- Table View
- List View
Contemplating Religious Forms of Life: Wittgenstein and D.Z. Phillips
by Mikel BurleyLudwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) made profound contributions to many areas of philosophy and cultural understanding, and his thought and methods have inspired numerous inquirers into the forms of our religious life. D. Z. Phillips (1934-2006) pioneered the application of Wittgenstein-influenced approaches to the philosophy of religion, and emphasized the contemplative, non-dogmatic nature of the philosophical task. In Contemplating Religious Forms of Life, Mikel Burley elucidates and critically examines the work of these two philosophers in relation to various aspects of religion, including ritual, mystical experience, faith and reason, realism and non-realism, conceptions of eternal life, and the use of literature as a resource for the contemplation of religious and non-religious beliefs. The book will be of significant value to academics, students and general readers interested in philosophy, religious studies, theology, and the interrelations between these disciplines.
Space After Deleuze (Deleuze Encounters)
by Arun SaldanhaDeleuze's fondness for geography has long been recognised as central to his thought. This is the first book to introduce researchers to the breadth of his engagements with space, place and movement. Focusing on pressing global issues such as urbanization, war, migration, and climate change, Arun Saldanha presents a detailed Deleuzian rejoinder to a number of theoretical and political questions about globalization in a variety of disciplines. This systematic overview of moments in Deleuze's corpus where space is implicitly or explicitly theorized shows why he can be called the twentieth century's most interesting thinker of space. Anyone with an interest in refining such concepts as territory, assemblage, body, event and Anthropocene will learn much from the “geophilosophy” which Deleuze and Guattari proposed for our critical times.
The Concept of Justice: Is Social Justice Just? (Continuum Studies in Political Philosophy)
by Thomas Patrick BurkeIn The Concept of Justice, Patrick Burke explores and argues for a return to traditional ideas of ordinary justice in opposition to conceptions of 'social justice' that came to dominate political thought in the 20th Century. Arguing that our notions of justice have been made incoherent by the radical incompatibility between instinctive notions of ordinary justice and theoretical conceptions of social justice, the book goes on to explore the historical roots of these ideas of social justice. Finding the roots of these ideas in religious circles in Italy and England in the 19th century, Burke explores the ongoing religious influence in the development of the concept in the works of Marx, Mill and Hobhouse. In opposition to this legacy of liberal thought, the book presents a new theory of ordinary justice drawing on the thought of Immanuel Kant. In this light, Burke finds that all genuine ethical evaluation must presuppose free will and individual responsibility and that all true injustice is fundamentally coercive.
Encountering Althusser: Politics and Materialism in Contemporary Radical Thought
by Gal Kirn Sara R. Farris Katja Diefenbach Peter D. ThomasFrench philosopher Louis Pierre Althusser (1918 -1990) helped define the politico-theoretical conjuncture of pre- and post-1968. Today, there is a recrudescence of interest in his thought, especially in light of his later work, published in English as Philosophy of the Encounter (Verso, 2006). This has led to renewed debates on the reformulation of conflicting notions of materialism, on the event as both philosophical concept and political construction, and on the nature of politics and the political.These original essays by leading scholars aim to provide a new assessment of Althusser's thought, especially in relation to contemporary debates. Organized in four sections that represent the main currents in Althusser's scholarship, the book discusses materialism and the different formulations of the relationship between politics and philosophy, Althusser's interpretations of political thinkers (including Machiavelli, Deleuze and Gramsci), the resources he provides to critique political economy and politics in post-Marxist thought, and the theorization of ideology and politics.Encountering Althusser is a groundbreaking resource that highlights Althusser's continuing relevance to contemporary radical thought.
Dictionary of Twentieth-Century British Philosophers: 2 Volumes
by Stuart BrownThis is a two-volume work with entries on individuals who made some contribution to philosophy in theperiod 1900 to 1960 or soon after. The entries deal with the whole philosophical work of an individual or, in thecase of philosophers still living, their whole work to date. Typically the individuals included have been born by1935 and by now have made their main contributions. Contributions to the subject typically take the form ofbooks or journal articles, but influential teachers and people otherwise important in the world of philosophymay also be included. The dictionary includes amateurs as well as professional philosophers and, whereappropriate, thinkers whose main discipline was outside philosophy.There are special problems about the term "British" in the twentieth century, partly because of humanmigration, partly because of decolonialization and the changing denotation of the term. The intention has beento include not only those who were British subjects at least for a significant part of their lives (even if theymostly lived outside what is now the U.K.) but also people who spent a significant part of their lives in Britainitself, irrespective of their nationality or country of origin. In the first category are included, for instance, anumber of people who were born and educated in Britain but who subsequently taught in universities abroad.In the second category are included those who were born elsewhere but who came to Britain and contributedto its philosophical culture.
