Wisdom Philosophy

In this rare peak into the personal life of the author of numerous bestselling novels, gain an understanding of David Foster Wallace and how he became the man that he was. Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at...

Mortimer Adler stood on the metaphysical and moral teachings of Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas to convey to his readers an understanding of the nature of Aristotle’s rhetoric as an essential means for conveying to readers of his time and to posterity a specific understanding of philosophy as an essential humanistic educational tool that might, someday, be able to issue in global peace!

One of the great minds of the 20th century, Bertrand Russell explored philosophy, mathematics, and a variety of other intellectual, political, historical, and social issues in his lifetime. In this indispensable and easily accessible guide, drawn from his books and essays, readers will find Russell’s fundamental principles, from objectivity to ontological arguments to logical certainty, in his own words. Russell also explored topics such as war, evil, and the purpose and goal of human existence.

Somehow, deeply conservative assumptions about how children behave and how parents raise them have become the conventional wisdom in our society. It's widely assumed that parents are both permissive and overprotective, unable to set limits and afraid to let their kids fail. We're told that young people receive trophies, praise, and A's too easily, and suffer from inflated self-esteem and insufficient self-discipline. However, complaints about pushover parents and entitled kids are actually decades old and driven, it turns out, by ideology more than evidence.

An entertaining and enlightening anthology of classical Greek and Roman writings on animals—and our vital relationships with them.

Master ancient wisdom for modern resilience and inner peace in as little as one hour a day, even if your current lifestyle feels overwhelmingly busy. Do you struggle to find inner peace amidst the chaos of everyday life? Are you seeking effective methods to manage stress in your professional world? Perhaps you're simply curious about how ancient philosophies can offer contemporary solutions?

Children will benefit from Dharmachari Nagaraja's appealing combination of warmth, wisdom, wit and playfulness in this third book from the At Bedtime series. Growing up in the modern world, our children can often feel distracted, stressed and anxious. The ancient wisdom of Buddhism, with its emphasis on peace, compassion and mindfulness, is the ideal basis for helping any child face the challenges of daily life with increased confidence and calm.

The second-century Greek physician Galen—the most famous doctor in antiquity after Hippocrates—is a central figure in Western medicine. A talented doctor, surgeon, writer, philosopher, teacher, pharmacologist, and inventor, Galen attended the court of Marcus Aurelius, living through outbreaks of plague that devastated the Roman Empire. He also served as a physician for professional gladiators. In writings that provided the foundation of Western medicine up to the nineteenth century, Galen created a unified account of health and disease.

What can a cactus teach you about boundaries, survival, and thriving in a world that wants too much of you? More than you think.

Whether you farm or garden, live in the country or long to move there, or simply enjoy an occasional rural retreat, you will be delighted by this cornucopia of writings about living and working on the land, harvested from the fertile fields of ancient Greek and Roman literature. An inspiring antidote to the digital age, How to Be a Farmer evokes the beauty and bounty of nature with a rich mixture of philosophy, practical advice, history, and humor.

In a time of accelerating crises and collapsing certainties, philosophy can no longer remain the distant pursuit of abstract speculation. It must become a way of orientation—a compass for living in a world of complexity, contradiction, and change. This book invites the listener into an integral vision of thought: a philosophy that does not impose dogma but weaves together insights from diverse traditions, sciences, and lived experiences. It shows how no single system contains the whole, yet each carries a fragment of truth waiting to be brought into relation.

“A unique and special kind of masterpiece.” —John Banville This program is read by the author. Stephen Mitchell’s gift is to breathe new life into ancient classics. In Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness, he offers us his riveting novelistic version of the Biblical tale in which Jacob’s...

Who doesn't worry sometimes that smart phones, the Internet, and TV are robbing us of time and preventing us from having a life? How can we make the most of our time on earth? In the first century AD, the Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger offered one of the most famous answers to that question in his essay "On the Shortness of Life"—a work that has more to teach us today than ever before.

Classic ideas and ancient concepts broken down for the modern age. A non-academic approach to better living and greater happiness. Philosophy doesn’t have to be pointless and boring. If we can cut through the difficult language and roundabout reasoning, we’ll find a treasure trove of knowledge and enlightenment. But don’t worry, this is no textbook.

Along with Stoicism and Epicureanism, Skepticism is one of the three major schools of ancient Greek philosophy that claim to offer a way of living as well as thinking. How to Keep an Open Mind provides an unmatched introduction to skepticism by presenting a fresh, modern translation of key passages from the writings of Sextus Empiricus, the only Greek skeptic whose works have survived.

The book is the culmination of several years of extensive compiling and research into the wisdom of over 350 of some of history's most insightful people. Wheler’s detailed work includes 22 simultaneously illuminating and entertaining chapters. Each chapter fuses humor, wit, wisdom, history and criticism into its book of interwoven quotations. Controversial topics have not been avoided, as Wheler addresses religion, politics and society all through the informative lens of some of history's greatest minds.

"The Joyful Wisdom", written in 1882, just before "Zarathustra", is rightly judged to be one of Nietzsche's best books. Here the essentially grave and masculine face of the poet-philosopher is seen to light up and suddenly break into a delightful smile. The warmth and kindness that beam from his features will astonish those hasty psychologists who have never divined that behind the destroyer is the creator, and behind the blasphemer the lover of life.

He wondered how best to cultivate qualities that make us better individuals within a society. Plato parlays this chaos into a recipe for living a good life, the building blocks of which are outlined in this book. Each of Plato's works is discussed, and important parallels to modern life are made with lessons you can draw from.

The Wisdom of Sartre offers key excerpts from the eloquent French writer, playwright, and philosopher’s masterpiece, Being and Nothingness. From this collection, listeners will discover the strongest themes in his early philosophical work: an ontological account of what it means to be human, and the role of perception, knowledge, and consciousness in the practical demands of life.

There are times when we've all felt that we haven't been treated as we deserve—that we've been misjudged, shortchanged, or given a raw deal. And, at one time or another, other people have probably felt that we've treated them just as unfairly. How to Do the Right Thing draws on the principles of ancient Stoicism as articulated by the Roman statesman and philosopher Seneca to help listeners better navigate one of the most important practical questions of daily life—how to do right by others.