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When she was in her mid-thirties, Marian Evans transformed herself
into George Eliot - an author celebrated for her genius as soon as
she published her debut novel. During those years she also found
her life partner, George Lewes - writer, philosopher and married
father of three. After 'eloping' to Berlin in 1854 they lived
together for twenty-four years: Eliot asked people to call her 'Mrs
Lewes' and dedicated each novel to her 'Husband'. Though they could
not legally marry, she felt herself initiated into the 'great
experience' of marriage - 'this double life, which helps me to feel
and think with double strength'. The relationship scandalized her
contemporaries yet she grew immeasurably within it. Living at once
inside and outside marriage, Eliot could experience this form of
life - so familiar yet also so perplexing - from both sides.
For Aristotle, excellence is not an act but a habit, and Hume
regards habit as 'the great guide of life'. However, for Proust
habit is problematic: 'if habit is a second nature, it prevents us
from knowing our first.' What is habit? Do habits turn us into
machines or free us to do more creative things? Should religious
faith be habitual? Does habit help or hinder the practice of
philosophy? Why do Luther, Spinoza, Kant, Kierkegaard and Bergson
all criticise habit? If habit is both a blessing and a curse, how
can we live well in our habits? In this thought-provoking book
Clare Carlisle examines habit from a philosophical standpoint.
Beginning with a lucid appraisal of habit's philosophical history
she suggests that both receptivity and resistance to change are
basic principles of habit-formation. Carlisle shows how the
philosophy of habit not only anticipates the discoveries of recent
neuroscience but illuminates their ethical significance. She asks
whether habit is a reliable form of knowledge by examining the
contrasting interpretations of habitual thinking offered by Spinoza
and Hume. She then turns to the role of habit in the good life,
tracing Aristotle's legacy through the ideas of Joseph Butler,
Hegel, and Felix Ravaisson, and assessing the ambivalent attitudes
to habit expressed by Nietzsche and Proust. She argues that a
distinction between habit and practice helps to clarify this
ambivalence, particularly in the context of habit and religion,
where she examines both the theology of habit and the repetitions
of religious life. She concludes by considering how philosophy
itself is a practice of learning to live well with habit.
A bold reevaluation of Spinoza that reveals his powerful, inclusive
vision of religion for the modern age Spinoza is widely regarded as
either a God-forsaking atheist or a God-intoxicated pantheist, but
Clare Carlisle says that he was neither. In Spinoza’s Religion,
she sets out a bold interpretation of Spinoza through a lucid new
reading of his masterpiece, the Ethics. Putting the question of
religion centre-stage but refusing to convert Spinozism to
Christianity, Carlisle reveals that “being in God” unites
Spinoza’s metaphysics and ethics. Spinoza’s Religion unfolds a
powerful, inclusive philosophical vision for the modern age—one
that is grounded in a profound questioning of how to live a joyful,
fully human life. Like Spinoza himself, the Ethics doesn’t fit
into any ready-made religious category. But Carlisle shows how it
wrestles with the question of religion in strikingly original ways,
responding both critically and constructively to the diverse,
broadly Christian context in which Spinoza lived and worked.
Philosophy itself, as Spinoza practiced it, became a spiritual
endeavor that expressed his devotion to a truthful, virtuous way of
life. Offering startling new insights into Spinoza’s famously
enigmatic ideas about eternal life and the intellectual love of
God, Carlisle uncovers a Spinozist religion that integrates
self-knowledge, desire, practice, and embodied ethical life to
reach toward our “highest happiness”—to rest in God. Seen
through Carlisle’s eyes, the Ethics prompts us to rethink not
only Spinoza but also religion itself.
For Aristotle, excellence is not an act but a habit, and Hume
regards habit as 'the great guide of life'. However, for Proust
habit is problematic: 'if habit is a second nature, it prevents us
from knowing our first.' What is habit? Do habits turn us into
machines or free us to do more creative things? Should religious
faith be habitual? Does habit help or hinder the practice of
philosophy? Why do Luther, Spinoza, Kant, Kierkegaard and Bergson
all criticise habit? If habit is both a blessing and a curse, how
can we live well in our habits? In this thought-provoking book
Clare Carlisle examines habit from a philosophical standpoint.
