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Selected Writings of Thomas Paine
by Thomas Paine Richard E. RobertsRichard E. Roberts, in the Introduction of this book, explains that Thomas Paine ". . . is the first Revolutionary of them all. Before Washington whispered of independence, Thomas Paine shouted for it. . . in his pamphlet Common Sense. . . . In it, Paine demanded a declaration of independence from England; six months later, our Declaration of Independence was written and signed. Paine had a hand in its writing. Paine could fight as well as write. He joined Washington's army and on a bitter night of retreat, he wrote Crisis 1 on a drumhead by a campfire. . . . Washington had it read to his pitiful army and they turned to whip the British at Trenton. . . . He wrote another Crisis whenever he thought it necessary. He wrote letters to every important man in the country, he reported the progress of the war, he rejoiced at victory. He was the one-man propaganda bureau of the American Revolution . . . he fought battles and wrote what he saw and thought and what his comrades saw and felt. He put into printed words the things they wanted known, he was their voice and their guide. He nourished Liberty with his breath and sweat. In peace, he went to England. There he worked on his iron bridge, his most important invention. He received a patent on it from the government of George III. But Liberty was being born in France, and Paine had to go there. He defended the French Revolution as he had defended the American. He wrote The Rights of Man, an answer to Burke's verbal attacks on the idea of freedom. Paine's logic levelled, if it did not convince, the believers in the divine right of kings. Though Paine hated kings, he loved men, and when a man was no longer a king, Paine could find no enthusiasm for his decapitation. So the French terrorists imprisoned him. Paine wrote The Age of Reason, trying to free men from theocracy and superstition as he had freed them from monarchy and slavishness. . . . Paine returned to the United States on a government ship sent by his friend Jefferson. . . . He had already said that negro slavery was vicious. He wrote of systems of government, the conduct of banks, free men's ways of laying and collecting taxes. He cried for old-age benefits, he pleaded for free education for the poor, he wanted pensions for ex-soldiers. He speculated on the causes of yellow fever, he defended the freedom of the press, he poured a flood of political articles into magazines and newspapers. He died in 1809, not greatly regarded by the new generation who did not know or had forgotten that he helped forge the liberty they enjoyed. Politicians since Paine have charmed their constituents with his words and phrases, they have borrowed his ideas and used them for their own. You will find here words which are the germ of the Monroe Doctrine and others which are the seed, first of the League of Nations, and now the United Nations. Maybe in another two hundred years, we will use the rest of the ideas Paine left us. If we do, he will be happy, he was all his life a lover of Liberty."
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
by John LockeA foundational text in Western philosophy, this essay discusses the ways in which humans develop and learn.
Why I Am Not A Christian: And Other Essays On Religion And Related Subjects
by Bertrand RussellThoughts on life after death, man's place in the universe, and other contemplative subjects.
Unpopular Essays
by Bertrand RussellTwelve adventures in argument by the winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize for Literature.
The Great Philosophers
by Karl JaspersOver the last half century philosophy seems to have succumbed to irresponsibility, while at the same time casting off the chains of academia. In our struggle to secure the substance of our own day amid the storm of arbitrary, fortuitous, anarchic thinking, we shall be helped if the historic substance can be made to break through the crusts of philosophical convention and if we learn to hear its message. With this book I hope to participate in this process of transformation.
Resistance, Rebellion, and Death
by Albert Camus Justin O'BrienResistance, Rebellion, and Death displays Camus's rigorous moral intelligence addressing issues that range from colonial warfare in Algeria to the social cancer of capital punishment. But this stirring book is above all a reflection on the problem of freedom, and, as such, belongs in the same tradition as the works that gave Camus his reputation as the conscience of the 20th century: The Stranger, The Rebel, and The Myth of Sisyphus.
Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
by Ori Brafman Rom BrafmanWhat makes people act irrationally? This brilliant book shows how people do things against their best interests.
