- Table View
- List View
The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape The Future
by Bruce Bueno de MesquitaGame theory is a fancy label for a simple idea: People compete, and they always do what they think is in their own best interest. A master practitioner whose forecasts have an amazing 90 percent accuracy rate, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita uses game theory and its insights into human behavior to predict and even engineer political, financial, and personal events. In this revelatory book, he shares his methods. Bueno de Mesquita games a range of high-stakes negotiations and conflicts, from the North Korean disarmament talks to the Middle East peace process; provides successful strategies to combat both global warming and terror; and shows how game theory can help you in your own life, whether you want to succeed in a lawsuit, elect the CEO of your company, or simply buy a car. Savvy and shockingly effective, The Predictioneer's Game will change how you understand the world and manage your future. Life's game, and how you play is whether you win or lose. Book jacket.
Preface to Action (Routledge Revivals)
by George E. CatlinFirst published in 1934, Preface to Action was written to provoke thought on society and its structure and to enable readers to make a considered judgement at election, particularly those with less time to make their decision. The book discusses the conflict between wanting to make an informed political decision, and not having the time or all the information to do so. In light of this, Catlin brings together what he considers useful points to help guide readers towards a decision. He outlines his personal opinions and explains his reasons for them. Divided into three parts, the book first explores psychology and considers what institutional forms would best satisfy what he identifies as the major human instincts or impulses. The second part considers the community, whether it is state or nation, and what the best form of it is. The third part is a detailed exploration of the religions of Catholicism, Toryism, Fascism, and Communism. Preface to Action will be of great appeal to those with an interest in twentieth century British and European history, the history of politics, the history of political thought, and political psychology.
A Preface to Economic Democracy (Quantum Books #28)
by Robert A. DahlTocqueville pessimistically predicted that liberty and equality would be incompatible ideas. Robert Dahl, author of the classic A Preface to Democratic Theory, explores this alleged conflict, particularly in modern American society where differences in ownership and control of corporate enterprises create inequalities in resources among Americans that in turn generate inequality among them as citizens.Arguing that Americans have misconceived the relation between democracy, private property, and the economic order, the author contends that we can achieve a society of real democracy and political equality without sacrificing liberty by extending democratic principles into the economic order. Although enterprise control by workers violates many conventional political and ideological assumptions of corporate capitalism as well as of state socialism. Dahl presents an empirically informed and philosophically acute defense of "workplace democracy." He argues, in the light of experiences here and abroad, that an economic system of worker-owned and worker-controlled enterprises could provide a much better foundation for democracy, political equality, and liberty than does our present system of corporate capitalism.
A Preface to Logic
by Morris R. CohenOver the past two centuries the field of logic has developed at an explosive pace into new areas far removed from the traditional syllogism and formal proof. The purpose of this well-known introductory treatment is to chart, clearly and lucidly, this new domain of today's vastly sophisticated logic. Author Morris R. Cohen explores "the periphery of logic, the relations of logic to the rest of the universe, the philosophical presuppositions which give logic its meaning, and the applications which give it importance."Beginning with an exploration of the traditional scope of logic as the medium of formal proofs, the text pursues a modern investigation of the relationship between logic and the mind, logic and speech, logic in metaphor and fiction-and most significantly, logic and the concept of abstract reasoning as applied to the empirical world. Additional topics include logic and statistical method, probability, and scientific models. Concise and highly readable, this volume is suitable for college undergraduates and other readers interested in logic. 1944 edition.
A Preface to Logic (Routledge Revivals)
by Morris R. CohenPublished in 1946, this volume does not purpose to be a treatise on logic. The author’s contributions to the substance of logical doctrine have been made in his other works. What he has attempted in the studies that form this volume is an exploration of the periphery of logic, the relation of logic to the rest of the universe, the philosophical presuppositions which give logic its meaning and the applications which give it importance. It is his belief that formal logic is the heart of philosophy, since the subject matter of logic is the formal aspect of all being. From this standpoint he explores the relation of logic to such fields of study as natural science, ethics, history and general philosophy.
