Best of
Philosophy

2010

On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision


William Lane Craig - 2010
    This concise guide is filled with illustrations, sidebars, and memorizable steps to help Christians stand their ground and defend their faith with reason and precision. In his engaging style, Dr. Craig offers four arguments for God’s existence, defends the historicity of Jesus’ personal claims and resurrection, addresses the problem of suffering, and shows why religious relativism doesn’t work. Along the way, he shares his story of following God’s call in his own life. This one-stop, how-to-defend-your-faith manual will equip Christians to advance faith conversations deliberately, applying straightforward, cool-headed arguments. They will discover not just what they believe, but why they believe—and how being on guard with the truth has the power to change lives forever.

Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning


Nancy R. Pearcey - 2010
    She crafts a fresh approach that exposes the real-world impact of ideas in philosophy, science, art, literature, and film--voices that surround us in the classroom, in the movie theater, and in our living rooms.A former agnostic, Pearcey offers a persuasive case for historic Christianity as a holistic and humane alternative. She equips readers to counter the life-denying worldviews that are radically restructuring society and pervading our daily lives. Whether you are a devoted Christian, determined secularist, or don't know quite where you stand, reading Saving Leonardo will unsettle established views and topple ideological idols. Includes more than 100 art reproductions and illustrations that bring the book's themes to life.

The Promise of Happiness


Sara Ahmed - 2010
    It asks what follows when we make our desires and even our own happiness conditional on the happiness of others: “I just want you to be happy”; “I’m happy if you’re happy.” Combining philosophy and feminist cultural studies, Sara Ahmed reveals the affective and moral work performed by the “happiness duty,” the expectation that we will be made happy by taking part in that which is deemed good, and that by being happy ourselves, we will make others happy. Ahmed maintains that happiness is a promise that directs us toward certain life choices and away from others. Happiness is promised to those willing to live their lives in the right way.Ahmed draws on the intellectual history of happiness, from classical accounts of ethics as the good life, through seventeenth-century writings on affect and the passions, eighteenth-century debates on virtue and education, and nineteenth-century utilitarianism. She engages with feminist, antiracist, and queer critics who have shown how happiness is used to justify social oppression, and how challenging oppression causes unhappiness. Reading novels and films including Mrs. Dalloway, The Well of Loneliness, Bend It Like Beckham, and Children of Men, Ahmed considers the plight of the figures who challenge and are challenged by the attribution of happiness to particular objects or social ideals: the feminist killjoy, the unhappy queer, the angry black woman, and the melancholic migrant. Through her readings she raises critical questions about the moral order imposed by the injunction to be happy.

The Philosophy Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained


Will Buckingham - 2010
    From moral ethics to the philosophies of religions, The Philosophy Book sheds a light on the famous ideas and thinkers from the ancient world through the present day. Including theories from Pythagoras to Voltaire and Mary Wollstonecraft to Noam Chomsky, The Philosophy Book offers anyone with an interest in philosophy an essential resource to the great philosophers and the views that have shaped our society.

Quadrivium: The Four Classical Liberal Arts of Number, Geometry, Music, & Cosmology


John Martineau - 2010
    It was studied from antiquity to the Renaissance as a way of glimpsing the nature of reality. Geometry is number in space; music is number in time; and comology expresses number in space and time. Number, music, and geometry are metaphysical truths: life across the universe investigates them; they foreshadow the physical sciences.Quadrivium is the first volume to bring together these four subjects in many hundreds of years. Composed of six successful titles in the Wooden Books series-Sacred Geometry, Sacred Number, Harmonograph, The Elements of Music, Platonic & Archimedean Solids, and A Little Book of Coincidence-it makes ancient wisdom and its astonishing interconnectedness accessible to us today.Beautifully produced in six different colors of ink, Quadrivium will appeal to anyone interested in mathematics, music, astronomy, and how the universe works.

The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind, and Consciousness


Peter Ralston - 2010
    Even the most sincere investigation of self and spirit, he says, is often sabotaged by our tendency to grab too quickly for answers and ideas as we retreat to the safety of the known. This "Hitchhiker’s Guide to Awareness" provides helpful guideposts along an experiential journey for those Western minds predisposed to wandering off to old habits, cherished presumptions, and a stubbornly solid sense of self. With ease and clarity Ralston teaches readers how to become aware of the background patterns that they are usually too busy, stressed, or distracted to notice. The Book of Not Knowing points out the ways people get stuck in their lives and offers readers a way to make fresh choices about every aspect of their lives, from a place of awareness instead of autopilot.From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes


Robert Alter - 2010
    The astounding poetry in the Book of Job is restored to its powerful ancient meanings and rhythms. The account of creation in its Voice from the Whirlwind is beautiful and incendiary—an unforgettable challenge to the place of man in the universe. The serene fatalism that construes life as ephemeral and without purpose suffuses Ecclesiastes with a quiet beauty. The pithy maxims of Proverbs impart a worldly wisdom that is still sound and satirically shrewd.Each of these books conveys and undermines the universal wisdom that the righteous thrive and the wicked suffer in a rational moral order; together they are essential to the ancient canon that is the Hebrew Bible. In Alter’s translation they regain the energy and force of the original, enhancing their ongoing relevance to the lives of modern readers.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra


Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - 2010
    Sri Sri brought to light the profound wisdom contained in Patanjali's Sanskrit passages. The audience was a group of course participants tucked in Weggis, Switzerland. Amidst the bliss of so much knowledge, somebody had the awareness to record those precious talks. This book is a compilation of talks from the session.

The Complete I Ching: The Definitive Translation


Anonymous - 2010
    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.

The Reality of Being: The Fourth Way of Gurdjieff


Jeanne De Salzmann - 2010
    Gurdjieff's closest follower, this book offers new insight on his spiritual teachings—a way of gnosis or "knowledge of being" passed on from remote antiquity. It is a complete and uniquely authoritative guide to the great teacher's ideas and to his methods for liberating ourselves from the state of "waking sleep" in which most of us live our lives. Gurdjieff respected traditional religious practices, which he regarded as falling into three general categories or "ways": the Way of the Fakir, related to mastery of the physical body; the Way of the Monk, based on faith and feeling; and the Way of the Yogi, which focuses on development of the mind. He presented his teaching as a Fourth Way that integrated these three aspects into a single path of self-knowledge. Progress in the Fourth Way comes through conscious effort toward a quality of thinking and feeling that brings a new capacity to see clearly and to love.

Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology


David Abram - 2010
    Now Abram returns with a startling exploration of our human entanglement with the rest of nature.As the climate veers toward catastrophe, the innumerable losses cascading through the biosphere make vividly evident the need for a metamorphosis in our relation to the living land. For too long we’ve inured ourselves to the wild intelligence of our muscled flesh, taking our primary truths from technologies that hold the living world at a distance. This book subverts that distance, drawing readers ever deeper into their animal senses in order to explore, from within, the elemental kinship between the body and the breathing Earth.The shapeshifting of ravens, the erotic nature of gravity, the eloquence of thunder, the pleasures of being edible: all have their place in Abram’s investigation. He shows that from the awakened perspective of the human animal, awareness (or mind) is not an exclusive possession of our species but a lucid quality of the biosphere itself—a quality in which we, along with the oaks and the spiders, steadily participate.With the audacity of its vision and the luminosity of its prose, Becoming Animal sets a new benchmark for the human appraisal of our place in the whole.

Novels by Tom Robbins: Still Life With Woodpecker, Villa Incognito, Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates, Jitterbug Perfume


Books LLC - 2010
    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Still Life With Woodpecker, Villa Incognito, Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates, Jitterbug Perfume, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Skinny Legs and All, Another Roadside Attraction, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Still Life With Woodpecker (1980) is the third novel by Tom Robbins, concerning the love affair between an environmentalist princess and an outlaw. As with most of Robbins' books, it encompasses a broad range of topics, from aliens and redheads to consumerism, the building of bombs, romance, royalty, the moon, and a pack of Camels. The novel continuously addresses the question of how to make love stay. The story is sometimes called a post-modern fairy tale. The book begins in "the final quarter of the twentieth century," at a year never specified, presumably in the early 1980s. It revolves around a family of deposed European royalty living in a small house in the suburbs outside of Seattle, under the protection of the CIA. They consist of: the father, King Max, a former gambler and poker player whose prosthetic heart valve makes a loud scraping noise when he gets excited; the mother, Queen Tilli, an opera-lover with a strong foreign accent and a fondness for saying "Oh, oh, spaghetti-o"; Gulietta, the non-English-speaking maid (and, as it turns out, Max's half-sister) and the daughter, Leigh-Cheri, a redheaded vegetarian liberal princess and former cheerleader, having pulled out of classes after being asked to resign from the cheer squad after having a miscarriage while cheering at a football game. Leigh-Cheri proclaims herself celibate, withdraws from public life and cloisters herself in her room, only to emerge to ask her parents for permission to go to the Care Fest, a lib...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=217300

Friedrich Nietzsche


Julian Young - 2010
    The book will delight the general reader who knows little about Nietzsche's ideas. The specialist will learn where Young stands in relation to the voluminous scholarship on Nietzsche." - Christopher Cumo, Independent Scholar, Canadian Journal of History

The Logical Leap: Induction in Physics


David Harriman - 2010
    Inspired by and expanding on a series of lectures presented by Leonard Peikoff, David Harriman presents a fascinating answer to the problem of induction-the epistemological question of how we can know the truth of inductive generalizations.Ayn Rand presented her revolutionary theory of concepts in her book Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. As Dr. Peikoff subsequently explored the concept of induction, he sought out David Harriman, a physicist who had taught philosophy, for his expert knowledge of the scientific discovery process.Here, Harriman presents the result of a collaboration between scientist and philosopher. Beginning with a detailed discussion of the role of mathematics and experimentation in validating generalizations in physics-looking closely at the reasoning of scientists such as Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Lavoisier, and Maxwell-Harriman skillfully argues that the inductive method used in philosophy is in principle indistinguishable from the method used in physics.