Beginning with a lucid appraisal of habit's philosophical history
she suggests that both receptivity and resistance to change are
basic principles of habit-formation. Carlisle shows how the
philosophy of habit not only anticipates the discoveries of recent
neuroscience but illuminates their ethical significance. She asks
whether habit is a reliable form of knowledge by examining the
contrasting interpretations of habitual thinking offered by Spinoza
and Hume. She then turns to the role of habit in the good life,
tracing Aristotle's legacy through the ideas of Joseph Butler,
Hegel, and Felix Ravaisson, and assessing the ambivalent attitudes
to habit expressed by Nietzsche and Proust. She argues that a
distinction between habit and practice helps to clarify this
ambivalence, particularly in the context of habit and religion,
where she examines both the theology of habit and the repetitions
of religious life. She concludes by considering how philosophy
itself is a practice of learning to live well with habit.
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Spinoza's Ethics (Paperback)
Benedictus De Spinoza; Translated by George Eliot; Edited by Clare Carlisle
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R593
Discovery Miles 5 930
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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An authoritative edition of George Eliot's elegant translation of
Spinoza's greatest philosophical work In 1856, Marian Evans
completed her translation of Benedict de Spinoza's Ethics while
living in Berlin with the philosopher and critic George Henry
Lewes. This would have become the first edition of Spinoza's
controversial masterpiece in English, but the translation remained
unpublished because of a disagreement between Lewes and the
publisher. Later that year, Evans turned to fiction writing, and by
1859 she had published her first novel under the pseudonym George
Eliot. This splendid edition makes Eliot's translation of the
Ethics available to today's readers while also tracing Eliot's deep
engagement with Spinoza both before and after she wrote the novels
that established her as one of English literature's greatest
writers. Clare Carlisle's introduction places the Ethics in its
seventeenth-century context and explains its key philosophical
claims. She discusses George Eliot's intellectual formation, her
interest in Spinoza, the circumstances of her translation of the
Ethics, and the influence of Spinoza's ideas on her literary work.
Carlisle shows how Eliot drew on Spinoza's radical insights on
religion, ethics, and human emotions, and brings to light
surprising affinities between Spinoza's austere philosophy and the
rich fictional worlds of Eliot's novels. This authoritative edition
demonstrates why George Eliot's translation remains one of the most
compelling and philosophically astute renderings of Spinoza's Latin
text. It includes notes that indicate Eliot's amendments to her
manuscript and that discuss her translation decisions alongside
more recent English editions.
Soren Kierkegaard argued that the most essential truths come to
light by asking "How...?" This innovative collection of essays by
leading scholars focuses on this questioning "How?", asking how we
should relate to ourselves, to others, and to God; how we should be
in the world; how we can become human. The result is a searching,
original colloquium on what it means to be Kierkegaardian in the
21st century. The adjective "Kierkegaardian" names many
possibilities: ways of philosophizing, choosing, loving, looking,
listening, reading, writing, teaching, making art, praying, going
to church - or not going to church. "How" gestures to subjectivity,
one of Kierkegaard's most fundamental philosophical categories,
while "What" signals an objectifying line of thought. The authors
of these essays suggest that the crucial Kierkegaardian question is
not what we are and ought to do, but how we can remain true to the
finitude, passivity, and ambiguity of human existence. While this
Kierkegaardian "how" is often acknowledged by scholars, it is
rarely thematized directly. Attending to it elicits new kinds of
argument and reflection. Kierkegaardian Essays proposes a fresh
approach to Kierkegaard, and is essential reading for experts and
students alike.
Selected as a Book of the Year in The Times Literary Supplement
'This lucid and riveting new biography at once rescuses Kierkegaard
from the scholars and shows why he is such an intriguing and useful
figure' Observer Soren Kierkegaard, one of the most passionate and
challenging of modern philosophers, is now celebrated as the father
of existentialism - yet his contemporaries described him as a
philosopher of the heart. Over about a decade in the 1840s and
1850s, writings poured from his pen analysing love and suffering,
courage and anxiety, religious longing and defiance, and forging a
new philosophical style rooted in the inward drama of being human.
As Christianity seemed to sleepwalk through a changing world,
Kierkegaard dazzlingly revealed its spiritual power while exposing
the poverty of official religion. His restless creativity was
spurred on by his own failures: his relationship with the young
woman whom he promised to marry, then left to devote himself to
writing, haunted him throughout his life. Though tormented by the
pressures of celebrity, he deliberately lived amidst the crowds in
Copenhagen, known by everyone but, he felt, understood by no one.
When he collapsed exhausted at the age of 42, he was still pursuing
the question of existence: how to be a human being in this world?
Clare Carlisle's innovative and moving biography writes
Kierkegaard's remarkable life as far as possible from his own
perspective, conveying what it was like to be this Socrates of
Christendom - as he put it, living life forwards yet only
understanding it backwards.
