Book picks similar to
The Tree of Knowledge and Other Essays by Georg Henrik von Wright
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Eight Pillars of Greek Wisdom: What You Can Learn from Classical Myth and History
Stephen Bertman - 2003
They lived life to the fullest, loved unashamedly, listened to their heart’s desires, and created one of the most advanced, culturally sophisticated societies ever known. Is all that now dead and buried? Or only for the professors to mull over?One classics scholar, Dr. Stephen Bertman, answers this resoundingly in The Eight Pillars of Greek Wisdom. He shows how to bring passion and excellence to the center of your daily life, as the ancient Greeks intended them to be. The lessons they learned—that life is brief and fragile and time is too precious to waste; that we do not know who we are until we discover who we can be; that we cannot undertake our voyage through life alone; that there will be obstacles along the way, but the greatest obstacle is within—led them to develop what Bertman describes as eight guiding principles of wisdom:
Humanism
The Pursuit of Excellence
The Practice of Moderation
Self-Knowledge
Rationalism
Restless Curiosity
The Love of Freedom
Individualism
These eight pillars are explored in the book. Each is illuminated through vivid examples drawn from the rich heritage of classical history and mythology, including tales of gods and goddess, heroes and heroines, adventure and exploration, and self-discovery and personal triumph.
You Kant Make it Up!: Strange Ideas from History's Great Philosophers
Gary Hayden - 2011
Augustine said that babies deserve to go to hell. Berkeley asserted that matter doesn’t exist. Bentham would have argued that Dan Brown is better than Shakespeare. All these statements stem from philosophy’s greatest minds. What were they thinking? Overflowing with compelling arguments for the downright strange – many of which are hugely influential today – popular philosopher Gary Hayden shows that just because something is odd, doesn’t mean that someone hasn’t argued for it. Spanning ethics, logic, politics, sex and religion, this unconventional introduction to philosophy will challenge your assumptions, expand your horizons, infuriate, entertain and amuse you. Gary Hayden is a journalist and popular philosopher. He has a master’s degree in philosophy and has written for The Times Educational Supplement. He is the author of This Book Does Not Exist: Adventures in the Paradoxical.
Something in This Book is True...: The Official Companion to Nothing in This Book is True, But It's Exactly How Things Are
Bob Frissell - 1997
Written in Bob Frissell's warm, personal style with updated commentary, Something in This Book Is True is both an account of Frissell's journey to inner discovery and empowerment and a most unusual reader's guide. Delving into topics as eclectic as polarity consciousness, emotional body clearing, and higher selves, Frissell affirms that humanity is composed of spiritual beings having human experiences—not vice versa. This new edition incorporates photos and illustrations into Frissell's engaging text.
How to Be Holy: First Steps in Becoming a Saint
Peter Kreeft - 2016
This question is central to all the great religions, Kreeft demonstrates, for striving toward holiness, moving toward perfect love, is the whole purpose of life.Kreeft admits that he is only a beginner on the climb to holiness, and it is to novices like him that he has written this engaging and encouraging book. Using the insights and experiences of saints and great spiritual writers throughout history, Kreeft shows what holiness is and how it can be achieved. He especially draws upon the spiritual classic Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J. The core of Caussade's timeless gem is that God reveals himself to all of us through the daily events of our lives. The surest way toward spiritual growth, therefore, is by perceiving and accepting the merciful will of God in every situation.Kreeft stresses the simplicity of his approach to holiness, which focuses mainly on the virtue of love. Sanctity is love, he asserts, and only that can give us what we all long for—deep and lasting joy.
The Heathen's Guide to World Religions: A Secular History of the 'One True Faiths'
William Hopper - 2000
"Hopper represents the most lethal of organized religions many opponents: a curious, well-educated individual with a sharp wit." Queen's University Journal Review "Wickedly fun and informative." Toronto Star "The Heathen's Guide To World Religions has taken up permanent residence on my bookshelves... a masterfully written, wonderfully funny, and deliciously snarky trip down religious lane." Al Stefanelli, UNITED ATHEIST FRONT. "Like Monty Python in religious garb... easily one of the best places to invest your book buying dollar." Georgia Straight
Pathways to Joy: The Master Vivekananda on the Four Yoga Paths to God
Vivekananda - 2006
He showed that, far from being an exotic novelty, Hinduism was an important, legitimate spiritual tradition with valuable lessons for the West. Pathways to Joy is a selection of 108 of his sacred teachings on Vedanta philosophy. In accessible and powerful prose, Vivekananda illuminates the four classical yoga paths — karma, bhakti, raja, and jnana — for the different natures of humankind. The messages focus on the oneness of existence; the divinity of the soul; the truth in all religions; and unifying with the Divine within. Invaluable and inspiring, the selections also explore karma, maya, rebirth, and other great revelations of Hinduism.
