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On Blindness: Letters Between Bryan Magee and Martin Milligan
by Bryan Magee Martin MilliganOn Blindness asks fascinating questions about the world of the blind, including: How can the born-blind know they are blind? Can a blind person play a game of snooker? How does a blind person dream? On Blindness open the eyes of the sighted to the world as experienced by the blind, offering a unique opportunity to explore the challenges, frustrations,joys--and extraordinary insights--experienced in discovering the world without sight. What difference does sight--or its absence--make to our ideas about the world? What begins as a philosophical exchange between the noted philosopher and broadcaster Bryan Magee and the late Martin Milligan, activist and philosopher--blind almost from birth-- develops into an intense and personal discussion of the implications of blindness. The debate is vigorous and often heated; sometimes contentious, it is always stimulating. They discuss the whole spectrum of blind-experience, including the born-blind, those who lose their sight, and those forced to come to terms with the shock of gaining a sight they had never possessed. This extraordinary book casts new light on one of the most fundamental aspects of human experience. It will make fascinating reading for anyone interested insight and blindness from a personal, practical, or philosophical point of view.
On Coordination in Non-Cooperative Game Theory: Explaining How and Why an Equilibrium Occurs and Prevails (Springer Studies in the History of Economic Thought)
by Lauren LarrouyBy offering a critical assessment of the evolution of standard game theory, this book argues for a shift in the ontology and methodology of game theory for appraising games, one based on understanding the players’ strategic reasoning process. Analyzing the history of economic thought, the book highlights the methodological issues faced by standard game theory in its treatment of strategic reasoning and the consequence it has on the status of players’ beliefs. It also highlights how the two original contributions of T. C. Schelling and M. Bacharach can be applied to these issues. Furthermore, the book assesses the intersubjective dimension in games by applying the cognitive sciences and by integrating simulation theory into game theory. Consequently, this book offers an interdisciplinary approach for reassessing the nature of the intersubjectivity involved in strategic reasoning. It shows that the analysis of games should involve the study and identification of the reasoning process that leads the players to a specific outcome, i.e., to a specific solution. A game should not be understood (as is done in standard game theory) as a mathematical representation of an individual choice at equilibrium. This requires investigating the players’ capacity for coordination. Understanding the process of coordination allows us to understand strategic reasoning and ultimately to provide new answers to the indeterminacy problem, one of the central hurdles in game theory, and one that underscores its normative difficulties.
On Corpulence: Feeding the Body and Feeding the Mind (The London Library #3)
by Lewis Carroll William BantingFat seemed to be getting fatter under Queen Victoria: Tweedledum and Tweedledee; Joe "the fat boy" in The Pickwick Papers; even the first known report of childhood obesity in 1859. But for the short, corpulent (and extremely success- ful) undertaker William Banting, the overweight life was not a bundle of laughs. It was only at the age of sixty, when he was unable to even "attend to the little offices which humanity requires, without considerable pain and difficulty", that he finally stumbled upon a cure: an early incarnation of the Atkins diet. Butter, potatoes, sugar, milk--all gone, in favour of fish, meat, dry toast (and seven glasses of claret a day).And with the diet for the body came a diet for the mind: for Lewis Carroll, an indiscriminate intake of "fatty" information was just as harmful as carbohydrates--and in today's society of ever-increasing "consumption" of food, news and even relationships, Banting and Carroll are remarkably ahead of their time.The books in "Found on the Shelves" have been chosen to give a fascinating insight into the treasures that can be found while browsing in The London Library. Now celebrating its 175th anniversary, with over seventeen miles of shelving and more than a million books, The London Library has become an unrivalled archive of the modes, manners and thoughts of each generation which has helped to form it.From essays on dieting in the 1860s to instructions for gentlewomen on trout-fishing, from advice on the ill health caused by the "modern" craze of bicycling to travelogues from Norway, they are as readable and relevant today as they were more than a century ago--even if contemporary dieticians might not recommend quite such a regular intake of brandy!From the Trade Paperback edition.
