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Manufacturing Babies and Public Consent: Debating the New Reproductive Technologies
by Jose Van DyckIn Manufacturing Babies and Public Consent, Jose Van Dyck sketches a map of the public debate on new reproductive technologies as it has evolved in the USA and Britain since 1978. Many people have participated in heated discussions on test-tube babies and in vitro fertilization, particularly medical researchers and feminists. The new technologies have been both embraced as the cure to infertility and condemned as the exploitation of women's bodies. Reconstructing this debate, Van Dyck juxtaposes a variety of textual material, from scientific articles to newspaper articles and works of fiction.
Feminizing Venereal Disease: The Body of the Prostitute in Nineteenth-Century Medical Discourse
by M. SpongbergIn the late-eighteenth century all women were considered potentially infectious to men but by the early-twentieth century only certain women were considered vectors of disease. By focusing on representations of the prostitute in medical and legal discourse, art, literature and religion this book will chart these shifts, while at the same time exploring broader concerns about construction of femininity and masculinity, the protection of male sexual privilege and the impact of feminism and eugenics on medicine, the law and popular culture.
The Thwarting of Laplace's Demon: Arguments Against the Mechanistic World-View
by R. GreenLaplace (1849-1827) was the famous French astronomer and mathematician who outspokenly proposed that every occurrence is in every respect determined by laws of nature - that all that exists is determinate. This book aims to show how the mechanistic framework of ideas associated with modern science distorts our understanding not only of the human mind but of the fundamental attributes of life itself. Before we can rid ourselves of this distorting influence our very notion of causality needs to be clarified and changed. The book sets out a proposal of what is required. The book's many arguments have profound implications not only for philosophy, but for neuropsychology, biology and biophysics.
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Knowledge
by Jennifer TrustedA short account of the philosophy of knowledge for students reading philosophy for the first time. It also serves as a general introduction to those interested in the subject. Jennifer Trusted examines the nature of philosophy as a subject for study and suggests that it has practical use as well as intellectual appeal since it is concerned with developing our understanding through critical appraisal of the concepts we use, so making our problems clear. Dr Trusted also looks at the approach of some of the leading philosophers of the western world to the philosophy of knowledge. The views of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant are considered. There are two chapters principally concerned with the views of the twentieth-century philosophers: A.J. Ayer and Norman Malcolm. The concluding chapter summarises the various approaches and the way they contribute to clarifying our ideas.
Sartre's Radicalism and Oakeshott's Conservatism: The Duplicity of Freedom
by A. FarrIf man has no nature - if our intellect and understanding are products of our own activities - do we possess a key to self-modification? Are we free to re-make mankind? Sartre champions the romantic idea that we can - by sheer determination - begin afresh. Oakeshott is struck by the vandalism of such a project - he seeks to defend political culture from degradation by meddling academics. The Radical and Conservative understanding of social order and the human self are compared in this in-depth analysis of two contrasting philosophies.
Kant's Transcendental Imagination
by G. BanhamThe role and place of transcendental psychology in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason has been a source of some contention. The acceptance of the notion of transcendental psychology in recent years has been in connection to functionalist views of the mind which has detracted from its metaphysical significance. This work presents a detailed argument for restoring transcendental psychology to a central place in the interpretation of Kant's Analytic, in the process providing a detailed response to more 'austere' analytic readings.
A Psychosocial Exploration of Love and Intimacy
by J. BrownOrganised around a single question: is love possible?, Brown's book provides conceptualisations of love and its possibility from sociological, philosophical and psychoanalytic viewpoints. She argues for the importance of a psychosocial understanding of love and provides a critical discussion of the philosophy and methods of Psychosocial Studies.
Wittgenstein and the End of Philosophy: Neither Theory Nor Therapy
by D. HuttoWhat is the true worth of Wittgenstein's contribution to philosophy? Opinions are strongly divided, with many resting on misreadings of his purpose. This book challenges 'theoretical' and 'therapeutic' interpretations, proposing that Wittgenstein saw clarification as the true end of philosophy, that his approach exemplifies critical philosophy.
