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The philosophers of the Hellenistic schools in ancient Greece and Rome (Epicureans, Stoics, Sceptics, Academics, Cyrenaics) made important contributions to the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of psychology. This volume, which contains the proceedings of the Fifth Symposium Hellenisticum, describes and analyses their contributions on issues such as: the nature of perception, imagination and belief; the nature of the passions and their role in action; the relationship between mind and body; freedom and determinism; the role of pleasure as a goal; the effects of poetry on belief and passion. Written with a high level of historical and philosophical scholarship, the essays are intended both for classicists and for specialists interested in the philosophy of mind. ... Read more

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Highly recommended, especially for college library collections
Howard P. Kainz (Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy at Marquette University in Milwaukee) presents The Philosophy of Human Nature, a thoughtful, in-depth reflection upon the philosophical controversies concerning the definition and purpose of human nature. From whether human beings are (or can become) free, to whether human instincts differ from animal instincts, to whether human personality traits and intelligence can truly be inherited, and more, The Philosophy of Human Nature tackles age old conundrums with the professionalism of a trained philosopher. At the same time, The Philosophy of Human Nature avoids bogging itself down in needless obfuscation, remaining accessible even to readers who do not have extensive training in philosophy. "Karl Marx, as is well known, analyzed patterns of exploitation taking place in nineteenth-century capitalist systems. In his early philosophical works, he makes an interesting socio-political application of gender dynamics. According to Marx, the male attitude toward females offers us the best indication of their general attitude toward nature, the environment, society in general, and the lower classes in particular. If males take women as objects to be exploited, Marx argued, they tend to have the same attitude toward the environment, the lower classes, and so forth... Communism, unfortunately, was not spectacularly successful in eliminating female exploitation; but Marx's general observation about attitude patterns may be worth considering." Highly recommended, especially for college library collections.
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This volume is the first English translation of sixteen lectures by Maurice Merleau-Ponty given at the Ecole Normale Superieure in 1947-48 and reconstituted on the basis of notes taken by some of his most outstanding students.Devoted to three of the great names in the French philosphical tradition, Malebranche, Maine de Biran, and Bergson, these lectures center on a classic problem: the union of the soul and the body.

In these lectures Merleau-Ponty demonstrates how Malebranche had articulated an early phenomenology of the human condition, how Maine de Biran had anticipated the central project and related themes of the "Phenomenology of Perception", and how certain featuers of Bergson's method announce key elements of the philosophical methodology expressed in Merleau-Ponty's later works.This volume contains one of Merleau-Ponty's most sustained explications and critiques of Bergson's "Matter and Memory", and, more important, his only major presentation and critique of the thought of Maine de Biran.

This volume is indispensable for students of Merleau-Ponty and for those interested in French philosophy in general. ... Read more

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Drawing on the spirit of classical American Philosophy, A Community of Individuals is an original, highly engaging, and important philosophical exploration of pressing personal and social problems. With clear, compelling, spirited writing, Lachs tackles a wide range of topics from the responsibility of educators and the role of education to the problems of aging and the desire for immortality, from genetic engineering and biomedical research to genocide and moral progress. The work also includes new, significant discussion of major American thinkers. The common theme running through the book is the complex relationships between individuality and community, and how we might think through their competing demands to live better lives. ... Read more

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Good book for some fun yet engaging reading!
Ahhh...I love books like these. It's one of those that you have to think about but don't have to think about. "Come again?" Lachs has written a great collection of essays whose prose is so beautiful, terse and enriching that you, the reader, will be able to go through 100 pages at a time without ever suspecting that you learned as much as you did; you just thought you were having fun!! Like Sesame street for adults!

