Western Philosophy

The Cave and the Light reveals how two Greek philosophers became the twin fountainheads of Western culture, and how their rivalry gave Western civilization its unique dynamism down to the present.

For 2,500 years, Western civilization's brightest minds have been having terrible ideas and convincing everyone else they're profound wisdom. From Plato's reality-denying Forms to postmodernism's truth-denying everything, philosophers have turned the act of being human into a complicated nightmare. This book exposes the nonsense that passes for profound wisdom in philosophy departments worldwide. You'll learn to spot bad ideas before they ruin your worldview, understand why smart people believe stupid things, and discover why that one philosophy major at every party is always so insufferable.

The Age of Genius explores the eventful intertwining of outward event and inner intellectual life to tell, in all its richness and depth, the story of the 17th century in Europe. It was a time of creativity unparalleled in history before or since, from science to the arts, from philosophy to politics. Acclaimed philosopher and historian A. C. Grayling points to three primary factors that led to the rise of vernacular (popular) languages in philosophy, theology, science, and literature.

Through vivid stories studded with insights, award-winning author Tamim Ansary tells the story of how humans invented history, from the Stone Age to the Virtual Age. Fifty thousand years ago, we roamed the world as countless autonomous bands of hunter-gatherers, each one telling itself a story...

Leading a cultural revolution driven by identity politics and so-called 'social justice', the new puritanism movement is best understood as a religion - one that makes grand claims to moral purity and tolerates no dissent. In The New Puritans, Andrew Doyle powerfully examines the underlying belief-systems of this ideology and how it has risen so rapidly to dominate all major political, cultural and corporate institutions. He reasons that, to move forward, we need to understand where these New Puritans came from and what they hope to achieve.

In Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism, thinker and philosopher Rajiv Malhotra addresses the challenge of a direct and honest engagement on differences by reversing the gaze, repositioning India from being the observed to the observer and looking at the West from the dharmic point of view. In doing so, he challenges many hitherto unexamined beliefs that both sides hold about themselves and each other.

The religious turn to their faith to find meaning. But what about the many people who lead secular lives and are also hungry for meaning? What guides, what approaches are available to them? Distinguished philosophers Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly explain that a secular life charged with meaning is indeed within reach.

The choice is yours, and you'll have to live with the consequences for at least the rest of your life. Will you take the blue pill - skip this audiobook and go on thinking of The Matrix as just a movie? Or will you take the red pill - listen to this book, and find out just how far down the rabbit-hole goes?

Many contemporary political thinkers are gripped by the belief that their task is to develop an ideal theory of rights or justice for guiding and judging political actions. But in Philosophy and Real Politics, Raymond Geuss argues that philosophers should first try to understand why real political actors behave as they actually do. Far from being applied ethics, politics is a skill that allows people to survive and persue their goals.

Written in a conversational, easy-to-follow format that makes the concepts easy to understand, Western Philosophy in Simple German explores the main traditions of Western philosophers from Aristotle to Descartes, and from Kant to Nietzsche.

This audio course examines the major periods in the history of Western political thought and questions the political and social order. It considers the ways in which thinkers have responded to the particular political problems of their day, and the ways in which they contribute to a broader conversation about human goods and needs, justice, democracy, and the proper relationship of the individual to the state. One aim will be to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various regimes and philosophical approaches in order to gain a critical perspective on our own.

The aim of this book is to give some background information to students who are approaching philosophy for the first time. As such, it is not intended to be an introduction to philosophy textbook, but more as a companion to a philosophy introductory course or book. Too many students, in my view, complete their introductory philosophy course without an adequate knowledge about the subject in general.

"The perfect guide for a course correction in life" (Deepak Chopra) that teaches us how to enjoy a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the spiritual in our present troubled times. Drawing on his experiences as a former priest, Watts skillfully explains how the intuition of Eastern...

In this timely new edition of his classic book A Political Philosophy, celebrated conservative philosopher Roger Scruton interrogates contemporary values, virtues and morality. What principles should govern our relations to animals, the nation state, the environment and other ways of life? What does modern marriage look like? What is Enlightenment, and how has its inheritance made itself known? How should we approach religion, evil and death? What explains the rise of totalitarianism, and how should we respond to nihilism?

At the age of 48, film critic David Denby returned to his alma mater, Columbia University, to re-experience the core humanities courses he had taken as a freshman 30 years before. Facing the question of what he really knows, Denby re-examines the besieged Western classics, ranging from Homer, Sappho, and Sophocles to Dante, Nietzsche, and Woolf. What relevance do the writers and thinkers of the past have to our current life? The answer surprised Denby and will surprise and enlighten his listeners.

A Self-Help History of Western Philosophy: Discover the profound wisdom of Western philosophy and unlock the secrets to improving your life with A Self-Help History of Western Philosophy by Andrew Gross with Vadim Gershteyn. Journey through the teachings of ancient Greek philosophers, delve into the principles of Stoicism and existentialism, explore Renaissance humanism and Enlightenment rationalism, and navigate the complexities of postmodernism.

In this very short introduction, Tim Bayne introduces the field of philosophy of religion and engages with some of the most burning questions philosophers discuss.

Brought to you by Penguin. From the eminent philosopher, an authoritative exploration of the great questions of how to live 'There is a question everyone has to ask and answer - in fact, has to keep on asking and keep on answering. It is, 'How should I live my life?' meaning, 'What values shall...

This book is about nothing. In mathematics there's only one way for nothing to exist, but there are an infinite number of ways for there to be something. So "something" is therefore more stable than "nothing". Which means that the more cluttered the universe is, the more stable it becomes. Does this mean that clutter is good? Brian Luff sets out to prove that it does.

The philosophers from the East (China, other countries in Asia, etc.) have many things in common with the ancient philosophers in the West (Greece, Eurasia, etc.). But there are differences, too. In this guide, we will highlight and compare some of these differences and similarities. Some other chapters are devoted to several philosophers from both regions in the world, namely Pythagoras, Mo Ti, and Aristippus of Cyrene.