- Table View
- List View
On the Good Life
by CiceroFor the great Roman orator and statesman Cicero, 'the good life' was at once a life of contentment and one of moral virtue - and the two were inescapably intertwined. This volume brings together a wide range of his reflections upon the importance of moral integrity in the search for happiness. In essays that are articulate, meditative and inspirational, Cicero presents his views upon the significance of friendship and duty to state and family, and outlines a clear system of practical ethics that is at once simple and universal. These works offer a timeless reflection upon the human condition, and a fascinating insight into the mind of one of the greatest thinkers of Ancient Rome.
On the Good Life
by Marcus Tullius Cicero Michael GrantFor the great Roman orator and statesman Cicero, 'the good life' was at once a life of contentment and one of moral virtue - and the two were inescapably intertwined. This volume brings together a wide range of his reflections upon the importance of moral integrity in the search for happiness. In essays that are articulate, meditative and inspirational, Cicero presents his views upon the significance of friendship and duty to state and family, and outlines a clear system of practical ethics that is at once simple and universal. These works offer a timeless reflection upon the human condition, and a fascinating insight into the mind of one of the greatest thinkers of Ancient Rome.
On the Good Life: Thinking through the Intermediaries in Plato's Philebus (SUNY series in Ancient Greek Philosophy)
by Cristina IonescuPlato's Philebus continues to fascinate us with its reflections on what it means to live a good life by aiming at the right combination of pleasure and knowledge. In this book, Cristina Ionescu argues that mediation is a central theme in the dialogue. Whether we talk about mediating between distinct ontological levels, between steps of reasoning, between pleasure and knowledge, between distinct types of pleasure, or between concrete circumstances and ideals, the steps in between remain essential to a good life. Focusing on ethical, epistemological, and metaphysical aspects of the dialogue, Ionescu occasionally steps beyond the letter of the text, while remaining faithful to its spirit, as she tries to illuminate what is only hinted at.
On the Government of the Living: Lectures at the College de France 1979-1980 (Michel Foucault, Lectures at the Collège de France)
by Michel Senellart Michel FoucaultIn these lectures delivered in 1980, Michel Foucault gives an important new inflection to his history of "regimes of truth. " Following on from the themes of knowledge-power and governmentality, he turns his attention here to the ethical domain of practices of techniques of the self. <P><P>Why and how, he asks, does the exercise of power as government demand not only acts of obedience and submission, but "truth acts" in which individuals subject to relations of power are also required to be subjects in procedures of truth-telling? How and why are subjects required not just to tell the truth, but to tell the truth about themselves? <P><P>These questions lead to a re-reading of Sophocles'Oedipus the King and, through an examination of the texts of Tertullian, Cassian, and others, to an analysis of the 'truth acts' in early Christian practices of baptism, penance, and spiritual direction in which believers are called upon to manifest the truth of themselves as subjects always danger of falling into sin. In the public expression of the subject's condition as a sinner, in the rituals of repentance and penance, and in the detailed verbalization of thoughts in the examination of conscience, we see the organization of a pastoral system focused upon confession.
On the Ground: Terrestrial Theopoetics and Planetary Politics
by O'neil Van HornA bold, theoretical, and pragmatic book that looks to soil as a symbol for constructive possibilities for hope and planetary political action in the Anthropocene.Climate change is here. Its ravaging effects will upend our interconnected ecosystems, and yet those effects will play out disproportionately among the planet’s nearly 8 billion human inhabitants. On the Ground explores how one might account for the many paradoxical tensions posed by the Anthropocene: tensions between planetarity and particularity, connectivity and contextuality, entanglement and exclusion. Using the philosophical and theological idea of “ground,” Van Horn argues that ground—when read as earth-ground, as soil—offers a symbol for conceiving of the effects of climate change as collective and yet located, as communal and yet differential. In so doing, he offers critical interventions on theorizations of hope and political action amid the crises of climate change.Drawing on soil science, theopoetics, feminist ethics, poststructuralism, process philosophy, and more, On the Ground asks: In the face of global climate catastrophe, how might one theorize this calamitous experience as shared and yet particular, as interconnected and yet contextual? Might there be a way to conceptualize our interconnected experiences without erasing critical constitutive differences, particularly of social and ecological location? How might these conceptual interventions catalyze pluralistic, anti-racist planetary politics amid the Anthropocene? In short, the book addresses these queries: What philosophical and theological concepts can soil create? How might soil inspire and help re-imagine forms of planetary politics in the midst of climate change? On the Ground thus roots us in a robust theoretical symbol in the hopes of producing and proliferating intersectional responses to climate change.
