Best of
Philosophy

2000

The Schopenhauer Cure


Irvin D. Yalom - 2000
    Yet Philip claims to be cured -- miraculously transformed by the pessimistic teachings of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer -- and is, himself, a philosophical counselor in training. Philips dour, misanthropic stance compels Julius to invite Philip to join his intensive therapy group in exchange for tutoring on Schopenhauer. But with mere months left, life may be far too short to help Philip or to compete with him for the hearts and minds of the group members. And then again, it might be just long enough.

Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living


Bruce Lee - 2000
    A good teacher is merely a catalyst."—Bruce LeeWithin the pages of Striking Thoughts, you will find the secrets of Bruce Lee's amazing success— as an actor, martial artist, and inspiration to the world. Consisting of eight sections, Striking Thoughts covers 72 topics and 825 aphorisms—from spirituality to personal liberation and from family life to filmmaking—all of which Bruce lived by.His ideas helped energize his life and career, and made it possible for him to live a happy and assured life, overcoming difficult obstacles with seeming ease. His ideas also inspired his family, friends, students, and colleagues to achieve success in their own lives and this personal collection will help you in your journey too.Sections include:On First Principles—including life, existence, time, and deathOn Being Human—including the mind, happiness, fear, and dreamsOn Matters of Existence—health, love, marriage, raising children, ethics, racism, and adversityOn Achievement—work, goals, faith, success, money, and fameOn Art and Artists—art, filmmaking, and actingOn Personal Liberation—conditioning, Zen Buddhism, meditation, and freedomOn the Process of Becoming—self-actualization, self-help, self-expression, and growthOn Ultimate (Final) Principles—Yin-yang, totality, Tao, and the truthThis Bruce Lee Book is part of the Bruce Lee Library which also features:Bruce Lee: The Celebrated Life of the Golden DragonBruce Lee: The Tao of Gung FuBruce Lee: Artist of LifeBruce Lee: Letters of the DragonBruce Lee: The Art of Expressing the Human BodyBruce Lee: Jeet Kune Do

A Language Older Than Words


Derrick Jensen - 2000
    This chronicle of a young man's drive to transcend domestic abuse offers a challenging look at our worldwide sense of community and how we can make things better.

The Modern Mind: An Intellectual History of the 20th Century


Peter Watson - 2000
    Peter Watson has produced a fluent and engaging narrative of the intellectual tradition of the twentieth century, and the men and women who created it.

The Voice of Knowledge: A Practical Guide to Inner Peace


Miguel Ruiz - 2000
    Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, this breakthrough book shows us how to recover our faith in the truth and return to our own common sense.Ruiz changes the way we perceive ourselves, and the way we perceive other people. Then he opens the door to a reality that we once perceived when we were one and two years old - a reality of truth, love, and joy.

Life is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition


Wendell Berry - 2000
    Winner, Washington Post Book World"I am tempted to say he understands [Consilience] better than Wilson himself…A new emancipation proclamation in which he speaks again and again about how to defy the tyranny of scientific materialism" ---Colin C. Campbell, Christian Science Monitor"Berry takes a wrecking ball to E. O. Wilson's Consilience, reducing its smug assumptions regarding the fusion of science, art, and religion to so much rubble. --Kirkus ReviewsIn Life Is a Miracle, the devotion of science to the quantitative and reductionist world is measured against the mysterious, qualitative suggestions of religion and art. Berry sees life as the collision of these separate forces, but without all three in the mix we are left at sea in the world.

The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet


Matthieu Ricard - 2000
    Eventually he left his life in science to study with Tibetan teachers, and he is now a Buddhist monk and translator for the Dalai Lama, living in the Shechen monastery near Kathmandu in Nepal. Trinh Thuan was born into a Buddhist family in Vietnam but became intrigued by the explosion of discoveries in astronomy during the 1960s. He made his way to the prestigious California Institute of Technology to study with some of the biggest names in the field and is now an acclaimed astrophysicist and specialist on how the galaxies formed. When Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Thuan met at an academic conference in the summer of 1997, they began discussing the many remarkable connections between the teachings of Buddhism and the findings of recent science. That conversation grew into an astonishing correspondence exploring a series of fascinating questions. Did the universe have a beginning? Or is our universe one in a series of infinite universes with no end and no beginning? Is the concept of a beginning of time fundamentally flawed? Might our perception of time in fact be an illusion, a phenomenon created in our brains that has no ultimate reality? Is the stunning fine-tuning of the universe, which has produced just the right conditions for life to evolve, a sign that a “principle of creation” is at work in our world? If such a principle of creation undergirds the workings of the universe, what does that tell us about whether or not there is a divine Creator? How does the radical interpretation of reality offered by quantum physics conform to and yet differ from the Buddhist conception of reality? What is consciousness and how did it evolve? Can consciousness exist apart from a brain generating it?The stimulating journey of discovery the authors traveled in their discussions is re-created beautifully in The Quantum and the Lotus, written in the style of a lively dialogue between friends. Both the fundamental teachings of Buddhism and the discoveries of contemporary science are introduced with great clarity, and the reader will be profoundly impressed by the many correspondences between the two streams of thought and revelation. Through the course of their dialogue, the authors reach a remarkable meeting of minds, ultimately offering a vital new understanding of the many ways in which science and Buddhism confirm and complement each other and of the ways in which, as Matthieu Ricard writes, “knowledge of our spirits and knowledge of the world are mutually enlightening and empowering.” “The Quantum and the Lotus is a mind-expanding, eye-opening exploration of the exciting parallels between cutting-edge thinking in physics and Buddhism–a scintillating conversation any thinking person would delight in overhearing.” —Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence“The Quantum and the Lotus is the rich and inspiring result of a deeply interesting dialogue between Western science and Buddhist philosophy. This remarkable book will contribute greatly to a better understanding of the true nature of our world and the way we live our lives.” —His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Heretics / Orthodoxy


G.K. Chesterton - 2000
    Chesterton, Heretics and Orthodoxy. In response to the wrong doctrinal teaching of many of his contemporaries, G.K. Chesterton takes readers back to the "fundamentals" in Heretics. In the compelling work,Orthodoxy, Chesterton provides a look at what some have described as his own spiritual autobiography. Of these two books, they describe some of a Christian's core beliefs and capture the essence of the Christian experience. They remain an essential part of every Christian's library, and continue to challenge the way we conceive our faith and our world.

Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?


Gary L. Francione - 2000
    Using examples, analogies and thought-experiments, it reveals the dramatic inconsistency between what people say they believe about animals and how people actually treat them.

Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama


Daniel Goleman - 2000
    The talk is lively and fascinating as these leading minds grapple with age-old questions of compelling contemporary urgency. Daniel Goleman, the internationally bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence, provides the illuminating commentary--and reports on the breakthrough research this historic gathering inspired.Destructive Emotions Buddhist philosophy tells us that all personal unhappiness and interpersonal conflict lie in the "three poisons" craving, anger, and delusion. It also provides antidotes of astonishing psychological sophistication--which are now being confirmed by modern neuroscience. With new high-tech devices, scientists can peer inside the brain centers that calm the inner storms of rage and fear. They also can demonstrate that awareness-training strategies such as meditation strengthen emotional stability--and greatly enhance our positive moods.The distinguished panel members report these recent findings and debate an exhilarating range of other topics: What role do destructive emotions play in human evolution? Are they "hardwired" in our bodies? Are they universal, or does culture determine how we feel? How can we nurture the compassion that is also our birthright? We learn how practices that reduce negativity have also been shown to bolster the immune system. Here, too, is an enlightened proposal for a school-based program of social and emotional learning that can help our children increase self-awareness, manage their anger, and become more empathetic.Throughout, these provocative ideas are brought to life by the play of personalities, by the Dalai Lama's probing questions, and by his surprising sense of humor. Although there are no easy answers, the dialogues, which are part of a series sponsored by the Mind and Life Institute, chart an ultimately hopeful course. They are sure to spark discussion among educators, religious and political leaders, parents--and all people who seek peace for themselves and the world.The Mind and Life Institute sponsors cross-cultural dialogues that bring together the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist scholars with Western scientists and philosophers. Mind and Life VIII, on which this book is based, took place in Dharamsala, India, in March 2000.

The Complete I Ching: The Definitive Translation


Alfred Huang - 2000
    Revered by billions of Chinese as the Classic of Classics and consulted as a source of ancient wisdom, it has been embraced by the West in the last 50 years but has always been translated by Westerners who brought their own cultural biases to the work, distorting or misunderstanding its true meaning.In The Complete I Ching Master Alfred Huang has restored the true essence of the I Ching by emphasizing the unity of Heaven and humanity and the Tao of Change, and, even more important, by including translations of the Ten Wings, the commentaries by Confucius, that are essential to the I Ching's insights. Previous English translations have either given these commentaries a minor place in the book or have left them out altogether. But the Chinese say that the I Ching needs the Ten Wings to fly. Restored to their central place in the book by Master Huang, the I Ching at last flies in English.

Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi(tr)


Mahatma Gandhi - 2000
    In them Gandhi addresses the issues he felt most directly affected the spiritual lives of common people.

The Abolition of Man & The Great Divorce


C.S. Lewis - 2000
    S. Lewis reflects on society and nature and the challenges of how best to educate our children. He describes what public education should be and how far from this standard modern education has fallen. Lewis eloquently argues that, as a society, we need to underpin reading and writing lessons with moral education.In The Great Divorce, Lewis presents his vision of the afterworld. A fictional narrator boards a bus on a drizzly English afternoon and embarks on an incredible voyage through Heaven and Hell, where he meets a host of supernatural beings and comes to some significant realizations about the nature of good and evil.

Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu


Zhuangzi - 2000
    Although less well known in the West than the Tao Te Ching, the work of Chuang Tzu is every bit its equal as a classic of Taoist thought. But this collection of tales, poems, and parables is also one of the most playful and witty books in world literature. In this vivid, contemporary translation, Victor Mair captures the quintessential life and spirit of Chuang Tzu while remaining faithful to the text. ... Complete with an authoritative introduction on Chuang Tzu and his place in Chinese thought and history, as well as a glossary of key terms and concepts, this translation by Victor Mair is destined to become the definitive edition of Chuang Tzu's work in our time. Illustrated throughout with woodcuts by the illustrator of the Tao Te Ching.

Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature, and Other Essays


Murray N. Rothbard - 2000
    Appearing first in 1974, this volume, more than any of other, came to build a generation of libertarian scholars that looked beyond the trapping of conventional left-right thinking, and hence laid the groundwork for the current intellectual revolt against centralized social and economic management. The book's title comes from the lead essay, which argues that egalitarian theory always results in politics of statist control because it is founded on revolt against the ontological structure of reality itself. It is an attempt to replace what exists with a Romantic image of an idealized primitive state of nature, an ideal which cannot and should not be achieved. The implications of this point are worked out on topics such as market economics, child rights, environmentalism, feminism, foreign policy, redistribution--and a host of other issues that are driving public debate today. As Roy Childs, Jr., writes in the introduction: "Until Rothbard's work is carefully studied by every advocate of liberty, the value of his contributions to the libertarian system cannot be fully appreciated and, moreover, the unity and true historical context of libertarianism will not even be fully grasped."

The Portable Hannah Arendt


Hannah Arendt - 2000
    This volume includes selections from her major works, including The Origins of Totalitarianism, Between Past and Future, Men in Dark Times, The Jew as Pariah, and The Human Condition, as well as many shorter writings and letters. Sections include extracts from her work on fascism, Marxism, and totalitarianism; her treatment of work and labour; her writings on politics and ethics; and a section on truth and the role of the intellectual.

Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation


Alan W. Watts - 2000
    In three parts, Alan Watts -- the author of The Way of Zen and The Joyous Cosmology -- explains the basic philosophy of meditation, how individuals can practice a variety of meditations, and how inner wisdom grows naturally.

What Is Tao?


Alan W. Watts - 2000
    In this book, he draws on his own study and practice to give readers an overview of the concept of the Tao and guidance for experiencing it themselves. What Is Tao? explores the wisdom of understanding the way things are and letting life unfold without interference.

What Is Zen?


Alan W. Watts - 2000
    What Is Zen? examines Zen's religious roots, its influence on Eastern and Western culture, its transcendent moments, and the methods of Zen meditation that are currently practiced.

The Diamond Cutter: The Buddha on Managing Your Business and Your Life


Michael Roach - 2000
    Geshe Michael Roach, one of the great teachers today of Tibetan Buddhism, has richly woven The Diamond Cutter in three layers. The first is a translation of selections from the Diamond Sutra itself, an ancient text comprised of conversations between the Buddha and his close disciple Subhuti. Considered a central work by Buddhists throughout the world, the Diamond Sutra has been the focus of much interpretation over the centuries. In the second layer, Geshe Michael quotes from some of the best commentaries of the Tibetan tradition. In the main text, the third layer, he uses both sutra and commentary as a jumping-off point for presenting his own teaching. Geshe Michael gives fresh insight into ancient wisdom by using examples from his own experience as one of the founders of the Andin International Diamond Corporation, which was started with capital of fifty thousand dollars and which today has annual sales in excess of one hundred million dollars. Much of the success of Andin has come from applying the business strategies presented in The Diamond Cutter. Geshe Michael's easy style and spiritual understanding make this work of timeless wisdom an invaluable source for those already familiar with, and those unfamiliar with, Tibetan Buddhism. "From the Hardcover edition."

The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge & Human Freedom


William Lane Craig - 2000
    Craig contends that both of these notions are compatible, showing how the Bible teaches divine foreknowledge of human free acts, and reveals two ways of "reconciling divine omniscience with human freedom".

To Be Human


Jiddu Krishnamurti - 2000
    At the heart of this extraordinary collection are passages from the great teacher's talks that amplify and clarify the nature of truth and those obstacles that often prevent us from seeing it. Most of these core teachings have not been available in print until now. Besides presenting the core of Krishnamurti's message, the book alerts the reader to his innovative use of language, the ways in which he would use "old words with new interpretations," then gives practical examples, showing that we can clarify our understanding of life itself—and act on this new understanding. The splendid introduction by David Skitt discusses Krishnamurti's philosophy as a guide to knowledge and experience, the roles knowledge and experience should play in our lives, and the times when it is best to cast them aside and "look and act anew." The book's source notes will aid the inquisitive reader who wishes a deeper understanding of this great teacher's message.

Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography


Rüdiger Safranski - 2000
    In the first new biography in decades, Rüdiger Safranski, one of the foremost living Nietzsche scholars, re-creates the anguished life of Nietzsche while simultaneously assessing the philosophical implications of his morality, religion, and art. Struggling to break away from the oppressive burdens of the past, Nietzsche invented a unique philosophy based on compulsive self-consciousness and constant self-revision. As groundbreaking as it will be long-lasting, this biography offers a brilliant, multifaceted portrait of a towering figure.

The Sage's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for the Second Half of Life


William Martin - 2000
    As Martin writes, sages are the "primary keepers and transmitters of wisdom, culture, values, and spirituality." Martin's free-verse interpretation captures the ancient spirit of Lao Tzu's text, yet speaks directly to modern readers. The text is accompanied by a visual interpretation of the Tao in more than 50 original ink-brush drawings. Like the Parent's Tao and Couple's Tao before it, the Sage's Tao has the hallmarks of a classic. "You have ceased trying /To tie up all loose ends./You have discovered/That life does not need to be neat/You have more questions than answers,/And this is a great delight to you./You trust the mystery of life/Without having to possess it." - from the book

Celebrating Life: Finding Happiness in Unexpected Places


Jonathan Sacks - 2000
    Happiness isn't somewhere else, it's where we are. It isn't something we don't have, we do. It isn't fantasy, it's reality experienced in a certain way. Happiness is a close relative of faith'Following the painful loss of his father, Chief Rabbi Sacks began to learn how to celebrate life in a new way. He discovered where happiness lives, often in unexpected places, through family, community, friendship and responsibilities. He also found it through a renewed relationship with God who spoke to his deepest needs.Based, in part, on his columns in the UK's Times newspaper, Celebrating Life is for people of all faiths and none. It shows us how to be human and, in becoming so, how we can touch the divine.

Ethics of the Real: Kant, Lacan


Alenka Zupančič - 2000
    In attempting to interpret such a revolutionary proposition in a more ‘humane’ light, and to turn Kant into our contemporary—someone who can help us with our own ethical dilemmas—many Kantian scholars have glossed over its apparent paradoxes and impossible claims. This book is concerned with doing exactly the opposite. Kant, thank God, is not our contemporary; he stands against the grain of our times. Lacan on the face of it appears the very antithesis of Kant—the wild theorist of psychoanalysis compared to the sober Enlightenment thinker. His concept of the Real, however, provides perhaps the most useful backdrop to this new interpretation of Kantian ethics. Constantly juxtaposing her readings of the two philosophers. Alenka Zupan?i? summons up an ‘ethics of the Real’, and clears the ground for a radical restoration of the disruptive element in ethics.

Marx's Ecology: Materialism and Nature


John Bellamy Foster - 2000
    Or does it? This startling new account overturns conventional interpretations of Marx and in the process outlines a more rational approach to the current environmental crisis.Marx, it is often assumed, cared only about industrial growth and the development of economic forces. John Bellamy Foster examines Marx's neglected writings on capitalist agriculture and soil ecology, philosophical naturalism, and evolutionary theory. He shows that Marx, known as a powerful critic of capitalist society, was also deeply concerned with the changing human relationship to nature.Marx's Ecology covers many other thinkers, including Epicurus, Charles Darwin, Thomas Malthus, Ludwig Feuerbach, P. J. Proudhon, and William Paley.By reconstructing a materialist conception of nature and society, Marx's Ecology challenges the spiritualism prevalent in the modern Green movement, pointing toward a method that offers more lasting and sustainable solutions to the ecological crisis.

The One and the Many: A Contemporary Thomistic Metaphysics


W. Norris Clarke - 2000
    Eschewing these postmodern approaches, W. Norris Clarke finds an integrated vision of reality in the wisdom of Aquinas and here offers a contemporary version of systematic metaphysics in the Thomistic tradition.

Moving toward Stillness: Lessons in Daily Life from the Martial Ways of Japan


Dave Lowry - 2000
    Among the 45 chapters of this martial arts philosophy book you'll find lessons addressing everything from such well-known martial concepts as "one encounter, one chance" to the art of being alone, from strategy for the modern-day battlefield to the luxury of anger, from subduing the self and bending like the bamboo to maintaining an unwavering calm in the face of death.Essays include:The Way of the MasterExcess BaggageSwimming 'Round the StoneSimple ThingsEven if I DieNot Knowing, But Doingand many more

The Religion of God


Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi - 2000
    This book is a vital tool in recognition of the Awaited One. It thoroughly explains the divine signs that have become prominent on various celestial and terrestrial bodies. It is the state-of-the art Spiritual master for those who seek to obtain self-realization.