Four Elements: Reflections on Nature


John O'Donohue - 2010
    Unfortunately he died suddenly at age fifty-two just as his book of blessings, To Bless the Space Between Us, was being published. The loss of his powerfully wise and lyrical voice has been profoundly missed, but his many readers are given a special opportunity to revisit John in a new book based on a series of papers he wrote on the elements of water, stone, air, and fire, now published here for the first time. O'Donohue's readers know him as both a spiritual guide and a poet, and in this work he exhibits both qualities, sharing his Celtic heritage and his love for his native landscape in the west of Ireland. As O'Donohue explores a range of themes relating to the way we live our lives today, he reveals how the energy and rhythm of the natural world--its innocence and creativity, its power and splendor--hold profound lessons for us all. With a foreword written by his beloved brother, Pat, this illuminating book is an inspired reflection on the ancient wisdom of the earth.

The Yugas: Keys to Understanding Our Hidden Past, Emerging Present and Future Enlightenment


Joseph Selbie - 2010
    Today's view of history cannot account for ancient anomalies, such as the Pyramids and advanced knowledge contained in India's Vedas-but in 1894 an Indian sage gave us an explanation not only for our hidden past, but for the trends of today and for our future enlightenment-the 24,000 year yuga cycle

Gödel, Escher, Bach


Agnes F. Vandome - 2010
    C. Escher and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, discussing common themes in their work and lives. At a deeper level, the book is a detailed and subtle exposition of concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. Through illustration and analysis, the book discusses how self-reference and formal rules allow systems to acquire meaning despite being made of "meaningless" elements. It also discusses what it means to communicate, how knowledge can be represented and stored, the methods and limitations of symbolic representation, and even the fundamental notion of "meaning" itself. In response to confusion over the book's theme, Hofstadter has emphasized that GEB is not about mathematics, art, and music but rather about how cognition and thinking emerge from well-hidden neurological mechanisms.

Left Hemisphere: Mapping Contemporary Theory


Razmig Keucheyan - 2010
    The struggle between radical movements and the forces of reaction will be merciless. A crucial battlefield, where the outcome of the crisis will in part be decided, is that of theory. Over the last twenty-five years, radical intellectuals across the world have produced important and innovative ideas.The endeavour to transform the world without falling into the catastrophic traps of the past has been a common element uniting these new approaches. This book – aimed at both the general reader and the specialist – offers the first global cartography of the expanding intellectual field of critical contemporary thought. More than thirty authors and intellectual currents of every continent are presented in a clear and succinct manner. A history of critical thought in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is also provided, helping situate current thinkers in a broader historical and sociological perspective.

Technological Slavery


Theodore J. Kaczynski - 2010
    The result is a comprehensive challenge to the fundamental values and assumptions of the modern technology-driven world, pinning the cause of the rapidly unfolding catastrophe on technology itself, while offering a realistic hope for ultimate recovery.Note: Theodore John Kaczynski does not receive any remuneration for this book.

Maimonides and the Book That Changed Judaism: Secrets of "The Guide for the Perplexed"


Micah Goodman - 2010
    The works of Maimonides, particularly The Guide for the Perplexed, are reckoned among the fundamental texts that influenced all subsequent Jewish philosophy and also proved to be highly influential in Christian and Islamic thought. Spanning subjects ranging from God, prophecy, miracles, revelation, and evil, to politics, messianism, reason in religion, and the therapeutic role of doubt, Maimonides and the Book That Changed Judaism elucidates the complex ideas of The Guide in remarkably clear and engaging prose. Drawing on his own experience as a central figure in the current Israeli renaissance of Jewish culture and spirituality, Micah Goodman brings Maimonides’s masterwork into dialogue with the intellectual and spiritual worlds of twenty-first-century readers. Goodman contends that in Maimonides’s view, the Torah’s purpose is not to bring clarity about God but rather to make us realize that we do not understand God at all; not to resolve inscrutable religious issues but to give us insight into the true nature and purpose of our lives.

The Universe Is a Dream: The Secrets of Existence Revealed


Alexander Marchand - 2010
    However, what if you really took that idea seriously and followed it to its logical conclusion? What would you discover? Well, this book answers that question. Using the unique form of a graphic novel, artist and writer Alexander Marchand takes you on an artistic, humorous, irreverent, and extremely informative romp through the advanced, nondualistic metaphysics of the contemporary spiritual document known as A Course in Miracles. In the end, you ll not only have a coherent picture of the true nature of the universe and existence, but you ll also have essential, practical knowledge of what you ll need to do to if you are ready to wake up."

Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering


Eleonore Stump - 2010
    Can one hold, consistently with the common view of suffering in the world, that there is an omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly good God? This book argues that one can.Wandering in Darkness first presents the moral psychology and value theory within which one typical traditional theodicy, namely, that of Thomas Aquinas, is embedded. It explicates Aquinas's account of the good for human beings, including the nature of love and union among persons. Eleonore Stumpalso makes use of developments in neurobiology and developmental psychology to illuminate the nature of such union. Stump then turns to an examination of narratives. In a methodological section focused on epistemological issues, the book uses recent research involving autism spectrum disorder to argue that some philosophical problems are best considered in the context of narratives. Using the methodology arguedfor, the book gives detailed, innovative exegeses of the stories of Job, Samson, Abraham and Isaac, and Mary of Bethany.In the context of these stories and against the backdrop of Aquinas's other views, Stump presents Aquinas's own theodicy, and shows that Aquinas's theodicy gives a powerful explanation for God's allowing suffering. She concludes by arguing that this explanation constitutes a consistent and cogentdefense for the problem of suffering.

The Conspiracy Against the Human Race


Thomas Ligotti - 2010
    Drawing on philosophy, literature, neuroscience, and other fields of study, Ligotti takes the penetrating lens of his imagination and turns it on his audience, causing them to grapple with the brutal reality that they are living a meaningless nightmare, and anyone who feels otherwise is simply acting out an optimistic fallacy. At once a guidebook to pessimistic thought and a relentless critique of humanity's employment of self-deception to cope with the pervasive suffering of their existence, The Conspiracy against the Human Race may just convince readers that there is more than a measure of truth in the despairing yet unexpectedly liberating negativity that is widely considered a hallmark of Ligotti's work.

The Vachanamrut


Bhagwan Swaminarayan - 2010
    It is a compilation of 273 spiritual discourses delivered by Bhagwan Swaminarayan from 1819 to 1829. It is a Hindu scripture filled with infallible logic, illuminating analogies and metaphors, and divine revelations that provide philosophical and practical answers to the deepest mysteries and questions of life. Whether you want to overcome anger or understand the nature of God, whether you want to eradicate jealousy or know whose company to keep, whether you want to recognize a true guru or develop faith in God, the Vachanamrut can enlighten you. It is the essence of the Hindu scriptures based on the spiritual knowledge, divine insight and practical experience of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, the Supreme Reality himself.

The Tao of Success: The Five Ancient Rings of Destiny


Derek Lin - 2010
    How do we begin to discover and live our destined life? How can we use the ancient, Eastern philosophy to experience more success in our lives?From Derek Lin, Taoist master and author of The Tao of Daily Life, comes this practical, systematic approach to the ancient and time-honored spiritual learning process. The Tao of Success navigates the five rings of life, which are common patterns of traditional Tao cultivation, conceptualized by the ancient sages: your spirit, your mind, your relationships, your world, and your destiny. Success is achieved by discovering and experiencing these five concentric rings, from the inside out, and not in the future but in the here and now.Using the same format that made The Tao of Daily Life a breakout Eastern wisdom bestseller, Lin draws on the power of Taoist stories to illustrate important keys, or lessons. He then offers commentary on understanding and applying that story in modern life-all aimed to help readers live out the destiny that lies within themselves.By integrating the life-altering lessons of this book into their busy lives, readers can begin to cultivate the Tao. In The Tao of Success , Lin returns with his enlightening approach to understanding, centered on story and illumination of ancient Taoist secrets for the modern beginner and the familiar student alike.

The Complete Mystical Works


Meister Eckhart - 2010
    The sermons spoken in vernacular and transcribed and translated here, express the personal, mystical aspects of Eckart's beliefs. The treatises and other works elaborate on the same themes and are drawn from both his spoken and written work.This treasury is the authoritative volume of Eckhart’s enduring legacy to Christianity.Reviews and endorsements"Meister Eckhart is an encouragement to believers and unbelievers alike."—Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, London

Alienation and Acceleration: Towards a Critical Theory of Late-Modern Temporality


Hartmut Rosa - 2010
    Strange as it is, while the art of saving time reaches unprecedented heights through the introduction of ever-new technologies of communication and production, it nevertheless feels like we are running out of time. In all western societies alike, time-famine is rising and individuals report the impression that they have to run faster and faster each year - not in order to get somewhere, but just to stay in place! This book presents an analytic framework to identify the causes and effects of the various sped-up-processes which define modernity - and it develops a critical theory of late-modern temporality. Crucial for this is the idea that acceleration in the end leads to monstrous forms of alienation from time and space, from things and actions - and from self and others.

The Seven Steps to Awakening


Ramana Maharshi - 2010
    Most books on the subject of Self-realization are written by those who have only conceptual knowledge and no direct experience of the infinite Self. All seven of the sages quoted in The Seven Steps to Awakening lived in the infinite and their knowledge came from their direct experience of the infinite Self. The quotes in The Seven Steps to Awakening are doorways to liberation and a loving transmission from the Infinite Self to you. When the impostor self attempts to derail you from your journey to Awakening, reading the quotes in The Seven Steps to Awakening can inspire and encourage you to get back on track. Only the most essential and most powerful quotes that have no distractions or detours were selected for The Seven Steps to Awakening. The first collection of quotes describes how to tell the difference between a conceptual journey and a journey to Awakening. The second points out that the world, etc. is a dreamlike illusion. The third reveals why it is necessary to bring the impostor self to its final end. The fourth is about the importance of increasing your desire for liberation. The fifth is for the purpose of encouraging, inspiring and motivating you to actually practice all seven steps. The sixth is about turning your attention inward. The seventh describes the most rapid, direct and effective method that brings the impostor self, its tricks and all suffering to their final end so that you can remain forever in the true Self whose nature is Infinite-Awareness-Love-Bliss.