The Preface to Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception: A Re-Introduction
by Rajiv KaushikThis book offers a critical re-appraisal of what is perhaps Merleau-Ponty’s most widely read text, the Preface to his Phenomenology of Perception. Although open and enigmatic text, the Preface is still often used to introduce phenomenology in general and Merleau-Ponty’s work specifically to students, scholars in disciplines other than philosophy, and art practitioners. Taking advantage of the fact that many of his course notes have been posthumously published in the last few decades, this book situates the Preface to the Phenomenology of Perception in the context of Merleau-Ponty's later work and shows how it contains many of the threads on which Merleau-Ponty would later pull. In doing so, the book chapters elaborate key themes in the Preface: “Phenomenology and its Paradoxes,” “Phenomenology and its Method,” “Phenomenology and its Incompletion,” “Phenomenology and Non-Phenomenology." Readers will learn about the radicality of Merleau-Ponty’s early articulation of phenomenology, how much it already suggests the profound transformation of phenomenology usually associated with his more mature work.
A Preface to Morals
by Bernard J. ParisAfter an eloquent and moving analysis of what he sees as the disillusion of themodern age, Lippmann posits as the central dilemma of liberalism its inability to find an appropriate substitute for the older forms of authority-- church, state, class, family, law, custom--that it has denied. Lippmann attempts to find a way out of this chaos through the acceptance of a higher humanism and a way of life inspired by the ideal of -disinterestedness- in all things. In his new introduction to the Transaction edition, John Patrick Diggins marks A Preface to Morals, originally published in 1929, as a critical turning point in Lippmann's intellectual career. He also provides an excellent discussion of the enduring value of this major twentieth-century work by situating it within the context of other intellectual movements.
Preface to the philosophy of education (International Library of the Philosophy of Education Volume 24)
by John WilsonIt is sometimes said that the philosophy of education is not a serious and coherent philosophical area of inquiry. John Wilson examines this argument, taking it as the starting point for his book. He believes that most 'philosophy of education' until now has been little more than the promotion of particular ideologies, and that progress can be made only by a more analytical approach. The central problems lies in establishing a few basic concepts, principles and categories and questions which will form the skeleton of the subject. He therefore outlines the nature of 'philosophy of education' and defines some of its major problems by examining key notions such as the value of education, the nature and implications of learning and what should be learned.
Prefects and Governors in Nineteenth-century Europe: Towards a Comparative History of Provincial Senior Officials (Palgrave Studies in Political History)
by Pierre Karila-CohenThis edited collection presents a pan-European history of intermediary government and administration in nineteenth-century Europe. Taking a closer look at senior government officials who represented the sovereign or state far away from the capital, the book highlights the intermediary nature of their roles, which fell somewhere between the municipality and central bureaucracy. Against the backdrop of revolution and upheaval brought about by the Enlightenment and the First World War, the nineteenth century was a crucial period for reform and political change. Taking a transnational approach, the contributors examine the similarities between the challenges that faced government officials in different European states, focusing on their common role as mediators: firstly, between the ‘centre’ and the ‘peripheries’; and secondly, between the population and hierarchies of power. The status and prerogative of these officials are discussed, providing insights into the lives of French Préfets, Prussian Oberpräsidenten, Austrian Statthalter, Italian Prefetti, dutch Commissarissen des Konings and governors in Russia and Spain. The special case of the United Kingdom, where there were neither prefects nor governors, serves as a mirror. Dismantling the barriers between different national histories, this book represents a comprehensive and comparative investigation into the roles of nineteenth-century provincial administrators in Europe, an important read for anyone researching European political history or the history of the state.
The Prefects and Provincial France (Routledge Library Editions: Government)
by Brian ChapmanOriginally published in 1955, this book traces the history of the Corps from its foundation in 1800, the successive stages in the career of a Prefect, his or her legal powers and influence on the social, political and economic life of the country. As well as being an original piece of research, it provides an absorbing picture of life in provincial France and explains the fundamental strength of France despite her political contradictions.
Preference and Information (Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy)
by Dan EgonssonIs it important to our quality of life that the preferences we satisfy are rational and well-informed? Standard preferentialist theories allege that a person's preferences and their satisfaction are the correct measure of well-being. In preference-sensitive theories, preferences are important but do not count for everything. This raises the question of whether we ought to make demands on these preferences. In this book Egonsson presents a critical analysis of the 'Full Information Account of the Good', which claims that only the satisfaction of rational and fully informed preferences has value for a person. The problems he deals with include: how is an information requirement to be formulated and shaped? Is it possible to design a requirement that is both neutral to the agent's epistemic situation and reasonable? Is the requirement reasonable? Does it make sense to claim that some are better off if we satisfy the preferences they would have had in some merely hypothetical circumstances? This is an important new book on preference rationality which will be of great interest to academics and students of ethics, quality of life, and rationality.