On Delusion (Thinking in Action)
by Jennifer RaddenDelusions play a fundamental role in the history of psychology, philosophy and culture, dividing not only the mad from the sane but reason from unreason. Yet the very nature and extent of delusions are poorly understood. What are delusions? How do they differ from everyday errors or mistaken beliefs? Are they scientific categories? In this superb, panoramic investigation of delusion Jennifer Radden explores these questions and more, unravelling a fascinating story that ranges from Descartes’s demon to famous first-hand accounts of delusion, such as Daniel Schreber’s Memoirs of My Nervous Illness. Radden places delusion in both a clinical and cultural context and explores a fascinating range of themes: delusions as both individually and collectively held, including the phenomenon of folies á deux; spiritual and religious delusions, in particular what distinguishes normal religious belief from delusions with religious themes; how we assess those suffering from delusion from a moral standpoint; and how we are to interpret violent actions when they are the result of delusional thinking. As well as more common delusions, such as those of grandeur, she also discusses some of the most interesting and perplexing forms of clinical delusion, such as Cotard and Capgras.
On Descartes' Passive Thought: The Myth of Cartesian Dualism
by Jean-Luc Marion,On Descartes’ Passive Thought is the culmination of a life-long reflection on the philosophy of Descartes by one of the most important living French philosophers. In it, Jean-Luc Marion examines anew some of the questions left unresolved in his previous books about Descartes, with a particular focus on Descartes’s theory of morals and the passions. Descartes has long been associated with mind-body dualism, but Marion argues here that this is a historical misattribution, popularized by Malebranche and popular ever since both within the academy and with the general public. Actually, Marion shows, Descartes held a holistic conception of body and mind. He called it the meum corpus, a passive mode of thinking, which implies far more than just pure mind—rather, it signifies a mind directly connected to the body: the human being that I am. Understood in this new light, the Descartes Marion uncovers through close readings of works such as Passions of the Soul resists prominent criticisms leveled at him by twentieth-century figures like Husserl and Heidegger, and even anticipates the non-dualistic, phenomenological concepts of human being discussed today. This is a momentous book that no serious historian of philosophy will be able to ignore.
On Divination and Synchronicity
by Marie-Louise von FranzJung's leading disciple studies synchronicity, or meaningful coincidences, using ancient oracular techniques and texts.
On Dreams and the East: Notes of the 1933 Berlin Seminar (Philemon Foundation Series)
by null C. G. Jung null Heinrich ZimmerJung&’s landmark seminar on the symbolism of yoga and its applications to dream analysisIn the summer of 1933, C. G. Jung conducted a seminar in Berlin attended by a large audience of some 150 people, including several Jewish Jungians who would soon leave Germany. Hitler had begun consolidating his position as dictator and these students were distressed at Jung&’s recent decision to accept the presidency of a German professional psychotherapy society that was rapidly becoming Nazified and purged of Jews. On Dreams and the East makes these seminar sessions widely available for the first time, offering tantalizing insights into Jung&’s evolving understanding of yoga and the realization of the self.The seminar commences with a presentation on the psychology of yoga by noted Indologist and linguist Heinrich Zimmer, whose collaboration in these talks reflects Jung&’s growing engagement with the Hindu tradition, particularly Tantric yoga. Jung analyzes a series of dreams of a middle-aged male patient, focusing on mandalas and the centering process. He reflects on related motifs in alchemical symbolism, Navaho healing drawings, Mithraism, baptism symbolism, the foundation of Rome, ecclesiastic dances, and labyrinths, drawing connections with the symbolism of yoga and Tantra.Featuring a richly documented introduction by Giovanni Sorge, On Dreams and the East opens a window on Jung&’s deepening exploration of Eastern thought and the comparative study of the individuation process at a critical juncture in his life and work.