Before I give you the wrong impression, here's the synopsis. "Community of Individuals" is a collection of essays divided into three sections: "Intellectuals and Courage" consists of ruminations about the role of the teacher and the university. Lachs has some astute and all-too-urgent views taht are more like calls-to-action for profs and students. "Issues for Individuals" focuses on individual issues like epistemology and the creation of ethics. "Problems for communities" is exactly that; Lachs discusses bioethics, euthenasia, technology, and ethics in our prosperous age. The final section, and in my opinion the most enjoyable, is "American Philosophers". Lachs does such things as compare Peirce and Santayana's view of human purpose, emphasize the individualism of American thinkers in their break with German Idealism (well, except Royce!), and take Paul Weiss to task for his rigid and confused views on human nature and the creation of the self.

Through all the essays, Lachs is a Jamesian pragmatist through and through. His concern is to create essays dealing constructively with issues that have practical consequences and is always careful (like with Weiss) to recognize when philosophy tends to become so theoretical and abstract that it stops reflecting this messy ball of stuff called life. Even the more abstract articles (on human epistemology and American theorists emphasis on the individual) are written in ways that tie even the most abstract discussion into practical life.

The one curiosity of this book can either be construed as a fault or a benefit; there is really no discernible common theme of the book. After reading it, I even went so far as to read the back cover and introduction again to make sure I hadn't missed something. I don't think I did. While each section is pretty internally consistent (particularly the "Problems For Communities" section, which focuses on issues in science), the book taken as a whole is quite scattered. I don't deduct a star because, as I said, this can be taken as a welcome change or a frustrating diversion. It depends on your tempermant.

Still, I can't reccomend this book highly enough. It is fun, fresh, relevant, cautioned, and optomistic all at the same time! Can you ask for a lot more? ... Read more

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This volume seeks to explore our understanding of the Renaissance, starting with the text that defined our conception of the period, Burckhardt's classic work, The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy (published in 1860).A particular concern is the 'revival of antiquity' which Burckhardt saw as one of the definitive features of Renaissance culture.This is explored through a reassessment of the role of humanism, with detailed case studies in music (Josquin Desprez), moral philosophy (Valla, Castiglione, More) and political thought (Machiavelli). ... Read more

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This major volume of original essays traces the role of emotions in human nature through a discussion of the relationship between consciousness and body.It analyzes the importance of emotion for human agency and explores questions of value at the political, ethical and personal levels. Leading researchers reflect on the nature of human feelings; how and why we understand what other people feel, and how our values become involved in such emotions as guilt, fear, shame, amusement, or love. ... Read more

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Western philosophies have consistently endowed expressive language with the power of communication, reducing the unspeaking, non-expressive Other to a void.

In this remarkable book, Gemma Fiumara redresses the balance by looking at the other side of language--listening. Synthesizing the insights of Wittgenstein, Heidegger and Gadamer, among many others, she puts forward a powerful argument for the replacement of "silent" silence of Western thought with the rich openness of an authentic listening. ... Read more

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The Philosophy in listening
This book includes a patchwork of material from other authors ie Heidegger & Gadamer, etc.,which is noted in the Notes and Bibliography section of this book. This is really not unusual in a book.It is just that the flow sometimes felt interrupted when transitioning from one topic to another.Several pages discuss certain aspect of questions and listening.After page 52, I resorted to skimming...I am not into philosophy.

I reconnected to page 99. . . to a section called Silence & Dialogue. Fiurmara presents a viewpoint about silence and understanding that is right on target with listening. And after this Chapter Silence and Listening, I was pretty much done with the book.

If you truly enjoy Philosophy you will enjoy this book.

A difficult read
I found the ideas in this book interesting and stimulating. The philosophical approach is refreshing. Most listening books focus more on the mechanics, rather than the spirit, of good listening.
Please beware that either the author, (Gemma Corradi Fiumara) or the translater (Charles Lambert), or both, are terrible writers. Maybe I'm on the "listening for dummies" level, but I found comprehension difficult even with rereadings. Out of curiosity I took one section and applied the Gunning formula to see how it scored. Gunning scores are supposedly equivalent to the grade level the reading best matches. So a score of 12equals high school senior level; a 16 is college senior level. The section I checked scored 36!Granted, the section was a real head-scratcher, but the whole book reflects that "level" of writing.
The ideas (that I could understand) are good. The reading is challenging. The writing is just plain bad. Be prepared.