Preference, Value, Choice, and Welfare
by Daniel M. HausmanThis book is about preferences, principally as they figure in economics. It also explores their uses in everyday language and action, how they are understood in psychology and how they figure in philosophical reflection on action and morality. The book clarifies and for the most part defends the way in which economists invoke preferences to explain, predict and assess behavior and outcomes. Hausman argues, however, that the predictions and explanations economists offer rely on theories of preference formation that are in need of further development, and he criticizes attempts to define welfare in terms of preferences and to define preferences in terms of choices or self-interest. The analysis clarifies the relations between rational choice theory and philosophical accounts of human action. The book also assembles the materials out of which models of preference formation and modification can be constructed, and it comments on how reason and emotion shape preferences.
Preferring Justice: Rationality, Self-transformation, And The Sense Of Justice
by Eric CaveThis manuscript is about the sense of justice that limits what individuals can do in pursuit of their ends and opens them to exploitation. It shows how flawed agents choosing under partial information advance those of their ends having nothing to do with justice by maintaining such a disposition.
Prefigurative Politics: Building Tomorrow Today
by Paul Raekstad Sofa Saio GradinMany of us wonder what we could possibly do to end oppression, exploitation, and injustice. People have studied revolutions and protest movements for centuries, but few have focused on prefigurative politics, the idea of 'building the new society within the shell of the old'. Fed up with capitalism? Get organised and build the institutions of the future in radical unions and local communities. Tired of politicians stalling on climate change? Set up an alternative energy collective. Ready to smash racism and the patriarchy? Root them out in all areas of our lives, not just in 'high politics'. This is the first book dedicated to prefigurative politics, explaining its history and examining the various debates surrounding it. How can collective decision-making be inclusive? In what ways are movements intersectional? Can prefigurative organisations scale up? It is a must-read for students of radical politics, anarchism, and social movements, as well as activists and concerned citizens everywhere.
Prefiguring the Idea of the University for a Post-Capitalist Society (Marxism and Education)
by Gary SaundersUsing an Open Marxist theoretical framework, this book provides a critique of the neoliberal reforms made to higher education since the late 1970s and the impact this has had on the sector. Rather than arguing for a return to the idea of the public university, the book argues that public and private models of higher education are both forms of capitalist accumulation and have historically perpetuated forms of oppression, exploitation and discrimination; thus, a more radical solution that addresses both the current crisis of higher education and the contradictory and exploitative nature of late capitalism is required. This book critically examines the autonomous learning spaces that emerged out of the UK student protests (2009-2010) and documents what can be learned from them to prefigure the idea of the university for a post-capitalist society.
Pregúntale a Platón: Como La Filosofia Puede Cambiar Tu Vida
by Lou Marinoff¿Es necesario el sufrimiento? ¿Nos guía la razón o la pasión? ¿Qué es el amor? En Pregúntale a Platón encontrarás respuesta a todas las preguntas que plantea la vida. Siguiendo la línea de su exitoso Más Platón y menos Prozac, Lou Marinoff, consciente de que los seres humanos nos preguntamos sobre el pasado, el presente y el futuro, y necesitamos otorgar sentido a lo que nos sucede, ayuda al lector a tomar decisiones. Este apasionante recorrido por los grandes filósofos de la historia incluye ejemplos prácticos en los que el lector encontrará las respuestas que anhela, aprenderá a transformar el malestar en bienestar, y podrá construir su propia filosofía de la vida. La crítica ha dicho...«Marinoff ha descubierto una línea narrativa donde, a través de casos reales, el lector consigue integrar la filosofía en su propio entorno.»ABC Cultural
Prehension: The Hand and the Emergence of Humanity
by Colin McginnThis book is a hymn to the hand. In Prehension, Colin McGinn links questions from science to philosophical concerns to consider something that we take for granted: the importance of the hand in everything we do. <P><P>Drawing on evolutionary biology, anatomy, archaeology, linguistics, psychology, and philosophy, among other disciplines, McGinn examines the role of the hand in shaping human evolution. He finds that the development of our capacity to grasp, to grip, to take hold (also known as prehension) is crucial in the emergence of Homo sapiens. The human species possesses language, rational thought, culture, and a specific affective capacity; but there was a time when our ancestors had none of these. How did we become what we so distinctively are, given our early origins? McGinn, following Darwin and others, calls the hand the source of our biological success. When our remote ancestors descended from trees, they adopted a bipedal gait that left the hands free for other work; they began to make tools, which led to social cooperation and increased brain capacity. But McGinn goes further than others in arguing for the importance of the hand; he speculates that the hand played a major role in the development of language, and presents a theory of primitive reference as an outgrowth of prehension. McGinn sings the praises of the hand, and evolution, in a philosophical key. He mixes biology, anthropology, analytical philosophy, existential philosophy, sheer speculation, and utter amazement to celebrate humans' achievement of humanity.