Samajik Karar: सामाजिक करार
by Vasant Bhagwant Karnikझ्यां-झ्याक रूसो लिखित (SOCIAL CONTRACT) या ग्रंथाचा मराठी अनुवाद “सामाजिक करार” हे पुस्तक धार्मिक आणि भौतिक दोन्ही सत्ताधाऱ्यांना अधिक आक्षेपार्ह वाटले. सामाजिक कराराची कल्पना मान्य केली म्हणजे राजांच्या दैवी अधिकाराला स्थानच उरत नाही; राजसत्तेचा नैतिक पाया नष्ट होतो. म्हणून फ्रेंच राज्यकर्त्यांना ते पुस्तक फार भीतीदायक वाटले. पुस्तकाच्या वाचनामुळे लोकांच्या मनात क्रांतीच्या कल्पना स्फुरतील आणि बंडाचा वणवा पेटेल अशी त्यांना धास्ती वाटली. फ्रेंच राज्यकर्त्यांची ही धास्ती खोटी ठरली नाही. १७८९ साली फ्रेंच राज्यक्रांतीचा वडवानल पेटला तेव्हा क्रांतिकारकांच्या तोंडी होते ते रूसाचे नाव आणि त्यांची प्रेरकशक्ती होती ती त्याच्या सामाजिक करार या पुस्तकातील तत्त्वे व घोषणा! फ्रेंच राज्यक्रांतीच पाया जो घातला तो बुद्धिवादी विद्वानांनी घडवून आणलेल्या वैचारिक क्रांतीने; परंतु प्रत्यक्ष क्रांतीच्या दिवसात क्रांतिकारकांच्या मनावर अधिक पगडा होता तो रूसोच्या विचारांचा आणि त्याच्या मनोवृत्तीचा. क्रांतीच्या संगराच्या वेळी विवेकशील शुद्ध बुद्धीपेक्षा लोकांना हवी असते भावनोत्कट क्रियाशीलता. रूसोची मदार होती बुद्धीपेक्षा भावनेवर. त्यामुळे राज्यक्रांतीवर त्याचा अधिक प्रभाव पडला आणि क्रांतीचा अग्रदूत म्हणून त्याची जगभर ख्याती झाली.
Sadguru: सद्गुरु
by Arundhathi Subramaniamयह पुस्तक सद्गुरु की प्रेरणागाथा है- वह असाधारण दिव्यपुरुष; जो युवावस्था में ही ईश्वर को जानने के लिए तत्पर हो उठे; मोटरसाइकिलों का शौकीन; जो जीवन के रहस्य खोजने के लिए उद्यत हो उठे; संशयवादी होने के बावजूद आध्यात्मिक सत्पुरुष बन गए। बाल्यकाल में जग्गी वासुदेव (जो अब सद्गुरु के नाम से वियात हैं) उच्छृंखल स्वभाव के थे; कक्षा छोड़कर भाग जाना; हुड़दंग करना; चुहलबाजी करना उनकी प्रकृति में था; बाद में उन्हें मोटरसाइकिल और रेसिंग गाडि़यों का शौक हो गया। उनकी आध्यात्मिक यात्रा में इस तेजी और तत्परता को सहज ही अनुभव किया जा सकता है। ऐतिहासिक ‘ध्यानलिंग’ की स्थापना किसी जिद्दी; हठधर्मी व्यति के द्वारा ही किया जाना संभव था; और सद्गुरु ने वह कर दिखाया। सद्गुरु का विश्वास है कि आस्था; आध्यात्मिकता और विज्ञान एक-दूसरे से जुडे़ हैं। इनके समन्वय मात्र से ही मानव का कल्याण होगा; सद्गुणों के विकास के लिए प्रत्येक व्यति को सतत सक्रिय होना होगा। सद्गुरु के साथ लंबी बातचीत और उनके अनुयायियों तथा शिष्यों के साथ साक्षात्कारों के आधार पर अरुंधती सुब्रह्मण्यम द्वारा तैयार की गई यह पुस्तक एक जीवंत किंवदंती ‘सद्गुरु’ का जीवनवृ प्रस्तुत करती है। सद्गुरु की त्वरित मेधा; अद्भुत वाक्पटुता और आधुनिक शद-संपदा से सज्जित यह पुस्तक आपके आध्यात्मिक उन्नयन का मार्ग प्रशस्त करेगी और आपके जीवन की दिशा बदल देगी।
Gyanyog: ज्ञानयोग