The Perception of the Environment: Essays on Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill


Tim Ingold - 2000
    He argues that what we are used to calling cultural variation consists, in the first place, of variations in skill. Neither innate nor acquired, skills are grown, incorporated into the human organism through practice and training in an environment. They are thus as much biological as cultural. The twenty-three essays comprising this book focus in turn on the procurement of livelihood, on what it means to 'dwell', and on the nature of skill, weaving together approaches from social anthropology, ecological psychology, developmental biology and phenomenology in a way that has never been attempted before. The book is set to revolutionise the way we think about what is 'biological' and 'cultural' in humans, about evolution and history, and indeed about what it means for human beings - at once organisms and persons - to inhabit an environment. The Perception of the Environment will be essential reading not only for anthropologists but also for biologists, psychologists, archaeologists, geographers and philosophers.

Bodies in Motion and at Rest: On Metaphor and Mortality


Thomas Lynch - 2000
    Masterful essays that illuminate not only how we die but also how we live.Thomas Lynch, poet, funeral director, and author of the highly praised The Undertaking, winner of an American Book Award and finalist for the National Book Award, continues to examine the relations between the "literary and mortuary arts."

See with New Eyes: The True Beauty of God's Character


Ty Gibson - 2000
    Book Specs Paper BackPublisher: PPPAPrinted: 2000Pages: 159 Table of Contents 1. Meeting My Father 2. What Do You See? 3. Look Again...For the First Time 4. How God Looks in the Dark 5. How God Looks in the Mirror 6. The Awakening Kiss 7. Blind in the Light 8. Destiny: Consciousness 9. Love Beyond Knowledge 10. Life in Love 11. Timeless Calvary 12. Sight for Sore Eyes 13. Your Reflection in His Eyes 14. The Lie That Binds 15. Because We're Free, We Need to See 16. What You See Is What You Get 17. Feel What You See

The Dream of Reason: A History of Western Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance


Anthony Gottlieb - 2000
    This landmark study of Western thought takes a fresh look at the writings of the great thinkers of classic philosophy and questions many pieces of conventional wisdom. The book invites comparison with Bertrand Russell's monumental History of Western Philosophy, "but Gottlieb's book is less idiosyncratic and based on more recent scholarship" (Colin McGinn, Los Angeles Times). A New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Best Book, and a Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2001.

Søren Kierkegaard: A Biography


Joakim Garff - 2000
    S�ren Kierkegaard's remarkable combination of genius and peculiarity made this a fair if arrogant prediction. But Kierkegaard's life has been notoriously hard to study, so complex was the web of fact and fiction in his work. Joakim Garff's biography of Kierkegaard is thus a landmark achievement. A seamless blend of history, philosophy, and psychological insight, all conveyed with novelistic verve, this is the most comprehensive and penetrating account yet written of the life and works of the enigmatic Dane who changed the course of intellectual history.Garff portrays Kierkegaard not as the all-controlling impresario behind some of the most important works of modern philosophy and religious thought--books credited with founding existentialism and prefiguring postmodernism--but rather as a man whose writings came to control him. Kierkegaard saw himself as a vessel for his writings, a tool in the hand of God, and eventually as a martyr singled out to call for the end of Christendom. Garff explores the events and relationships that formed Kierkegaard, including his guilt-ridden relationship with his father, his rivalry with his brother, and his famously tortured relationship with his fianc�e Regine Olsen. He recreates the squalor and splendor of Golden Age Copenhagen and the intellectual milieu in which Kierkegaard found himself increasingly embattled and mercilessly caricatured.Acclaimed as a major cultural event on its publication in Denmark in 2000, this book, here presented in an exceptionally crisp and elegant translation, will be the definitive account of Kierkegaard's life for years to come.

Hegel: A Biography


Terry P. Pinkard - 2000
    This first major biography of Hegel in English offers not only a complete, up-to-date account of the life, but also an overview of the key philosophical concepts in Hegel's work in an accessible style. Terry Pinkard situates Hegel firmly in the historical context of his times. The story of that life is of an ambitious, powerful thinker living in a period of great tumult dominated by the figure of Napolean. Pinkard explores Hegel's interactions with some of the great minds of this period: H�lderlin, Goethe, Humboldt, Schelling, Novalis, the Schlegels, Mendelssohn, and others. Throughout, he avoids Hegal's own famously technical jargon in order to display the full sweep and power of Hegel's thought. Terry Pinkard is professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University and is author/editor of five previous books, the most recent being ^UHegel's Phenomenology (Cambridge, 1996). He is honorary Professor of the Philosophy Faculty of T�bingen University, Germany and serves on the advisory board for the Zeitschrift f�r Philosophique Forschung.

Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts


Reb Anderson - 2000
    Reb Anderson first introduces us to the fundamental ideas of Zen Buddhist practice. Who was Shakyamuni Buddha and what was his central teaching? What does it mean to be a bodhisattva and take the bodhisattva vow? Why should we confess and acknowledge our ancient twisted karma? What is the significance of taking refuge in Buddha, dharma, and sangha? The author explores the ten basic precepts, including not killing, not stealing, not lying, not misusing sexuality, and not using intoxicants. A gifted storyteller, Anderson takes us to the heart of situations, where moral judgments are not easy and we do not have all the answers. With wisdom and compassion, he teaches us how to confront the emotional and ethical turmoil of our lives.

Dangerous Emotions


Alphonso Lingis - 2000
    An eloquent and insightful commentator on continental philosophers, he is also a phenomenologist who has gone to live in many lands. Dangerous Emotions continues the line of inquiry begun in Abuses, taking the reader to Easter Island, Japan, Java, and Brazil as Lingis poses a new range of questions and brings his extraordinary descriptive skills to bear on innocence and the love of crime, the relationships of beauty with lust and of joy with violence and violation. He explores the religion of animals, the force in blessings and in curses. When the sphere of work and reason breaks down, and in catastrophic events we catch sight of cosmic time, our anxiety is mixed with exhilaration and ecstasy. More than acceptance of death, can philosophy understand joy in dying? Haunting and courageous, Lingis's writing has generated intense interest and debate among gender and cultural theorists as well as philosophers, and Dangerous Emotions is certain to introduce his work to an ever broader circle of readers.

Body & Soul: Human Nature & the Crisis in Ethics


J.P. Moreland - 2000
    Many now argue that neurophysiology demonstrates the radical dependence, indeed, identity, between mind and brain. Advances in genetics and in mapping human DNA, some say, show there is no need for the hypothesis of body-soul dualism. Even many Christian intellectuals have come to view the soul as a false Greek concept that is outdated and unbiblical. Concurrent with the demise of dualism has been the rise of advanced medical technologies that have brought to the fore difficult issues at both edges of life. Central to questions about abortion, fetal research, reproductive techologies, cloning and euthanasia is our understanding of the nature of human personhood, the reality of life after death and the value of ethical or religious knowledge as compared to scientific knowledge. In this careful treatment, J. P. Moreland and Scott B. Rae argue that the rise of these problems alongside the demise of Christian dualism is no coincidence. They therefore employ a theological realism to meet these pressing issues, and to present a reasonable and biblical depiction of human nature as it impinges upon critical ethical concerns. This vigorous philosophical and ethical defense of human nature as body and soul, regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees, will be for all a touchstone for debate and discussion for years to come.

Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference


Judea Pearl - 2000
    It shows how causality has grown from a nebulous concept into a mathematical theory with significant applications in the fields of statistics, artificial intelligence, philosophy, cognitive science, and the health and social sciences. Pearl presents a unified account of the probabilistic, manipulative, counterfactual and structural approaches to causation, and devises simple mathematical tools for analyzing the relationships between causal connections, statistical associations, actions and observations. The book will open the way for including causal analysis in the standard curriculum of statistics, artifical intelligence, business, epidemiology, social science and economics. Students in these areas will find natural models, simple identification procedures, and precise mathematical definitions of causal concepts that traditional texts have tended to evade or make unduly complicated. This book will be of interest to professionals and students in a wide variety of fields. Anyone who wishes to elucidate meaningful relationships from data, predict effects of actions and policies, assess explanations of reported events, or form theories of causal understanding and causal speech will find this book stimulating and invaluable. Professor of Computer Science at the UCLA, Judea Pearl is the winner of the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Award in Computers and Cognitive Science.

The Baptist Faith and Message


Southern Baptist Convention - 2000
    Also included is the Report of the Baptist Faith and Message Study Committee to the Southern Baptist Convention on June 14, 2000.

A Simple Path: Basic Buddhist Teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama


Dalai Lama XIV - 2000
    It offers an introduction to Buddhism and to the landscape and culture of Tibet. The text, based on lectures on the four noble truths given in London, lays out the fundamentals of the Buddhist path, showing us how we can develop our compassion and find happiness in any situation. The photographs show the context in which this profound teaching developed, from the landscapes and Tibetan people, to scenes of monastery life, prayer wheels and artwork.