On Eastern Meditation
by Thomas Merton Bonnie ThurstonOn Eastern Meditation, edited by Bonnie Thurston (author of Merton and Buddhism), gathers the best of his Eastern theological writings into a gorgeously designed gift book edition.
On Family, Hockey and Healing
by Walter GretzkyThe inspiring story of an ordinary man who, from humble beginnings and against the odds of a devastating illness, has led--is leading--an extraordinary life.To many people, Walter Gretzky is the ultimate dad, the father of the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, and the first inspired coach to a talented young boy. Walter's major insight into hockey--that a player should "go where the puck is going"--guided Wayne's brilliant style, and Wayne himself has said about his talent: "It's God-given. It's Wally-given." It's safe to say that no other famous hockey player's father is held in such high esteem, and that Walter Gretzky has carved out this singular niche in his own right.Now, for the first time, Walter tells at length the story of his life, about growing up on a small family farm, about meeting and marrying Phyllis, about raising four boys and a girl in a modest home in Brantford on the salary of a telephone repairman, about hanging onto his modesty and values when the comet of talent and celebrity hit.Walter also talks about the process of recovering from a stroke that came close to killing him ten years ago. Through his own grit and determination, and with the help of dedicated therapists and doctors, his family and friends, Walter battled back from an aneurysm that left him with many cognitive difficulties and destroyed a decade of memories--including his recollection of the death of his mother and almost all of Wayne's NHL triumphs of the eighties.As many of the people who have encountered Walter even briefly will testify, he is very charismatic, and it's his extraordinary compassion, which has flourished since his stroke, that makes him so compelling. Yes, he struggles with some limitations, but he has also discovered a calling in helping others. All of his many public speaking engagements are for charity, and this book would not exist were it not for Walter's role as the official spokesperson for Canada's Heart and Stroke Foundation. The only way he would ever agree to talk about himself at such length was in the hope that his experience with stroke would be useful to other people. "Every second of every day is important to me," he writes, "and I only hope that if telling my story can help even one person, then all of this will be worth it. And remember, there is life after stroke...look at me!"From the Hardcover edition.
On Grief and Dying: Understanding the Soul's Journey
by Diane SteinDrawing from the wisdom of various sources-the contemporary Goddess movement, powerful psychic techniques, and the ancient traditions of Buddhism and Greek mythology-healer and writer Diane Stein leads the reader on a remarkable journey toward loving acceptance, affirmation, and hope. ON GRIEF AND DYING offers a healing perspective and important insights on the central issues of death and loss.From the Hardcover edition.
On Health and Long Life: a Conversation
by Daisaku IkedaAlways concerned about the most basic problems confronting humanity, SGI President Ikeda here once again explores the four universal sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. In conversation with doctors and nurses, the SGI leader skillfully weaves Buddhist insights with the practical knowledge and personal experiences of his dialogue partners. • What can we learn from our illnesses? • How is the patient’s attitude crucial to healing? • How do parents affect their children’s health? • How much are our lives determined by our genes? What are constructive ways to approach aging? • What are keys for effective health care? • What roles do faith and SGI activities play in a long and fulfilling life? The answers to these and other questions in On Health and Long Life provide valuable perspectives to caring for the most valuable of treasures: our lives themselves.