Introduction to Vedanta
Dayananda Saraswati - 1998
Yet, each moment of joy is only that: momentary, showing up the rest of our lives to be unsatisfying, somehow lacking and incomplete. On the other hand, Vedanta, the body of knowledge found at the end of the Veda, asserts with breathtaking boldness that one's true nature is completeness and limitlessness. Vedanta also promises that moksa, liberation from all forms of limitations that seem to bind a human being, is possible here and now. In this lucid, lively introduction to Vedanta, Swami Dayananda shows how man's constant struggle to overcome these limitations through the ceaseless pursuit of security and pleasure are predestined to failure for the simple reason that they are misdirected: they stem from a failure in understanding the real nature of the fundamental problem itself. All effort howsoever great or unremitting being limited, the result of such effort is also bound to be equally limited, inadequate. The road to freedom from limitation, then, can scarcely lie that way. Indeed, asserts Vedanta, it is only to be found in the correct knowledge of one's true nature as absolute. This vital first step, a clear understanding of man's fundamental problem of ignorance and error about his real nature. Is what this book is all about.
A HYPNOTIST'S JOURNEY TO ATLANTIS: EYE WITNESS ACCOUNTS OF OUR ANCIENT HISTORY
SARAH Breskman Cosme - 2020
2022: What Will Happen to Us When the Anunnaki Return to Earth In 2022?
Jean-Maximillien De La Croix de Lafayette - 2013
The MOST IMPORTANT, INFORMATIVE AND EXPLOSIVE BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT THE ANUNNAKI, THEIR WORLD, THEIR RETURN TO EARTH, AND PLAN FOR HUMANITY in:• 2,034 A.D. • 2,031-2,033 A.D. • 2,029 A.D. • 2,028 A.D. • 2,027-2,026 A.D. • 2,026 A.D. • 2,025 A.D. • 2,024 A.D. • 2,022-2023 A.D. • The author, Maximillien de Lafayette, have been so fortunate as to study with the Anunnaki Ulema who are the guardians of this knowledge in Egypt, Iraq, the islands of Arwad and Cyprus. This is the first time he is making use of this depot of knowledge about the Return of the Anunnaki to Planet Earth, and we are very lucky to have access to it. The subjects introduced in this book are explosive. Most important is the fact that it reveals the potential return of the Anunnaki in 2022, and the most frightening transformation that it would bring to the earth. If this is going to happen, a huge number of the people on earth, those grossly contaminated by Grays’ DNA, will be annihilated. You know who they are – the child murderers, the rapists, those who torture, those who abuse, the vicious politicians, the slaves of money and power, etc. Yes, we all know who they are. But the Anunnaki, who have no false sentimentality at all, will not tolerate even a medium level contamination. Unless they do their best to clean themselves during the grace period of the next 9 years, those of mid level contamination will also be destroyed. Those who would manage to clean themselves to a certain degree may possibly (but without any guarantee) be able to escape the burning, smoking earth through special portals, called Ba’abs. For those of us interested in the use of esoteric codes, they are here for you to learn. Each term will teach you how to use it for your benefit, how to apply it not only to your spiritual growth, but to your business, relationships, and daily life. You will learn how to interpret the codes in many ancient languages, how to build a physical amulet/code that will protect certain aspects of your life, and how to develop your psychic and extrasensory powers by simply using these codes. You will learn how the Anunnaki, our original creators, and how God fit into all this. Religion, true and false, will be explored. Jesus, who never really died on the Cross, will be shown as a historical figure, with his wife, Mary Magdalene, with whom he escaped to ancient Marseille. Who were Adam and Eve? Who was the Serpent? How do the gods of Sumer signify to us? The book is arranged in the time-honoured tradition of questions and answers.The return of the Anunnaki is not a new idea. It has been already announced in sacred scriptures, but of course interpreted differently. Some said Jesus is an Anunnaki, and he will return as a cosmic Messiah. A new school of religious thought in Iran suggests that Mohammed will return as a celestial being. And we should not to forget the Rapture and the Gnostics as well. But all of them have their origin in the Anunnaki texts, because these texts were written thousands of years before the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Quran. The book will explore this topic and includes:• What Is Going To Happen To Organized Religions?• How Will The Human Mind Benefit From The Anunnaki Connection?.• What Will Happen To The Teachings Of Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, And Buddha, If The Anunnaki Demolish All Religions And Our Religious Beliefs Systems?• What Will Happen To The Vast Number
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.