A bold reevaluation of Spinoza that reveals his powerful, inclusive
vision of religion for the modern age Spinoza is widely regarded as
either a God-forsaking atheist or a God-intoxicated pantheist, but
Clare Carlisle says that he was neither. In Spinoza's Religion, she
sets out a bold interpretation of Spinoza through a lucid new
reading of his masterpiece, the Ethics. Putting the question of
religion centre-stage but refusing to convert Spinozism to
Christianity, Carlisle reveals that "being in God" unites Spinoza's
metaphysics and ethics. Spinoza's Religion unfolds a powerful,
inclusive philosophical vision for the modern age-one that is
grounded in a profound questioning of how to live a joyful, fully
human life. Like Spinoza himself, the Ethics doesn't fit into any
ready-made religious category. But Carlisle shows how it wrestles
with the question of religion in strikingly original ways,
responding both critically and constructively to the diverse,
broadly Christian context in which Spinoza lived and worked.
Philosophy itself, as Spinoza practiced it, became a spiritual
endeavor that expressed his devotion to a truthful, virtuous way of
life. Offering startling new insights into Spinoza's famously
enigmatic ideas about eternal life and the intellectual love of
God, Carlisle uncovers a Spinozist religion that integrates
self-knowledge, desire, practice, and embodied ethical life to
reach toward our "highest happiness"-to rest in God. Seen through
Carlisle's eyes, the Ethics prompts us to rethink not only Spinoza
but also religion itself.
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Spinoza's Ethics (Hardcover)
Benedictus De Spinoza; Translated by George Eliot; Edited by Clare Carlisle
|
R2,371
Discovery Miles 23 710
|
Ships in 12 - 17 working days
|
An authoritative edition of George Eliot's elegant translation of
Spinoza's greatest philosophical work In 1856, Marian Evans
completed her translation of Benedict de Spinoza's Ethics while
living in Berlin with the philosopher and critic George Henry
Lewes. This would have become the first edition of Spinoza's
controversial masterpiece in English, but the translation remained
unpublished because of a disagreement between Lewes and the
publisher. Later that year, Evans turned to fiction writing, and by
1859 she had published her first novel under the pseudonym George
Eliot. This splendid edition makes Eliot's translation of the
Ethics available to today's readers while also tracing Eliot's deep
engagement with Spinoza both before and after she wrote the novels
that established her as one of English literature's greatest
writers. Clare Carlisle's introduction places the Ethics in its
seventeenth-century context and explains its key philosophical
claims. She discusses George Eliot's intellectual formation, her
interest in Spinoza, the circumstances of her translation of the
Ethics, and the influence of Spinoza's ideas on her literary work.
Carlisle shows how Eliot drew on Spinoza's radical insights on
religion, ethics, and human emotions, and brings to light
surprising affinities between Spinoza's austere philosophy and the
rich fictional worlds of Eliot's novels. This authoritative edition
demonstrates why George Eliot's translation remains one of the most
compelling and philosophically astute renderings of Spinoza's Latin
text. It includes notes that indicate Eliot's amendments to her
manuscript and that discuss her translation decisions alongside
more recent English editions.
A concise and accessible introduction, this Reader's Guide takes
students through Kierkegaard's most important work and a key
nineteenth century philosophical text. Soren Kierkegaard was
without question one of the most important and influential thinkers
of the nineteenth century. "Fear and Trembling" is a classic text
in the history of both philosophical and religious thought that
still challenges readers with its original philosophical
perspective and idiosyncratic literary style. Kierkegaard's "Fear
and Trembling: A Reader's Guide" offers a concise and accessible
introduction to this hugely important and notoriously demanding
work. Written specifically to meet the needs of students coming to
Kierkegaard for the first time, the book offers guidance on:
philosophical and historical context; key themes; reading the text;
reception and influence; and, further reading. "Continuum Reader's
Guides" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to key
texts in literature and philosophy. Each book explores the themes,
context, criticism and influence of key works, providing a
practical introduction to close reading, guiding students towards a
thorough understanding of the text. They provide an essential,
up-to-date resource, ideal for undergraduate students.