Toward a True Kinship of Faiths: How the World's Religions Can Come Together


Dalai Lama XIV - 2000
    With this historic development, the Dalai Lama understands that the essential task of humanity in the 21st Century is to cultivate peaceful coexistence.   Many believe in the inevitability of an escalating “clash of civilizations”.  Peaceful coexistence has long been problematic with religion, and while previous conflicts over religious differences may have been significant and regrettable, they did not threaten the very survival of humanity. Now, when extremists can persuade followers with the immense emotional power of faith and have access to powerful technological resources, a single spark could ignite a powder keg of frightening proportions.  Yet the Dalai Lama shows how the challenges of globalization can also move us in another direction, to a deeper plane where nations, cultures, and individuals connect through their shared human nature.  All major religions confront the same perennial questions; each have distinct forms of expression. But this marvelous diversity of insight has the potential for inspiring dialogue which can enrich everyone’s pursuit of wisdom.  All faith traditions turn to compassion as a guiding principle for living a good life. It is the task of all people with an aspiration to spiritual perfection to affirm the fundamental value of the compassion. In this way we can truly develop a deep recognition of the value of other faiths, and on that basis, we can cultivate genuine respect. In Toward a True Kinship of Faiths, the Dalai Lama also explores where differences between religions can be genuinely appreciated without serving as a source of conflict. The establishment of genuine harmony is not dependent upon accepting that all religions are fundamentally the same or that they lead to the same place.  Many fear that recognizing the value of another faith is incompatible with having devotion to the truth of one’s own.  Nevertheless, the Dalai Lama profoundly shows how a sincere believer can, with integrity, be a pluralist in relation to other religions without compromising commitment to the essence of the doctrinal teachings of their own faith. An issue of central importance for the Dalai Lama personally and for the entire world in general, Toward a True Kinship of Faiths offers a hopeful yet realistic look at how humanity must step into the future.

Viable Values: A Study of Life as the Root and Reward of Morality


Tara Smith - 2000
    Smith argues that human beings need to be moral in order to live, explaining how life is the standard of morality, how flourishing is the proper end and reward of living morally, and how an intelligent egoism is the path to flourishing.

Memory, History, Forgetting


Paul Ricœur - 2000
    Ricoeur first takes a phenomenological approach to memory and mnemonical devices. The underlying question here is how a memory of present can be of something absent, the past. The second section addresses recent work by historians by reopening the question of the nature and truth of historical knowledge. Ricoeur explores whether historians, who can write a history of memory, can truly break with all dependence on memory, including memories that resist representation. The third and final section is a profound meditation on the necessity of forgetting as a condition for the possibility of remembering, and whether there can be something like happy forgetting in parallel to happy memory. Throughout the book there are careful and close readings of the texts of Aristotle and Plato, of Descartes and Kant, and of Halbwachs and Pierre Nora.A momentous achievement in the career of one of the most significant philosophers of our age, Memory, History, Forgetting provides the crucial link between Ricoeur's Time and Narrative and Oneself as Another and his recent reflections on ethics and the problems of responsibility and representation.“His success in revealing the internal relations between recalling and forgetting, and how this dynamic becomes problematic in light of events once present but now past, will inspire academic dialogue and response but also holds great appeal to educated general readers in search of both method for and insight from considering the ethical ramifications of modern events. . . . It is indeed a master work, not only in Ricoeur’s own vita but also in contemporary European philosophy.”—Library Journal “Ricoeur writes the best kind of philosophy—critical, economical, and clear.”— New York Times Book Review

The Wisdom Of Sri Chinmoy


Sri Chinmoy - 2000
    The book goes through the A-Z of spirituality chapter by chapter - 71 chapters in all - beginning with Aspiration and ending with Yoga.

Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy


John Rawls - 2000
    This book brings together the lectures that inspired a generation of students--and a regeneration of moral philosophy. It invites readers to learn from the most noted exemplars of modern moral philosophy with the inspired guidance of one of contemporary philosophy's most noteworthy practitioners and teachers.Central to Rawls's approach is the idea that respectful attention to the great texts of our tradition can lead to a fruitful exchange of ideas across the centuries. In this spirit, his book engages thinkers such as Leibniz, Hume, Kant, and Hegel as they struggle in brilliant and instructive ways to define the role of a moral conception in human life. The lectures delineate four basic types of moral reasoning: perfectionism, utilitarianism, intuitionism, and--the ultimate focus of Rawls's course--Kantian constructivism. Comprising a superb course on the history of moral philosophy, they also afford unique insight into how John Rawls has transformed our view of this history.

Falun Dafa: Essentials for Further Advancement


Li Hongzhi - 2000
    

The Way of Hermes


Hermes Trismegistus - 2000
    When the mind has understood all things and found them to be in harmony with what has been expounded by the teachings, it is faithful and comes to rest in that beautiful faith.”Hermes to AsclepiusThe Corpus Hermeticum, a powerful fusion of Greek and Egyptian thought, is one of the cornerstones of the Western esoteric tradition. A collection of short philosophical treatises, it was written in Greek between the first and third centuries A.D. and translated into Latin during the Renaissance by the great scholar and philosopher Marsilio Ficino. These writings, believed to be the writings of Hermes Trismegistus, were central to the spiritual work of Hermetic societies in Late Antique Alexandria (200-700 A.D.), and aimed to awaken gnosis, the direct realization of the unity of the individual and the Supreme.In addition to this new translation of The Corpus Hermeticum, which seeks to reflect the inspirational intent of the original, The Way of Hermes includes the first English translation of the recently rediscovered manuscript of The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius, a collection of aphorisms used by the hermetic student to strengthen the mind during meditation. With the proper mental orientation,a state of pure perception can be achieved in which the true face of God appears. This document is of enormous value to the contemporary student of gnostic studies for its insights into the actual workings of this spiritual path.Clement Salaman is the editor of the English translation of The Letters of Marsilio Ficino. Dorine Van Oyen is a lecturer on Hermetic studies in Amsterdam. William D. Wharton teaches Classical history, languages, and philosophy in Boston. Jean-Pierre Mahe is Correspondent of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, Paris.

Three Critics of the Enlightenment: Vico, Hamann, Herder


Isaiah Berlin - 2000
    The efforts of Henry Hardy to edit Berlin's work and reintroduce it to a broad, eager readership have gone far to remedy this. Now, Princeton is pleased to return to print, under one cover, Berlin's essays on Vico, Hamann, and Herder. These essays on three relatively uncelebrated thinkers are not marginal ruminations, but rather among Berlin's most important studies in the history of ideas. They are integral to his central project: the critical recovery of the ideas of the Counter-Enlightenment and the explanation of its appeal and consequences--both positive and (often) tragic.Giambattista Vico was the anachronistic and impoverished Neapolitan philosopher sometimes credited with founding the human sciences. He opposed Enlightenment methods as cold and fallacious. J. G. Hamann was a pious, cranky dilettante in a peripheral German city. But he was brilliant enough to gain the audience of Kant, Goethe, and Moses Mendelssohn. In Hamann's chaotic and long-ignored writings, Berlin finds the first strong attack on Enlightenment rationalism and a wholly original source of the coming swell of romanticism. Johann Gottfried Herder, the progenitor of populism and European nationalism, rejected universalism and rationalism but championed cultural pluralism.Individually, these fascinating intellectual biographies reveal Berlin's own great intelligence, learning, and generosity, as well as the passionate genius of his subjects. Together, they constitute an arresting interpretation of romanticism's precursors. In Hamann's railings and the more considered writings of Vico and Herder, Berlin finds critics of the Enlightenment worthy of our careful attention. But he identifies much that is misguided in their rejection of universal values, rationalism, and science. With his customary emphasis on the frightening power of ideas, Berlin traces much of the next centuries' irrationalism and suffering to the historicism and particularism they advocated. What Berlin has to say about these long-dead thinkers--in appreciation and dissent--is remarkably timely in a day when Enlightenment beliefs are being challenged not just by academics but by politicians and by powerful nationalist and fundamentalist movements.The study of J. G. Hamann was originally published under the title The Magus of the North: J. G. Hamann and the Origins of Modern Irrationalism. The essays on Vico and Herder were originally published as Vico and Herder: Two Studies in the History of Ideas. Both are out of print.

A Student's Guide to Liberal Learning


James V. Schall - 2000
    It surveys ideas and books central to the tradition of humanistic education that has fundamentally shaped our country and our civilization. This accessible volume argues for an order and integration of knowledge so that meaning might be restored to the haphazard approach to study currently dominating higher education. Freshly conveying the excitement of learning from the acknowledged masters of intellectual life, this guide is also an excellent blueprint for building one's own library of books that matter.

The Time That Remains: A Commentary On The Letter To The Romans


Giorgio Agamben - 2000
    Situating Paul's texts in the context of early Jewish messianism, this book is part of a growing set of recent critiques devoted to the period when Judaism and Christianity were not yet fully distinct, placing Paul in the context of what has been called "Judaeo-Christianity." Agamben's philosophical exploration of the problem of messianism leads to the other major figure discussed in this book, Walter Benjamin. Advancing a claim without precedent in the vast literature on Benjamin, Agamben argues that Benjamin's philosophy of history constitutes a repetition and appropriation of Paul's concept of "remaining time." Through a close reading and comparison of Benjamin's "Theses on the Philosophy of History" and the Pauline Epistles, Agamben discerns a number of striking and unrecognized parallels between the two works.