Experiencing the Postmetaphysical Self: Between Hermeneutics and Deconstruction
by Fionola MeredithThis book charts and challenges the bruising impact of post-Saussurean thought on the categories of experience and self-presence. It attempts a reappropriation of the category of lived experience in dialogue with poststructuralist thinking. Following the insight that mediated subjectivity need not mean alienated selfhood, Meredith forwards a postmetaphysical model of the experiential based on the interpenetration of poststructuralist thinking and hermeneutic phenomenology. Since poststructuralist approaches in feminist theory have often placed women's lived experiences 'under erasure', Meredith uses this hermeneutic/deconstructive model to attempt a rehabilitation of the singular 'flesh and blood' female existent.
When IVF Fails: Feminism, Infertility and the Negotiation of Normality
by K. ThrosbyIn spite of the fact that almost eighty percent of all IVF cycles are unsuccessful, the dominant representations of the technology are of its success. Based on extensive interviews with women and couples who have undergone IVF unsuccessfully and who have since stopped treatment, and taking an overtly feminist approach, the book explores the ways in which IVF failure is experienced and accounted for. The book argues that IVF failure and the end of treatment have to be carefully managed over time in order to construct the self as 'normal' in the profoundly gendered context of reproductive normativity. Treatment failure is identified in the book not only as a central, but largely excluded, aspect of the experience of IVF, but also of a proliferating range of new, more controversial reproductive and genetic technologies.
A Philosophical Analysis of Hope
by J. WaterworthDespite the familiarity of hope in human experience, it is a phenomenon infrequently considered from a philosophical point of view. This book charts the centrality of hope in thought and action from first, second and third person perspectives. From everyday situations to extreme circumstances of trial and endings in life, the contours of hope are given a phenomenological description and subjected to conceptual analysis. This consistently secular account of hope sheds a different light on questions of agency and meaning.
Narrative, Perception, Language, and Faith
by E. WrightThere have been many voices in disciplines as various as philosophy, history, psychology, hermeneutics, literary theory, and theology that have claimed that narrative is fundamental to all that is human. Here is a book that, in an engaging and amusing way, presents a coherent thesis to that effect, connecting the Joke and the Story (with all that comedy and tragedy imply) not only with our sensing and perceiving of the world, but with our faith in each other, and what the character of that faith should be.
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind: Souls, Science and Human Beings
by D. CockburnThe book is an introduction to the philosophy of mind. While a number of such introductions are available, this book differs from others in that, while rejecting the dualist approach associated in particular with Descartes, it also casts serious doubt on the forms of materialism that now dominate English language philosophy. Drawing in particular on the work of Wittgenstein, a central place is given to the importance of the notion of a human being in our thought about ourselves and others.
Language, Logic and Epistemology: A Modal-Realist Approach
by C. NorrisNorris presents a series of closely linked chapters on recent developments in epistemology, philosophy of language, cognitive science, literary theory, musicology and other related fields. While to this extent adopting an interdisciplinary approach, Norris also very forcefully challenges the view that the academic 'disciplines' as we know them are so many artificial constructs of recent date and with no further role than to prop up existing divisions of intellectual labour. He makes his case through some exceptionally acute revisionist readings of diverse thinkers such as Derrida, Paul de Man, Wittgenstein, Chomsky, Michael Dummett and John McDowell. In each instance Norris stresses the value of bringing various trans-disciplinary perspectives to bear while none-the-less maintaining adequate standards of area-specific relevance and method. Most importantly he asserts the central role of recent developments in cognitive science as pointing a way beyond certain otherwise intractable problems in philosophy of mind and language.
Reclaiming Leisure: Art, Sport and Philosophy
by H. RamsayLeisure activities account for much of our time - and money. But are contemporary forms of leisure good for us? Are they really leisure? And how much does (and should) leisure matter? Classical philosophers paid attention to these questions. Increasingly, modern philosophers too are realizing the importance of leisure, and of a good leisure/work balance. Hayden Ramsay looks at the meaning of leisure, and the links between recreation, relaxation, virtue, and happiness. By focussing on leisure activities such as sport, travel, music and reading, Ramsay explores the need for good play in a good life.