Prehension: The Hand and the Emergence of Humanity
by Colin McGinnIn praise of the hand: A philosopher considers the crucial role of the hand in human evolution, particularly with respect to language. This book is a hymn to the hand. In Prehension, Colin McGinn links questions from science to philosophical concerns to consider something that we take for granted: the importance of the hand in everything we do. Drawing on evolutionary biology, anatomy, archaeology, linguistics, psychology, and philosophy, among other disciplines, McGinn examines the role of the hand in shaping human evolution. He finds that the development of our capacity to grasp, to grip, to take hold (also known as prehension) is crucial in the emergence of Homo sapiens. The human species possesses language, rational thought, culture, and a specific affective capacity; but there was a time when our ancestors had none of these. How did we become what we so distinctively are, given our early origins? McGinn, following Darwin and others, calls the hand the source of our biological success. When our remote ancestors descended from trees, they adopted a bipedal gait that left the hands free for other work; they began to make tools, which led to social cooperation and increased brain capacity. But McGinn goes further than others in arguing for the importance of the hand; he speculates that the hand played a major role in the development of language, and presents a theory of primitive reference as an outgrowth of prehension. McGinn sings the praises of the hand, and evolution, in a philosophical key. He mixes biology, anthropology, analytical philosophy, existential philosophy, sheer speculation, and utter amazement to celebrate humans' achievement of humanity.
Prekäre Verbindlichkeiten: Studien an den Problemschwellen normativer Ordnungen (Wissen, Kommunikation und Gesellschaft)
by Jürgen Raab Justus HeckVertrauensverluste und Glaubwürdigkeitskrisen von gesellschaftlichen Institutionen sind Ausdruck der Pluralisierung von Werten und Normen und der zunehmenden Verhandelbarkeit, Labilität und Ungewissheit für allgemein und beständig genommener Verbindlichkeiten. Die im Band versammelten Studien zu Sprechweisen, Freiheitsdiskussionen, Rechtsfindungen und Polizeiarbeiten geben solch prekäre Verbindlichkeiten als Problemschwellen normativer Ordnungen zu erkennen. Ihre Komplexität fordert die Geistes-, Kultur und Sozialwissenschaften heraus, tradierte Verständnisse, Begriffe und Methoden zu prüfen, zu aktualisieren, zu erweitern und zu verfeinern. Diese Sondierungs- und Präzisierungsarbeiten sind nur interdisziplinär zu leisten. Hierfür stellt das hier unterbreitete Forschungskonzept der prekären Verbindlichkeiten ein vielversprechendes Potential in Aussicht.
Prelude to Mathematics
by W. W. Sawyer"No mathematician can be a complete mathematician unless he is also something of a poet." -- K. WeierstrassIn this lively and stimulating account, noted mathematician and educator W. W. Sawyer (Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto) defines mathematics as "the classification and study of all possible patterns." It is a broad definition, but one that seems appropriate to the great scope and depth of the topic. Indeed, mathematics seems to have few boundaries, either in applications to practical matters or in its mind-stretching excursions into realms of pure abstraction.Gearing his approach to the layman whose grasp of things mathematical may be a bit precarious, Professor Sawyer offers a lucid, accessible introduction to the mathematician's cast of mind. Five well-written preliminary chapters explore the beauty, power and mysticism of mathematics; the role of math as an adjunct in utilitarian matters; and the concepts of pattern, generalization and unification as both tools and goals of mathematical thought.After developing this conceptual groundwork, the author goes on to treat of more advanced topics: non-Euclidean geometry, matrices, projective geometry, determinants, transformations and group theory. The emphasis here is not on mathematics with great practical utility, but on those branches which are exciting in themselves -- mathematics which offers the strange, the novel, the apparently impossible -- for example, an arithmetic in which no number is larger than four.Mathematicians will appreciate the author's grasp of a wide range of important mathematical topics, and his ability to illuminate the complex issues involved; laymen, especially those with a minimal math background, will appreciate the accessibility of much of the book, which affords not only a portrait of mathematics as a matchless tool for probing the nature of the universe, but a revealing glimpse of that mysterious entity called "the mathematical mind." Professor Sawyer has further enhanced this new Dover edition with updated material on group theory, appearing here in English for the first time.
