WOWIO New Releases - Philosophy

Mind Wars: The Battle for Your Brain

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:42:59 CST

Ian McFadyen

Why do human beings wage war and persecute each other? Why do religious and political factions battle to control nations? Why do seemingly intelligent people cling to beliefs that fly in the face of scientific evidence?

In Mind Wars, Ian McFadyen puts forward the startling argument that human beings, the so-called intelligent species, are, in fact, not totally in control of their own thought processes. And human behaviour is not a product of instinct nor of any social, political or economic...

The Beginnings of European Theorizing: Reflexivity in the Archaic Age: Logological Investigations: Volume Two

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:52:50 CST

Barry Sandywell

One is enthralled by the way in which a complex and powerful intellectual argument is unfolded with magisterial dignity. This must be one of the outstanding productions of British sociology in recent years.
- David Chaney, Professor of Sociology, University of Durham

With equally brilliant scholarship Sandywell reconstructs the origins of 'European' reflection in Homer, Hesiod, Pindar and the Orphic texts with particular reference to the 'genesis of the self'.
- John O'Neill, Distinguished...

Presocratic Reflexivity: The Construction of Philosophical Discourse c. 600-450 B.C.: Logological Investigations: Volume Three

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:51:33 CST

Barry Sandywell

This is a marvelous example of the author's extraordinary scholarship. No one in the social sciences today has the detailed knowledge of the Presocratic texts displayed here. I cannot emphasize the amount of knowledge and labour that has gone into the author's grasp and reorientation of the texts -- exemplary in the case of Heraclitus, let alone the rest of the Presocratic texts.
- John O'Neill, Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology, York University, Canada

... the project takes us...

Reflexivity and the Crisis of Western Reason: Logological Investigations

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:51:48 CST

Barry Sandywell

With superb philosophical, literary and sociological scholarship, he reveals the historical shift from an ecological-ontological grammar of reflection to
a socio-dialogical grammar of reflexive practice.
- John O'Neill, Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology, York University, Canada

To describe the scholarship as outstanding is almost faint praise. I was continually struck by the sophistication with which the author weaves together ideas, references, quotes to present a...

Proof and Knowledge in Mathematics

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:51:38 CST

Michael Detlefsen (Ed.)

Proof and Knowledge in Mathematics tackles the main problem that arises when considering an epistemology for mathematics, the nature and sources of mathematical justification. Focusing both on particular and general issues, these essays from leading philosophers of mathematics raise important issues for our current understanding of mathematics. Is mathematical justification a priori or a posteriori? What role, if any, does logic play in mathematical reasoning or inference? And how...

The Philosophy of the Marquis de Sade

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:53:13 CST

Timo Airaksinen

The Marquis de Sade's books have been censored in many countries. He is notorious for his forbidden novels like The 120 Days of Sodom and Justine, Juliette. The Marquis de Sade has long been considered the archetypal pornographer. The Philosophy of the Marquis de Sade challenges these traditional interpretations by reading de Sade and his books philosophically.

Airaksinen examines de Sade's claim that in order to be truly happy and free we must perform evil acts. The Sadeian hero leads a...

The Philosophy of Leibniz

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:53:11 CST

Bertrand Russell

Mr Russell's very brilliant criticism of Leibniz ... is a piece of controversial philosophy as well as a contribution to history.
- Bernard Bosanquet

The Philosophy of Leibniz is Bertrand Russell's first strictly philosophical work, and remains one of the most important studies of Leibniz ever published. This work established an approach to studying philosophers of the past that emphasizes the philosophical rather than the historical. In Russell's own words, "Philosophic truth and falsehood...

Matters of Mind: Consciousness, Reason and Nature

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:49 CST

Scott Sturgeon

The mind-body problem continues to be the focus of many of our philosophical concerns. Matters of Mind tackles how the problem has spanned and how it has changed from the earlier theories of reducing aboutness to empirical cases for physicalism. The theories of perception, property explanation, content and knowledge, reliabilism and the problem of zombies and ghosts are all carefully assessed.

Marxism and Human Nature

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:45 CST

Sean Sayers

Is there such a thing as human nature? Here Sean Sayers defends the controversial theory that human nature is in fact an historical phenomenon. He gives an ambitious and wide ranging defence of the Marxist and Hegelian historical approach and engages with a wide range of work at the heart of the contemporary debate in social and moral philosophy.

Kierkegaard's Upbuilding Discourses: Philosophy, Literature, and Theology

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:31 CST

George Pattison

George Pattison provides a bold and innovative reassessment of Kierkegaard's neglected Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses and reading of his work as a whole. The first full length assessment of the discourses in English, this volume will be essential reading for philosophers and theologians, and anyone interested in Kierkegaard and the history of philosophy.

About the Author
George Pattinson is Lecturer in the Faculty of Theology in Arhus University. He has published numerous books including...

Political Thought of Karl Popper

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:51:24 CST

Jeremy Shearmur

Shearmur draws on his years as Popper's assistant, on unpublished material in the Hoover archive, and on wider themes within Popper's philosophy to offer striking critical re-interpretations of his ethical and social theory.

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Social Research

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:47:21 CST

Malcolm Williams and Tim May

An introduction to the philosophy of social research which relates philosophical ideas to actual research practice. The book makes effective use of illustrations from the UK, US and Europe to examine specific problems and broader issues.

An Introduction to Philosophy of Education

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:47:12 CST

Robin Barrow and Ronald Woods

A fourth edition of the classic best-selling textbook that guides students through the elementals of the philosophy of education, exploring key concepts and encouraging the development of philosophical thinking.