by Swami Vivekanandaस्वामी विवेकानन्द के ज्ञानयोग सम्बन्धित व्याख्यान, उपदेशों तथा लेखों को लिपिबद्ध कर 'ज्ञानयोग' पुस्तक में संकलित किया है। स्वामी विवेकानन्द द्वारा वेदान्त पर दिये गये भाषाणों का संग्रह ‘ज्ञानयोग’ है। इन व्याख्यानों में श्री स्वामीजी ने वेदान्त के गूढ़ तत्त्वों की ऐसे सरल, स्पष्ट तथा सुन्दर रूप से विवेचना की है कि आजकल के शिक्षित जनसमुदाय को ये खूब जँच जाते हैं। उन्होंने यह दर्शाया है कि वैयक्तिक तथा सामुदायिक जीवन-गठन में वेदान्त किस प्रकार सहायक होता है। मनुष्य के विचारों का उच्चतम स्तर वेदान्त है और इसी की ओर संसार की समस्त विचारधाराएँ शनैःशनैः प्रवाहित हो रही हैं। अन्त में वे सब वेदान्त में ही लीन होंगी। स्वामीजी ने यह भी दर्शाया है कि मनुष्य के दैवी स्वरूप पर वेदान्त कितना ज़ोर देता है और किस प्रकार इसी में समस्त विश्व की आशा, कल्याण एवं शान्ति निहित है और हमें पूर्ण विश्वास है कि वेदान्त तथा भारतीय संस्कृति के प्रेमियों को इस पुस्तक से विशेष लाभ होगा।
The American Republic
by O. A. BrownsonFrom the author's preface: In the volume which, with much diffidence, is here offered to the public, I have given, as far as I have considered it worth giving, my whole thought in a connected form on the nature, necessity, extent, authority, origin, ground, and constitution of government, and the unity, nationality, constitution, tendencies, and destiny of the American Republic
The Importance of Being Human: Some Aspects of the Christian Doctrine of Man (Bampton Lectures in America)
by E. L. Mascall"Whatever judgement may be passed on the manner of its treatment, it will hardly be denied that the subject which I have chosen for this book--man, his nature, his end, his predicament, his resources--is of peculiar relevance at the present day, when the human race is confronted simultaneously with greater possibilities of material achievement and with greater dangers to its very existence than at any other time in its recorded history. A note of irony is added by the fact that Christian theologians themselves are far from agreement upon the basic issues, though it is to be hoped that sympathetic discussion may reveal their divergences to be less than they have sometimes thought them to be. Indeed, I am not without hope that the present book, which was originally delivered as the Bampton Lectures for 1958 at Columbia University in the City of New York, may contribute in some degree to this much to be desired rapprochement. The situation being what it is, however, it may be well to make it plain at the outset that the standpoint from which the subject is discussed is that of a Catholic theologian of the Anglican allegiance."