Kanzi's Primal Language: The Cultural Initiation of Primates into Language
by P. Segerdahl W. Fields S. Savage-RumbaughSue Savage-Rumbaugh's work on the language capabilities of the bonobo Kanzi has intrigued the world because of its far-reaching implications for understanding the evolution of the human language. This book takes the reader behind the scenes of the filmed language tests. It argues that while the tests prove that Kanzi has language, the even more remarkable manner in which he originally acquired it - spontaneously, in a culture shared with humans - calls for a re-thinking of language, emphasizing its primal cultural dimensions.
Gender, Identity & Reproduction: Social Perspectives
by S. Earle G. LetherbyGender, Identity and Reproduction draws on a variety of perspectives relevant to an understanding of reproduction across the life-course. Through a consideration of the representation of reproductive identities and experiences, the book highlights difference and diversity in relation to contemporary reproductive choices. The book focuses on women's and men's experiences of agency, control and negotiation within the context of cultural, medical, political, theoretical and lay ideologies of the reproductive process in contemporary Western societies.
Experimental Pragmatics (Palgrave Studies in Pragmatics, Language and Cognition)
by I. Noveck D. SperberHow do we understand what we are told, resolve ambiguities, appreciate metaphor and irony, and grasp both explicit and implicit content in verbal communication? This book provides the first comprehensive introduction to an exciting new field in which models of language and meaning are tested and compared using techniques from psycholinguistics.
De La Mettrie's Ghost: The Story Of Decisions (Macmillan Science)
by C. NunnThis book is about how we make choices. Drawing together evidence from 21st century chemistry to Victorian politics, enlightenment philosophy, Roman drama and beyond, it is a compelling hunt for the nature of free will.
New Essays on the Explanation of Action
by C. SandisThese previously unpublished essays present the newest developments in the thought of philosophers working on action and its explanation, focusing on a wide range of interlocking issues relating to agency, deliberation, motivation, mental causation, teleology, interpretive explanation and the ontology of actions and their reasons.
Language and Empiricism - After the Vienna Circle
by S. ChapmanThe author offers a new assessment of the influence of the Vienna Circle on language study, and considers its relevance to the debate in present-day linguistics about the relative merits of 'intuitive' and 'real life' sources of data.
Emotions and Understanding: Wittgensteinian Perspectives
by Y. Gustafsson C. Kronqvist M. McEachraneThis unique collection of articles on emotion by Wittgensteinian philosophers provides a fresh perspective on the questions framing the current philosophical and scientific debates about emotions and offers significant insights into the role of emotions for understanding interpersonal relations and the relation between emotion and ethics.
Nihil Unbound: Enlightenment and Extinction
by R. BrassierThis book pushes nihilism to its ultimate conclusion by linking revisionary naturalism in Anglo-American philosophy with anti-phenomenological realism in French philosophy. Contrary to the 'post-analytic' consensus uniting Heidegger and Wittgenstein against scientism and scepticism, this book links eliminative materialism and speculative realism.
On Willing Selves: Neoliberal Politics and the Challenge of Neuroscience
by S. Maasen B. SutterThe neurosciences propose that the concept of will is scientifically untenable - it is our brain rather than our 'self' that controls our choices. Yet we seem to be confronted with increasing free choice in all areas of life. Using up-to-date empirical research in the social sciences and philosophy, this volume addresses the seeming contradiction.
Cognitive Integration: Mind and Cognition Unbounded (New Directions in Philosophy and Cognitive Science)
by R. MenaryThis book argues that thinking is bounded by neither the brain nor the skin of an organism. Cognitive systems function through integration of neural and bodily functions with the functions of representational vehicles. The integrationist position offers a fresh contribution to the emerging embodied and embedded approach to the study of mind.