On the Happiness of the Philosophic Life: Reflections on Rousseau's Rêveries in Two Books
by Heinrich MeierOn the Happiness of the Philosophic Life presents Heinrich Meier’s confrontation with Rousseau’s Rêveries, the philosopher’s most beautiful and daring work, as well as his last and least understood. Bringing to bear more than thirty years of study of Rousseau, Meier unfolds his stunningly original interpretation in two parts. The first part of On the Happiness of the Philosophic Life approaches the Rêveries not as another autobiographical text in the tradition of the Confessions and the Dialogues, but as a reflection on the philosophic life and the distinctive happiness it provides. The second turns to a detailed analysis of a work referred to in the Rêveries, the “Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar,” which triggered Rousseau’s political persecution when it was originally published as part of Émile. In his examination of this most controversial of Rousseau’s writings, which aims to lay the foundations for a successful nonphilosophic life, Meier brings to light the differences between natural religion as expressed by the Vicar and Rousseau’s natural theology. Together, the two reciprocally illuminating parts of this study provide an indispensable guide to Rousseau and to the understanding of the nature of the philosophic life. “[A] dense but precise and enthralling analysis.”—New Yorker
On the Happy Life: St. Augustine's Cassiciacum Dialogues, Volume 2
by Saint AugustineA fresh, new translation of Augustine’s inaugural work as a Christian convert The first four works written by St. Augustine of Hippo after his conversion to Christianity are the “Cassiciacum dialogues,” which have influenced prominent thinkers from Boethius to Bernard Lonergan. In this second, brief dialogue, expertly translated by Michael Foley, Augustine and his mother, brother, son, and friends celebrate his thirty-second birthday by having a “feast of words” on the nature of happiness. They conclude that the truly happy life consists of “having God” through faith, hope, and charity.
On the Heavens
by AristotleTHE science which has to do with nature clearly concerns itself for the most part with bodies and magnitudes and their properties and movements, but also with the principles of this sort of substance, as many as they may be. For of things constituted by nature, some are bodies and magnitudes, some possess body and magnitude, and some are principles of things which possess these. Now a continuum is that which is divisible into parts always capable of subdivision, and a body is that which is every way divisible.
On the History of Political Philosophy: Great Political Thinkers from Thucydides to Locke
by W Julian Korab-KarpowiczIntended for use in courses on political philosophy or the history of political philosophy, On the History of Political Philosophy provides a critical account of Western political philosophy from classical Greece to modern times. Demonstrating the continued relevance of historical ideas to today's problems, the author traces ongoing discussions about justice, power, and human nature by examining the ideas of key political theorists.
On the Human Condition (Thinking in Action)
by Dominique JanicaudThe potential to clone, augment, and repair human beings is pushing the very concept of the human to its limit. Fantasies and metaphors of a supposedly monstrous and inhuman future increasingly dominate films, art and popular culture. On the Human Condition is an invigorating and fascinating exploration of where the idea of the human stands today. Given the damage human beings have inflicted on each other and their environment throughout history, should we embrace humanism or try and overcome it?Dominique Janicaud explores these urgent questions and more. He argues that whilst we need to avoid apocalyptic talk of a post human condition, as embodied in technology such as cloning, we should neither fall back on a conservative humanism nor become technophobic. Drawing on illuminating examples such as genetic engineering, the novel Frankenstein, the legendary debate between Sartre and Heidegger over humanism, and the work of Primo Levi, Domnique Janicaud also explores the role of fantasy in understanding the human condition and asks where the line lies between the human, inhuman and the superhuman.