On Immunity: An Inoculation
by Eula BissA New York Times Best SellerA National Book Critics Circle Award FinalistA New York Times Book Review Top 10 Book of the YearA Facebook "Year of Books" SelectionOne of the Best Books of the Year* National Book Critics Circle Award finalist * The New York Times Book Review (Top 10) * Entertainment Weekly (Top 10) * New York Magazine (Top 10)* Chicago Tribune (Top 10) * Publishers Weekly (Top 10) * Time Out New York (Top 10) * Los Angeles Times * Kirkus * Booklist * NPR's Science Friday * Newsday * Slate * Refinery 29 * And many more...Why do we fear vaccines? A provocative examination by Eula Biss, the author of Notes from No Man's Land, winner of the National Book Critics Circle AwardUpon becoming a new mother, Eula Biss addresses a chronic condition of fear-fear of the government, the medical establishment, and what is in your child's air, food, mattress, medicine, and vaccines. She finds that you cannot immunize your child, or yourself, from the world. In this bold, fascinating book, Biss investigates the metaphors and myths surrounding our conception of immunity and its implications for the individual and the social body. As she hears more and more fears about vaccines, Biss researches what they mean for her own child, her immediate community, America, and the world, both historically and in the present moment. She extends a conversation with other mothers to meditations on Voltaire's Candide, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Susan Sontag's AIDS and Its Metaphors, and beyond. On Immunity is a moving account of how we are all interconnected-our bodies and our fates.
On Immunity: An Inoculation
by Eula BissOne of New York Times Best 10 Books of 2014. <P><P> Why do we fear vaccines? A provocative examination by Eula Biss, the author of Notes from No Man's Land, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award<P> Upon becoming a new mother, Eula Biss addresses a chronic condition of fear--fear of the government, the medical establishment, and what is in your child's air, food, mattress, medicine, and vaccines. She finds that you cannot immunize your child, or yourself, from the world.<P> In this bold, fascinating book, Biss investigates the metaphors and myths surrounding our conception of immunity and its implications for the individual and the social body. As she hears more and more fears about vaccines, Biss researches what they mean for her own child, her immediate community, America, and the world, both historically and in the present moment. She extends a conversation with other mothers to meditations on Voltaire's Candide, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Susan Sontag's AIDS and Its Metaphors, and beyond. On Immunity is a moving account of how we are all interconnected--our bodies and our fates.<P> Chosen for Mark Zuckerberg's "A Year of Books"
On Jung
by Richard BilskerTHE WADSWORTH PHILOSOPHERS SERIES is dedicated to providing both philosophy students and general readers with insight into the background, development, and thinking of great intellects throughout the history of civilization. More than a simple guide, each of the volumes has the goal of helping to empower the reader when analyzing and discussing original works.
On Learning to Heal: or, What Medicine Doesn't Know (Critical Global Health: Evidence, Efficacy, Ethnography)
by Ed CohenAt thirteen, Ed Cohen was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease—a chronic, incurable condition that nearly killed him in his early twenties. At his diagnosis, his doctors told him that the best he could hope for would be periods of remission. Unfortunately, doctors never mentioned healing as a possibility. In On Learning to Heal, Cohen draws on fifty years of living with Crohn’s to consider how Western medicine’s turn from an “art of healing” toward a “science of medicine” deeply affects both medical practitioners and their patients. He demonstrates that although medicine can now offer many seemingly miraculous therapies, medicine is not and has never been the only way to enhance healing. Exploring his own path to healing, he argues that learning to heal requires us to desire and value healing as a vital possibility. With this book, Cohen advocates reviving healing’s role for all those whose lives are touched by illness.
On Living
by Kerry Egan"Illuminating, unflinching and ultimately inspiring... A book to treasure." -People Magazine "Equal parts memoir and meditative text on the nature of life....this beautiful book will speak to parts of your heart that you didn't even realize were hurting. What's more: It might help heal them." --Refinery29 "This is not just a book about dying. It's one that will inspire readers to make the most of every day." --Publishers Weekly (starred)A hospice chaplain passes on wisdom on giving meaning to life, from those taking leave of it. As a hospice chaplain, Kerry Egan didn't offer sermons or prayers, unless they were requested; in fact, she found, the dying rarely want to talk about God, at least not overtly. Instead, she discovered she'd been granted an invaluable chance to witness firsthand what she calls the "spiritual work of dying"--the work of finding or making meaning of one's life, the experiences it's contained and the people who have touched it, the betrayals, wounds, unfinished business, and unrealized dreams. Instead of talking, she mainly listened: to stories of hope and regret, shame and pride, mystery and revelation and secrets held too long. Most of all, though, she listened as her patients talked about love--love for their children and partners and friends; love they didn't know how to offer; love they gave unconditionally; love they, sometimes belatedly, learned to grant themselves. This isn't a book about dying--it's a book about living. And Egan isn't just passively bearing witness to these stories. An emergency procedure during the birth of her first child left her physically whole but emotionally and spiritually adrift. Her work as a hospice chaplain healed her, from a brokenness she came to see we all share. Each of her patients taught her something--how to find courage in the face of fear or the strength to make amends; how to be profoundly compassionate and fiercely empathetic; how to see the world in grays instead of black and white. In this poignant, moving, and beautiful book, she passes along all their precious and necessary gifts.From the Hardcover edition.