The Power of Ideas


Isaiah Berlin - 2000
    He was constitutionally incapable of writing with the opacity of the specialist, but these shorter, more introductory pieces provide the perfect starting-point for the reader new to his work. Those who are already familiar with his writing will also be grateful for this further addition to his collected essays.The connecting theme of these essays, as in the case of earlier volumes, is the crucial social and political role--past, present and future--of ideas, and of their progenitors. A rich variety of subject-matters is represented--from philosophy to education, from Russia to Israel, from Marxism to romanticism--so that the truth of Heine's warning is exemplified on a broad front. It is a warning that Berlin often referred to, and provides an answer to those who ask, as from time to time they do, why intellectual history matters.Among the contributions are My Intellectual Path, Berlin's last essay, a retrospective autobiographical survey of his main preoccupations; and Jewish Slavery and Emancipation, the classic statement of his Zionist views, long unavailable in print. His other subjects include the Enlightenment, Giambattista Vico, Vissarion Belinsky, Alexander Herzen, G.V. Plekhanov, the Russian intelligentsia, the idea of liberty, political realism, nationalism, and historicism. The book exhibits the full range of his enormously wide expertise and demonstrates the striking and enormously engaging individuality, as well as the power, of his own ideas.Over a hundred years ago, the German poet Heine warned the French not to underestimate the power of ideas: philosophical concepts nurtured in the stillness of a professor's study could destroy a civilization.--Isaiah Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty, 1958

The Book of War: Sun-tzu The Art of Warfare & Karl von Clausewitz On War


Sun Tzu - 2000
    Liddel HartFor two thousand years, Sun-tzu's The Art of Warfare was the indispensable volume of warcraft. Although his work is the first known analysis of war and warfare, Sun-tzu struck upon a thoroughly modern concept: "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."        Karl von Clausewitz, the canny military theorist who famously declared that war is a continuation of politics by other means, also claims paternity of the notion "total war."   His is the magnum opus of the era of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic vars.Now these two great military minds are made to share the same tent, metaphorically speaking, in The Book of War. What a bivouac it is, and what a conversation into the night.Military writer Ralph Peters has written a new Introduction for this Modern Library edition.

Healing the Culture: A Commonsense Philosophy of Happiness, Freedom and the Life Issues


Robert J. Spitzer - 2000
    The tremendous positive response he has received inspired him to start the Life Principles Institute. This book is one of the key resources used for this program.This work effectively draws out the connections between personal attitudes toward happiness and the meaning of life, and the larger cultural issues such as freedom and human rights. Relying on the wisdom of the ages and respecting the human persons' unique capacity for rational analysis, this work offers definitions of the key cultural terms affecting life issues, including Happiness, Success, Love, Suffering, Quality of Life, Ethics, Freedom, Personhood, Human Rights and the Common Good.

The End of Human Rights: Critical Legal Thought at the Turn of the Century


Costas Douzinas - 2000
    This book explores the historical and theoretical dimensions of this paradox. Divided into two parts, the first section offers an alternative history of natural law, in which natural rights are represented as the eternal human struggle to resist opression and to fight for a society in which people are no longer degraded or despised. At the time of their birth in the 18th Century and again in the popular uprisings of the last decade, human rights became the dominant critique of law and society. The radical rhetoric of rights and its apparently endless expansive potential has led to its adoption by governments and individuals alike seeking to justify their actions on moral grounds and has undermined its radical edge. Part Two examines the philosophical logic of rights. The classical critiques of Kant, Burke, Hegel and Marx illuminate traditional aproaches to the concept of human rights. The work of Heidegger, Sartre and psychoanalysis is used to deconstruct the metaphisical essentialism of bothe universalists and cultural relativists. Finally, through a consideration of the ethics of otherness, and with reference to recent human rights violations, it is argued that the end of human rights is to judge law and politics from a moral stand point which both transcends the present and is historically relevant.

The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent: Selected Essays of Lionel Trilling


Lionel Trilling - 2000
    The exhilarating essays collected here include justly celebrated masterpieces - on Mansfield Park and on "Why We Read Jane Austen"; on Twain, Dos Passos, Hemingway, Isaac Babel; on Keats, Wordsworth, Eliot, Frost; on "Art and Neurosis"; and the famous Preface to Trilling's book The Liberal Imagination.

The Changed Life


Henry Drummond - 2000
    We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Zamiatin's We (Critical Studies in Russian Literature)


Robert Russell - 2000
    Set one thousand years in the future, it is a witty yet terrifying picture of a future society in which reason is all-conquering and mankind has been enslaved by a dictator called 'the benefactor'. This new study presents both a synthesis of existing criticism and a new reading of the novel. The first section deals with "We" in the context of the Russian Civil War, showing how Zamiatin's contemporaries interpreted it as a satire on life in Soviet Russia. The major trends in the diverse body of modern criticism are then surveyed. The longer second part of the study consists of a detailed reading of the novel based on close textual analysis of the forty 'entries' of its narrator's diary.

Conceptual Spaces: The Geometry of Thought


Peter Gärdenfors - 2000
    The symbolic approach views cognition as computation involving symbolic manipulation. Connectionism, a special case of associationism, models associations using artificial neuron networks. Peter Gardenfors offers his theory of conceptual representations as a bridge between the symbolic and connectionist approaches.Symbolic representation is particularly weak at modeling concept learning, which is paramount for understanding many cognitive phenomena. Concept learning is closely tied to the notion of similarity, which is also poorly served by the symbolic approach. Gardenfors's theory of conceptual spaces presents a framework for representing information on the conceptual level. A conceptual space is built up from geometrical structures based on a number of quality dimensions. The main applications of the theory are on the constructive side of cognitive science: as a constructive model the theory can be applied to the development of artificial systems capable of solving cognitive tasks. Gardenfors also shows how conceptual spaces can serve as an explanatory framework for a number of empirical theories, in particular those concerning concept formation, induction, and semantics. His aim is to present a coherent research program that can be used as a basis for more detailed investigations.

The Metaphysical Thought of Thomas Aquinas: From Finite Being to Uncreated Being


John F. Wippel - 2000
    It is based on a thorough examination of his texts organized according to the philosophical order as he himself describes it rather than according to the theological order.In the introduction and opening chapter, John F. Wippel examines Aquinas's view on the nature of metaphysics as a philosophical science and the relationship of its subject to divine being. Part One is devoted to his metaphysical analysis of finite being. It considers his views on the problem of the One and the Many in the order of being, and includes his debt to Parmenides in formulating this problem and his application of analogy to finite being. Subsequent chapters are devoted to participation in being, the composition of essence and esse in finite beings, and his appeal to a kind of relative nonbeing in resolving the problem of the One and the Many. Part Two concentrates on Aquinas's views on the essential structure of finite being, and treats substance-accident composition and related issues, including, among others, the relationship between the soul and its powers and unicity of substantial form. It then considers his understanding of matter-form composition of corporeal beings and their individuation. Part Three explores Aquinas's philosophical discussion of divine being, his denial that God's existence is self-evident, and his presentation of arguments for the existence of God, first in earlier writings and then in the "Five Ways" of his Summa theologiae. A separate chapter is devoted to his views on quidditative and analogical knowledge of God. The concluding chapter revisits certain issues concerning finite being under the assumption that God's existence has now been established.PRAISE FOR THE BOOK"The quality of Wippel's historical research and interpretation and the detail of his argumentation make this a work that will have to be taken account of in any further studies of this topic."- John Boler, International Studies in Philosophy"A carefully and solidly argued presentation of Aquinas's metaphysics by a scholar of medieval philosophy and a superb metaphysician. It should stand on the library shelf of every student of medieval philosophy, sharing the stage with Wippel's other dependable works."- Prof. Stephen F. Brown, Boston College"In Wippel we have a master of medieval metaphysics who is at the height of his powers and who can bring to bear on this work of interpretation years of study, not only of Aquinas but also of the whole context of medieval metaphysics in which Aquinas thought and wrote. The result is a monumental work which will quickly become the definitive work on Aquinas's metaphysics."- Prof. Eleonore Stump, St. Louis University"Wippel proposes to 'set forth Thomas Aquinas's metaphysical thought, based on his own texts, in accord with the philosophical order. . . .' This is a bold, even audacious proposal, but one that Wippel succeeds in realizing, thanks to his expansive and detailed knowledge of a field in which he has worked for more than twenty years. He has total command not only of the works of Thomas, of his sources, and of his earliest commentators, but also of the secondary literature of this century in English, Italian, French, German, and Spanish."- Gregorianum"[A] positively magisterial account of its subject."

The Routledge Companion to Aesthetics


Berys Gaut - 2000
    The second part covers the central concepts and theories needed for a comprehensive understanding of aesthetics including the definitions of art, taste, value of art, beauty, imagination, fiction, narrative, metaphor and pictorial representation. Part three is devoted to the topics that have attracted much contemporary interest in aesthetics including art and ethics, environmental aesthetics and feminist aesthetics. The final part addresses the individual arts of music, photography, film, literature, theatre, dance, architecture and sculpture.With nine new and revised entries, and up to date suggestions for further reading, The Routledge Companion to Aesthetics is essential for anyone interested in aesthetics, art, literature, and visual studies.

Sai Baba of Shirdi


M.V. Kamath - 2000
    Born about twenty years before the 'Sepoys' mutiny in the 19th century in Marathwada,the home of medieval saints of Maharashtra,he came in his late twentis to Shirdi,an insignificant hamlet in Ahmednagar District and spent fifty years of his remaining life there until his mahasamadhi.Shirdi is no longer an obscure village.Today it is a centre of pilgrimage for lakhs of Sai Baba's devotees. This book is a complete account of his life and mission and it's popularity can be judged from the fact that it has run into nineteen impressions.