Chiranjiv Manus: चिरंजीव माणूस
by Narayan Desaiसर्व मराठी माणसांनी, नव्हे, सर्व भारतीयांनी वाचावे आणि त्यावर मनन करावे अशी जी काही महत्त्वाची पुस्तके जगात निर्माण झाली त्यात “Eternal Man” या पुस्तकाची गणना करावी लागेल. शेवटी माणसामधल्या माणूसकीची जपणूक केली पाहिजे हे सांगणारे जे तत्त्वज्ञान त्याचाच एका वेगळ्या पद्धतीने या पुस्तकात विचार झालेला आहे. एवगेनी बोगात यांच्या Eternal Man या पुस्तकाचा संक्षिप्त भावानुवाद श्री. नारायण देसाई यांनी केला आहे. माणसातील माणूस हा नेहमीच चिरंजीव असतो. तो अमर असतो, तो कधीच नाश पावत नाही हे या तत्त्वचिंतनाच्या मागील मुख्य सूत्र आहे. आणि या सूत्राचे माणासाला-मराठी माणसाला-आकलन झाले तर त्याच्यामधील निराशावाद नाहीसा झाल्यावाचून राहणार नाही.
Tolerance: The Beacon of the Enlightenment
by Translated by Caroline Warman et al.Inspired by Voltaire’s advice that a text needs to be concise to have real influence, this anthology contains fiery extracts by forty eighteenth-century authors, from the most famous philosophers of the age to those whose brilliant writings are less well-known. These passages are immensely diverse in style and topic, but all have in common a passionate commitment to equality, freedom, and tolerance. Each text resonates powerfully with the issues our world faces today. Tolerance was first published by the Société française d’étude du dix-huitième siècle (the French Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies) in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo assassinations in January 2015 as an act of solidarity and as a response to the surge of interest in Enlightenment values. With the support of the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, it has now been translated by over 100 students and tutors of French at Oxford University.
Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism
by Tamar Ross"Expanding the Palace of Torah offers a broad philosophical overview of the challenges the women's revolution poses to Orthodox Judaism, and Orthodox Judiasm's response to those challenges. Writing as an insider (herself an Orthodox Jew), Ross seeks to develop a theological response that fully acknowledges the male bias of Judaism's sanctified texts, yet nevertheless provides a rational for transforming that bias in today's world without undermining their authority. She proposes an approach to divine revelation-- the theological heart of traditional Judaism-- which she calls "cumulativism." This approach is based on a conflating of strict boundaries between text and its interpretation, or the divine intent and the evolution of human understanding." "Ross believes that the greater fluidity afforded by cumulativism is necessary for legitimizing the insights of feminism and fully absorbing women's changed status within the religious rubric of Jewish tradition. Emphasizing that continuity with tradition can be maintained only when the halakhic system is understood as a living organism that grows via affirmation of its historical legacy and respect for its constraints, her book shows that the feminist revolution in Orthodox Judaism reaches beyond its practical effect upon individual lives to teach us something more profound about the nature of religious practice in general." -- Amy Gottlieb Zorn berg (from the back cover)
Islam
by Fazlur RahmanPUBLISHER'S NOTE In dating, Muslims naturally use their own era, dating from the Hijra or flight of the Prophet Muhammad to Medina in 622 ad, sometimes called Anno Hegirae. Since the Muslim year is lunar it is impracticable to convert dates from the Muslim to the Christian era, and vice versa, by a simple formula. The publishers have therefore decided to give all dates-except for a few in the present century-in the Muslim style as well as in the familiar Gregorian calendar; this style of dating is in conformity with modern scholarly practice in the Islamic field. The Muslim date is always given first, the Gregorian date following after an oblique stroke: thus, 287/900, 787/1385, 1287/1870-1, etc. Occasionally a Muslim year will fall entirely within one Christian solar year, but usually there will be some overlapping between the years of the two eras. The same system is also applied to centuries: 8th/14th century, early 12th/late 17th century, etc.
Common Values
by Sissela BokIn this book, Sissela Bok asks what moral values, if any, might be capable of being shared across national, ethnic, religious, and other boundaries, under what circumstances, and with what qualifications. As the twentieth century draws to a close, societies confront challenges and threats - whether from environmental or military or from epidemics such as cholera or AIDS - that cross every boundary. Responses, to be effective, must be collective as well; yet they cannot begin to be effective, Bok suggests, without greater stress on common values and goals.