The Ghost of Karl Marx


Ronan de Calan - 2010
    It should come as no surprise, then, that children make excellent philosophers! Naturally inquisitive, pint-size scholars need little prompting before being willing to consider life’s “big questions,” however strange or impractical. Plato & Co. introduces children—and curious grown-ups—to the lives and work of famous philosophers, from Descartes to Socrates, Einstein, Marx, and Wittgenstein. Each book in the series features an engaging—and often funny—story that presents basic tenets of philosophical thought alongside vibrant color illustrations.                 In The Ghost of Karl Marx, the philosopher is saddened when the town weavers must sell their cloth cheaply to compete with machines. The farmers too cannot sell their crops and have no money to buy new seeds. Forced to leave their work, the townspeople form an angry crowd in front of the factories, but what is to be done when there are so many hungry people and so few jobs to pay for food to eat? Concealed in one of the weavers’ sheets, the philosopher makes a solemn vow to give this story a happy ending by finding the Market, that infernal magician, and ridding the town of him once and for all.                 Plato & Co.’s clear approach and charming illustrations make this series the perfect addition to any little library.

A Wicked Company: The Forgotten Radicalism of the European Enlightenment


Philipp Blom - 2010
    Holbach’s house was an international epicenter of revolutionary ideas and intellectual daring, bringing together such original minds as Denis Diderot, Laurence Sterne, David Hume, Adam Smith, Ferdinando Galiani, Horace Walpole, Benjamin Franklin, Guillaume Raynal, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.In A Wicked Company, acclaimed historian Philipp Blom retraces the fortunes of this exceptional group of friends. All brilliant minds, full of wit, courage, and insight, their thinking created a different and radical French Enlightenment based on atheism, passion, reason, and truly humanist thinking. A startlingly relevant work of narrative history, A Wicked Company forces us to confront with new eyes the foundational debates about modern society and its future.

Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred


Jeffrey J. Kripal - 2010
    Even historians of religion, whose work naturally attends to events beyond the realm of empirical science, have shown scant interest in the subject. But the history of psychical phenomena, Kripal contends, is an untapped source of insight into the sacred. By tracing that history thru the last two centuries of Western thought we can see its potential centrality to the critical study of religion. Kripal grounds his study in the work of four major figures in the history of paranormal research: psychical researcher Frederic Myers; writer Charles Fort; astronomer, computer scientist & ufologist Jacques Vallee; & philosopher & sociologist Bertrand Mheust. Thru incisive analyses of these thinkers, Kripal ushers readers into a beguiling world somewhere between fact, fiction & fraud. The cultural history of telepathy, teleportation & UFOs; a ghostly love story; the occult dimensions of sf; cold war psychic espionage; galactic colonialism; & the intimate relationship between consciousness & culture all come together in Authors of the Impossible, a look at how the paranormal bridges the sacred & the scientific.

The Secret Tradition of the Soul


Patrick Harpur - 2010
    This hidden tradition, according to Harpur, places our soul at the center of the universe and emphasizes imagination, the collective unconscious, and an “otherworld” or afterlife; above all, it teaches us how to know ourselves and how to recover a sense of meaning largely lost today. Harpur shows how this tradition drives the literature of otherworld journeys, from the flights of shamans and the dreams of psychoanalysis to the mystic imagination of Romantic poets and the visions of those having near-death experiences. The Secret Tradition of the Soul is the first book to gather together all the threads of the soul tradition and weave them into a bigger, clearer picture, presenting a worldview at once ancient and revolutionary.About the Imprint: EVOLVER EDITIONS promotes a new counterculture that recognizes humanity's visionary potential and takes tangible, pragmatic steps to realize it. EVOLVER EDITIONS explores the dynamics of personal, collective, and global change from a wide range of perspectives. EVOLVER EDITIONS is an imprint of North Atlantic Books and is produced in collaboration with Evolver, LLC.

Nothing Less Than Victory: Decisive Wars and the Lessons of History


John David Lewis - 2010
    But how this can be accomplished is a thorny issue. "Nothing Less than Victory" provocatively shows that aggressive, strategic military offenses can win wars and establish lasting peace, while defensive maneuvers have often led to prolonged carnage, indecision, and stalemate. Taking an ambitious and sweeping look at six major wars, from antiquity to World War II, John David Lewis shows how victorious military commanders have achieved long-term peace by identifying the core of the enemy's ideological, political, and social support for a war, fiercely striking at this objective, and demanding that the enemy acknowledges its defeat. Lewis examines the Greco-Persian and Theban wars, the Second Punic War, Aurelian's wars to reunify Rome, the American Civil War, and the Second World War. He considers successful examples of overwhelming force, such as the Greek mutilation of Xerxes' army and navy, the Theban-led invasion of the Spartan homeland, and Hannibal's attack against Italy--as well as failed tactics of defense, including Fabius's policy of delay, McClellan's retreat from Richmond, and Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler. Lewis shows that a war's endurance rests in each side's reasoning, moral purpose, and commitment to fight, and why an effectively aimed, well-planned, and quickly executed offense can end a conflict and create the conditions needed for long-term peace. Recognizing the human motivations behind military conflicts, "Nothing Less than Victory" makes a powerful case for offensive actions in pursuit of peace.

God of Our Understanding: Jewish Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction


Shais Taub - 2010
    Rabbi Shais Taub, a world renown expert in Jewish mysticism as well as a mentor to many thousands of addicts, draws from his unique background to thoroughly address many of the concerns raised by Jewish addicts in recovery while also using Jewish knowledge to enrich the understanding of the spiritual principles of recovery for addicts of all faiths.

Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self Reliance (Infinite Success)


Andrew Holmes - 2010
    From 1836 to 1837, Emerson presented a series of lectures on the philosophy of history at Boston's Masonic Temple. These lectures were never published separately but many of Emerson's thoughts were later used in Self-reliance. In this book, first published in 1841, Emerson clearly illustrates the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and to follow his or her own instincts and ideas. Here, Andrew Holmes' interpretation of Self-reliance illustrates the timeless nature of Emerson's insights by bringing them to life through 52 modern case studies. This brilliant interpretation of Self-reliance is an entertaining accompaniment to one of the most famous books on strategy ever written.

The Power of One


Steve Maraboli - 2010
    The positive impact that simple gestures can have in our homes, our communities, and globally is immeasurable. Along with easy ideas for inspiring participation, this powerful little book is laced with Steve's popular philosophies as well as wisdom from many great minds. The gifts of this book are the wonderful experiences and synchronicities that come with recognizing the power we all have to shape our world. This is a book to be lived and to be shared. Enjoy!With one kind gesture you can change a life. One person at a time you can change the world. One day at a time we can change everything.ReviewsSteve's book contains the practical and simple wisdom about life and what we are each here for; to help the person in front of us by doing what they need now. Let it guide you each day of your life. - Bernie Siegel, MD., author 365 Prescriptions For The Soul and 101 Exercises For The SoulSteve Maraboli's energy of optimism, service, and praise is nothing short of contagious in this profound "little" book. This book is a jewel and a blockbuster--a jewel in that it will open your heart, a blockbuster in that The Power of One is truly limitless. Thank you, Steve, for changing our lives! - Daphne Rose Kingma, author of The Ten Things To Do When Your Life Falls Apart

Selections from Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics


Alfred Korzybski - 2010
    This second edition, published in response to the recent Korzybski revival, adds new introductory material and a revised index, providing an accessible introduction to Korzybski's arguments concerning the need for a non-Aristotelian approach to knowledge, thought, perception, and language, to coincide with our non-Newtonian physics and non-Euclidean geometries, to Korzybski's practical philosophy, applied psychology, pragmatics of human communication, and educational program. Selections from Science and Sanity serves as an excellent introduction to general semantics as a system intended to aid the individual's adjustment to reality, enhance intellectual and creative activities, and alleviate the many social ills that have plagued humanity throughout our history.

A Philosopher's Notes: On Optimal Living, Creating an Authentically Awesome Life and Other Such Goodness, Vol. 1


Brian Johnson - 2010
    But imagine if that class did exist and the teachers included everyone from the old school philosophers like Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Emerson, Nietzsche and Buddha to modern sages like Joseph Campbell, Paulo Coelho, Dan Millman, Deepak Chopra, Byron Katie, Eckhart Tolle and Wayne Dyer plus the world's leading positive psychologists like Sonja Lyubomirsky, Tal Ben-Shahar and Martin Seligman who are *scientifically* establishing how we can live with more happiness, meaning and mojo.Think of this book as a Philosopher's notes on that awesome class. From "Spiritual Farts" and "110-Year Old You"s to "The Tolle Trap" and "Blissipline," you'll have fun getting your wisdom on in this inspiring, playful, wise and practical little book as Brian Johnson shares one hundred of his favorite Big Ideas on how to create a life brimming with a radiant enthusiasm only discovered when we align with the fundamentals of Optimal Living.

Albert Camus: Solitude & Solidarity


Catherine Camus - 2010
    He was 46. He left a substantial but unfinished oeuvre of exceptional beauty and power. Writer, journalist, thinker, playwright and producer, Camus was a man of tremendous vitality, a passionate defender of freedom who put his art at the service of human dignity. He fought constantly against oppression and exploitation and set an example that is still worthy today. Using a combination of extracts from his works, photographs and other archive material, some published here for the first time, Camus's daughter Catherine leads us clearly but discreetly through the fascinating life and work of a solitary but universal figure."My children and grandchildren never got to know him. I wanted to go through all the photos for their sake. To rediscover his laugh, his lack of pretension, his generosity, to meet this highly observant, warm-hearted person once more, the man who steered me along the path of life. To show, as Séverine Gaspari once wrote, that Albert Camus was in essence a 'person among people, who in the midst of them all, strove to become genuine'."  — Catherine Camus

The Closing of the Muslim Mind: How Intellectual Suicide Created the Modern Islamist