The Buddha Speaks - A book of guidance from Buddhist scriptures


Anne Bancroft - 2000
    These selections from the Buddhist scriptures deal with the search for truth, the way of contemplation, life, and death, living in community, and many other topics, serving as an excellent introduction to the Buddha's teaching. Whether addressed to monks and nuns, householders, outcastes, or thieves, the Buddha's teachings are characterized by one main concern: conveying the reality of our bondage to suffering—and the supremely good news that liberation is possible. It is a concern as relevant for people today as it was for the people of north India a millenium and a half ago.

Knowledge, Mind, and the Given: Reading Wilfrid Sellars's "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind," Including the Complete Text of Sellars's Essay


Willem A. Devries - 2000
    It is also, for the uninitiated, extraordinarily dense. Willem deVries and Timm Triplett’s comprehensive commentary Knowledge, Mind, and the Given provides a much needed guide. Beginning with a general overview to introduce some main themes and difficulties, deVries and Triplett take the reader step by step through the sixteen parts of the essay, providing at each stage necessary background, illuminating connections, and insightful clarifications of the main lines of argument. . . . deVries and Triplett have written a fine introduction to Sellars’s most important work." --Danielle Macbeth, The Philosophical Review

Notes for a Romantic Encyclopaedia: Das Allgemeine Brouillon


Novalis - 2000
    However, this translation of Das Allgemeine Brouillon, or "Universal Notebook," finally introduces him to the English-speaking world as an extraordinarily gifted philosopher in his own right and shatters the myth of him as a mere daydreaming and irrational poet. Composed of more than 1,100 notebook entries, this is easily Novalis's largest theoretical work and certainly one of the most remarkable and audacious undertakings of the "Golden Age" of German philosophy. In it, Novalis reflects on numerous aspects of human culture, including philosophy, poetry, the natural sciences, the fine arts, mathematics, mineralogy, history, and religion, and brings them all together into what he calls a "Romantic Encyclopaedia" or "Scientific Bible."Novalis's Romantic Encyclopaedia fully embodies the author's own personal brand of philosophy, "Magical Idealism." With meditations on mankind and nature, the possible future development of our faculties of reason, imagination, and the senses, and the unification of the different sciences, these notes contain a veritable treasure trove of richly poetic and philosophic thoughts.

Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist


Hee-Jin Kim - 2000
    Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist is a comprehensive introduction to the genius of this brilliant thinker. This thirteenth-century figure has much to teach us all and the questions that drove him have always been at the heart of Buddhist practice.At the age of seven, in 1207, Dogen lost his mother, who at her death earnestly asked him to become a monastic to seek the truth of Buddhism. We are told that in the midst of profound grief, Dogen experienced the impermanence of all things as he watched the incense smoke ascending at his mother's funeral service. This left an indelible impression upon the young Dogen; later, he would emphasize time and again the intimate relationship between the desire for enlightenment and the awareness of impermanence. His way of life would not be a sentimental flight from, but a compassionate understanding of, the intolerable reality of existence.At age 13, Dogen received ordination at Mt. Hiei. And yet, a question arose: "As I study both the exoteric and the esoteric schools of Buddhism, they maintain that human beings are endowed with Dharma-nature by birth. If this is the case, why did the buddhas of all ages - undoubtedly in possession of enlightenment - find it necessary to seek enlightenment and engage in spiritual practice?" When it became clear that no one on Mt. Hiei could give a satisfactory answer to this spiritual problem, he sought elsewhere, eventually making the treacherous journey to China. This was the true beginning of a life of relentless questioning, practice, and teaching - an immensely inspiring contribution to the Buddhadharma.As you might imagine, a book as ambitious as Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist has to be both academically rigorous and eminently readable to succeed. Professor Hee-Jim Kim's work is indeed both.

Drive Yourself Sane : Using the Uncommon Sense of General Semantics


Susan Presby Kodish - 2000
    A remarkable system of thought founded by Alfred Korzybski (1879-1950), GS is based on a careful study of human behavior and scientific problem-solving, bridging applied psychology and practical philosophy. Drive Yourself Sane provides time-tested methods for critical and creative thinking and constructive communicating with a variety of problem-solving applications for mental hygiene, personal development, education, business, etc. The text and accompanying exercises help readers sharpen the primary tools they were born with: their individual brain-nervous systems with their marvelous capacities to adapt to change and to learn from and build upon their own and other people's experiences. This Third Edition contains fascinating additional biographical material about Alfred Korzybski, based on research for Bruce Kodish's book, Korzybski: A Biography. Includes Notes, Bibliography and Index.

John Scottus Eriugena


Deirdre Carabine - 2000
    He was perhaps the most important philosophical thinker to appear in Latin Christendom between Augustine in the fifth century and Anselm in the eleventh. In this volume, Deirdre Carabine provides a clear and accessible introduction--the only one available in the English language--to the thought of this important figure.In part I, Carabine describes the intellectual revival of the ninth century and situates Eriugena's role within that movement. She looks closely at Eriugena's life and intellectual achievements, including his contribution to the theological controversy on predestination and his roles as teacher and translator of Greek thought. She also examines the Periphyson, undoubtedly Eriugena's most original and important work. In part II, Carabine discusses Eriugena's metaphysics, the structure of reality, the theocentric character of creation, and the role of the trinity and the primordial causes. In particular, she explores Eriugena's employment of negative theology and his understanding of human nature. In conclusion, part III looks at Eriugena's interpretation of the return of all things to their source, including his belief that all people, saints and sinners alike, will return to paradise to the vision of a transcendent God.Revealing the unique and compelling nature of Eriugena's thought, and showing why his work continues to appeal to a modern audience, this volume is required reading for students and scholars of medieval philosophy and theology.

With Love and Prayers: A Headmaster Speaks to the Next Generation


F. Washington Jarvis - 2000
    F. Washington Jarvis was headmaster of Boston's Roxbury Latin School, the oldest school in continuous operation in North America. This book, winner of the 2001 Christopher Award, collects Jarvis's addresses, reprinted from his school's publications. His approach is anecdotal. "If it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, it is ten times as true when you are speaking to young teenagers. They are gripped by the story of how real people cope with real situations. They are interested when you share with them the concrete realities of your own life and experience, and they are almost always willing to listen to adults who actually believe in something, who actually stand for something." The author never talks down to his audience. He knows that students are asking the deepest questions, questions about whether life has meaning and purpose. He also knows that teenagers often find themselves caught by surprise in situations where they have to make tough decisions. And he believes that they are willing, even eager, to know how others have coped in similar situations.

Science and Poetry


Mary Midgley - 2000
    But for Mary Midgley it can never be the whole story, as it cannot truly explain what it means to be human.In this typically crusading work, universally acclaimed as a classic on first publication, she powerfully asserts her corrective view that without poetry (or literature, or music, or history, or even theology) we cannot hope to understand our humanity. In this remarkable book, the reader is struck by both the simplicity and power of her argument and the sheer pleasure of reading one of our most accessible philosophers.

Blowing Zen: Finding an Authentic Life


Ray Brooks - 2000
    All he was missing in his life was the meaning. A series of events brought him to Japan, where he met a man who played the shakuhachi, an ancient Japanese flute. That fortuitous interaction motivated Brooks to embark on a journey to learn this very difficult instrument. Through playing the shakuhachi, he began to understand the Zen discipline that is a crucial aspect of Japanese culture. This understanding greatly changed his outlook on life, putting him in touch with his authentic self. Blowing Zen's humor and its irresistible story of cultures converging lets the underlying message come through without preachiness: life is about finding your true calling, not just what brings you superficial joy. Brooks' spontaneous approach to the collaboration of art, mind, body, and spirit is inspiring and instructive. This uplifting memoir has been entrancing readers since its release in 2000, and it is now being re-released with a new chapter and lots of photographs. This is the expanded and revised edition with photos.

The Divine Pymander of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus


Hermes Trismegistus - 2000
    The Pymander is a chapter in the Corpus Hermeticum.

Reason, Freedom, and Democracy in Islam: Essential Writings of Abdolkarim Soroush


Abdolkarim Soroush - 2000
    He and his contemporaries in other Muslim countries are shaping what may become Islam's equivalent of the Christian Reformation: a period of questioning traditional practices and beliefsand, ultimately, of upheaval. Presenting eleven of his essays, this volume makes Soroush's thought readily available in English for the first time. The essays set forth his views on such matters as the freedom of Muslims to interpret the Qur'an, the inevitability of change in religion, the necessityof freedom of belief, and the compatibility of Islam and democracy. Throughout, Soroush emphasizes the rights of individuals in their relationship with both government and God, explaining that the ideal Islamic state can only be defined by the beliefs and will of the majority.

Fate and Destiny: From the Holocaust to the State of Israel


Joseph B. Soloveitchik - 2000
    In it Rabbi Soloveitchik presents an extended theological meditation on the Holocaust and the rise of the State of Israel, the Jewish covenant of faith, and the covenant of fate and destiny which links all Jews, religious, irreligious, and nonreligious. Rabbi Dr. Walter S. Wurzberger, a prominent discipline of the Rav, has provided an introduction.

The Bride of the Lamb


Sergius Bulgakov - 2000
    The Bride of the Lamb is widely regarded as Bulgakov's magnum opus and, even more, as one of the greatest works ever produced in the modern Orthodox church. This book is now available in English thanks to esteemed translator Boris Jakim, along with an introduction to Bulgakov and his theological context.For readers new to Russian religious thought, The Bride of the Lamb presents a fresh approach to Christian doctrine. Bulgakov examines issues of ecclesiology and eschatology from a sophiological perspective. This distinctive Russian approach, based on the doctrine of Sophia, the wisdom of God, sees the Creator and creation intimately linked as Divine-humanity. The Bride of the Lamb explores the nature of created beings, the relationship between God and the world, the role of the church, and such eschatological themes as the second coming of Jesus, resurrection and judgment, and the afterlife.