On the (Im)Possibility of Business Ethics: Critical Complexity, Deconstruction, and Implications for Understanding the Ethics of Business
by Minka WoermannCorporations, and the environments in which they operate, are complex, with changing multiple dimensions, and an inherent capacity to evolve qualitatively. A central premise of this study is that a postmodern reading of ethics represents an expression of, and an engagement with, the ethical complexities that define the business landscape. In particular, the deconstructive philosophy of Jacques Derrida offers a non-trivial reading of a complex notion of ethics, and thereby helps us to develop the skills necessary to critique and intervene in our practices, and to develop robust strategies for living in the absence of prescriptive ethical frameworks. Although a central premise of this study is that substantive ethical claims can only be generated within a given context, the study nevertheless presents readers with a meta-position that illustrates the type of considerations that should inform ethical reflection from a complexity perspective. In order to illustrate the value that this meta-position holds for business ethics, these considerations are explored in terms of the implications that they hold for our understanding of corporate social responsibility, for the practice of responsible management and leadership practices, and for teaching business ethics.
On the Improvement of the Understanding: (tractatus De Intellectus Emendatione) (Mobi Classics Ser.)
by Benedict De SpinozaAlso contains Ethics, Correspondence, all in excellent R. Elwes translation. Basic works on entry to philosophy, pantheism, exchange of ideas with great contemporaries.
On the Improvement of Understanding
by Benedict De SpinozaAfter experience had taught me that all the usual surroundings of social life are vain and futile; seeing that none of the objects of my fears contained in themselves anything either good or bad, except in so far as the mind is affected by them, I finally resolved to inquire whether there might be some real good having power to communicate itself, which would affect the mind singly, to the exclusion of all else: whether, in fact, there might be anything of which the discovery and attainment would enable me to enjoy continuous, supreme, and unending happiness.
On the Integration of Nature
by Richard GrossingerThis collage-like book is an inquiry into the nature of life and of existence itself. Simultaneously philosophical, spiritual, and literary, it pushes the boundaries of this area of thought beyond the strictures of science, religion, and all other forms of ideology. Author Richard Grossinger dazzlingly blends narrative memoir, short science fiction "novels" (the shortest being a mere paragraph), political think pieces, Buddhist screeds, public dialogue via found art, and even dreams to create a bold view of the world and humankind's precarious place in it.
On the Internet (Thinking in Action)
by Hubert L. DreyfusCan the internet solve the problem of mass education, and bring human beings to a new level of community? Drawing on a diverse array of thinkers from Plato to Kierkegaard, On the Internet argues that there is much in common between the disembodied, free floating web and Descartes' separation of mind and body. Hubert Dreyfus also shows how Kierkegaard's insights into the origins of a media-obsessed public anticipate the web surfer, blogger and chat room. Drawing on studies of the isolation experienced by many internet users and the insights of philosopher such as Descartes and Kierkegaard, Dreyfus shows how the internet's privatisation of experience ignores essential human capacities such as trust, moods, risk, shared local concerns and commitment. The second edition includes a brand new chapter on ‘Second Life’ and is revised and updated throughout.
On the Internet (Routledge filosofie)
by Hubert L. DreyfusInternet is een van de eerste boeken waarin het filosofische inzicht -van Plato tot Kierkegaard - betrokken wordt op het debat over de mogelijkheden en onmogelijkheden van het internet.Dreyfus laat zien dat de onstoffelijke, 'vrij zwevende' websurfer zijn oorsprong vindt in Descartes' scheiding van geest en lichaam, en hoe Kierkegaards inzichten in de opkomst van het moderne leespubliek vooruitlopen op de nieuwsgierige, maar elk risico vermijdende internet-junkie. Uitgaande van recente onderzoeken naar het isolement dat veel internetgebruikers ervaren, toont Dreyfus aan hoe het internet, door zijn nadruk op privé-ervaringen, gebruikers berooft van wezenlijke, belichaamde vermogens zoals vertrouwen, stemmingen en betrokkenheid bij met anderen gedeelde lokale aangelegenheden. Internet is verplichte kost voor iedereen die on line is en is geïnteressseerd in onze plaats in de 'e-revolutie'.