Robert R. Reilly - 2010
    While there are many answers to the question of “what went wrong” in the Muslim world, no one has decisively answered why it went wrong. Until now.In this eye-opening new book, foreign policy expert Robert R. Reilly uncovers the root of our contemporary crisis: a pivotal struggle waged within the Muslim world nearly a millennium ago. In a heated battle over the role of reason, the side of irrationality won. The deformed theology that resulted, Reilly reveals, produced the spiritual pathology of Islamism, and a deeply dysfunctional culture.Terrorism—from 9/11, to London, Madrid, and Mumbai, to the Christmas 2009 attempted airline bombing—is the most obvious manifestation of this crisis. But Reilly shows that the pathology extends much further. The Closing of the Muslim Mind solves such puzzles as: ·        why peace is so elusive in the Middle East·        why the Arab world stands near the bottom of every measure of human development·        why scientific inquiry is nearly dead in the Islamic world·        why Spain translates more books in a single year than the entire Arab world has in the past thousand years·        why some people in Saudi Arabia still refuse to believe man has been to the moon·        why Muslim media frequently present natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina as God’s direct retribution Delving deeper than previous polemics and simplistic analyses, The Closing of the Muslim Mind provides the answers the West has so desperately needed in confronting the Islamist crisis.WHAT THEY ARE SAYING"The lack of liberty within Islam is a huge problem. Robert Reilly’s The Closing of the Muslim Mind shows that a millennium ago Muslims debated whether minds should be free to explore the world—and freedom lost. The intellectual history he offers helps to explain why Muslim countries fell behind Christian-based ones in scientific inquiry, economic development, and technology. Reilly provides astonishing statistics . . . [and] also points out how theology prefigures politics." —World Magazine  "As Robert R. Reilly points out in The Closing of the Muslim Mind . . . the Islamic conception of God as pure will, unbound by reason and unknowable through the visible world, rendered any search for cause and effect in nature irrelevant to Muslim societies over centuries, resulting in slipshod, dependent cultures. Reilly notes, for example, that Pakistan, a nation which views science as automatically impious given its view that an arbitrary God did not imprint upon nature a rational order worth investigating, produces almost no patents." —American Spectator "What happened to moderate Islam and what sort of hope we may have for it in the future is the subject of Robert Reilly’s brilliant and groundbreaking new book. The Closing of the Muslim Mind is a page-turner that reads almost like an intellectual detective novel...One thing Reilly’s account makes clear: Only when we move beyond the common platitudes of our contemporary political discussion and begin to deal with Islam as it really is — rather than the fiction that it is the equivalent of our Western culture dressed up in a burqa — will we be able to help make progress in that direction." — National Review Online

Perversity Think Tank


Supervert - 2010
    

The Ethics of Abortion: Women's Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice


Christopher Kaczor - 2010
    The Ethics of Abortion critically evaluates all the major grounds for denying fetal personhood, including the views of those who defend not only abortion but also infanticide. It also provides several (non-theological) justifications for the conclusion that all human beings, including those in utero, should be respected as persons. This book also critiques the view that abortion is not wrong even if the human fetus is a person. The Ethics of Abortion examines hard cases for those who are prolife, such as abortion in cases of rape or in order to save the mother's life, as well as hard cases for defenders of abortion, such as sex selection abortion and the rationale for being "personally opposed" but publically supportive of abortion. It concludes with a discussion of whether artificial wombs might end the abortion debate. Answering the arguments of defenders of abortion, this book provides reasoned justification for the view that all intentional abortions are morally wrong and that doctors and nurses who object to abortion should not be forced to act against their consciences.

The Philosophy of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy


Donald J. Robertson - 2010
    However, arguably it was not always the case that they were distinct. The author takes the view that by reconsidering the generally received wisdom concerning the history of these closely-related subjects, we can learn a great deal about both philosophy and psychotherapy, under which heading he includes potentially solitary pursuits such as "self-help" and "personal development."

On Mysticism


Jorge Luis Borges - 2010
    Known throughout the world for his metaphysical fantasies, Borges studied not only Christian mysticism but much Eastern philosophy and religion, including the works of the Sufis, Buddhist doctrines, and Raja, or classical yoga. To bring all these ideas together, his widow, Kodama, and Levine (Spanish & Portuguese, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara) have edited this small but powerful collection of prose, poetry, and essays. Many reveal Borges's obsessions with finding one's true "I," the nature of God, and the illusive nature of words, dreams, and other mystical states. This work also presents, for the first time in English, many of his brief essays that appraise other authors and philosophers. Key features are the well-known stories "The Library of Babel" and "The Aleph," along with the ironical "Poem of the Gifts," about his love of books and his increasing blindness. VERDICT A good introduction to Borges for both students and interested general readers.—Nedra Crowe Evers, Sonoma Cty. Lib., Santa Rosa, CA About The Author: About The Author: Jorge Luis Borges was born in Buenos Aires in 1899 and was educated in Europe. One of the most widely acclaimed writers of the 20th century, he published many collections of poems, essays, and short stories before his death in Geneva in June 1986. In 1961, Borges shared the International Publishers' prize with Samuel Beckett. In 1971, Columbia University awarded him the first of many degrees of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, that he was to receive from the English-speaking world -- eventually, the list included both Oxford and Cambridge universities. In 1971 he also received the fifth biennial Jerusalem Prize and in 1973 was given one of Mexico's most prestigious cultural awards, the Alfonso Reyes Prize. In 1980 he shared with Gerardo Diego the Cervantes Pri

A Story Waiting to Pierce You: Mongolia, Tibet and the Destiny of the Western World


Peter Kingsley - 2010
    Recounting a true story, this exploration tells of a wandering Mongol shaman who made a dramatic appearance around the Mediterranean centuries before the time of Christ. Highlighting how this nomad came as an envoy on a mission of purification, this study records how he met with a man who became tremendously influential in Western science, philosophy, culture, and religion: Pythagoras. The essence of Western civilization is said to have originated from this meeting and this examination argues that today’s conflicts and tensions have stemmed from taking this monumental occasion for granted, forgetting that there must be a greater meaning to life than everyday efforts and struggles. Reflecting on a time when Eastern and Western cultures were one, this evocation contends that there is still a common spiritual heritage to all civilizations. A unique collaboration between the author and archaeologists, historians, and shamans from around the world, this document has the potential to change the future for all.

The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations


Patrick Thaddeus Jackson - 2010
    The field of International Relations should pay closer attention to these methodological differences, and to their implications for concrete research on world politics. The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations provides an introduction to the philosophy of science issues and their implications for the study of global politics.

Ecclesiastes: Annotated & Explained


Rami M. Shapiro - 2010
    Koheleth lived in a world of change and challenge not unlike our own. His teachings, known as the Book of Ecclesiastes, sought to empower people not unlike ourselves, which is why this book of the Hebrew Bible still speaks to us-people of all faiths-today.In this contemporary and accurate translation, Rami Shapiro presents the Book of Ecclesiastes as neither revelation nor prophecy but as a rational and inspirational guide to living well in the midst of uncertainty. Beginning with its opening broadside, "Havel havalim!"-not "futility" or "vanity" as most translations would have it, but "breath," "vapor," and "impermanence"-Shapiro opens up Koheleth's approach to living in a world where nothing lasts and justice is illusory; a world devoted to accumulating power, wealth, pleasure, and even knowledge that leaves you drowning in anxiety and needless suffering. He shows how Koheleth's God demands neither sacrifice nor adherence to commandments, offering instead a practical lifestyle rooted in moderation, meaningful work, and friendship.Now you can experience the Book of Ecclesiastes and understand Koheleth's teachings with no previous knowledge of the Hebrew Bible. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents insightful commentary that restores this ancient text to its timeless place as a guide to living sanely in an often insane world.

Non-Violence: A History Beyond the Myth


Domenico Losurdo - 2010
    Starting from the essay published in 1921 by Walter Benjamin, twentieth century philosophy has been committed to the criticism of violence, even when it has claimed to follow noble ends. But what do we know of the dilemmas, of the “betrayals,” of the disappointments and tragedies which the movement of non-violence has suffered? This book tells a fascinating history: from the American Christian organizations in the first decades of the nineteenth century who wanted to eliminate slavery and war in a non-violent way, to the protagonists of movements—Thoreau, Tolstoy, Gandhi, Capitini, M. L. King, the Dalai Lama—who either for idealism or for political calculation flew the flag of non-violence, up to the leaders of today’s “color revolutions.”

Spinoza's Ethics


Beth Lord - 2010
    Upon its release, Spinoza's Ethics was banned; today it is the quintessential example of philosophical method. Although acknowledged as difficult, the book is widely taught in philosophy, literature, history, and politics. This introduction is designed to be read side by side with Spinoza's work. As a guide to the style, vocabulary, and arguments of the Ethics, it offers a range of interpretive possibilities to prepare students to become conversant with Spinoza's philosophical method and his challenge to conventional thinking.

Thinking in Tongues: Pentecostal Contributions to Christian Philosophy


James K.A. Smith - 2010
    In the spirit of Plantinga’s famous manifesto, “Advice to Christian Philosophers,” James K. A. Smith here offers not only advice to Pentecostal philosophers but also some Pentecostal advice to Christian philosophers.In this inaugural Pentecostal Manifestos volume Smith begins from the conviction that implicit in Pentecostal and charismatic spirituality is a tacit worldview or “social imaginary.” Thinking in Tongues unpacks and articulates the key elements of this Pentecostal worldview and then explores their implications for philosophical reflection on ontology, epistemology, aesthetics, language, science, and philosophy of religion. In each case, Smith demonstrates how the implicit wisdom of Pentecostal spirituality makes unique contributions to current conversations in Christian philosophy.

The Beast and the Sovereign, Volume II


Jacques Derrida - 2010
    As he moves back and forth between the two works, Derrida pursuesthe relations between solitude, insularity, world, violence, boredom and death as they supposedly affect humans and animals in different ways. Hitherto unnoticed or underappreciated aspects of Robinson Crusoe are brought out in strikingly original readings of questions such as Crusoe’s belief in ghosts, his learning to pray, his parrot Poll, and his reinvention of the wheel. Crusoe’s terror of being buried alive or swallowed alive by beasts or cannibals gives rise to a rich and provocative reflection on death, burial, and cremation, in part provoked by a meditation on the death of Derrida’s friend Maurice Blanchot.  Throughout, these readings are juxtaposed with interpretations of Heidegger's concepts of world and finitude to produce a distinctively Derridean account that will continue to surprise his readers.