Blanchot and Literary Criticism
by Mark HewsonBlanchot's writings on literature have imposed themselves in the canon of modern literary theory and yet have remained a mysterious presence. This is in part due to their almost hypnotic literary style, in part due to their distinctive amalgam of a number of philosophical sources (Hegel, Heidegger, Levinas, Bataille), which, although hardly unknown in the Anglophone philosophical world, have not yet made themselves fully at home in literary theory. This book aims to make visible the coherence of Blanchot's critical project. To recognize the challenge that Blanchot represents for literary criticism, one has to see that he always has in view the self-interrogation that characterizes modern literature, both in its theory and its practice. Blanchot's essays study the forms and the paths of this research, its solutions and its impasses; and increasingly, they sketch out the philosophical and historical horizon within which its significance appears. The effect is to revise the terms in which we see the genesis of the modern literary concept, not least of the manifestations of which is literary criticism itself.
Political Theory After Deleuze (Deleuze Encounters)
by Nathan WidderRecent political theory has shifted decidedly towards ontology, the 'science of being', and thus towards examining fundamental concepts of identity, difference, space, and time. This new focus has reinvigorated questions concerning the nature of power, meaning, truth and agency, inspiring novel approaches to individual and collective subjectivity, the emergence of political events and the relationship between desire and politics. In this new study, Nathan Widder shows how Deleuze's philosophy both inspires and presses beyond political theory's 'ontological turn'. Linking his thought to current political theory debates, Widder explains how Deleuze's philosophy and ontology of difference are cashed out through a micropolitics of creative and critical experimentation. He further demonstrates how Deleuze challenges ideas of identity and the subject that still dominate both political thought and practice today. Connecting Deleuze to key figures in both classical and contemporary political philosophy, from Plato and Aristotle to Hegel, Nietzsche, Lacan, and Foucault, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in political theory, philosophy, and related disciplines, looking to engage the emerging field of Deleuze studies.
The Future of Blasphemy: Speaking of the Sacred in an Age of Human Rights
by Austin DaceyIn the days of Moses, blasphemy was the mortal offence of failing to respect the divine. In an age of human rights, blasphemy is understood as a failure to respect persons, as insult, defamation, or "advocacy of religious hatred." The criminalisation of this personal blasphemy has been advanced at the United Nations and upheld by the European Court of Human Rights, which has asserted a universal "right to respect for religious feelings." The Future of Blasphemy turns respect on its head. Respect demands that we grant each other equal standing in the moral community, not that we never offend. Politically, respect for citizens requires a public discourse that is open to all viewpoints. Going beyond the question of free speech versus religion, The Future of Blasphemy defends an ethical model of blasphemy. Controversies surrounding sacrilege are contests over what counts as sacred, disagreements about what has central, inviolable, and incommensurable value. In such public contestation of the sacred, each of us-secular and religious alike-has equal right to speak on its behalf.
Badiou, Balibar, Ranciere: Re-thinking Emancipation (Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy)
by Nick HewlettIn recent years there has been increased interest in three contemporary French philosophers, all former students of Louis Althusser and each now an influential thinker in his own right. Alain Badiou is one of the most important living continental thinkers, well-known for his pioneering theory of the Event. Etienne Balibar has forged new approaches to democracy, citizenship and what he describes as 'equaliberty'. Jacques Rancière has crossed boundaries between history, politics and aesthetics and his work is beginning to receive the attention it deserves. Nick Hewlett brings these three thinkers together, examining the political aspects of their work. He argues that in each of their systems there are useful and insightful elements that make real contributions to the understanding of the modern history of politics and to the understanding of contemporary politics. But he also identifies and explores problems in each of Badiou, Balibar and Rancière's work, arguing that none offers a wholly convincing approach. This is a must-have for students of contemporary continental philosophy.
