Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Analytic Philosophy: An Anthology (Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies)

Analytic Philosophy: An Anthology (Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies) Review



Featuring updates and the inclusion of nine new chapters, AnalyticPhilosophy: An Anthology, 2nd Edition offers a comprehensive and authoritative collection of the most influential readings in analytic philosophy written over the past hundred years.
  • Features broad coverage of analytic philosophy, including such topics as ethics, methodology, and freedom and personal identity
  • Focuses on   classic or seminal articles that were especially influential or significant
  • New articles in this edition include “Proof of an External World” by G. E. Moore, “Criteria, Defeasibility, and Knowledge” by John McDowell, “Sensations and Brain Processes” by J. J. C. Smart, selections from Sense and Sensibilia by J. L. Austin, “Other Bodies” by Tyler Burge, “Individualism and Supervenience” by Jerry Fodor, “Responsibility and Avoidability” by Roderick Chisholm, “Alternative Possibilities and Moral Responsibility” by Harry Frankfurt, and “Personal Identity” by Derek Parfit
  • Offers diverse approaches to analytic philosophy by including readings from Austin, Wittgenstein, Quine, and Davidson


Monday, September 12, 2011

Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint (The Philosophy of Popular Culture)

Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint (The Philosophy of Popular Culture) Review



Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint (The Philosophy of Popular Culture) Feature

  • ISBN13: 9780813191867
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

What can the film Hoosiers teach us about the meaning of life? How can ancient Eastern wisdom traditions, such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism, improve our jump-shots? What can the "Zen Master" (Phil Jackson) and the "Big Aristotle" (Shaquille O'Neal) teach us about sustained excellence and success? Is women's basketball "better" basketball? How, ethically, should one deal with a strategic cheater in pickup basketball? With NBA and NCAA team rosters constantly changing, what does it mean to play for the "same team"? What can coaching legends Dean Smith, Rick Pitino, Pat Summitt, and Mike Krzyzewski teach us about character, achievement, and competition? What makes basketball such a beautiful game to watch and play? Basketball is now the most popular team sport in the United States; each year, more than 50 million Americans attend college and pro basketball games. When Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, first nailed two peach baskets at the opposite ends of a Springfield, Massachusetts, gym in 1891, he had little idea of how thoroughly the game would shape American -- and international -- culture. Hoops superstars such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Yao Ming are now instantly recognized celebrities all across the planet. So what can a group of philosophers add to the understanding of basketball? It is a relatively simple game, but as Kant and Dennis Rodman liked to say, appearances can be deceiving. Coach Phil Jackson actively uses philosophy to improve player performance and to motivate and inspire his team and his fellow coaches, both on and off the court. Jackson has integrated philosophy into his coaching and his personal life so thoroughly that it is often difficult to distinguish his role as a basketball coach from his role as a philosophical guide and mentor to his players. In Basketball and Philosophy, a Dream Team of twenty-six basketball fans, most of whom also happen to be philosophers, proves that basketball is the thinking person's sport. They look at what happens when the Tao meets the hardwood as they explore the teamwork, patience, selflessness, and balanced and harmonious action that make up the art of playing basketball.


Saturday, September 10, 2011

Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology

Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology Review



The most comprehensive text in its field, this anthology includes 70 articles in 10 areas of philosophy of religion: Traditional Arguments for the Existence of God; The Argument from Religious Experience; The Problem of Evil; The Attributes of God; Miracles, Death and Immortality; Faith and Reason; Science, Religion, and Evolution; Religious Pluralism; and Religion and Ethics. The articles are arranged in a coherent framework, with the presentation of each area progressing from the classical to the contemporary and treated in a dialectic (pro and con) fashion that exposes students to both sides of each issue.


Friday, September 9, 2011

Stoic Philosophy of Seneca: Essays and Letters

Stoic Philosophy of Seneca: Essays and Letters Review



The philosophy of Seneca has extended in influence from first-century Rome to the essays of Montaigne, to Elizabethan tragedy, to the theology of Calvin and the doctrines of the French Revolution.

In The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca, representative selections from Seneca's writings offer the reader an excellent introduction to the range of his work.

The selections are drawn from the essays, or dialogues, and the "Consolations;" from the treatises, of which "On Clemency," addressed to the young Nero, is included here; and from the Letters to Lucilius, which have to do not only with philosophical subjects but also with Seneca's personal experiences, such as journeys and visits.

Moses Hadas has selected letters and essays which reveal Seneca's major philosophical themes—the relationship of the individual to society and to the gods; the meaning of pain and misfortune; man's attitudes to change, time, and death; and the nature of the highest good and of the happy life. In his Introduction, Professor Hadas discusses Seneca's life and work, tracing the history of his reputation; comments on Seneca's style; and outlines the origins and tenets of Stoicism.


Thursday, September 8, 2011

Philosophical Papers: Volume 2, Philosophy and the Human Sciences (Philosophical Papers (Cambridge)) (v. 2)

Philosophical Papers: Volume 2, Philosophy and the Human Sciences (Philosophical Papers (Cambridge)) (v. 2) Review



Charles Taylor has been one of the most original and influential figures in contemporary philosophy: his 'philosophical anthropology' spans an unusually wide range of theoretical interests and draws creatively on both Anglo-American and Continental traditions in philosophy. A selection of his published papers is presented here in two volumes, structured to indicate the direction and essential unity of the work. He starts from a polemical concern with behaviourism and other reductionist theories (particularly in psychology and the philosophy of language) which aim to model the study of man on the natural sciences. This leads to a general critique of naturalism, its historical development and its importance for modern culture and consciousness; and that in turn points, forward to a positive account of human agency and the self, the constitutive role of language and value, and the scope of practical reason. The volumes jointly present some two decades of work on these fundamental themes, and convey strongly the tenacity, verve and versatility of the author in grappling with them. They will interest a very wide range of philosophers and students of the human sciences.


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Philosophy in the Modern World: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 4

Philosophy in the Modern World: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 4 Review



Here is the concluding volume of Sir Anthony Kenny's monumental four-volume history of philosophy, the first major single-author narrative history to appear for several decades.
Here Kenny tells the fascinating story of the development of philosophy in the modern world, from the early nineteenth century to the end of the millennium. Alongside (and intertwined with) extraordinary scientific advances, cultural changes, and political upheavals, the last two centuries have seen some of the most intriguing and original developments in philosophical thinking, which have transformed our understanding of ourselves and our world. In the first part of the book, Kenny offers a lively narrative introducing the major thinkers in their historical context. Among those we meet are the great figures of continental European philosophy, from Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche to Heidegger, Sartre, and Derrida; the Pragmatists such as C.S. Pierce and William James, who first developed a distinctively American philosophical tradition; Marx, Darwin, and Freud, the non-philosophers whose influence on philosophy was immense; and Wittgenstein and Russell, friends and colleagues who set the agenda for analytic philosophy in the twentieth century. Kenny then proceeds to guide the reader lucidly through the nine main areas of philosophical work in the period, offering a serious engagement with ideas and arguments about logic, language, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, politics, and the existence of God.
Graced with many beautiful illustrations, Philosophy in the Modern World concludes Kenny's stimulating history of the intellectual development of Western civilization, allowing readers to trace the birth and growth of philosophy from antiquity to the present day.


Monday, September 5, 2011

Moral Philosophy for Modern Life

Moral Philosophy for Modern Life Review



Adopting a learning-centered orientation, the book shifts attention away from simple coverage of theoretical content and places it on what students will know and be able to do as a result of their philosophical study. The author masterfully uses accessible language to convey complex ideas, while maintaining a high level of student interest and involvement.