Stories from the Egyptian Desert


Pseudo-Macarius - 2010
    Some of them are true, others are true in part, the rest are fiction. Each story contains a certain idea to deliver a spiritual lesson. In these short stories we tried to convey some of the fathers' philosophy in asceticism, dying to the world and how they rejected the pleasures of life, to be filled from Christ and ultimately unite with Him This is an opportunity for the reader who could not visit the monasteries to learn about the monastic life, the struggle of the fathers and the wars of the devil.

Do Nothing and Do Everything: An Illustrated New Taoism


Qiguang Zhao - 2010
    In Do Nothing and Do Everything he applies the ideas of Wu Wei (do nothing) and Wu Bu Wei (do everything) to modern life. Do Nothing and Do Everything is supplemented by observations of American and Chinese life. Rich and humorous illustrations convey the subtle ideas that go beyond language and are re-created in the same style as the ones the author draws impromptu on the blackboard in his classes. This introduction to ancient Taoism is conveyed in a lighthearted and humorous manner. This illustrated new Taoism will answer the widespread thirst for an alternative approach to life, and a longing for health, tranquility, and spiritual liberation.

Free Speech & Postmodernism


Stephen R.C. Hicks - 2010
    The attacks have come not only from traditional conservatives but increasingly from the postmodern left. In this essay, Stephen Hicks presents and dissects the philosophical arguments made by the postmoderns for speech restrictions and responds with a vigorous and updated liberal case for free speech.

Remythologizing Theology: Divine Action, Passion, and Authorship


Kevin J. Vanhoozer - 2010
    Remythologizing Theology moves in another direction that begins by taking seriously the biblical accounts of God's speaking. It establishes divine communicative action as the formal and material principle of theology, and suggests that interpersonal dialogue, rather than impersonal causality, is the keystone of God's relationship with the world. This original contribution to the theology of divine action and authorship develops a fresh vision of Christian theism. It also revisits several long-standing controversies such as the relations of God's sovereignty to human freedom, time to eternity, and suffering to love. Groundbreaking and thought-provoking, it brings theology into fruitful dialogue with philosophy, literary theory, and biblical studies.

Bret Easton Ellis: American Psycho, Glamorama, Lunar Park


Naomi Mandel - 2010
    Taking as its starting-point American Psycho's seismic impact on contemporary literature and culture, the volume establishes Ellis' centrality to the scholarship and teaching of contemporary American literature in the U.S. and in Europe. Contributors examine the alchemy of acclaim and disdain that accrues to this controversial writer, provide an overview of growing critical material on Ellis and review the literary and artistic significance of his recent work. Exploring key issues including violence, literature, reality, reading, identity, genre, and gender, the contributors together provide a critical re-evaluation of Ellis, exploring how he has impacted, challenged, and transformed contemporary literature in the U.S. and abroad.

Where the Hell Is God?


Richard Leonard - 2010
    The problem with these libraries is that they contain books that are generally written by professionals for their peers. Where the Hell Is God? combines the best of the professional's insights with the author's own experience and insights to speculate on how believers can make sense of their Christian faith when experiencing tragedy and suffering. Starting with a very personal story of the author's sister being left a quadriplegic from a car accident twenty years ago, Where the Hell Is God? gently leads the reader through some "take-home" messages that are sane, sound, and practical. Among these messages are: God does not directly send pain, suffering, and disease. God does not punish us; God does not send accidents to teach us things, though we can learn from them; and God does not will earthquakes, floods, droughts, or other natural disasters. This concise, accessible, and experience-based book will help people who are suffering as well as those who minister to them and their families.

Know Thy-Self


G.K. Pradhan - 2010
    Pradhan became Vanijya Visharad from Gujarat Vidyapith. During his Vidyapith days, he had the opportunity of getting into close touch with leaders and intellectuals in India. He joined state service in Madhya Pradesh. He then gave up service and returned to Ahmedabad, to work as editor of an English magazine. Then he turned to business and experienced many vicissitudes in life. Like his earlier book entitled "Towards the Silver Crest of the Himalayas", Shri Pradhan has recorded in this book the discussions he had along with fellow spiritual-seekers, with Master, whom he terms "Swamiji". The discussions proved of great benefit to im and his fellow-seekers in self-realization. The central point in Swamiis teachings, according to Shri Pradhan, is that there is no "becoming," but only "being". Everyone has to find the path for himself and no one can - neither a Guru, nor the Holy Scriptures nor teachings - help one in attaining enlightenment. The scriptures and teachings may be best be pointers to the direction, but the spiritual - seeker has to tread the spiritual path lone by himself. The book is appropriately titled "Know Thy-self". Shri G.K. Pradhan passed away in 1963 at the age of 61.

New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy


Robert J. Spitzer - 2010
    New Proofs for the Existence of God responds to these glaring omissions. From universal space-time asymmetry to cosmic coincidences to the intelligibility of reality, Robert Spitzer tackles a wealth of evidence. He considers string theory, quantum cosmology, mathematical thoughts on infinity, and much more. This fascinating and stunning collection of evidence provides solid grounding for reasonable and responsible belief in a super-intelligent, transcendent, creative power standing at the origins of our universe.

Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem


Suzy Kassem - 2010
    The granddaughter of a respected sage in 19th century Cairo, mysticism and wisdom run through her blood just as the water of the Nile flows through her veins."--P. [4] of cover.

Spirits Rebellious and Other Works by Khalil Gibran (Halcyon Classics)


Kahlil Gibran - 2010
    

Informal Logical Fallacies: A Brief Guide


Jacob E. Van Vleet - 2010
    This accessible and engaging book provides the necessary tools to question and challenge the discourse that surrounds us --- whether in the media, the classroom, or everyday conversation. Additionally, it offers readers a deeper understanding of the foundations of analytical thought. Informal Logical Fallacies: A Brief Guide is a systematic and concise introduction to more than forty fallacies, from anthropomorphism and argumentum ad baculum, to reductionism and the slippery slope argument. With helpful definitions, relevant examples, and thought-provoking exercises, the author guides the reader through the realms of fallacious reasoning and deceptive rhetoric. This is an essential guide to philosophical reflection and clear thinking.

Mourning Sickness: Hegel and the French Revolution


Rebecca Comay - 2010
    Like many of his contemporaries, Hegel was struck by the seeming parallel between the political upheaval in France and the upheaval in German philosophy inaugurated by the Protestant Reformation and brought to a climax by German Idealism. Many thinkers reasoned that a political revolution would be unnecessary in Germany, because this intellectual "revolution" had preempted it. Having already been through its own cataclysm, Germany would be able to extract the energy of the Revolution and channel its radicalism into thought. Hegel comes close to making such an argument too. But he also offers a powerful analysis of how this kind of secondhand history gets generated in the first place, and shows what is stake. This is what makes him uniquely interesting among his contemporaries: he demonstrates how a fantasy can be simultaneously deconstructed and enjoyed.Mourning Sickness provides a new reading of Hegel in the light of contemporary theories of historical trauma. It explores the ways in which major historical events are experienced vicariously, and the fantasies we use to make sense of them. Comay brings Hegel into relation with the most burning contemporary discussions around catastrophe, witness, memory, and the role of culture in shaping political experience.

Hopes and Prospects


Noam Chomsky - 2010
    Exploring challenges such as the growing gap between North and South, American exceptionalism (including under President Barack Obama), the fiascos of Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S.-Israeli assault on Gaza, and the recent financial bailouts, he also sees hope for the future and a way to move forward—in the democratic wave in Latin America and in the global solidarity movements that suggest "real progress toward freedom and justice."Hopes and Prospects is essential reading for anyone who is concerned about the primary challenges still facing the human race."This is a classic Chomsky work: a bonfire of myths and lies, sophistries and delusions. Noam Chomsky is an enduring inspiration all over the world—to millions, I suspect—for the simple reason that he is a truth-teller on an epic scale. I salute him." —John Pilger"In dissecting the rhetoric and logic of American empire and class domination, at home and abroad, Chomsky continues a longstanding and crucial work of elucidation and activism...the writing remains unswervingly rational and principled throughout, and lends bracing impetus to the real alternatives before us." —Publisher's Weekly "Chomsky’s commentary is razor sharp and offers a compendium of facts that make a well-supported—and undoubtedly controversial—claim of the incongruity between US actions and the democratic ideals it professes....A valuable resource for both academics and everyday concerned citizens." —ForeWord Professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Noam Chomsky is widely regarded to be one of the foremost critics of U.S. foreign policy in the world. He has published numerous groundbreaking books, articles, and essays on global politics, history, and linguistics. Among his recent books are The New York Times bestsellers Hegemony or Survival and Failed States.

Not In Heaven: The Nature And Function Of Halakha


Eliezer Berkovits - 2010
    Delineating common sense, feasibility, and ethical concern, the author provides a wealth of original insights into the very essence of halaca. In language accessible to everyone, Not in Heaven discusses a wide range of contemporary issues, including the status of women, marriage, divorce, conversion, rabbinic authority, and the role of halacha in a Jewish state.

The If Machine: Philosophical Enquiry in the Classroom


Peter Worley - 2010
    Each session offers an imaginary situation, followed by a series of questions to encourage children to challenge key philosophical ideas such as values and ethics, gender and identity, and existence and beauty. All the enquiries have been tried-and-tested in the primary and early secondary classroom, and a handy star system is included to indicate the difficulty level of each one, enabling quick ability differentiation. With a comprehensive introduction and key sections on the philosophy behind the experiments, this book also includes an online teacher's resource to guide practitioners through using the sessions to best effect in the classroom. Invaluable as a resource for P4C trained teachers, this book is also perfect for teachers who want to introduce higher order and critical thinking into their classroom, or as a resource for philosophy consultants working with children.

The Tao of Forgiveness: The Healing Power of Forgiving Others and Yourself


William Martin - 2010
    He weaves excerpts from the ancient sacred Taoist scriptures together with insightful teaching stories, bringing the practice of forgiveness to readers of all spiritual backgrounds. Each chapter contains two parts-a journey toward forgiveness and a practical exercise in forgiving-and also includes personal anecdotes, poems, and simple exercises.With the devastating personal and societal damage caused by resentment, anger, guilt, and shame in mind, Martin patiently and compassionately helps readers overcome the ills of "holding on" with the openness of the Tao. In this accessible work, he illustrates how forgiveness is freedom and that the pathway to overcoming anger is also the way to spiritual liberation.

