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Aesthetics, Method, and Epistemology: Essential Works of Foucault 1954-1984
by Michel Foucault'A magnificent, essential compendium, in the absence of which the man, the thinker and his thought would have been amputated, unfinished and incompletely understood' LiberationAesthetics offers a focused study on the philosophy, literature and other works of the imagination which have informed Foucault's particular engagement with ethics and power and includes Foucault's arresting commentaries on the work of de Sade, Rousseau, Marx, Nietzsche, Roussel and Boulez.
Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth: Essential Works of Michel Foucault 1954-1984
by Michel FoucaultThis is the first of three volumes collecting the most significant writings and interviews of Michel Foucault outside his published monographs. Ethics contains Foucault's summaries of the highly influential courses he taught at the College de France from 1970 to 1982 (hitherto never translated into English), as well as engaging and unusually candid interviews and Foucault's key writings on ethics.
Power: The Essential Works of Michel Foucault 1954-1984
by Michel FoucaultThis book covers the topics Foucault helped make the core agenda of Western political culture - medicine, prisons, psychiatry, government and sexuality - emphasising Foucault's practical concern with discrimination, coercion and exclusion in human society.
The History of Sexuality: The Care of the Self (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Michel FoucaultThe third volume of Foucault's history of sexuality. A sociologist and historian of ideas, Foucault's other works include Madness and Civilization, The Archaeology of Knowledge, The Birth of the Clinic and Discipline and Punish.
The History of Sexuality: The Use of Pleasure (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Michel FoucaultThis book offers an account of the emergence of Christianity from the Ancient World. Here Foucault describes the stranger byways of Greek medicine (with its advice on the healthiest season for sex as well as on exercise and diet), the permitted ways of courting young boys, and the economists' ideas about the role of women. The book abounds in insights into the differences - and the continuities - between the Ancient, Christian and Modern worlds. But Foucault does far more than merely recreate a vanished era when sex was not a major moral issue (only Plato, like Saint Paul, saw puritanical restraint as the way of wisdom), but makes us rethink all our own assumptions about sex.
The History of Sexuality: The Will to Knowledge (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Michel FoucaultWhy has there been such an explosion of discussion about sex in the west since the 17th century? Here, one of France's greatest intellectuals explores the evolving social, economic and political forces that have shaped our attitudes to sex. In a book that is at once controversial and seductive, Foucault describes how we are in the process of making a science of sex which is devoted to the analysis of desire rather than the increase of pleasure.
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (Penguin Modern Classics Ser.)
by Michel FoucaultIn the Middle Ages there were gaols and dungeons, but punishment was for the most part a spectacle. The economic changes and growing popular dissent of the 18th century made necessary a more systematic control over the individual members of society, and this in effect meant a change from punishment, which chastised the body, to reform, which touched the soul. Foucault shows the development of the Western system of prisons, police organizations, administrative and legal hierarchies for social control - and the growth of disciplinary society as a whole. He also reveals that between school, factories, barracks and hospitals all share a common organization, in which it is possible to control the use of an individual's time and space hour by hour.
The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?
by Michael J. SandelThese are dangerous times for democracy. We live in an age of winners and losers, where the odds are stacked in favour of the already fortunate. Stalled social mobility and entrenched inequality give the lie to the promise that "you can make it if you try". And the consequence is a brew of anger and frustration that has fuelled populist protest, with the triumph of Brexit and election of Donald Trump.Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the polarized politics of our time, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalisation and rising inequality. Sandel highlights the hubris a meritocracy generates among the winners and the harsh judgement it imposes on those left behind. He offers an alternative way of thinking about success - more attentive to the role of luck in human affairs, more conducive to an ethic of humility, and more hospitable to a politics of the common good.
Now and Zen: Notes from a Buddhist Monastery: with Illustrations
by Eiyû Murakoshi'In Japan we have an expression, 'Float like Cloud, Flow like Water'. Its meaning is: to live free and unconstrained'In this short introduction to Zen Buddhism, a practising Japanese monk shares the many lessons he has learned from life inside a temple.With charm and humour, he guides us through everything from meditation to tea-drinking ceremonies, the meaning of koans to preparing Zen food. Accompanied by the author's own illustrations, this book invites you to change your perception through the wisdom of monastic life.
