Biology, Evolution and World 3.
60. W.W. Bartley III, 'Philosophy of Biology Versus Philosophy of Physics' in G. Radnitzky and W.W. Bartley, eds., Evolutionary Epistemology, Rationality and the Sociology of Knowledge, (La Salle, Ill: Open Court, 1987), pp 7-45.
61. Michael Ruse, 'Karl Popper's Philosophy of Biology', Philosophy of Science, 44, 4, December 1977, pp 638-61.
62. Jeroen van Rooijen, 'Interactionism and Evolution: A Critique of Popper', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 38, 1, March 1988, pp 87-92.
63. Günter Wächtershäuser, 'The Uses of Karl Popper', in A. O'Hear, ed., Karl Popper: Philosophy and Problems, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp 177-189.
64. Gregory Currie, 'Popper's Evolutionary Epistemology: a Critique', Synthese, 37, 1978, pp 413-431.
65. Paul Feyerabend, Review of Popper's Objective Knowledge, Inquiry, 17, 1974, pp 475-507.

Volume IV: Politics and Social Science.

66. Peter Winch, 'Popper and Scientific Method in the Social Sciences', in P.A. Schilpp, ed., The Philosophy of Karl Popper, (La Salle, Ill: Open Court, 1974), pp 889-904.
67. Kenneth Minogue, 'Does Popper Explain Historical Explanation?' in A. O'Hear, ed., Karl Popper: Philosophy and Problems, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp 225-240.
68. Graham Macdonald, 'The Grounds for Anti-Historicism', in A. O'Hear, ed., Karl Popper: Philosophy and Problems, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp 241-257.
69. Peter Urbach, 'The Scientific Standing of Evolutionary Theories of Society', LSE Quarterly, 1, 1, March 1987, pp 23-42.
70. I. C. Jarvie, 'Popper on the Difference between the Natural and the Social Sciences', in P. Levinson, ed., In Pursuit of Truth, (Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1982), pp 83-107.
71. G.C. Archibald, 'Refutation or Comparison?', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 17, 4 February 1967, pp 279-296.
72. W.B. Gallie, 'Popper and the Critical Philosophy of History', in M. Bunge, ed., The Critical Approach to Science and Philosophy, (Chicago, Free Press, 1964), pp 410-422.
73. Geoff Stokes, 'Politics, Epistemology and Method: Karl Popper's Conception of Human Nature', Political Studies, 1995, 43, pp 105-123.
74. Neil De Marchi, 'Popper and the LSE Economists', in Neil De Marchi, ed., The Popperian Legacy in Economics, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp 139-166.
75. Robert Nadeau, 'Confuting Popper on the Rationality Principle', Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 23, 4, December 1993, pp 446-467.
76. Gürol Irzik, 'Popper's Piecemeal Engineering: What Is Good for Science is not always Good for Society', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 36, 1, March 1985, pp 1-10.
77. Charles Pigden, 'Popper Revisited, or What is Wrong with Conspiracy Theories', Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 25, 1, March 1995, pp 3-34.
78. George Klosko, 'Popper's Plato, An Assessment', Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 26, 4, December 1996, pp 507-527.
79. David Frisby, 'The Popper-Adorno Controversy: the Methodolgical Dispute in German Sociology', Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 2, 1972, pp 105-119.
80. Peter Munz, 'The Quixotic Element in The Open Society', Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 27, 1, March 1997, pp 39-55.
81. Fred Eidlin, 'Blindspot of a Liberal Popper and the Problem of Community', Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 27, 1, March 1997, pp 5-23.
82. Jeremy Shearmur, 'The Contemporary Relevance of Popper's Work' in The Political Thought of Karl Popper, (London: Routledge, 1996), pp 159-178 206-208. Updated for this collection.
83. Struan Jacobs, 'Popper, Weber and the Rationalist Approach to Social Explanation', The British Journal of Sociology, 41, 4, December 1990, pp 559-570.
Conclusion
84. John C. Eccles, 'My Living Dialogue with Popper', in P. Levinson, ed., In Pursuit of Truth, (Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1982), pp 221-236.

Philosophy of Action is based on the lectures given in the Royal Institute of Philosophy's annual London lecture series 2015-16. This volume brings together an internationally distinguished team of lecturers. As befits the theme itself, a wide range of topics relating to action are covered. These include the nature of action itself and its relation to knowledge-how. There are a number of papers on issues relating to freedom and responsibility, and also to the relation between action and causation. Other papers consider the notion of planning in relation to agency, and the connection between agency and practical abilities. And there are also considerations of virtue and ethical concepts as applied to the notion of action. The papers collected here will testify to the liveliness of discussions of action in contemporary philosophy, and will also demonstrate the way many ancient conceptions of action are being developed in contemporary philosophical thought.

This book carries fourteen essays that develop a conception of human culture, which is humane and traditionalist. Focusing particularly on notions of beauty and the aesthetic, it sees within our culture intimations of the transcendent, and in two essays the nature of religion is directly addressed. A number of essays also explore the relation between politics and tradition.

Philosophy and Sport brings together the lectures given in the Royal Institute of Philosophy's annual lecture series for 2012 13. In the Olympic year, it seemed fitting to consider some of the many philosophical and ethical questions raised by sport, and to bring together contributors from both philosophical and sporting worlds. This ground-breaking volume considers many different areas connected to sports and its practice. These include the watching of sport, drugs in sport, the Olympic spirit, sport and risk, sport as a moral practice, rivalry and glory in sport and the importance of sport in human life more generally."

In this volume a group of distinguished aestheticians consider the distinctive ways painting, sculpture, music, poetry and the cinema approach their subject matter and add to our aesthetic understanding. In addition these are discussions of artistic value and artistic truth, of the value of performance and of the problem of fakes, all of which contribute to a volume which will be of interest both to aestheticians and philosophers more generally.

Is philosophy capable of establishing truths scientifically? If not, what can it do? What is its standing and what are its credentials? Is philosophy an essential element in humane study? Can philosophy establish anything at all? Philosophy asks questions about all areas of experience, but what about philosophy itself? In 2007 8, The Royal Institute of Philosophy, in its annual lecture series, asked distinguished philosophers to reflect on the nature, scope and possibility of philosophy. Contributors include Peter van Inwagen, Stephen Clark, John Cottingham, P. M. S. Hacker, Michela Massimi, Stephen Mullhall, Herman Philipse and Bryan Magel.

Based on the London Lecture Series of the Royal Institute of Philosophy for 2006 7, this collection brings together essays from leading figures in a rapidly developing field of philosophy. Contributors include: Alvin Goldman, Timothy Williamson, Duncan Pritchard, Miranda Fricker, Scott Sturgeon, Jose Zalabardo, and Quassin Casay.

This collection of essays from the Royal Institute of Philosophy, first published in 2007, looks at a wide range of topics in political philosophy ranging from issues such as terrorism, egalitarianism and the just war to considerations of the political philosophy of Edmund Burke, of philosophical liberalism and of the current state of utilitarianism in political thought. There are also treatments of the role of innocence and of emotion in political discourse.

It has been claimed that following the decline of Marxism and Freudianism, Darwinism has become the dominant intellectual paradigm of our day. In the mass media there are many bitter disputes between today's new Darwinians and their opponents, often over religion. But the 'neo-Darwinian paradigm' is not as simple or as seamless as either its advocates or its opponents would sometimes have us believe. Biology is in a state of development which defies the standard stereotypes. The papers in this volume, written by some of the leading philosophers in the field, bring out many of the fascinating and complex issues which arise in current attempts to account for life and its development.