On Love & Psychological Exercises
by A. R. OrageAn invaluable resource for students of self-development, especially those with a particular interest in the ideas of George Gurdjieff and Pyotr Ouspensky.While editing a publication he cofounded, The New Age, A. R. Orage formed a study group of practicing psychologists—including Dr. Maurice Nicoll, one of Jung’s foremost exponents—to study psychoanalysis. They reached the conclusion that the need in psychology was not psychoanalysis but, psycho-synthesis. Upon his introduction to P. D. Ouspensky, and the ideas of Gurdjieff, Orage informed his group that psycho-synthesis had arrived.Orage wrote On Love after spending years working with Gurdjieff and the Fourth Way System. The three essays, “On Love,” “On Religion,” and “What Is the Soul?” explore personal self-development. These essays are still practical, timely, and important to students who seek a clear understanding of the self.Psychological Exercises is the result of work with both Gurdjieff and Ouspensky and was written during the seven years Orage spent organizing Fourth Way study groups for Gurdjieff in the United States. It presents 200-plus psychological exercises designed to increase the flexibility and scope of our minds by working with numbers, words, verses, and images. These exercises pick up where conventional education leaves off, teaching us to hone the conscious and deliberate manipulation of our mental resources. Included are 15 essays covering various aspects of self-development such as: how not to be bored, economizing personal energy, acquiring intuition, controlling our tempers, and learning to observe and think.
On Monsters: An Unnatural History of our Worst Fears
by Stephen T. Asma<P>Hailed as "a feast" (Washington Post) and "a modern-day bestiary" (The New Yorker), Stephen Asma's On Monsters is a wide-ranging cultural and conceptual history of monsters--how they have evolved over time, what functions they have served for us, and what shapes they are likely to take in the future. <P>Beginning at the time of Alexander the Great, the monsters come fast and furious--Behemoth and Leviathan, Gog and Magog, Satan and his demons, Grendel and Frankenstein, circus freaks and headless children, right up to the serial killers and terrorists of today and the post-human cyborgs of tomorrow. Monsters embody our deepest anxieties and vulnerabilities, Asma argues, but they also symbolize the mysterious and incoherent territory beyond the safe enclosures of rational thought. Exploring sources as diverse as philosophical treatises, scientific notebooks, and novels, Asma unravels traditional monster stories for the clues they offer about the inner logic of an era's fears and fascinations. In doing so, he illuminates the many ways monsters have become repositories for those human qualities that must be repudiated, externalized, and defeated.