Imagine If...: Creating a Future for Us All
by Sir Ken RobinsonAn urgent manifesto for re-defining human potential in our turbulent times, from the bestselling author of The Element 'As we face an increasingly febrile future, the answer is not to do better what we've done before. We have to do something else . . . We must urgently re-imagine education and schools' Imagination and creativity are at the root of every uniquely human achievement and those achievements have brought us to this present moment. As we reckon with the extractive practices that have depleted our natural resources and threaten our survival as a species, Sir Ken Robinson argues that we must also find a better way of cultivating human potential in order to navigate our uncertain future. This incisive book distills the thought and expertise that underpinned Sir Ken's influential work as educator, speaker and adviser; grounded in his unwavering belief in the indispensable value of human potential. Imagine If . . . reframes the ongoing debate in a compelling new way, bringing fresh inspiration and much-needed clarity, and sets out the blueprint for creating new systems of education that are based on diversity, creativity and collaboration.
Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny
by Kate Manne'An important and compelling analysis of a phenomenon that's everywhere' Cordelia Fine, Big Issue'Offers a sharply cut prism through which to view our everyday experience' Afua Hirsch, The TLSA powerful, lucid analysis of the logic of misogyny from a remarkable feminist thinker, Down Girl is essential reading for the #MeToo era.Misogyny is a hot topic, yet it's often misunderstood. What is misogyny, exactly? Who deserves to be called a misogynist? How does misogyny contrast with sexism, and why is it prone to persist - or increase - even when sexist gender roles are waning? In Down Girl moral philosopher Kate Manne argues that misogyny should not be understood primarily in terms of the hatred or hostility some men feel toward all or most women. Rather, it is primarily about controlling, policing, punishing and exiling the "bad" women who challenge male dominance. And it is compatible with rewarding "the good ones" and singling out other women to serve as warnings to those who are out of order.
Head Hand Heart: The Struggle for Dignity and Status in the 21st Century
by David Goodhart'It's a topsy-turvy world where the work of the heart and hand is undervalued. It's time for a radical rethink in what we value - and Goodhart's book is a part of this urgent endeavour' Nicci GerrardThe coronavirus pandemic taught us something we ought already to have known: that care workers, supermarket shelf-stackers, delivery drivers and cleaners are doing essential work that keeps us all alive, fed and cared for. Until recently much of this work was regarded as menial by the the same society that now lauds them as 'key workers'. Why are they so undervalued?In this timely and original analysis, David Goodhart divides human aptitudes into three: Head (cognitive), Hand (manual and craft) and Heart (caring, emotional). It's common sense that a good society needs to recognise the value of all three, but in recent decades they have got badly out of kilter. Cognitive ability has become the gold standard of human esteem. The cognitive class now shapes society largely in its own interests, by prioritizing the knowledge economy, ever-expanding higher education and shaping the very idea of a successful life. To put it bluntly: smart people have become too powerful.Head, Hand, Heart tells the story of the cognitive takeover that has gathered pace over the past forty years. As recently as the 1970s most people left school without qualifications, but now 40 per cent of all jobs are graduate-only. A good society must re-imagine the meaning of skilled work, so that people who work with their hands and hearts are valued alongside workers who manipulate data. Our societies need to spread status more widely, and provide meaning and value for people who cannot, or do not want to, achieve in the classroom and the professions. This is the story of the central struggle for status and dignity in the twenty-first century.
Fear of Black Consciousness
by Lewis R. Gordon'Expansive . . . reminds us that the ultimate aim of Black freedom quests is, indeed, universal liberation' Angela Y. Davis'There is a movement from a suffering black consciousness to a liberatory Black consciousness in which revelation of the dirty laundry and fraud of white supremacy and black inferiority is a dreaded truth' Lewis Gordon, one of the leading scholars of Black Existentialism, has spent decades putting philosophical thought at the heart of activism for racial justice around the world. In this boldly original book, he delves into history, art, politics and popular culture to show how the process of racialization - and its absence - affects not only how individuals and society perceive black people but also how black people perceive themselves. Fear of Black Consciousness traces the ways in which the lived experience of black people has been rendered invisible in the Western world and the breadth of rich cultural expression that encapsulates the truth nonetheless - from ancient African languages to films such as Get Out and Black Panther. Gordon offers a stunning philosophical and social critique while highlighting the fundamental role of Black people as agents of history and of the social change required to build a humane world of dignity, freedom and respect.
Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors
by Matt Parker'Matt Parker shows off math at its most playful and multifarious' Jordan Ellenberg, author of How to Not Be WrongWhat makes a bridge wobble when it's not meant to? Billions of dollars mysteriously vanish into thin air? A building rock when its resonant frequency matches a gym class leaping to Snap's 1990 hit I've Got The Power? The answer is maths. Or, to be precise, what happens when maths goes wrong in the real world. As Matt Parker shows us, our modern lives are built on maths: computer programmes, finance, engineering. And most of the time this maths works quietly behind the scenes, until ... it doesn't. Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near-misses and mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman empire and a hapless Olympic shooting team, Matt Parker shows us the bizarre ways maths trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world.Mathematics doesn't have good 'people skills', but we would all be better off, he argues, if we saw it as a practical ally. This book shows how, by making maths our friend, we can learn from its pitfalls. It also contains puzzles, challenges, geometric socks, jokes about binary code and three deliberate mistakes. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.