On the Internet (Thinking In Action Ser.)
by Hurbert L DreyfusDrawing on a diverse array of thinkers from Plato to Kierkegaard, On the Internet is one of the first books to bring philosophical insight to the debate on how far the internet can and cannot take us.Dreyfus shows us the roots of the disembodied, free floating web surfer in Descartes' separation of mind and body, and how Kierkegaard's insights into the birth of the modern reading public anticipate the news-hungry, but disinterested risk avoiding internet junkie. Drawing on recent studies of the isolation experienced by many internet users, Dreyfus shows how the internet's privatisation of experience ignores essential human capacities such as trust, moods, risk, shared local concerns and commitment. On the Internet is essential reading for anyone on line and all those interested in our place in the e-revolution.
On the Judgment of History (Ruth Benedict Book Series)
by Joan Wallach ScottIn the face of conflict and despair, we often console ourselves by saying that history will be the judge. Today’s oppressors may escape being held responsible for their crimes, but the future will condemn them. Those who stand up for progressive values are on the right side of history. As ideas once condemned to the dustbin of history—white supremacy, hypernationalism, even fascism—return to the world, threatening democratic institutions and values, can we still hold out hope that history will render its verdict?Joan Wallach Scott critically examines the belief that history will redeem us, revealing the implicit politics of appeals to the judgment of history. She argues that the notion of a linear, ever-improving direction of history hides the persistence of power structures and hinders the pursuit of alternative futures. This vision of necessary progress perpetuates the assumption that the nation-state is the culmination of history and the ultimate source for rectifying injustice. Scott considers the Nuremberg Tribunal and South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which claimed to carry out history’s judgment on Nazism and apartheid, and contrasts them with the movement for reparations for slavery in the United States. Advocates for reparations call into question a national history that has long ignored enslavement and its racist legacies. Only by this kind of critical questioning of the place of the nation-state as the final source of history’s judgment, this book shows, can we open up room for radically different conceptions of justice.
On the Land
by Bruce W. Hodgins Kerry A. CannonIt is from the land that the Native peoples of Canada draw their strength.If the people of Quebec claim a right to sovereignty, Inuit of Quebec argue their right of self-determination empowers them with the choice to remain part of Quebec, of Canada or to secede on their own. <p><p> The James Bay Cree consider Hydro Quebec’s "mad plans to engineer and dam the vast ecosystem" where they have lived for centuries an affront to their own right to control their land.The Labrador Innu are struggling with both the federal and provincial governments to protect their traditional hunting territories from threats imposed by military training flights and mineral exploration. <p> All of these are challenges. As the Native peoples of Canada are meeting them, asserting their right to make choices for themselves, they stand steadfastly "on the land" from which flow their inherent rights to self-determination.
On the Laws of the Poetic Art (The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts #41)
by Anthony HechtA magisterial exploration of poetry’s place in the fine arts by one of the twentieth century's leading poetsIn this book, eminent poet Anthony Hecht explores the art of poetry and its relationship to the other fine arts. While the problems he treats entail both philosophic and theoretical discussion, he never allows abstract speculation to overshadow his delight in the written texts that he introduces, or in the specific examples of painting and music to which he refers. After discussing literature’s links with painting and music, Hecht investigates the theme of paradise and wilderness, especially in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. He then turns to the question of public and private art, exploring the ways in which all the arts participate in balances between private and public modes of discourse, and between an exclusive or elitist role and the openly political. Beginning with a discussion of architecture as an illustration of a more general theme of discord and balance, the penultimate lecture probes the inner contradictions of works of art and our reactions to them, while the final piece concerns art and morality.