|
Of Habit (Hardcover, New)
Felix Ravaisson; Translated by Clare Carlisle, Mark Sinclair
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R4,659
Discovery Miles 46 590
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
|
Flix Ravaissons seminal philosophical essay, Of Habit, was first
published in French in 1838. It traces the origins and development
of habit and proposes the principle of habit as the foundation of
human nature. This metaphysics of habit steers a path between
materialism and idealism in one of the best and most sophisticated
treatments of the topic. Ravaissons work was pivotal in the
development of European thought and has had a significant influence
on such key thinkers as Proust, Bergson, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty,
Derrida, and Deleuze. This edition makes this remarkable and hugely
important work available to an English-speaking audience for the
first time. Clare Carlisle and Mark Sinclair provide a
comprehensive introduction to Ravaissons life, works and enduring
influence that clearly situates Ravaissons text within the European
philosophical tradition. The translation also includes a thorough
commentary on the text that illuminates its arguments and its
context.
|
Of Habit (Paperback)
Felix Ravaisson; Translated by Clare Carlisle, Mark Sinclair
|
R1,314
Discovery Miles 13 140
|
Ships in 10 - 15 working days
|
Felix Ravaisson's seminal philosophical essay, "Of Habit," was
first published in French in 1838. It traces the origins and
development of habit and proposes the principle of habit as the
foundation of human nature. This metaphysics of habit steers a path
between materialism and idealism in one of the best and most
sophisticated treatments of the topic. Ravaisson's work was pivotal
in the development of European thought and has had a significant
influence on such key thinkers such as Proust, Bergson, Heidegger,
Merleau-Ponty, Derrida, and Deleuze. This edition makes this
important work available to an English-speaking audience for the
first time. Clare Carlisle and Mark Sinclair provide a
comprehensive introduction to Ravaisson's life, works, and enduring
influence that clearly situates Ravaisson's text within the
European philosophical tradition. The translation also includes a
thorough commentary on the text that illuminates its arguments and
its context. >
A concise and accessible introduction, this "Reader's Guide" takes
students through Kierkegaard's most important work and a key
nineteenth century philosophical text. Soren Kierkegaard was
without question one of the most important and influential thinkers
of the nineteenth century. "Fear and Trembling" is a classic text
in the history of both philosophical and religious thought that
still challenges readers with its original philosophical
perspective and idiosyncratic literary style. Kierkegaard's "Fear
and Trembling: A Reader's Guide" offers a concise and accessible
introduction to this hugely important and notoriously demanding
work. Written specifically to meet the needs of students coming to
Kierkegaard for the first time, the book offers guidance on:
philosophical and historical context; key themes - reading the
text; reception and influence; and, further reading. "Continuum
Reader's Guides" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to
key texts in literature and philosophy. Each book explores the
themes, context, criticism and influence of key works, providing a
practical introduction to close reading, guiding students towards a
thorough understanding of the text. They provide an essential,
up-to-date resource, ideal for undergraduate students.
'Empty are the words of that philosopher who offers therapy for no
human suffering. For just as there is no use in medical expertise
if it does not give therapy for bodily diseases, so too there is no
use in philosophy if it does not expel the suffering of the soul.'
The philosopher Epicurus gave famous voice to a conception of
philosophy as a cure or remedy for the maladies of the human soul.
What has not until now received attention is just how prominent an
idea this has been across a whole spectrum of philosophical
tradition. Philosophy as Therapeia presents a collection of papers
by leading scholars, providing a new reading of the history of
philosophy, one which perhaps contradicts those who have wanted to
maintain that philosophy is a peculiarly European cultural product,
and instead affirms its identity as a global intellectual practice.
Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed are clear, concise and
accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that
students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating
specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to
fathom, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas,
guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding
material. Soren Kierkegaard was the progenitor of existentialism,
as well as a major literary figure and philosopher of ethics and
religion. As such, he is a key figure in modern Western philosophy,
one whose poetic, though complex, works - including the seminal
Fear and Trembling - require close and careful study. Kierkegaard:
A Guide for the Perplexed offers a cogent, comprehensive and
authoritative account of Kierkegaard's philosophy, ideal for
students and readers coming to his work for the first time and who
want to reach a full and detailed understanding of this major
thinker and writer. The book explores the relationship -
particularly important in Kierkegaard's case - between his life and
work. It covers the literary and philosophical challenges raised by
Kierkegaard's 'direct' and 'indirect' forms of communication;
considers Kierkegaard's important critique of Hegel; opens up his
ideas on subjectivity and truth; and provides illuminating
commentaries on both Fear and Trembling and Philosophical
Fragments. Valuably, the guide shows how Kierkegaard's
philosophical, religious, social, literary and personal concerns
are integrated and unified in his works. It also assesses his
influence on later philosophers, including Heidegger, Wittgenstein
and Sartre.
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