You, Your Child and School: Navigate Your Way To The Best Education
by Sir Ken Robinson Lou AronicaInternational bestselling authors of The ElementAs a parent, what should you look for in your children's education? How can you tell if their school is right for them, and what can you do if it isn't? In this important new book, Sir Ken Robinson, one of the world's most influential voices in education, offers clear principles and practical advice on how to support your child through the education system, or outside it.Dispelling myths, tackling controversies and weighing up the main choices, You, Your Child, and School is a key book for parents to learn about the kind of education their children really need and what they can do to make sure they get it.
The Unnamable Present
by Roberto CalassoTourists, terrorists, secularists, hackers, fundamentalists, transhumanists, algorithmicians: in this book Roberto Calasso considers the tribes that inhabit and inform the world today. A world that feels more elusive than ever before.Yet once contrasted with the period between 1933 and 1945, when the world made a partially successful attempt at self-annihilation, the new millennium begins to take on an unprecedented form. What emerges is something illusory, ever-shifting and occasionally murderous: the unnamable present. This book, the ninth part of a work in progress, is a meditation on the obscure and ubiquitous process of transformation happening in societies today, where distant echoes of Auden's The Age of Anxiety give way to something altogether more unsettling.
Poetry from the Future: Why a Global Liberation Movement Is Our Civilisation's Last Chance
by Srecko Horvat'A compelling vision, an urgent necessity, and not beyond reach' Noam ChomskyThe past is forgotten, and the future is without hope. Dystopia has become a reality. This is the new normal in our apocalyptic politics - but if we accept it, our helplessness is guaranteed. To bring about real change, argues activist and political philosopher Srecko Horvat, we must first transform our mindset.Ranging through time and space, from the partisan liberation movements of Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia to the contemporary culture, refugee camps and political frontlines of 21st century Europe, Horvat shows that the problems we face today are of an unprecedented nature. To solve them, he argues in this passionate call for a new radical internationalism, we must move beyond existing ways of thinking: beyond borders, national identities and the redundant narratives of the past. Only in this way can we create new models for living and, together, shape a more open and optimistic future.
The Road to Somewhere: The New Tribes Shaping British Politics
by David GoodhartSUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN AND TELEGRAPH BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017'A provocative take on the UK's new tribal divisions ... a book whose timing is pitch-perfect' Andrew MarrMany Remainers reported waking up the day after the Brexit vote feeling as if they were living in a foreign country. In fact, they were merely experiencing the same feeling that many British people have felt every day for years. Fifty years ago, people in leafy North London and people in working-class Northern towns could vote for a Labour party that broadly encompassed all of their interests. Today their priorities are poles apart. In this groundbreaking and timely book, Goodhart shows us how people have come to be divided into two camps: the 'Anywheres', who have 'achieved' identities, derived from their careers and education, and 'Somewheres', who get their identity from a sense of place and from the people around them, and who feel a sense of loss due to mass immigration and rapid social change. In a world increasingly divided by Brexit and Trump, Goodhart shows how Anywheres must come to understand and respect Somewhere values to stand a fighting chance against the rise of populism.
Chinese Thought: From Confucius to Cook Ding (Pelican Books)
by Roel SterckxAn engrossing history of ancient Chinese philosophy and culture from an eminent Cambridge expertWe are often told that the twenty-first century is bound to become China's century. Never before has Chinese culture been so physically, digitally, economically or aesthetically present in everyday Western life. But how much do we really know about its origins and key beliefs? How did the ancient Chinese think about the world?In this enlightening book, Roel Sterckx, one of the foremost experts in Chinese thought, takes us through centuries of Chinese history, from Confucius to Daoism to the Legalists. The great questions that have occupied China's brightest minds were not about who and what we are, but rather how we should live our lives, how we should organise society and how we can secure the well-being of those who live with us and for whom we carry responsibility.With evocative examples from philosophy, literature and everyday life, Sterckx shows us how the ancient Chinese have shaped the thinking of a civilization that is now influencing our own.