On Mothering Multiples: Complexities And Possibilities
by Kathy MantasDemeter Press took on the challenge of discussing multiples through On Mothering Multiples: Complexities and Possibilities, a book that promised to “(re)explore, (re)present, and make meaning of the process of conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering experiences with multiples”. Under the editorship of Kathy Mantas, and through diverse contributions of research, artwork and narrative pieces, this topic is explored with diverse voices that elicit nuance towards a subject that often suffers from cliché and overt charm. Daring to taunt the reader who may be beguiled by the blessing of multiples with an unflinching look at subjects such as fetal demise, disability, post-partum depression, the beauty and the beast of the post-twin maternal body, and the society’s obsession and derision with multiples conceived through assistive reproductive technology, this book is a foundational text on the topic of the messiness of multiple births and mothering. This collection manages to be both intensely personal while maintaining the scholarly distance necessary to offer an important contribution to the field of motherhood studies as well as intersecting with grief work and disability studies. Published in 2016, this book remains provocative, and stealth in how it unfurls its wisdom, providing both clarity and further
On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy
by Simon CritchleyMysticism is about existential ecstasy - an experience of heightening one's senses and self into a sheer feeling of aliveness. Mystical experiences offer us a practical way to open our thoughts and deepen the sense of our lives, whether through a mainstream connection to God or by taking part in mind-altering experiences. Here, Simon Critchley explores the history and practice of mysticism, from its origins in Eastern and Western religion, through its association with esoteric and occult knowledge, and up to the ecstatic modernism of T.S. Eliot and others. Through a discussion of the lives of famous mystics, like Julian of Norwich and Jesus Christ, Critchley reveals how embracing the spectrum of mystical experience can refresh our thinking and help us live deeper and freer lives. Philosophical and playful, analytical and inventive, On Mysticism is a definitive account of humanity's quest to understand the divine, and a call to thinkers everywhere to broaden our minds to life larger than our selves.
On Pluto: Inside The Mind Of Alzheimer's
by Lisa Genova Greg O'BrienThis is a book about living with Alzheimer’s, not dying with it. It is a book about hope, faith, and humor—a prescription far more powerful than the conventional medication available today to fight this disease. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the US—and the only one of these diseases on the rise. More than 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia; about 35 million people worldwide. Greg O’Brien, an award-winning investigative reporter, has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and is one of those faceless numbers. Acting on long-term memory and skill coupled with well-developed journalistic grit, O’Brien decided to tackle the disease and his imminent decline by writing frankly about the journey. O’Brien is a master storyteller. His story is naked, wrenching, and soul searching for a generation and their loved ones about to cross the threshold of this death in slow motion. On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s is a trail-blazing roadmap for a generation—both a “how to” for fighting a disease, and a “how not” to give up!
On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's
by Greg O'Brien Lisa GenovaThis is a book about living with Alzheimer’s, not dying with it. It is a book about hope, faith, and humor—a prescription far more powerful than the conventional medication available today to fight this disease. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the US—and the only one of these diseases on the rise. More than 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia; about 35 million people worldwide. Greg O’Brien, an award-winning investigative reporter, has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and is one of those faceless numbers. Acting on long-term memory and skill coupled with well-developed journalistic grit, O’Brien decided to tackle the disease and his imminent decline by writing frankly about the journey. O’Brien is a master storyteller. His story is naked, wrenching, and soul searching for a generation and their loved ones about to cross the threshold of this death in slow motion. On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s is a trail-blazing roadmap for a generation—both a “how to” for fighting a disease, and a “how not” to give up!
On Quiet
by Nikki GemmellInternationally bestselling author Nikki Gemmell writes on the power of quiet in today's shouty world. Quiet comes as a shock in these troubled times. Quietism means 'devotional contemplation and abandonment of the will ... a calm acceptance of things as they are'. Gemmell makes the case for why quiet is steadily gaining ground in this noisy age: Why we need it now more than ever. How to glean quiet, hold on to it, and work within it.
On Silence: Holding the Voice Hostage (The Palgrave Lacan Series)
by Ed Pluth Cindy ZeiherThis book promotes a Lacanian approach to silence, arguing that Lacanian psychoanalysis is distinctive for putting a high value on both silence and language. Unlike other disciplines and discourses the authors do not treat silence as a mystical-impossible beyond, at the cost of demoting the value of language and thought. Rather than treating silence with awe and wonder, this book puts silence to work, and it does so in order to deal with the inevitable alienation that comes with becoming speaking-beings. This illuminating book will be of great interest to scholars of Lacan and the psychosocial, as well as more broadly to philosophers and linguists alike.