Manhunts: A Philosophical History


Grégoire Chamayou - 2010
    Incorporating historical events and philosophical reflection, Grégoire Chamayou examines the systematic and organized search for individuals and small groups on the run because they have defied authority, committed crimes, seemed dangerous simply for existing, or been categorized as subhuman or dispensable.Chamayou begins in ancient Greece, where young Spartans hunted and killed Helots (Sparta’s serfs) as an initiation rite, and where Aristotle and other philosophers helped to justify raids to capture and enslave foreigners by creating the concept of natural slaves. He discusses the hunt for heretics in the Middle Ages; New World natives in the early modern period; vagrants, Jews, criminals, and runaway slaves in other eras; and illegal immigrants today. Exploring evolving ideas about the human and the subhuman, what we owe to enemies and people on the margins of society, and the supposed legitimacy of domination, Chamayou shows that the hunting of humans should not be treated ahistorically, and that manhunting has varied as widely in its justifications and aims as in its practices. He investigates the psychology of manhunting, noting that many people, from bounty hunters to Balzac, have written about the thrill of hunting when the prey is equally intelligent and cunning.An unconventional history on an unconventional subject, Manhunts is an in-depth consideration of the dynamics of an age-old form of violence.

Supreme Mathematic African Ma'At Magic


African Creation Energy - 2010
    This book is an introductory educational tool for a long term goal and mission of growing, cultivating, nurturing, and promoting African Creativity, and Ingenuity to develop, engineer, innovate, invent, and create any structures, devices, or systems needed. The importance of Mathematics is emphasized in this book to provide Motivation, inspiration, and Insight into the relationship between Ancient African and Modern Mathematics.

Selected Journals, 1820-1842


Ralph Waldo Emerson - 2010
    Yet his most remarkable literary creation-his journals- remained unpublished. Begun when he was a precocious Harvard junior of 16 and continued without significant lapse for almost 60 years, Emerson's journals were his life's work. They were the starting point for virtually everything in his celebrated essays, lectures, and poems; a "Savings Bank," in which his occasional insights began to cohere and yield interest; a commonplace book, in which he gathered the choicest anecdotes, ideas, and phrases from his voracious and wide-ranging reading; and a fascinating diary in the ordinary sense of the term. It would be a hundred years after his death before these intimate records would appear in print in their entirety, and they are still, at over three million words, among the least known and least available of Emerson's writings. The journals reveal what Emerson called "the infinitude of the private man"-by turns whimsical, incisive, passionate, curious, and candid-in astonishing new ways. With "Selected Journals 1820-1842" and its companion volume "Selected Journals 1841-1877," The Library of America presents the most ample and comprehensive nonspecialist edition of Emerson's great work ever published-one that retains the original order in which he composed his thoughts and preserves the dramatic range of his unique style in long, uninterrupted passages, but without the daunting critical apparatus of the 16-volume scholarly edition. This volume begins with Emerson's first journal entry, on January 25, 1820, in a homemade booklet he titled "The Wide World," and follows him through his early years at Harvard College and the Divinity School, his ordination as a Unitarian minister, his marriage to Ellen Tucker and her untimely death, his fateful decision to leave the ministry, and his travels in England and on the Continent. It offers an irreplaceable perspective on the intellectual currents of the day-the emergence of Transcendentalism; the furor over Emerson's "Divinity School Address"; the founding of "The Dial"; experiments in communal living at Fruitlands and Brook Farm-and intimate sketches of Emerson's friends and contemporaries, including Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Thomas Carlyle, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and others. Edited by Lawrence Rosenwald-Anne Pierce Rogers Professor of American Literature at Wellesley College and author of "Emerson and the Art of the Diary"-each volume includes a 16-page portfolio of images of Emerson and his contemporaries, a note on the selections, extensive notes, biographical sketches, a chronology, and an index.

The Imperative of Integration


Elizabeth S. Anderson - 2010
    As a signal achievement of that legacy, in 2008, Americans elected their first African American president. Some would argue that we have finally arrived at a postracial America, but The Imperative of Integration indicates otherwise. Elizabeth Anderson demonstrates that, despite progress toward racial equality, African Americans remain disadvantaged on virtually all measures of well-being. Segregation remains a key cause of these problems, and Anderson skillfully shows why racial integration is needed to address these issues. Weaving together extensive social science findings — in economics, sociology, and psychology — with political theory, this book provides a compelling argument for reviving the ideal of racial integration to overcome injustice and inequality, and to build a better democracy.Considering the effects of segregation and integration across multiple social arenas, Anderson exposes the deficiencies of racial views on both the right and the left. She reveals the limitations of conservative explanations for black disadvantage in terms of cultural pathology within the black community and explains why color blindness is morally misguided. Multicultural celebrations of group differences are also not enough to solve our racial problems. Anderson provides a distinctive rationale for affirmative action as a tool for promoting integration, and explores how integration can be practiced beyond affirmative action.Offering an expansive model for practicing political philosophy in close collaboration with the social sciences, this book is a trenchant examination of how racial integration can lead to a more robust and responsive democracy.

The Classical Tradition


Anthony Grafton - 2010
    In this text, articles by a wide range of scholars investigate the afterlife of this rich heritage in the fields of literature, philosophy, politics, architecture, history, art, religion and science.

Whitefield's Letter to Wesley on Election


George Whitefield - 2010
    George Whitefield wrote this letter to John Wesley in 1740, in response to Wesley's sermon entitled "Free Grace." Whitefield believed the issue vital to robust Christianity, and hastened to write from Geor-gia in the American colonies, to his friend across the sea. From the Preface: "Many of my friends, that are strenuous advocates of universal redemption, will immediately be offended. Many that are zealous on the other side will be much rejoiced. They that are lukewarm on both sides, and are carried away with carnal reasoning, will wish this matter had never been brought under debate...I heartily pray God to hasten the time for his being clearly enlightened into all the doctrines of divine revelation, that we may thus be closely united in principle and judgment as well as heart and affection."

Principia Discordia


Frederic P. Miller - 2010
    It was originally published under the title "Principia Discordia or How The West Was Lost" in a limited edition of 5 copies in 1965. The name, meaning "The Principles of Strife," deviates from correct Latin which would read Principia Discordiae. The Principia is widely regarded as one of the most important Discordian works ever written. The Principia describes the Discordian Society and its Goddess Eris, as well as the basics of the POEE denomination of Discordianism. It features typewritten and handwritten text intermixed with clip art, stamps, and seals appropriated from other sources, possibly in violation of copyright laws

100 Voices: An Oral History of Ayn Rand


Scott McConnell - 2010
    Drawing on 100 never-before-published interviews, Scott McConnell presents a unique portrait of a larger-than-life literary giant and a fascinating individual, Ayn Rand. Focusing on the private Rand, McConnell talked to the author's family, friends, fans, and associates, as well as Hollywood stars, university professors, fiction writers, and many more. Arranged in chronological order, these interviews cover a broad range of years, contexts, relationships, and observations on one of the most influential- and controversial-figures of the twentieth century. From Ayn Rand's youngest sister to the woman who inspired the character of Peter Keating in The Fountainhead, the subjects interviewed offer fresh, sometimes surprisingly candid, affectionate, and intriguing insights into a complex and remarkable writer, philosopher, and human being.

Kamma and the End of Kamma


Ajahn Sucitto - 2010
    

The Heart of William James


William James - 2010
    The book concludes with The Moral Equivalent of War, one of the greatest anti-war pieces ever written, perhaps even more relevant now than when it was first published. In between, in essays on The Dilemma of Determinism, The Hidden Self, Habit, and The Will; in chapters from The Principles of Psychology and The Varieties of Religious Experience; and in such pieces as On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings, What Makes a Life Significant, and Philosophical Conceptions and Practical Results, we witness the evolution of James s philosophical thinking, his pragmatism, and his radical empiricism. Throughout, Richardson s deeply informed introductions place James s work in its proper biographical, historical, and philosophical context.In essay after essay, James calls us to live a fuller, richer, better life, to seek out and use our best energies and sympathies. As every day is the day of creation and judgment, so every age was once the new age and as this book makes abundantly clear, William James s writings are still the gateway to many a new world.

The Will to Power, Vols 1-2


Friedrich Nietzsche - 2010
    Though the title and all of the ideas are of the radical philosopher's own invention, the order and selection of Nietzsche's notebooks are due to the organization of his sister. As a result of his poor health, Nietzsche used his remaining energy to write a different work, leaving "The Will to Power" in the earliest stages of writing. The topics he explores vary widely and include nihilism, religion, morality, the theory of knowledge, and art. Some ideas are reflected in the works Nietzsche managed to complete in his lifetime, while others show his progression toward those ideas in his earlier life. Overall, "The Will to Power" is an opportunity to read the intellectual journaling of one of the nineteenth century's most brilliant thinkers.

Albert Camus: Elements of a Life


Robert Zaretsky - 2010
    I carried him in my backpack while traveling across Europe, I carried him into (and out of) relationships, and I carried him into (and out of) difficult periods of my life. More recently, I have carried him into university classes that I have taught, coming out of them with a renewed appreciation of his art. To be sure, my idea of Camus thirty years ago scarcely resembles my idea of him today. While my admiration and attachment to his writings remain as great as they were long ago, the reasons are more complicated and critical." Robert ZaretskyOn October 16, 1957, Albert Camus was dining in a small restaurant on Paris's Left Bank when a waiter approached him with news: the radio had just announced that Camus had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Camus insisted that a mistake had been made and that others were far more deserving of the honor than he. Yet Camus was already recognized around the world as the voice of a generation a status he had achieved with dizzying speed. He published his first novel, The Stranger, in 1942 and emerged from the war as the spokesperson for the Resistance and, although he consistently rejected the label, for existentialism. Subsequent works of fiction (including the novels The Plague and The Fall), philosophy (notably, The Myth of Sisyphus and The Rebel), drama, and social criticism secured his literary and intellectual reputation. And then on January 4, 1960, three years after accepting the Nobel Prize, he was killed in a car accident.In a book distinguished by clarity and passion, Robert Zaretsky considers why Albert Camus mattered in his own lifetime and continues to matter today, focusing on key moments that shaped Camus's development as a writer, a public intellectual, and a man. Each chapter is devoted to a specific event: Camus's visit to Kabylia in 1939 to report on the conditions of the local Berber tribes; his decision in 1945 to sign a petition to commute the death sentence of collaborationist writer Robert Brasillach; his famous quarrel with Jean-Paul Sartre in 1952 over the nature of communism; and his silence about the war in Algeria in 1956. Both engaged and engaging, Albert Camus: Elements of a Life is a searching companion to a profoundly moral and lucid writer whose works provide a guide for those perplexed by the absurdity of the human condition and the world's resistance to meaning.