The Government of No One: The Theory and Practice of Anarchism (Pelican Books)
by Ruth KinnaA magisterial study of the history and theory of one of the most controversial political movementsAnarchism routinely gets a bad press. It's usually seen as meaning chaos and disorder -- or even nothing at all. And yet, from Occupy Wall Street to Pussy Riot, Noam Chomsky to David Graeber, this philosophical and political movement is as relevant as ever. Contrary to popular perception, different strands of anarchism -- from individualism to collectivism -- do follow certain structures and a shared sense of purpose: a belief in freedom and working towards collective good without the interference of the state. In this masterful, sympathetic account, political theorist Ruth Kinna traces the tumultuous history of anarchism, starting with thinkers and activists such as Peter Kropotkin and Emma Goldman and through key events like the Paris Commune and the Haymarket affair. Skilfully introducing us to the nuanced theories of anarchist groups from Russia to Japan to the United States, The Government of No One reveals what makes a supposedly chaotic movement particularly adaptable and effective over centuries -- and what we can learn from it.
Marx and Marxism
by Gregory ClaeysAn illuminating overview of Marx's intellectual influence from a leading historian of socialismWhy was Marx so successful as a thinker? Did he have a system and if so, what does it consist of? How did Marxism develop in the twentieth century and what does it mean today?Karl Marx remains the most influential and controversial political thinker in history. The movements associated with his name have lent hope to many victims of tyranny and aggression but have also proven disastrous in practice and resulted in the unnecessary deaths of millions. If after the collapse of the Soviet Union his reputation seemed utterly eclipsed, a new generation is reading and discovering Marx in the wake of the recurrent financial crises, growing social inequality and an increasing sense of the injustice and destructiveness of capitalism. Both his critique of capitalism and his vision of the future speak across the centuries to our times, even if the questions he poses are more difficult to answer than ever. In this wide-ranging account, Gregory Claeys, one of Britain's leading historians of socialism, considers Marx's ideas and their development through the Russian Revolution to the present, showing why Marx and Marxism still matter today.
Colour: Colouring-in Notebook For Writing, Musing, Drawing And Doodling (The\original Pattern Journal Ser.)
by Marion DeucharsWhat makes a colour work? What do colours mean to artists or cultures? Why does grey make a colour stand out? What colour are the oceans? Why is the yellow of lemons something to treasure? Award-winning illustrator Marion Deuchars takes us on a journey through colour, showing how its language is at the centre of how we think and feel about the world. Colour is everywhere. Through this book, we can see it afresh.
Think Again: How to Reason and Argue
by Walter Sinnott-ArmstrongA deeply enlightening book on how to be persuasive from an inspiring philosopher who teaches one of the most popular open online coursesOur personal and political worlds are rife with arguments and disagreements, some of them petty and vitriolic. The inability to compromise and understand the other side is widespread today. What can we do to change this? In Think Again philosopher Walter Sinnott-Armstrong draws on a long tradition of logic to show why we should stop focusing on winning arguments and instead argue in a more constructive way.
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
by Max Tegmark'This is the most important conversation of our time, and Tegmark's thought-provoking book will help you join it' Stephen HawkingTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER. DAILY TELEGRAPH AND THE TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEARAI is the future - but what will that future look like? Will superhuman intelligence be our slave, or become our god?Taking us to the heart of the latest thinking about AI, Max Tegmark, the MIT professor whose work has helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial, separates myths from reality, utopias from dystopias, to explore the next phase of our existence.How can we grow our prosperity through automation, without leaving people lacking income or purpose? How can we ensure that future AI systems do what we want without crashing, malfunctioning or getting hacked? Should we fear an arms race in lethal autonomous weapons? Will AI help life flourish as never before, or will machines eventually outsmart us at all tasks, and even, perhaps, replace us altogether? 'This is a rich and visionary book and everyone should read it' The Times
The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer (Pantheon Graphic Library)
by Sydney PaduaIn The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage Sydney Padua transforms one of the most compelling scientific collaborations into a hilarious set of adventures The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage is a unique take on the unrealized invention of the computer in the 1830s by the eccentric polymath Charles Babbage and his accomplice, the daughter of Lord Byron, Ada, Countess of Lovelace. When Ada translated her friend Babbage's plans for the "Difference Engine," her lengthy footnotes contained the first appearance of the general computing theory-one hundred years before an actual computer was built. Sadly, Lovelace died of cancer a few years after publishing the paper, and Babbage never built any of his machines. But now Sydney Padua gives us an alternate reality in which Lovelace and Babbage do build the Difference Engine, and then use it to do battle with the American banking system, the publishing industry and their own fears that their project will lose funding -- all "for the sake of both London and science".Sydney Padua is a graphic artist and animator. Her visual effects work includes both hand-drawn and computer-generated and appears in such films as The Iron Giant, Clash of the Titans, and John Carter. Her webcomic The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage has been featured on the BBC's Techlab, and in The Economist, The Times, and Wired UK. She is a Canadian living in London.