Philosophical and Theological Writings


Franz Rosenzweig - 2000
    Additional selections are presented in new or revised translations. Introduction and notes by Franks and Morgan set Rosenzweig’s works in context and illuminate his role as one of the key thinkers of the period.

If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You're So Rich? (Revised)


G.A. Cohen - 2000
    A. Cohen's Gifford Lectures, delivered at the University of Edinburgh in 1996. Focusing on Marxism and Rawlsian liberalism, Cohen draws a connection between these thought systems and the choices that shape a person's life. In the case of Marxism, the relevant life is his own: a communist upbringing in the 1940s in Montreal, which induced a belief in a strongly socialist egalitarian doctrine. The narrative of Cohen's reckoning with that inheritance develops through a series of sophisticated engagements with the central questions of social and political philosophy.In the case of Rawlsian doctrine, Cohen looks to people's lives in general. He argues that egalitarian justice is not only, as Rawlsian liberalism teaches, a matter of rules that define the structure of society, but also a matter of personal attitude and choice. Personal attitude and choice are, moreover, the stuff of which social structure itself is made. Those truths have not informed political philosophy as much as they should, and Cohen's focus on them brings political philosophy closer to moral philosophy, and to the Judeo-Christian ethical tradition, than it has recently been.

Morality: The Catholic View


Servais Pinckaers - 2000
    As Pinckaers himself notes in the text, excellently translatedby Michael Sherwin, the interest should in no way be limited to RomanCatholics. Morality recasts the earlier book in an argument that is both lower andupper case ‘catholic,’ and is accessible to readers and teachers outside the limitedcircle of moral theologians and academic ethicists. Pinckaers contends thatChristian morality is not first of all about obligations but about happiness, understandingthat the happiness of union with God is our natural destiny made possibleby grace. The Sermon on the Mount is at the center of an approach to moralitythat turns on the distinction between ‘freedom for excellence’ and ‘freedom ofindifference,’ the former understood as human flourishing and the latter as a ‘neutral’capacity to choose between controversies. The proposal of Morality is thoroughlyChrist-centered, humanistic, and faithful to the magisterial teaching of theChurch. Warmly recommended.”First Things  “If you want to have the experience of reflecting on Catholic morality as thoughyou were reading about it for the first time, treat yourself to Father ServaisPinckaers’ Morality: The Catholic View. He has recovered the classical view of themoral life as the quest for happiness and has presented it with disarming simplicity.Bringing us back to the Sermon on the Mount and Romans 12–15, the writingsof Augustine and Aquinas, and the theme of natural law, he has freed those textsfrom the layers of legalism which has hidden their liberating, spiritual powers formoral living. By distinguishing freedom of indifference from freedom for excellence,he has restored a wise vision of freedom. No one has shown better the roleof virtues as building blocks for morality. Catechists need to read this book.”Rev. Alfred McBride, O.Praem., Professor of Homilectics and Catechetics at BlessedPope John XXIII Seminary, Weston, Massachusetts “Father Pinckaers has given us a masterful exposition of Christian living. The clarityand brevity of his presentation – captured well by the translator – make this bookideal for classroom and parish use.     “Readers will find the historical and systematic observations very informative.”Romanus Cessario, St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts

The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy


Peter S. Adamson - 2000
    This collection of essays, by some of the leading scholars in Arabic philosophy, provides an introduction to the field by way of chapters devoted to individual thinkers (such as al-Farabi, Avicenna and Averroes) or groups, especially during the 'classical' period from the ninth to the twelfth centuries.

French Feminism Reader


Kelly Oliver - 2000
    The book is designed for use in courses, and it includes illuminating introductions to the work of each author. These introductions include biographical information, influences and intellectual context, major themes in the author's work as a whole, and specific introductions to the selections in this volume. The contributors represent the two trends in French theory that have proven most useful to American feminists: social theory and psychoanalytic theory. Both of these trends move away from any traditional discussions of nature toward discussions of socially constructed notions of sex, sexuality and gender roles. While feminists interested in social theory focus on the ways in which social institutions shape these notions, feminists interested in psychoanalytic theory focus on cultural representations of sex, sexuality and gender roles, and the ways that they affect the psyche. This collection includes selections by Simone de Beauvoir, Christine Delphy, Colette Guilluamin, Monique Wittig, Michele Le Doeuff, Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray, and Helene Cixous.

Prayer Fashions Man: Frithjof Schuon on the Spiritual Life


James S. Cutsinger - 2000
    He once wrote, To be a human being means to be connected with God; life has no meaning without this. This human vocation means that until we find a personal connection with God we are not able to connect with the innermost being that lies locked up within the human heart. Schuon's simplest solution to all people of all religious persuasions: You must pray, always pray.

Qabalah: The Mystical Heritage of the Children of Abraham


Daniel Feldman - 2000
    He transmitted information and meditation methods in private meetings during the 1970s and 1980s. He anonymously published a number of the first English translations of primary qabalistic texts,and distributed tens of thousands of copies through the Work of the Chariot Trust. This book is the first time that a senior student of the Work of the Chariot has compiled much of the teachings from those meetings on the core principles and practices of the Mystical Qabalah.

A Survivors' Haggadah


Yosef Dov Sheinson - 2000
    For five decades this unique book was all but forgotten. Now JPS is proud to issue a facsimile edition, previously translated into English and published by the American Jewish Historical Society only as a limited edition. This is a haggadah written for and truly dedicated to the She'erith Hapletah, the Saved Remnant, “the few who escaped.” Interwoven with the traditional Passover liturgy are two stories: that of the deliverance from Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Holocaust story of those Jews who survived Hitler. Bold illustrations vividly associate the biblical Exodus with the liberation from Nazi horror.

Universal Message of the Bhagavad Gita: An Exposition of the Gita in the Light of Modern Thought and Modern Needs, Vol. 3


Ranganathananda - 2000
    In explaining every verse, the author relates its real connotation and significance to not only what Shankaracharya said in his introduction to the Gita, or how Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda interpreted it in terms of practical Vedanta, but also how it conforms to the thinking of some of the greatest Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The author takes the readers on an enlightening voyage of discovery, where they meet Buddha, Mahavir, Tao, Christ and most of the thinkers in the West and he relates their thought by an ingenious interaction with the message of Sri Krishna. Even scientists like Einstein or the famous neurologist like Charles Sherrington and poets like Wordsworth and Shelley and philosophers like Julian Huxley and Bertrand Russell are brought in by the author to give the readers an in-depth understanding of this great scripture. The author weaves every verse into the requirements of modern life and throws light on how man should lead his life while involved in his daily chores and fulfill his duties in accordance with the philosophy of action as taught by Sri Krishna.

Logic: An Introduction


Lionel Ruby - 2000
    Table Of Contents: PrefaceviiPart 1Language and Logic1Disputes: Verbal and Otherwise3A few examplesThe analysis of disputes2The Meaning of "Meaning"16Semantics and logicSigns and symbolsCommunicationThe arbitrariness of meaningsEtymologiesGrowth and change in languageSome errors of symbolism3Ambiguity45The meaning of ambiguityThe analysis of ambiguityThe types of ambiguityThe fallacies of ambiguity4The Uses of Language66Neutral, emotive, and directive wordsThe three purposes of discourseAppropriate and inappropriate languageThe logical and non-logical uses of language5The Definition of "Definition"88The importance of definitionTwo basic distinctionsThe types of definitionsThe criteria of an adequate analytical definitionPlato and the rules of definitionTruth and falsity in definitionsThe construction of definitionsPart 2Deductive Logic6Logic and Argument127Argument and assertionThe law of rationality and evasions thereof7Syllogisms, Propositions, and Terms154Introduction to the syllogismThe categorical proposition and its partsThe class-analysis of subject-predicate propositionsAffirmative and negative propositionsUniversal and particular propositionsThe four types of categorical propositionsThe distribution of terms8The Analysis of Categorical Syllogisms176The definition of the syllogismBasic words in the analysis of categorical syllogismsPreliminary analysis of categorical syllogismsThe rules of the categorical syllogismThe diagramming of syllogismsThe corollaries, figures, and moodsA note on deductive systems9Semantics and the Syllogism205The need for semantical analysisSentences in irregular formsEquivalent propositions10The Syllogism and Everyday Discourse226Syllogisms and ordinary discourseA syllogism has three and only three termsThe analysis of syllogisms in everyday discourseThe enthymemeThe soritesThe relations between terms generalized11The Relations Among Propositions245Relations with respect to truth and falsityThe seven relationsThe square of opposit

The Nature and Aesthetics of Design


David Pye - 2000
    In it, he explores the many facets of good design, including the relationship of aesthetics with function.

Articulating Reasons: An Introduction to Inferentialism (Revised)


Robert B. Brandom - 2000
    Brandom is one of the most original philosophers of our day, whose book Making It Explicit covered and extended a vast range of topics in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of language--the very core of analytic philosophy. This new work provides an approachable introduction to the complex system that Making It Explicit mapped out. A tour of the earlier book's large ideas and relevant details, Articulating Reasons offers an easy entry into two of the main themes of Brandom's work: the idea that the semantic content of a sentence is determined by the norms governing inferences to and from it, and the idea that the distinctive function of logical vocabulary is to let us make our tacit inferential commitments explicit.Brandom's work, making the move from representationalism to inferentialism, constitutes a near-Copernican shift in the philosophy of language--and the most important single development in the field in recent decades. Articulating Reasons puts this accomplishment within reach of nonphilosophers who want to understand the state of the foundations of semantics.