Aristotle's 'Metaphysics': A Reader's Guide (Reader's Guides)
by Edward HalperAristotle'sMetaphysics is an extremely rich and important philosophical work thatcontinues to inspire reflection and debate. Indeed, no philosophical work hasbeen more influential.Yet, the Metaphysics is also notoriouslycomplex.Because the work is an inquirythat seeks to discover solutions to problems rather than to defend doctrines,readers often struggle to follow the text and to understand its finalsolutions.This book focuses on thefascinating metaphysical issues that Aristotle is addressing. By working through the text, Halper explainshow these issues arise, how the text engages them, and how it argues forsolutions.Besides showing how to read thetext, Halper aims to help readers reflect on the issues. Aristotle's Metaphysics: AReader's Guide presents a concise and accessible introduction to the text,offering invaluable guidance on:- Philosophical context- Key themes- Readingthe text- Reception and influence- Further reading
Russell: A Guide For The Perplexed (Guides for the Perplexed)
by John Ongley Rosalind CareyWinner of the 2014 Bertrand Russell Society Book AwardBertrand Russell was one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century. Over his professional career of 45 years Russell left his mark and influence in many domains of intellectual inquiry. This includes the foundations of mathematics, the philosophy of science, metaphysics, the theory of knowledge, the philosophy of language, education, religion, history, ethics and politics. In Russell: A Guide for the Perplexed, John Ongley and Rosalind Carey offer a clear and thorough account of the work and thought of this key thinker, providing a thematic outline of his central ideas and his enduring influence throughout the field of philosophy. The authors lay out a detailed survey of Russell's academic, technical philosophy, exploring his work on logic, mathematics, metaphysics, language, knowledge and science. This concise and accessible book engages the reader in a deeper critical analysis of Russell's prolific philosophical and literary output.
Mill: A Guide For The Perplexed (Guides for the Perplexed #71)
by Sujith KumarJohn Stuart Mill is best known for his moral and political writings, and is a central figure in political philosophy. However, the full ambition of his thought is often neglected in favour of an assessment based largely on contemporary liberal theorizing, while the more subtle and manifold elements of his thought remain inaccessible or incoherent to many students of his work. Mill: A Guide for the Perplexed is a clear and thorough account of Mill's thought, his major works, and the common ideas that permeate them, providing a guide to this important and complex thinker. The book introduces the key concepts and themes in Mill's social, political and moral thought, exploring his distinct doctrine and the ideas he brings together from classical Greek thought, French positivism, Romanticism, as well as British liberalism. Geared towards the requirements of students who are familiar with the basic concepts of political theory, but unfamiliar with his work, the book serves as a clear and concise introduction to Mill's major writings.
Phenomenology of Intuition and Expression (Athlone Contemporary European Thinkers)
by Martin HeideggerPhenomenology of Intuition and Expression is a crucial text for understanding the early development of Heidegger's thought. This lecture course was presented in the summer semester of 1920 at the University of Freiburg. At the center of this course is Heidegger's elaboration of the meaning and function of the phenomenological destruction. In no other work by Heidegger do we find as comprehensive a treatment of the theme of destruction as in this lecture course. Culminating in a destruction of contemporaneous philosophy in terms of its understanding of 'life' as a primal phenomenon, this lecture course can be seen to open the way towards a renewal of the meaning of philosophy as such. This hugely important philosophical work is now available in English for the first time.
How To Be A Philosopher: or How to Be Almost Certain that Almost Nothing is Certain
by Gary CoxDo life's big questions perplex you? This book, now available in paperback, will give you answers to some of them while revealing that others have no answer. A humorous but informed instruction manual to questions philosophers have been asking and attempting to answer for centuries, How to Be A Philosopher will help you:• Think, talk, argue and persuade like a philosopher.• Win every agument by tying people in philosophical knots.• Ask questions and raise doubts about things most people take for granted.• Realise that almost nothing is certain.• Get the absolute final word on that question about a falling tree.A practical guide to philosophising, the book explains philosophical ideas with examples drawn from such great works as Family Guy, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Matrix and Red Dwarf. The book also argues that learning to philosophise will help you think more clearly and honestly about your own life. The book even gives practical advice on how to make a living from philosophy!
Paul Ricoeur's Pedagogy of Pardon: A Narrative Theory of Memory and Forgetting
by Maria DuffyMaria Duffy describes Paul Ricoeur's narrative theory of memory and addresses central conceptual and methodological issues in his theory of forgiveness and reconciliation. As the many Truth Commissions around the world illustrate, revisiting the past has a positive benefit in steering history in a new direction after protracted violence. A second deeper strand in the book is the connection between Ricoeur and John Paul II. Both lived through the worst period of modern European history (Ricoeur a prisoner of war during WWII and John Paul, who suffered under the communist regime). Both have written on themes of memory and identity and share a mutual concern for the future of Europe and the preservation of the 'Christian' identity of the Continent as well as the promotion of peace and a civilization of love. The book brings together their shared vision, culminating in the award to Ricoeur by John Paul II of the Paul VI medal for theology.