The most thoughtful book on listening as listening
Amazon today lists 1760 books on a search for "listening." 99% of them fall into (1) language training, (2) Christian and Spiritual Direction texts, and (3) tips and techniques for listening in different contexts. This book is different. Fiumara attempts to bring listening into the light -- what listening is, really, what happens when we listen, and what listening does to us.

As she shows carefully in the first few chapters, what people think of today as a "philosophy of listening" -- what we can use as a basis for thinking about listening -- is a whole lot of talking about talking. There is almost nothing at all on the subject of what listening is about.

Listening, especially listening to what we have not listened to before, is going to get more and more important in this world, as change accelerates all around us. And Fiumara is right; we are operating without basic maps or carefully wrought structures for thinking about listening. Paraphrasing Heidegger, we have the unfortunate habit of listening only to what we already understand. My children, I notice, like many other people in the world today, get angry when I ask them to begin to listen to something they have not before encountered. Listening is bloody important.

The ambition of this book -- a philosophy of listening -- is an astonishingly important ambition for our times. I don't think Fiumara fully realizes the ambition here, but she has done a superb job of aiming us in the right direction and raising all kinds of the right warnings and concerns. I have read this book half a dozen times. I quote it regularly when I am giving talks. I use it for thinking how to construct a marriage, a community, and how to get my children to listen to me, others, the world, and to be better listeners for themselves.

I recommend this as one of the top 10 books on the shelf of anyone who is committed to thinking about growing people in this era we are entering.

Thank you, Dr. Fiumara. ... Read more

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Much to commend it
I read the previous review and want to say that this is a somewhat technical book AND it is a powerful book. Read the description before you buy it. It is well worth the effort to work through it.

Skip it.Not what you think.
This book somehow received a recent plug in one of the mainstream women's magazines (The November BH&G I think).To get a sense of where I am coming from, more often I read books recommended in the FT.I bought this book to give as a gift, expecting it to be along the lines of a personal development type of book, written for the average person.I didn't expect some sort of dissertation with every oddball in history filling page after page of the massive index in the back.I quite like a large index if there is a need for it, but a book with a title like this I expected to be somewhat more lightweight.I was frankly horrified to see Osama bin Laden in the index.My advice is this - if you have more education than a master's degree, you might have a chance of deciphering it.A remote chance.I think it's a doctoral thesis.I sent it back, because there is no way I was going to take another stab at it.I mostly read non-fiction - ordinarily not the self-help stuff, it's usually all crap, but this was meant to be a gift I was going to share with a partner. I should not have had this much trouble understanding it.A book with a title such as this should not have been way over my head and should not have had all those crazy entries listed in the index.Someone out there might enjoy it, but that person was definitely not me. ... Read more

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Portraying the mind as a two-level structure, this book analyzes the architecture of the human mind. Thus, it demonstrates that the mind consists of a basic mind and a supermind--the former non-conscious and non-linguistic, the latter conscious and language-involving. Claiming that philosophers and psychologists have failed to distinguish these levels, Keith Frankish argues that this failure has stood in the way of the successful explanation of a number of puzzling mental phenomena. His book will be valued by philosophers, psychologists, and cognitive scientists. ... Read more