Stations of Desire: Love Elegies from Ibn 'arabi and New Poems


Ibn Arabi - 2000
    Translation. One of the great mystics of all time, Muhyiddin Ibn al-'Arabi was a prolific author who wrote on every aspect of medieval Islamic thought. Michael Sell's STATIONS OF DESIRE contains the first translations of Ibn 'Arabi's TURJUMAN into modern poetic English. Sells, one of the most distinguished contemporary translators of classical Arabic poetry, carries into his translations the supple, resonant quality of the original Arabic. The book also includes a selection of Sell's original poems, which are modeled on the Turjuman and serve as a further commentary on the medieval odes and their extension into the present climate of poetry.

Classics of Strategy and Counsel: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary: v. 1


Thomas Cleary - 2000
        •  Mastering the Art of War: Composed by two prominent statesmen-generals of classical China, this book develops the strategies of Sun Tzu's classic, The Art of War , into a complete handbook of organization and leadership.    •  The Lost Art of War: Written by Sun Bin, a linear descendant of Sun Tzu, this is another rich and practical Chinese text on political and military strategy.    •  The Silver Sparrow Art of War: A never-before-published translation of Sun Tzu's Art of War based on a more recently discovered version of the classic text.

Cutting Through Fear


Tsultrim Allione - 2000
    Yet, within the oldest teachings of Tibetan Buddhism lies a rich but hidden legacy of a teacher who was a powerful woman and legendary spiritual leader.On her first ever audio publication, Tsultrim Allione -- one of contemporary Buddhism's most experienced teachers -- draws from the spiritual transmissions of an 11th century Tibetan yogini that holds a special promise for anyone who has experienced difficult and even paralyzing emotions. Based on the traditional Tibetan visualization technique chod (literally "to cut"), this approach is adapted specifically for our times. This four-step solution for encountering, nurturing, and dissolving the delusion of difficult emotions is a timeless teaching -- which is still used in Tibet to treat mental and physical illness and as a path to enlightenment.We all encounter the "monsters" of fear, anger, and other difficult emotions in our lives, too often as a daily event. Now we have a rare and useful tool to stop fighting against them, and instead liberate them on the spot, with Cutting Through Fear.

On Empire, Liberty, and Reform: Speeches and Letters


Edmund Burke - 2000
    This anthology of Burke’s speeches, letters, and pamphlets, selected, introduced, and annotated by David Bromwich, shows Burke to be concerned with not only preserving but also reforming the British empire.Bromwich includes eighteen works of Burke, all but one in its complete form. These writings, among them the “Speech on Conciliation with the American Colonies,” A Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol, the “Speech at Guildhall Previous to the Election” of 1780, the “Speech on Fox’s India Bill,” A Letter to a Noble Lord, and several private letters, demonstrate the depth of Burke’s efforts to reform the empire in India, America, and Ireland. On these various fronts he defended the human rights of native peoples, the respect owed to partners in trade, and the civil liberties that the empire was losing at home while extending its power abroad.

The Ages of the World: (Fragment) from the handwritten remains, Third Version, ca. 1815


Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling - 2000
    Anticipating Heidegger, as well as contemporary debates about post-modernity and the limits of dialectical thinking, Schelling struggles with the question of time as the relationship between poetry and philosophy. Thinking in the wake of Hegel, although trying to think beyond his grasp, this extraordinary work is a poetic and philosophical address of difference, of thinking's relationship to its inscrutable ground.

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Buddhist Wisdom: A Complete Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Buddhism


Gill Farrer-Halls - 2000
    In Buddhism, many seekers find their true path to peace and happiness, regardless of hardship. This lavishly illustrated gift book includes: The story of Prince Siddhartha and Buddhism's spread throughout Asia; Basic beliefs of Buddhism, emphasizing the Tibetan, Zen, and Theravadan traditions; Inspiring quotes from teachers such as the Dalai Lama; Practical instruction on how to meditate and what to expect when visiting a Buddhist center. Readers new to Buddhism as well as experienced practitioners will appreciate this accessible guidebook for living in harmony with ourselves, our communities, and our world.

The Experience of God: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, vol. 2, The World: Creation and Deification


Dumitru Stăniloae - 2000
    Book by Staniloae, Dumitru

The Taboo of Subjectivity: Towards a New Science of Consciousness


B. Alan Wallace - 2000
    Alan Wallace draws careful distinctions between four elements of the scientific tradition: science itself, scientific realism, scientific materialism, and scientism. Arguing that the metaphysical doctrine of scientific materialism has taken on the role of ersatz-religion for its adherents, he traces its development from its Greek and Judeo-Christian origins, focusing on the interrelation between the Protestant Reformation and the Scientific Revolution. He looks at scientists' long term resistance to the firsthand study of consciousness and details the ways in which subjectivity has been deemed taboo within the scientific community. In conclusion, Wallace draws on William James's idea for a science of religion that would study the nature of religious and, in particular, contemplative experience. In exploring the nature of consciousness, this groundbreaking study will help to bridge the chasm between religious belief and scientific knowledge. It is essential reading for philosophers and historians of science, scholars of religion, and anyone interested in the relationship between science and religion.

The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy


Jonathan Barnes - 2000
    320 BC) until 100 B.C.--has over the last decade received a considerable amount of renewed scholarly attention. This history is organized by subject, rather than chronologically or by philosophical school, with sections on logic, epistemology, physics and metaphysics, ethics and politics. Written by specialists, it is intended to be a reference for any student of ancient philosophy. Greek and Latin are used sparingly and always translated in the main text.

Grace and Freedom: Operative Grace in the Thought of St.Thomas Aquinas, Volume 1


Bernard J.F. Lonergan - 2000
    At the same time it is a manifestation of the thinking that has made him one of the world's foremost Thomist scholars.The volume is in two parts. Part One is a new edition of "Grace and Freedom: Operative Grace in the Thought of St Thomas Aquinas", four articles written by Lonergan in 1941-42, first published in book form in 1971. This edition includes new notes and indices. Part Two is Lonergan's doctoral dissertation, "Gratia Operans", submitted to the Gregorian University, Rome, in 1940. Published here in full for the first time, the dissertation provides important context and background for the articles in the first part. Lonergan's thesis is that, from the sixteenth century onwards, commentators on Thomas Aquinas lacked historical consciousness, raised questions that Thomas had never considered, and obfuscated the issues. Lonergan's achievement consists in having retrieved the actual position of Thomas by adopting a historical approach that has reconstructed his intellectual development on grace. The majority of contemporary theologians now agree with the implementation of the historical method. What Lonergan also adds is a unique diagnosis of the mistakes made by the modern scholastic authors in their treatment of grace. Throughout this work, Lonergan discovers in Thomas a mind in constant development, displaying radical shifts on fundamental questions. Together the two parts not only reveal an essential step in Lonergan's own development, but also make an impressive contribution to Thomist studies.

The Irrepressible Rothbard : The Rothbard-Rockwell Report Essays of Murray N. Rothbard


Murray N. Rothbard - 2000
    Rothbard (1926-1995) and noting its stunning range, philosopher David Gordon once wondered "if there are really three, four, or five geniuses writing under his name." These lively essays display one of those geniuses: Rothbard the journalist, cultural critic, political observer, and movement organizer. Even more remarkable, they represent just a fraction of what he wrote in his spare time, for just one publication, and in just the last few years of his life. His articles combined libertarian anti-government economics, decentralist local patriotism, anti-war isolation, and a reactionary cultural outlook that saw government as the key to the loss of the Old Republic. He defended land-rights groups against environmentalists, citizen militias against gun grabbers, isolationists against imperialists, paleoconservatives against neoconservatives, populists against party regulars, anti-New World Order conspiracy theorists against the establishment, nationalists against internationalists, states righters against libertarian centralists, the Christian right against its own leadership, and much more. These essays show forth not only Rothbard's intellectual vigor, but the complete joy with which he embraced life, and how his extreme optimism made even the most severe setbacks tolerable. He experienced great disappointments and great successes, but through it all he was heroic, undaunted, and irrepressible. In this, as in everything else, Murray Rothbard is the model for those who long for liberty, and work for it.

The Essence Of War: Leadership And Strategy From The Chinese Military Classics


Ralph D. Sawyer - 2000
    This heritage of conflict produced a body of martial literature exploring the fundamental principles of warfare and their methods of employment. Fully aware of the tragic consequences of battle, the authors of these texts emphasized that bloodshed and war should be avoided whenever possible. But, they argued, this is possible only when the principles of leadership and strategy have been mastered and the dynamics of conflict thoroughly analyzed. Over the centuries, these texts have been studied throughout Asia, not only by generals on the battlefield but by leaders of all kinds concerned with the management of human conflict in all its forms.The Essence of War presents eight of these classics (written from 500 B.C.E. to 700 C.E.), including Sun-tzu's Art of War and Sun Pin's Military Methods. The book introduces the core principles of Chinese military science, grouping selected passages and key quotations into five thematic sections encompassing forty-one topical chapters: Fundamentals, Tao of Warfare, Tao of Command, Tactical Essentials, and Tactical Specifics. Translator Ralph D. Sawyer provides here a concise introduction to Chinese military thought and influential materials not only of traditional import, but also for contemporary study and enduring value in both business and military circles throughout the world.