A Crisis of Belief, Ethics and Faith presents a self-corrective and contemporary system of philosophy in a very readable format. The current rate of technological, scientific and social change is such that being ready and able to change with the evidence is needed in any attempt to render an intelligible account of our experiences. This work attempts to explain how we might go about forming our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves, our world and how we should properly conduct ourselves in a justifiable and non-arbitrary fashion.

Some Thoughts on Thinking is a work dealing with the issues one faces when one attempts to construct non-arbitrary beliefs about ourselves and our surroundings. The text opens up with a discussion of the similarities and differences between science, theology, philosophy and tradition. This initial discussion provides the foundation for a deeper push into what is, and what is not, a recommendable and non-arbitrary belief. Descartes and Kant, and the challenges they raise in attempts to form accurate beliefs, are used to set the stage for providing an answer to skepticism. No previous exposure to philosophy is assumed and the language of the work is free of complex philosophical terms. Some Thoughts on Thinking is ideal for classes introducing philosophy, classes in logic, reason and argumentation and for classes in the philosophy of science.

Estate Landscapes in Northern Europe is the first study of the role of the landed estate as an agent in the shaping of landscapes and societies across northern Europe over the past five centuries. Leading us into the fascinating variations of manorial worlds, the present volume seeks to open the field to include a broader perspective on estate landscapes. Estate - or manorial - landscapes were distinctive elements within the historic landscape and created their own character. Marked by larger scale fields associated with the home or demesne farm as well as a higher proportion of woodland and timber trees the landscapes reflected the scale of the resources available to the landowner and the control they exerted over the local communities. But they also represented the performative aspects of life for the elite, such as their engagement with hunting. While existing works have tended to emphasize the economic and agricultural aspect of estate landscapes, this volume draws out the social, cultural and political impact of manors and estates on landscapes throughout northern Europe. The chapters provide insights into a broad range of histories, such as the social worlds of burghers and nobility in the Dutch Republic, or the relationship between the distribution of land and the agitation for electoral reform in nineteenth-century England. Elsewhere in Scandinavia the impact of the reformation and conquest in Norway is balanced against the continuity of ownership in Sweden, where developing the natural resources for industrial enterprise such as ironworks and sawmills brought in new owners. Estate Landscapes in Northern Europe is the first product of the collaboration of researchers from Norway, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the Netherlands, joined together in the European Network for Country House and Estate Research (ENCOUNTER).

An exciting study of the social and landscape phenomena of the Estate Landscape. In recent years, the post-medieval landscape has attracted new interest from archaeologists, historians, and geographers concerned to understand the development of the historic environment. One of the key structuring elements within these landscapes from the sixteenth century until the aftermath of the Second World War was undoubtedly the landed estate. However, it was not until the late nineteenth century that any systematic attempt to quantify the presence of these estates was undertaken, prompted by the move to democratic reform and the persistent link between political power and landed wealth. Yet the importance of the landed estate in structuring power, social relationships, and both agricultural and industrial production was not limited to the UK. From the eighteenth century, the link between the UK estates and patterns of landholding and exploitation in the colonies became increasingly complex and recursive. This volume explores the relationships between the form and structure of British and Colonial estate landscapes, their agricultural management and the political structures and social relationships they reproduced. The articles address themes as diverse as the creation and development of the agrarian landscape, improvement, ornamental landscapes and gardens and estate architecture. Overall, it highlights the wealth and diversity of existing scholarship and suggests new directions for post-medieval archaeology in this dynamic area of research.

A large synthesis of commemorative monuments with discussion of earlier studies and ideas on monuments in the county of Norfolk. Jonathan Finch divides the study chronologically: monuments before 1400, 1400-1549, post-Reformation monuments, 1700-1849. The large volume of data is firmly placed within its temporal, spatial and social context which places it apart from other syntheses of these monuments. In this study Finch is able to identify broad and often very subtle patterns of change in the act of commemoration and the role of monuments, highlighting in particular the gradual shift from Christian iconography of the cross slab to more personal inscriptions, reflecting a change from the visual to textual and a growing concern with the fate of the individual rather than the fate of the dead in general.