The Perpetual Race of Achilles & the Tortoise


Jorge Luis Borges - 2010
    It examines the very nature of our lives, from cinema and books to history and religion.

The Right-Brain God


Michael Faust - 2010
    The problem for most people is that they don't know what the protocol is. In times of crisis, great stress or exceptional circumstances, they can inadvertently stumble on the right protocol for a few moments and enjoy the astonishing experience of encountering their soul. These are "epiphanies" and often they become the centerpiece of people's lives.So will you be one of the rare few who can enjoy the infinite good fortune of being able to make full soul contact, the greatest experience of all?Where is the soul? The first place to look for it is in fact inside our head. There is very good evidence that the right hemisphere of our brain is our link to the soul dimension, and to God himself.This is one of a series of books by the Pythagorean Illuminati. The religion of the Illuminati is called Illumination and belongs to the Gnostic tradition of enlightenment. Based on Pythagorean mathematics,it promotes reason and knowledge and is wholly opposed to religions offaith.Do not read this book if you are an Abrahamist, a conspiracy theorist or a freeloader. This book is only for rational, intelligent, open-mindedfreethinkers.Note that the books in this series are anti-Old World Order samizdat and agitprop publications that have been nowhere near the gatekeeperpublishing houses of the OWO. Completely uncensored, they are thevehicles of the purest free speech available in the world today. If they have a certain rough and ready anti-corporate quality, it's becausehuge teams of expensive, glossy capitalist "packagers" have had noinvolvement with the production of these books. If you want a coffeetable book, go somewhere else. If you want the truth, WELCOME!Join the Revolution!

Getting Right with Tao: A Contemporary Spin on the Tao Te Ching


Ron Hogan - 2010
    The original pragmatic treatise on personal development gets a contemporary, Tarantinoesque gloss in eighty-one spare, stripped-down chapters. What does it mean to be alive? What do you want from life? With a unique voice and incisive style, Hogan gets right to what matters.

Abraxas: Beyond Good And Evil


Michael Faust - 2010
    What is the truth regarding good and evil? Is the God of Abraham actually the Devil, as the ancient Gnostics maintained? Is this planet of ours hell, ruled over by the Prince of Darkness masquerading as God in the greatest deception of all time? Here is wisdom - the True God is Abraxas and his is the same message as Nietzsche's: we must learn to live BEYOND good and evil.

A Place for Truth: Leading Thinkers Explore Life's Hardest Questions


Dallas Willard - 2010
    But what about truth? In an age that disputes whether truth can be universalized beyond one's own personal experience, it seems quaint to speak of finding truth. But whether in the ivory towers of the academy or in the midst of our everyday lives, we continue to seek after the true, the beautiful and the good. Since its founding at Harvard in 1992, The Veritas Forum has provided a place for the university world to explore the deepest questions of truth and life. What does it mean to be human? Does history have a purpose? Is life meaningful? Can rational people believe in God? Now gathered in one volume are some of The Veritas Forum's most notable presentations, with contributions from Francis Collins, Tim Keller, N. T. Wright, Mary Poplin and more. Volume editor Dallas Willard introduces each presentation, highlighting its significance and putting it in context for us today. Also included are selected question and answer sessions with the speakers from the original forum experiences. Come eavesdrop on some of today's leading Christian thinkers and their dialogue partners. And consider how truth might find a place in your own life.Truth. Is there life after truth? / Richard John Neuhaus ; Time for truth / Os Guinness ; Reason for God : the exclusivity of truth / Timothy J. Keller --Faith and science. The language of God : a scientist presents evidence for belief / Francis S. Collins ; The new atheists and the meaning of life / Alister McGrath and David J. Helfand ; A scientist who looked and was found / Hugh Ross --Atheism. The psychology of atheism / Paul C. Vitz ; Nietzsche versus Jesus Christ / Dallas Willard --Meaning and humanity. Moral mammals : does atheism or theism provide the best foundation for human worth and morality? / Peter Singer and John Hare ; Living machines : can robots become human? / Rodney Brooks and Rosalind Picard ; The sense of an ending / Jeremy S. Begbie --Christian worldview. Simply Christian / N.T. Wright --Social justice. Why human rights are impossible without religion / John Warwick Montgomery ; Radical Marxist, radical womanist, radical love : what Mother Teresa taught me about social justice / Mary Poplin ; The whole gospel for the whole person / Ronald J. Sider

Envisioning Real Utopias


Erik Olin Wright - 2010
    Yet there has been a global retreat by the Left: on the assumption that liberal capitalism is the only game in town, political theorists tend to dismiss as utopian any attempt to rethink our social and economic relations. As Fredric Jameson first argued, it is now easier for us to imagine the end of the world than an alternative to capitalism.Erik Olin Wright’s Envisioning Real Utopias is a comprehensive assault on the quietism of contemporary social theory. Building on a lifetime’s work analyzing the class system in the developed world, as well as exploring the problem of the transition to a socialist alternative, Wright has now completed a systematic reconstruction of the core values and feasible goals for Left theorists and political actors. Envisioning Real Utopias aims to put the social back into socialism, laying the foundations for a set of concrete, emancipatory alternatives to the capitalist system. Characteristically rigorous and engaging, this will become a landmark of social thought for the twenty-first century.

Selected Journals, 1841-1877


Ralph Waldo Emerson - 2010
    Yet his most remarkable literary creation-his journals- remained unpublished. Begun when he was a precocious Harvard junior of 16 and continued without significant lapse for almost 60 years, Emerson's journals were his life's work. They were the starting point for virtually everything in his celebrated essays, lectures, and poems; a "Savings Bank," in which his occasional insights began to cohere and yield interest; a commonplace book, in which he gathered the choicest anecdotes, ideas, and phrases from his voracious and wide-ranging reading; and a fascinating diary in the ordinary sense of the term. It would be a hundred years after his death before these intimate records would appear in print in their entirety, and they are still, at over three million words, among the least known and least available of Emerson's writings. The journals reveal what Emerson called "the infinitude of the private man"-by turns whimsical, incisive, passionate, curious, and candid-in astonishing new ways. With Selected Journals 1841-1877 and its companion volume Selected Journals 1820-1842, The Library of America presents the most ample and comprehensive nonspecialist edition of Emerson's great work ever published-one that retains the original order in which he composed his thoughts and preserves the dramatic range of his unique style in long, uninterrupted passages, but without the daunting critical apparatus of the 16-volume scholarly edition. This volume opens with an Emerson at the height of his powers, soon to write his celebrated essays "Experience" and "Self-Reliance," and in the midst of a vibrant intellectual circle. It follows his anguished reactions to the nation's intensifying political turmoil: his anger at the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, his antislavery activism, and his day- to-day experience of the Civil War (including a wartime trip to Washington, D.C., where he met President Lincoln). Along the way, he laments untimely losses: his first-born son Waldo at the age of five, and his friends Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller. By the end of his life, Emerson was a revered national figure; the volume includes his final journal writings. Edited by Lawrence Rosenwald-Anne Pierce Rogers Professor of American Literature at Wellesley College and author of Emerson and the Art of the Diary-each volume includes a 16-page portfolio of images of Emerson and his contemporaries, a note on the selections, extensive notes, biographical sketches, a chronology, and an index.

From the Heart of Tibet: The Biography of Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche, the Holder of the Drikung Kagyu Lineage


Elmar R. Grüber - 2010
    Two decades later, he walked out of Tibet and started on his journey of fully taking on leadership of the Drikung Kagyu lineage. Since then the teachings of this lineage have flourished and are practiced all around the world—after nearly being lost.

10 Books Every Conservative Must Read: Plus Four Not to Miss and One Impostor


Benjamin Wiker - 2010
    Offering a guide to some of the most important literary works of our time, Wiker turns his discerning eye from the great texts that have done so much damage to Western Civilization to the great texts that could help rebuild it. 10 Books Every Conservative Must Read features a range of works from classics such as Democracy in America and The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, to more "pop" classics like Sense and Sensibility and The Tempest. Through these works, Wiker reveals some of the most important lessons for our time as well as the true meaning of conservatism. Written with an educational purpose and witty tone, this is a must-read for conservatives, Republicans, and booklovers everywhere!

The God Within Me


Michael Faust - 2010
    They failed, but everything they sought has been accomplished by the ancient and controversial secret society known as the Illuminati.The Illuminati have provided a framework for understanding all phenomena of whatever nature, scientific or paranormal. Discover their startling theory of everything. It explains Rupert Sheldrake's theory of Morphic Resonance, homeopathy, out-of-body and near-death experiences, synchronicity, remote viewing, hypnosis and many other previously inexplicable phenomena.And read about "dream gnosis", the extraordinary means by which the fortunate few encounter their inner God.The religion of the Illuminati is called Illumination and belongs to the Gnostic tradition of enlightenment. Based on Pythagorean mathematics,it promotes reason and knowledge and is wholly opposed to religions offaith.Do not read this book if you are an Abrahamist, a conspiracy theorist or a freeloader. This book is only for rational, intelligent, open-mindedfreethinkers.Note that the books in this series are anti-Old World Order samizdat and agitprop publications that have been nowhere near the gatekeeperpublishing houses of the OWO. Completely uncensored, they are thevehicles of the purest free speech available in the world today. If they have a certain rough and ready anti-corporate quality, it's becausehuge teams of expensive, glossy capitalist "packagers" have had noinvolvement with the production of these books. If you want a coffeetable book, go somewhere else. If you want the truth, WELCOME!Join the Revolution!