Prelude to Philosophy: An Introduction for Christians
by Mark W. Foreman"The unexamined life is not worth living," according to Socrates, but pursuing the examined life strikes many as daunting, unappealing and even unnecessary. Is philosophy important? Why do I need philosophy if I have the Bible? Aren't philosophers simply engaged in meaningless disputes that are irrelevant to everyday life? Mark Foreman addresses these and other questions in this "prelude" to the subject. Unlike a full introduction to philosophy, this book is a preliminary discussion that dispels misunderstandings and explains the rationale for engaging in philosophical reasoning. In the first half of the book, Foreman defines the task of philosophy, compares it to other disciplines and demonstrates its practical value to Christians interested in developing a more thoughtful faith. The second half introduces the reader to logic and argumentation, the essential tools of a philosopher. Concise and straightforward, Prelude to Philosophy is a guide for those looking to embark on the "examined life."
Prelude to Philosophy: An Introduction for Christians
by J. P. Moreland Mark W. ForemanPrelude to Philosophy
Prematurity in Scientific Discovery: On Resistance and Neglect
by Ernest B. HookIn a much-discussed paper published in Scientific American in 1972, molecular biologist Gunther Stent proposed an explicit criterion for one kind of obstacle to scientific discovery. Stent suggested that it was appropriate for the scientific community to ignore such hypotheses so that it would not be overwhelmed by vast numbers of false leads. In this volume, eminent scientists, physicians, historians, social scientists, and philosophers respond to Stent's thesis.
The Premise of Fidelity: Science, Visuality, and Representing the Real in Nineteenth-century Japan
by Maki FukuokaThe Premise of Fidelityputs forward a new history of Japanese visuality through an examination of the discourses and practices surrounding the nineteenth century transposition of "the real" in the decades before photography was introduced. This intellectual history is informed by a careful examination of a network of local scholars-from physicians to farmers to bureaucrats-known as Shohyaku-sha. In their archival materials, these scholars used the termshashin(which would, years later, come to signify "photography" in Japanese) in a wide variety of medical, botanical, and pictorial practices. These scholars pursued questions of the relationship between what they observed and what they believed they knew, in the process investigating scientific ideas and practices by obsessively naming and classifying, and then rendering through highly accurate illustration, the objects of their study. This book is an exploration of the process by which the Shohyaku-sha shaped the concept of shashin. As such, it disrupts the dominant narratives of photography, art, and science in Japan, providing a prehistory of Japanese photography that requires the accepted history of the discipline to be rewritten.
Preparing Antiracist Teachers: Fostering Antiracism and Equity in Teacher Preparation
by Christine Montecillo Leider Christina L. Dobbs Erin NerlinoPreparing Antiracist Teachers: Fostering Antiracism and Equity in Teacher Preparation examines multiple strategies and theories for developing antiracist attitudes and actions in teachers and teacher candidates. This textbook uses critical consciousness as a framework to help practitioners and scholars to facilitate the process of doing antiracist work.The book is divided into three sections, with Part 1 focusing on critical reflection, which refers to a social analysis and moral rejection of societal inequities, such as social, economic, racial/ethnic, and gender inequities, that constrain well-being and human agency. It shows that those who are critically reflective view social problems and inequalities in systemic terms and are therefore better able to address them. Part 2 examines sociopolitical efficacy, which refers to the perceived capacity to effect social and political change by individual and/or collective activism. Part 3 centers on critical action, that is, individual or collective action taken to change aspects of society, such as institutional policies and practices, that are perceived to be unjust. This is a broad view of activism that can include participation in activities such as voting, community organizing, and peaceful protests.Showcasing both USA-based and international case studies, Preparing Antiracist Teachers will support teacher educators in their work by presenting nuanced and important means of teacher education for antiracism and critical consciousness. It will also benefit those studying related courses, including Teacher Education, Social Justice Education, and Multicultural Education.