Plato's Republic: A Reader's Guide (Reader's Guides)
by Luke PurshousePlato's Republic is arguably the most famous and influential work of philosophy ever written. It is certainly among the most widely read and studied, a staple of undergraduate courses that continues to inspire and inform contemporary debates in political philosophy. As such, it is a hugely important and exciting, yet challenging, piece of philosophical writing. In Plato's 'Republic': A Reader's Guide, Luke Purshouse offers a clear and thorough account of this key philosophical work. The booksets Plato's work in context, introduces the major themes and provides a detailed discussion of the key sections and passages of the text. Purshouse goes on explore some of the areas of thought that the Republic has impacted upon and provides useful information on further reading. This is the ideal companion to study of this most influential and challenging of texts.
Conversations
by Luce IrigarayConversations is an important collection of interviews in which Luce Irigaray discusses the full range of her work and ideas with leading academics in the fields of Continental Philosophy, Feminist Theory and Critical Theory. Covering all the key topics that have been central to her work in the last thirty years, such as feminism, spirituality, difference, politics, education, and 'being two', this book offers essential insights into Irigaray's career as one of the world's most important contemporary thinkers. Topics and theorists approached include: philosophy, universality and difference, motherhood and gendered subjectivities, cultivation of desire and love, the other and others, globalization and ethics, politics and human rights, spirituality and religion, and, of course, being and becoming woman.
Vasilii Rozanov and the Creation: The Edenic Vision and the Rejection of Eschatology
by Adam UreThis book provides the first detailed study in English of the religious philosophy of Vasilii Rozanov, one of the most influential and controversial thinkers of Russia's Silver Age. It examines his subversion of traditional Russian Orthodoxy, including his reverence for the Creation, his focus on the family, and his worship of sex.Rozanov is one of the towering figures of Russian culture, a major influence on thinkers and writers such as Bakhtin, Maiakovskii, and Mandel´shtam, as well as many European writers. He critiqued Orthodox theology, and wrote extensively on philosophy, literature, and politics, and helped reform marriage and divorce laws.His enormous contribution to Russian thought has been largely neglected, and much of his work has been misunderstood. Ure addresses this by examining the basis of Rozanov's religious philosophy, the Creation of the Earth and the Book of Genesis.
A Dangerous Knowing: Sexuality, Pedagogy and Popular Culture
by Debbie Epstein James SearsThis book is an exhilarating and important addition to the literature on sexuality and on education. An unusually international collection--with contributions on Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, the UK and the United States--it includes chapters written both by internationally known leaders in the field and by exciting newcomers. The book challenges conventional ways of thinking both about sexuality and about pedagogy, with sections on myth-making, identity, globalization and interventions in education. It will be a key text for undergraduate and postgraduate students of social and cultural theory, queer studies, gender and women's studies and education.
Reading Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue
by Christopher Stephen LutzAfter Virtue is a watershed in MacIntyre's career. It follows his emergence from Marxism, but draws on Marxist sources and arguments. It precedes his move to Thomism, but already draws on Augustine and Aquinas. Because of its watershed nature, it has gained a wide readership in various fields but it treats a variety of issues in ways that are unfamiliar either to Marxists schooled in the social sciences or to Thomists schooled in medieval metaphysics.  Reading Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue provides a commentary that will be accessible to students, valuable to scholars, and useful to teachers. Students will find help to navigate the two main arguments of After Virtue, to understand its interpretation of history, and to engage its proposal for a form of ethics and politics that returns to the tradition of the virtues. Scholars will find the book useful as a general guide to MacIntyre's ethics. Teachers will find a book that can help to direct their students' reading and keep classroom discussions focused on the book's central concerns.
Freedom and Nature in Schelling's Philosophy of Art (Continuum Studies in Philosophy)
by Devin Zane ShawSchelling is often thought to be a protean thinker whose work is difficult to approach or interpret. Devin Zane Shaw shows that the philosophy of art is the guiding thread to understanding Schelling's philosophical development from his early works in 1795-1796 through his theological turn in 1809-1810. Schelling's philosophy of art is the 'keystone' of the system; it unifies his idea of freedom and his philosophy of nature. Schelling's idea of freedom is developed through a critique of the formalism of Kant's and Fichte's practical philosophies, and his nature-philosophy is developed to show how subjectivity and objectivity emerge from a common source in nature. The philosophy of art plays a dual role in the system. First, Schelling argues that artistic activity produces through the artwork a sensible realization of the ideas of philosophy. Second, he argues that artistic production creates the possibility of a new mythology that can overcome the socio-political divisions that structure the relationships between individuals and society. Shaw's careful analysis shows how art, for Schelling, is the highest expression of human freedom.