Living in the Village


Ryan C. Mack - 2010
    Ryan Mack, Wall Streeter-come-financial advisor, has written LIVING IN THE VILLAGE for those who need a clear, accessible and tangible plan for getting personal finances in order once and for all. In a frank, accessible voice, Ryan C. Mack provides simple, easy-to-understand financial advice that you can implement right away. He developed a seven-step plan, featuring critical advice for:  - Eliminating debt - Improving credit - Creating an emergency fund - Maximizing the company retirement plan and IRA - Avoiding financial predators - Diversifying your investments - Establishing a financial legacy for future generationsEach step of the way, LIVING IN THE VILLAGE not only educates you about financial planning tricks and pitfalls, but also, through numerous personal testimonies from ordinary people doing extraordinary things in their communities, shows you how to give back and contribute to the economic advancement to your community.

The Complete Writings of Thomas Paine


Thomas Paine - 2010
    

Knowledge, Language, Thought and The Civilization of Islam: Essays in Honor of Syed Muhammad Naquib al–Attas


Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud - 2010
    Afifi al–Akiti and H. A. Hellyer7 ILLUMINATIVE KNOWLEDGE IN MAWLANA RUMIBilal Kuspinar8 KANT AND GHAZALI ON HUMAN NATURE:A Comparative Philosophy of ManAlparslan Acikgenc9 DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS THROUGH THE CORRIDORS OF FAITH AND MIND:Some thoughts concerning the philosophy of SyedMuhammad Naquib al–Attas and its contribution forproper understanding of Conditio HumanaFerid Muhic10 PROLEGOMENA TO WEST AND EAST:Kant and Ibn KhaldunErnest Wolf–Gazo11 CHALLENGES FOR EDUCATION IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION Marietta Stepanyants12 EVOLUTION:The Epitome of the Emerging Contemporaneous Global CivilizationSaban Teoman Durah13 SCIENCE IN ADAB LITERATUREPaul Lettinck14 SCIENCE CONNECTING SCHOLARS AND CULTURES IN KHWARAZM:The Case of Khwarazmshah Ma’mun Ibn Ma’munHans Daiber15 SOME REMARKS ON THE WAKF INSTITUTION IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIREMehmet Ipsirli16 ISLAMIC CAPTILALISM AND THE WESTMurat Cizakca17 AL–ATTAS’ CONCEPT OF HAPPINESS:A Reflection on the Contemporary Meaning of DevelopmentAmer Al–Roubaie18 THAI–IRANIAN RELATIONS IN HISTORY:A Glance at the Persian Community in the Ayutthaya KingdomM. Ismail Marcinkowski19 THE NAME AND THE NAMED:On the Extent of Hamzah Fansuri’s Renown in the Malay Indonesian World (Notes and Materials)Vladimir Braginsky20 SUFISM AND ARCHITECTURAL ART IN THE MALAY WORLDMd. Salleh Yaapar21 CONCERNING ONE NAME MENTIONED IN THE TUHFAT AL–NAFIS:Two Interesting RevelationsTatiana Denisova22 THE CORRECT DATE OF THE TERENGGANU INSCRIPTION:Reconfirmed using Astronomical Computer ProgramsMuhammad Zainiy Uthman and Azlan Hashim23 BIBLIOGRAPHY24 INDEX

Apologetics For The Twenty First Century


Louis A. Markos - 2010
    S. Lewis brought about a shift in the discipline of apologetics, moving the conversation from the ivory tower to the public square. The resulting strain of popular apologetics—which weaves through Lewis into twentieth-century writers like Francis Schaeffer and modern apologists like William Lane Craig, Josh McDowell, and Lee Strobel—has equipped countless believers to defend their faith against its detractors. Apologetics for the Twenty-first Century uses Lewis’s work as the starting point for an absorbing survey of the key apologists and major arguments that inform apologetics today. Like apologists before him, Markos writes to engage Christians of all denominations as well as seekers and skeptics. His narrative, “man of letters” style and short chapters make Apologetics for the Twenty-first Century easily accessible for the general reader. But an extensive and heavily annotated bibliography, detailed timeline, list of prominent apologists, and glossary of common terms will satisfy the curiosity of the seasoned academic, as the book prepares all readers to meet the particular challenges of defending the faith today.

High Priests of Hell


Adam Weishaupt - 2010
    You may have a Hollywood image in your head of noble, heroic men, inspired by God and doing his holy work.Think again. It's time to discover the sordid truth. Abraham was the world's first recorded psychopath, willing to slaughter his own son as a human sacrifice to his monstrous "God". In the Islamic telling of the tale, "Satan" begged three times for the boy's life and was three times violently driven away. If God orders the death of the innocent and Satan tries to save them, which one is truly Satan?Moses was a prince of Egypt and one of the followers of the heretic Pharaoh, Akhenaten. The Hebrews loathed Moses and wanted to kill him, eventually succeeding at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Mountain of "God", during the massacre that erupted as a result of the "golden calf" incident.St Paul was a high priest of the cult of Mithras who had the audacity to blend it with Judaic Messianism, giving birth to the bizarre religion of Christianity, a theological miscarriage of a religion for ignoramuses.Do not read this book if you are a blinkered, irrational Abrahamist who prefers faith over knowledge, propaganda over facts. Your beliefs are false in every way. Get over it.Do not read this book if you are a conspiracy theorist or a freeloader. You are wasting our time and your own.This is a book by the Pythagorean Illuminati, the most ancient secret society in the world. The Illuminati's religion is Illumination, a mathematical, scientific and philosophical version of Gnosticism. This is the world's only rational and true religion.

The Logic of Desire: Aquinas on Emotion


Nicholas E. Lombardo - 2010
    His influence on medieval and early modern philosophy was enormous, overshadowing every other medieval author on the topic of emotion. Although Aquinas's account of emotion merits attention for its historical significance and enduring value, it remains neglected by philosophers and theologians. With emotion emerging as a focus of interest in many disciplines, the time is ripe for a reconsideration of Aquinas's contribution. Desire and emotion are central to Aquinas's theological project, and his views on many topics, including the relationship between cognition and emotion, show remarkable prescience in the light of recent developments. Emotion is particularly important to his understanding of virtue and vice. Focusing on the Summa theologiae, Nicholas Lombardo contributes to the recovery, reconstruction, and critique of Aquinas's account of emotion in dialogue with both the Thomist tradition and contemporary analytic philosophy. It considers Aquinas's thought on emotion in its historical context and inner logic, and shows how it bears on larger issues in his anthropology and ethics. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nicholas E. Lombardo is a Dominican priest engaged in research at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.PRAISE FOR THE BOOK: "Nicholas Lombardo's beautifully argued and carefully documented book is a persuasive retrieval of what Saint Thomas himself obviously regarded as essential to our understanding of the moral and spiritual life--even more important now than in his own day."--Fergus Kerr, O.P., Honorary Fellow, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh"This book is a fine and much needed retrieval of what constitutes emotion in the writings of Thomas Aquinas, bringing precision and clarification where it was previously wanting. At the very least, Lombardo's careful work will demand attention from anyone who writes in this area of Thomas's thought in the future." -The Thomist

On Freedom, Love, and Power


Jacques Ellul - 2010
    During the Second World War, he was active in the French resistance; his efforts to save Jews during this time eventually earned him the title .Righteous Among the Nations.. A towering intellectual figure, Ellul taught in Paris and at the University of Bordeaux, wrote and published extensively, and engaged throughout his career in a dialogue between the realities of technology and contemporary life, the tenets of the Christian faith, and the principles of human freedom. Transcribed here for the first time, this series of talks refines and clarifies some of Ellul's most controversial insights into what it means to understand and live out God's wishes.Ellul's evaluation of a number of interrelated books of Scripture, including Genesis, Job, Matthew, and John, challenges Jewish and Christian orthodoxies and more progressive interpretations alike by claiming that the Judeo-Christian tradition is both anti-moral and anti-religious. Promoting a life based on freedom and love, Ellul's thinking opens the door to, in his words, .thinking globally and acting locally..

I Ching: Walking your path, creating your future


Hilary Barrett - 2010
    The Chinese Zhou people developed this Book of Changes. The I-Ching is an ancient Chinese oracle, a proven tool of divination that can help readers foresee the future. It is a complete guide to change: understanding it, moving with it, creating it. It describes change that is transformative and seasonal, global and personal, incremental and revolutionary. It tells stories of great historical change, and it sketches tiny vignettes of everyday life—marrying, surviving an illness, repairing a well.The beautifully designed pages of this book, along with its striking flexibound cover will appeal to the reference and gift markets. This manual includes all 64 hexagrams with key questions delineating the main themes, and step-by-step instructions on how to cast a hexagram, with three coins or with yarrow stalks or beads. The book also offers simple techniques for discovering the personal meaning of the answers you receive and suggests ways to carry your readings into daily life.This attractive, practical I Ching for divination pays homage to the original text while supporting the modern user with lucid explanations and guidelines for interpreting the oracle.

Hope in a Scattering Time: A Life of Christopher Lasch


Eric Miller - 2010
    His work consistently probed the nations political and cultural terrain, considering the unruly thrust of Americas history and the possibilities of a better way. Hope in a Scattering Time is the first and only full biography of this towering intellectual figure. Miller plumbed Lasch's published writings, his correspondence, and interviews and correspondence with his friends, students, and colleagues to create this comprehensive biography. In these pages Eric Miller captures the evolving nature of Lasch's understanding of the world and his fight for clarity and insight in a muddled age. Christopher Lasch's sharp, prophetic stance caused many in his time to rethink what they thought they had understood, and to consider the world anew. Fifteen years after Lasch's death, the time is ripe to once again follow his lead and to reassess how we view and understand our world.

Combat Focus Shooting: Evolution


Rob Pincus - 2010
    This dramatically updated and expanded book replaces the first book on the program written by Rob Pincus in 2006.CFS:E2010 goes into extreme detail about the principles and concepts that underly this proven defensive shooting skill development approach. There is no more efficient way to develop defensive shooting skills and this book explains both How and WHY you should be training in the Combat Focus Shooting Methodology.Books includes drills & detailed coaching principles!

Nietzsche: The God of Groundhog Day


Michael Faust - 2010
    Is Groundhog Day the greatest philosophical movie of all time? Under the rom-com exterior, this seminal film touches on Nietzsche's eternal recurrence, Camus' Myth of Sisyphus, and the possibility of becoming a Superman and even God.