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The Renaissance movement known as humanism eventually spread from Italy through all of Western Europe, transforming early modern culture in ways that are still being felt and debated.Central to these debates—and to this book—is the question of whether (and how) the humanist movement contributed to the secularization of western cultural traditions at the end of the Middle Ages.A preeminent scholar of Italian humanism, Riccardo Fubini approaches this question in a new way—by redefining the problem of secularization more carefully to show how humanists can at once be secularizers and also religious thinkers.The result is a provocative vision of the humanist movement. Humanism and Secularization offers a nuanced account of humanists contesting medieval ideas about authority not in order to reject Christianity or even orthodoxy, but to claim for themselves the right to define what it meant to be a Christian.Fubini analyzes key texts by major humanists--such as Petrarch, Poggio, and Valla—from the first century of the movement.As he subtly works out these authors’ views on religion and the church from both biographical and textual information, Fubini reveals in detail the new historical consciousness that animated the humanists in their reading of classical and patristic texts.His book as a whole shows convincingly just how radical the humanism of the first half of the fifteenth century was and how sharply it challenged well entrenched ideas and institutions.Appearing here in English for the first time, his work provides a model set of readings of humanist texts and a critical perspective on Italian humanism that will alter and enrich discussion and understanding of the nature of the humanist movement throughout the English-speaking world. ... Read more

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The philosophy of cognitive science has recently become one of the most exciting and fastest growing domains of philosophical inquiry and analysis. Until the early 1980s, nearly all of the models developed treated cognitive processes -- like problem solving, language comprehension, memory, and higher visual processing -- as rule-governed symbol manipulation. However, this situation has changed dramatically over the last half dozen years. In that period there has been an enormous shift of attention toward connectionist models of cognition that are inspired by the network-like architecture of the brain. Because of their unique architecture and style of processing, connectionist systems are generally regarded as radically different from the more traditional symbol manipulation models.

This collection was designed to provide philosophers who have been working in the area of cognitive science with a forum for expressing their views on these recent developments. Because the symbol-manipulating paradigm has been so important to the work of contemporary philosophers, many have watched the emergence of connectionism with considerable interest. The contributors take very different stands toward connectionism, but all agree that the potential exists for a radical shift in the way many philosophers think of various aspects of cognition. Exploring this potential and other philosophical dimensions of connectionist research is the aim of this volume.
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Love comes in many forms and touches all our lives, and despite its changing history, it remains constant in human experience. Love's Philosophy explores the basic expressions of love. In this book, White looks at friendship, romance, parenthood and humanitarian love in classical and contemporary perspectives. He argues that the philosophical oblivion of love has been a mistake. By examining both the historical and contemporary formations of love, he proposes alternative models to guide both our thinking and our experience of loving. ... Read more

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Contemporary Debates in Moral Theory features pairs of newly commissioned essays by some of the leading theorists working in the field today.

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The influential scholar of religion Mircea Eliade envisioned a spiritually destitute modern culture coming into renewed meaning through the recovery of archetypal myths and symbols. Eliade defined this restoration of meaning as a "new humanism" of existential meaning and cultural-religious unity. Through a biographical exegesis of Eliade's life and writings from his earliest years in Romania to his final ones as professor of the history of religions at the University of Chicago, Cave sets forward a structural description of what this "new humanism" might have meant for Eliade, and what it signifies for modern culture. Cave concludes by endorsing Eliade's radically pluralistic vision which, he argues, offers a key to the revitalization of our demythologized and material culture. This study repositions previous Eliadean studies and places the "new humanism" as the paradigm in relation to which future readings of Eliade should be evaluated. ... Read more

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This important new book compares the respective oeuvre of two seminal thinkers of the 20th century, Emmanuel Levinas and Albert Camus. Tal Sessler compares their lasting legacies within the specific context of intellectual resistance to totalitarianism and political violence, with particular focus on their respective approaches to the Holocaust and genocide in the 20th century and, correspondingly, the question of theodicy and religious faith.

Levinas and Camus explores each thinker's congruent and complimentary metaphysical and political rationale in opposing tyranny. Sessler emphasizes the religious component in Levinas's depiction of Hitlerism as paganism (a perception that Camus shares), and the correlation between liberalism and monotheism. The book explores Levinas and Camus's reflections on the Holocaust and the question of theodicy and deals with their corresponding critiques of Stalinism and Hegelian philosophy of history.

Sessler goes on to consider how Levinas and Camus would have contended with the central political issue of our own era, religious fundamentalism, and explicates the dualist nature of Israel and Algeria in the writings of Levinas and Camus. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Contributed research papers. ... Read more