Alain Badiou: Live Theory (Live Theory)
by Oliver FelthamAlain Badiou is undoubtedly the most exciting and influential voice in contemporary French philosophy and one of the most important theorists at work today. His impact on continental philosophy and the wider philosophy community, politics and the arts in the last twenty years has been immense. Alain Badiou: Live Theory offers a concise and accessible introduction to his work and thought, laying out the central themes of his major works, including his magnum opus, Being and Event, and its long-awaited sequel, Logics of Worlds. Oliver Feltham explores the fundamental questions through which Badiou's philosophy constantly evolves, identifies the key turning points in his ideas, and makes a clear case for the coherence and powerful singularity of his thought when employed in the analysis of political and artistic situations. Feltham examines the thinkers and theorists with whom Badiou has engaged and who have engaged with him, arguing that Badiou's work is compelling precisely because it opens up new genealogies and new polemics in the intellectual landscape. The book includes a brand new interview with Badiou, in which he discusses his current concerns and future plans. This is the ideal companion to study for students and readers encountering this fascinating thinker for the first time.
Jerome Bruner: The Cognitive Revolution In Educational Theory (Bloomsbury Library of Educational Thought)
by David R. OlsonJerome Bruner is the vanguard of “the cognitive revolution” in psychology and the predominant spokesman for the role of culture and education in the making of the modern mind. In this text Olson encourages the reader to think about children as Bruner did, not as bundles of traits and dispositions to be diagnosed and remediated, but as thoughtful, keenly interested, agentive persons who are willing and indeed able to play an important role in their own learning and development.Through the unique approach of combining commentary and conversation with Bruner, the author provides an insight into what it is like to engage with one of the intellectual masters of our time and highlights the relevance and importance of his contribution to educational thinking today.
Deleuze and Guattari: A Psychoanalytic Itinerary (Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy)
by Fadi Abou-RihanMost commentators judge Deleuze and Guattari's Anti-Oedipus as either a Medusa into whose face psychoanalysis cannot but stare and suffer the most abominable of deaths or a well-intentioned but thoroughly misguided flash in the pan. Fadi Abou-Rihan shows that, as much as it is an insightful critique of the assimilationist vein in psychoanalysis, Anti-Oedipus remains fully committed to Freud's most singular discovery of an unconscious that is procedural and dynamic. Moreover, Abou-Rihan argues, the anti-oedipal project is a practice where the science of the unconscious is made to obey the laws it attributes to its object. The outcome is nothing short of the "becoming-unconscious" of psychoanalysis, a becoming that signals neither the repression nor the death of the practice but the transformation of its principles and procedures into those of its object. Abou-Rihan tracks this becoming alongside Nietzsche, Winnicott, Feynman, Bardi, and Cixous in order to reconfigure desire beyond the categories of subject, lack, and tragedy. Firmly grounded in continental philosophy and psychoanalytic practice, this book extends the anti-oedipal view on the unconscious in a wholly new direction.
Epistemology: Key Concepts in Philosophy (Key Concepts in Philosophy)
by Christopher NorrisKey Concepts in Philosophy is a series of concise, accessible and engaging introductions to the core ideas and topics encountered in the study of philosophy. Specially written to meet the needs of students and those with little prior knowledge of the subject, these books open up a whole range of important, yet often difficult ideas. The series builds to give a solid grounding in philosophy and each book is also ideal as a companion to further study.Epistemology - inquiry into the nature, possibility and scope of human knowledge - has been at the heart of the philosophy from ancient Greek times to the present. Christopher Norris provides a lucid survey and analysis of the issues that have shaped that enterprise and continue to dominate present-day discussion. He also brings out with exceptional clarity the ways in which certain 'technical' issues in epistemology can have a decisive bearing on matters of practical concern. The text highlights continuities and contrasts between early and contemporary approaches, and between the sorts of thinking that have typified the mainstream analytic and the modern 'continental' lines of descent. Norris introduces the main topics of debate, among them arguments for and against adopting a realist position with regard to various fields of knowledge, from mathematics to the physical sciences and history. Philosophy undergraduates will find this an invaluable aid to study, one that goes beyond simple definitions and summaries to open up a new and stimulating range of ideas.