On the Limits of Constitutional Adjudication
by Juliano Zaiden BenvindoJuliano Z. Benvindo investigates the current movement of constitutional courts towards political activism, especially by focusing on the increasing use of the balancing method as a "rational" justification for this process. From the critical perception of the serious risks of this movement to democracy, the book takes as examples two constitutional realities, Germany and Brazil, in order to discuss the rationality, correctness, and legitimacy of constitutional decisions within this context. Through a dialogue between Jacques Derrida's deconstruction and Jürgen Habermas's proceduralism, the author confronts Robert Alexy's defense of the balancing method as well as those two constitutional realities. This confrontation leads to the introduction of the concept of limited rationality applied to constitutional democracy and constitutional adjudication, which affirms the double bind of history and justice as a condition for a practice of decision-making committed to the principle of separation of powers.
On the Logos: A Naïve View on Ordinary Reasoning and Fuzzy Logic (Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing #354)
by Enric TrillasThis book offers an inspiring and naïve view on language and reasoning. It presents a new approach to ordinary reasoning that follows the author’s former work on fuzzy logic. Starting from a pragmatic scientific view on meaning as a quantity, and the common sense reasoning from a primitive notion of inference, which is shared by both laypeople and experts, the book shows how this can evolve, through the addition of more and more suppositions, into various formal and specialized modes of precise, imprecise, and approximate reasoning. The logos are intended here as a synonym for rationality, which is usually shown by the processes of questioning, guessing, telling, and computing. Written in a discursive style and without too many technicalities, the book presents a number of reflections on the study of reasoning, together with a new perspective on fuzzy logic and Zadeh’s “computing with words” grounded in both language and reasoning. It also highlights some mathematical developments supporting this view. Lastly, it addresses a series of questions aimed at fostering new discussions and future research into this topic. All in all, this book represents an inspiring read for professors and researchers in computer science, and fuzzy logic in particular, as well as for psychologists, linguists and philosophers.
On the Mathematics of Modelling, Metamodelling, Ontologies and Modelling Languages
by Brian Henderson-SellersComputing as a discipline is maturing rapidly. However, with maturity often comes a plethora of subdisciplines, which, as time progresses, can become isolationist. The subdisciplines of modelling, metamodelling, ontologies and modelling languages within software engineering e.g. have, to some degree, evolved separately and without any underpinning formalisms. Introducing set theory as a consistent underlying formalism, Brian Henderson-Sellers shows how a coherent framework can be developed that clearly links these four, previously separate, areas of software engineering. In particular, he shows how the incorporation of a foundational ontology can be beneficial in resolving a number of controversial issues in conceptual modelling, especially with regard to the perceived differences between linguistic metamodelling and ontological metamodelling. An explicit consideration of domain-specific modelling languages is also included in his mathematical analysis of models, metamodels, ontologies and modelling languages. This encompassing and detailed presentation of the state-of-the-art in modelling approaches mainly aims at researchers in academia and industry. They will find the principled discussion of the various subdisciplines extremely useful, and they may exploit the unifying approach as a starting point for future research.
On the Meaning of Life (Thinking in Action)
by John CottinghamThe question 'What is the meaning of life?' is one of the most fascinating, oldest and most difficult questions human beings have ever posed themselves. In an increasingly secularized culture, it remains a question to which we are ineluctably and powerfully drawn.Drawing skillfully on a wealth of thinkers, writers and scientists from Augustine, Descartes, Freud and Camus, to Spinoza, Pascal, Darwin, and Wittgenstein, On the Meaning of Life breathes new vitality into one of the very biggest questions.
On the Meaning of Sex
by J. BudziszewskiOur society is obsessed with sex - and yet we don't understand it at all. Acclaimed philosopher J. Budziszewski remedies the problem in this wise, gracefully written book about the nature, meaning, and mysteries of sexuality. On the Meaning of Sex corrects the most prevalent errors about sex - particularly those of the sexual revolution, which by mistaking pleasure for a good in itself has caused untold pain and suffering.