Language Philosophy

Dear reader,I hope this book feels like a warm hug to you. I wrote this book for the ones who feel everything too deeply. You’re right, I wrote this book for you.This book was meant to find you if you’ve ever loved someone who didn’t love you back, if you’ve ever over-invested in the...

This work sets forth a theory which is speculative in nature, there being no verifying experiments. It is based on the idea of the reversibility of everything in time; that is, that every type of process has its time image, a corresponding process which is its exact reverse with respect to time.

Quantum physics is notable for its brazen defiance of common sense. (Think of Schrödinger's Cat, famously both dead and alive.) An especially rigorous form of quantum contradiction occurs in experiments with entangled particles. Our common assumption is that objects have properties whether or not anyone is observing them, and the measurement of one can't affect the other. Quantum entanglement rejects this assumption, offering impeccable reasoning and irrefutable evidence of the opposite. Is quantum entanglement mystical, or just mystifying?

Martha Barnette has spent two decades as the co-host of A Way with Words, lauded by Mary Norris in The New Yorker as “a virtual treasure house” and “‘Car Talk’ for Lexiphiles.” Over that time, she’s developed a keen sense of what fascinates people about language. They are curious about etymology and revel in slang, are surprised by regional vocabulary and celebrate linguistic diversity. Idioms both puzzle and delight word lovers, and they are eager to share family neologisms and that weird phrase Grandma always used to say.

Stymied and stumped by arguments that wrap around you like web of mystification? The Amazing Dr. Ransom's Bestiary of Adorable Fallacies is here to help! This "Field Guide for Clear Thinkers" is filled with descriptions, exercises, and analysis to help you identify and avoid fallacies you might encounter in everyday life.

Kierkegaard wasn't really a philosopher in the academic sense. Yet he produced what many people expect of philosophy. His subject was the individual and his or her existence, the "existing being." In Kierkegaard's view, this purely subjective entity lay beyond the reach of reason, logic, philosophical systems, theology, or even "the pretenses of psychology." Nonetheless, it was the source of all these subjects. The branch of philosophy to which Kierkegaard gave birth has come to be known as existentialism.

Think like Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, and Charles Darwin. Great geniuses before us have uncovered certain key principles on their path to greatness. You can learn those principles now, without all of the sweat, tears, and costly mistakes. Imagine that you could tap into the minds of many great geniuses. Think how they could help you solve challenging problems, broaden your mental horizons, and avoid common pitfalls. They actually can, if we study the principles that they lived by, and incorporate them into our lives.

Foucault's Power is the antidote to pretentious philosophical obscurity you've been waiting for. This irreverent guide takes you on a sarcasm-soaked journey through Michel Foucault's most influential ideas—from his analysis of prisons and power to his baffling observations about sexuality and truth—all while mercilessly mocking the cult of incomprehensibility that has grown around him.

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran is one of the world’s most beloved books on philosophy and enlightenment. We hope that by repeated listening to the story, you gain wisdom and insight, as well as mastery of a foreign language. We recommend you use the version of the story that leads with your native language, so you hear each sentence in your native language, followed by the language you are learning. For example, if you are a native English speaker learning Spanish, then you would use the English and Spanish edition.

Meditations on First Philosophy in which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated is a philosophical treatise by René Descartes first published in Latin in 1641. The book is made up of six meditations, in which Descartes first discards all belief in things that are not absolutely certain and then tries to establish what can be known for sure. He wrote the meditations as if he had meditated for six days: Each meditation refers to the last one as "yesterday". It continues to be one of the most influential philosophical texts ever written.

Modern life throws endless choices and challenges your way. Without strong critical thinking skills, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, make poor decisions, or miss opportunities. That’s why this book gives you a simple, step-by-step system to boost your mental clarity, starting with just 10 minutes a day. Whether you’re a professional, student, entrepreneur, or someone seeking better outcomes, this audiobook equips you with a practical skillset you can use for life.

Confucius knew all about life and told us how to behave, but we can't find out precisely what he was up to. His well-meaning platitudes, quaint maxims, and quasi-enigmatic anecdotes combined to produce an ideal philosophy for civil servants. It would appear that his aim was to turn his pupils into good government officials, but his teachings succeeded beyond his wildest expectations, providing rules of conduct and spiritual fodder for more than two thousand years.

Leo Tolstoy was born to an aristocratic Russian family, became a world-famous influential novelist, and then chose to lead the simple life of a peasant. Dating from this last part of his life, Tolstoy’s influential book What I Believe takes readers along on the path to a life modeled literally on Jesus Christ’s "Sermon on the Mount" and the teachings of the Gospels. In revealing and frank essays he reimagines a faith without dogma, centered solely on Jesus’ doctrine of love, humility, and self-denial.

Inspired by the Japanese concept of kiku—a more engaged, empathetic style of listening—a sociolinguistics researcher and writer offers a ground-breaking guide to more intentional and meaningful communication. No other life form turns noise into sound, sound into language, then language...

In a letter of 1932, Karl Popper described Die beiden Grundprobleme der Erkenntnistheorie–The Two Fundamental Problems of the Theory of Knowledge–as ‘…a child of crises, above all of …the crisis of physics.' The two fundamental problems of knowledge that lie at the center of the book are the problem of induction, that although we are able to observe only a limited number of particular events, science nevertheless advances unrestricted universal statements; and the problem of demarcation, which asks for a separating line between empirical science and non-science.

David Hume reduced philosophy to ruins: he denied the existence of everything, except our actual perceptions themselves. I alone exist, he argued, and the world is nothing more than part of my consciousness. Yet we know that the world remains, and we go on as before. What Hume expressed was the status of our knowledge about the world, a world in which neither religion nor science is certain.

Are you tired of feeling overpowered in debates or conversations, even when you know you're right? Hit Them Like Hitchens is your ultimate guide to mastering the art of argument, inspired by Christopher Hitchens, one of the most formidable debaters of our time. This book isn't just about winning debates—it's about using truth, wit, and integrity to persuade effectively. Whether you're negotiating at work, engaging in a heated discussion at a social gathering, or debating online, this book will provide the tools to help you build stronger arguments, expose fallacies, and win over audiences.

In St. Augustine in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of St. Augustine's life and ideas and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. The book also includes selections from St. Augustine's work, a brief list of suggested readings for those who wish to delve deeper, and chronologies that place St. Augustine within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.

Are you interested in philosophy? Do the greatest thinkers from the past influence the way you think and act? Philosophers have been shaping the world for centuries. Their ideas have shaped the way we act as individuals and groups for as long as we can remember, and their deep thought processes have been marveled at and replicated by millions across the world.

Improve your Spanish, and expand your vocabulary with topics that matter. When it comes to mastering a foreign language, listening around your interests makes all the difference. But finding books designed for language learners can be hard! This book fixes that. For the first time, you’ll learn to improve your Spanish while listening about the history of World War II.