Imagination: A Study in the History of Ideas

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:14 CST

J.M. Cocking

Many writers have paid tribute to its power: Shakespeare urged his audiences to use it to create a setting; Hobbes asserted that "imagination and memory are but one thing;" for Wordsworth it was "the mightiest leveler known to moral world;" and to Baudelaire it represented "the queen of truth."

Imagination as artistic, poetic, and cultural predicate remains one of the most influential ideas in the history of Western thought. It has been simultaneously feared as a dangerous, uncontrollable...

Hume's Moral Theory

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:10 CST

J.L. Mackie

Hume's moral theory was the most important contribution to the sustained debate among the British Moralists of the 17th and 18th centuries. J.L. Mackie's classic text examines this debate and provides an excellent introduction to some of the main problems of moral philosophy.

Hegel

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:00 CST

M.J. Inwood

In this clear, critical examination of the ideas of one of the greatest and most influential of modern philosophers, M.J. Inwood makes Hegel's arguments fully accessible. He reconstructs Hegel's thought throughout the book by arguing with him, considering Hegel's system as a whole and examining the wide range of problems that it was designed to solve -- metaphysical, epistemological, theological and political.

Inwood concentrates especially on the logical and metaphysical ideas which...

Contemporary Parables: Understanding Life, Others and Ourselves through Models and Examples

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:03:43 CST

Robert Elias Najemy

Ninety two one page parables, models and examples with ninety five illustrations that enable us to easily comprehend, enjoy and employ the deepest psychological, philosophical an spiritual truths in our daily lives.

This is a great book for quick inspiration and understanding. For the coffee table, bedroom as well as serious reading.

Genes: A Philosophical Inquiry

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:49:44 CST

Gordon Graham

"It's all in the genes." Is this true, and if so, what is all in the genes? Genes: A Philosophical Inquiry is a crystal clear and highly informative guide to a debate none of us can afford to ignore.

Beginning with a much-needed overview of the relationship between science and technology, Gordon Graham lucidly explains and assesses the most important and controversial aspects of the genes debate: Darwinian theory and its critics, the idea of the "selfish" gene, evolutionary psychology...

Faith in Science: Scientists Search for Truth

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:49:33 CST

Mark Richardson and Gordy Slack (Eds.)

Science vs religion-the two have traditionally been seen as having an adversarial relationship, from before Galileo to this day. Faith in Science demonstrates how misleading this portrayal is, by allowing those who know best-scientists-speak for themselves.

W. Mark Richardson and Gordy Slack, philosopher and science writer respectively, conducted interviews with twelve of the world's top scientists on subjects ranging from the existence and nature of God to the role of religion and...

Dewey

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:49:18 CST

J.E. Tiles

John Dewey was a pioneer of progressive educational approaches, as well as a politically active liberal and an unconventional philosopher. His highly original version of pragmatism -- his "instrumentalism" -- has held a pre-eminent place in American philosophy during the first half of this century.

The dominant characteristic of Dewey's thought was his desire to resist thinking of the main aspects of human life in isolation from one another, and to resist the institutionalization of their...

Contemporary Materialism: A Reader

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:48:54 CST

Paul K. Moser and J. D. Trout (Eds.)

Contemporary Materialism presents an important collection of recent work on materialism in connection with metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind and theories of value. This anthology charts the contemporary problems, positions and themes on the topic of materialism. It illuminates materialism's complex intersection with related subjects such as cognition and psychology. By gathering a wide-range of philosophical interventions around the subject of materialism, this anthology...

Being a Philosopher: The History of a Practice

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:48:22 CST

David W. Hamlyn

Histories of philosophy tend either to chart the ideas and arguments of philosophers or to relate philosophers' ideas to their historical context. In Being a Philosopher, David Hamlyn takes an original approach by charting the history of the practice of philosophy. This entertaining and illuminating account is the first history to answer the question: what do philosophers actually do?

David Hamlyn examines the main trends in the practice of philosophy and shows how philosophers have been...

Baudrillard's Bestiary: Baudrillard and Culture

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:48:17 CST

Mike Gane

This book provides an introduction to Baudrillard's cultural theory: the conception of modernity and the complex process of simulation. It examines his literary essays: his confrontation with Calvino, Styron, Ballard, and Borges. It offers a coherent account of Baudrillard's theory of cultural ambience, and the culture of consumer society. It also provides an introduction to Baudrillard's fiction-theory, and the analysis of transpolitical figures.

The book also includes an interesting and...

Art, Mimesis and the Avant-Garde: Aspects of a Philosophy of Difference

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:48:06 CST

Andrew Benjamin

Art, Mimesis and the Avant-Garde explores the relationship between art and philosophy. Andrew Benjamin argues for a reworking of the task of philosophy in terms of the centrality of ontology. It is in relation to this centrality, understood through the differences between modes of being, that art, mimesis, and the avant-garde come to be presented.

A fundamental part of this book is the original interpretations of important contemporary painters and their themes: Lucian Freud's self-portraits...

Free or Unfree: Are Americans Really Free?

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:16:06 CST

Edward de Bono

Edward De Bono believes in freedom, but he poses the question: "If you cannot see clearly, are you making a free choice?" That question is at the heart of his new book. De Bono has devoted his life and career to getting his readers-business leaders, educators, and politicians among others-to understand that clarity of thinking is essential to a free society. It is not enough to simply be free from coercion.

De Bono argues that there is no true freedom without the ability to see correctly...