How to Sound Cultured: Master The 300 Names That Intellectuals Love To Drop Into Conversation
Thomas W. Hodgkinson - 2015
Hodgkinson offer you a wry look inside the mirrored palaces of high culture.Read this book and you'll never again mistake Hegel for Engels, you'll know when precisely to drop Foucault's name into a conversation and how to pronounce "Borgesian," and you'll learn many more essential pointers for the intellectual life.
Heidegger Explained: From Phenomenon to Thing
Graham Harman - 2007
And more than any other recent philosopher, Heidegger has a following outside philosophy, among artists, architects, literary theorists, psychologists, and computer scientists.Heidegger Explained is the clearest exposition of Heidegger yet written. It describes his controversial life and career, his relations with contemporaries, the evolution of his thought, and the pathways of his influence.
A Brief Tour of Higher Consciousness: A Cosmic Book on the Mechanics of Creation
Itzhak Bentov - 2000
• Explains some of the most difficult concepts of physics and heightened consciousness in ways that are easily understood. • Presents a model for the interaction of the universe and human thought that has profound implications for our future. All aboard for the excursion of a lifetime as Itzhak Bentov, the celebrated engineer, inventor, and mystic, takes you on a tour of the universe, pure consciousness, and all that lies beyond. Using comical sketches, simple metaphors, and his famous wit and humor, Bentov explains the nature of reality, points out the sights in Nirvana and the Void, and eventually takes you to a meeting with your higher self. Along the way, Bentov illuminates the Kabbalistic principles of number and sound, the meaning of cosmic shapes and symbols, the consciousness of devas, and the nature of the absolute. Ultimately, he shows that the universe and thought are inseparable, and that the thoughts of all human beings affect each other and in turn the whole universe--an idea with obvious and far-reaching implications. Anyone interested in the inner reaches of the mind, the greater structure of the cosmos, and the spiritual evolution of humanity will find A Brief Tour of Higher Consciousness an informed and delightful traveling companion.
Voltaire: A Life from Beginning to End
Hourly History - 2019
Free BONUS Inside! Voltaire, born François-Marie Arouet in Paris, France, was a writer and leading figure of the Enlightenment. His insistence that all authority could and must be questioned was so radical, he ended up in prison several times and was ultimately exiled. Voltaire’s writings were instrumental in influencing the American and French revolutions. Man as a being with natural rights was a radical concept at the time, but one which the American founding fathers embraced. Voltaire’s anger was specifically directed at the arbitrary powers of the state and the church. The French legal system treated aristocrats differently than ordinary citizens. The Catholic church, too, wielded its dictatorial power. Voltaire incurred the wrath of both kings and bishops with his unrelenting attacks on such abuses of freedom. Unwilling to be silenced, Voltaire continued his demand for individual freedom throughout the span of his entire life. Only after his death was he officially welcomed back to Paris, and Voltaire’s remains now rest in the Parisian Panthéon, the burial place for the country’s national heroes. Discover a plethora of topics such as
Literary Success and Financial Failure
Émilie: The Love of His Life
Years in Exile
Candide and Morality
Voltaire’s Final Year and Death
And much more!
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Jung: The Key Ideas
Ruth Snowden - 2010
Explaining Jung's complex ideas in simple terms, and backing it up with references to his own texts, you will learn all the essential concepts, from the collective unconscious to archetypes in dreams. You will learn about Jung's upbringing and the development of his thinking. Discover his early work and influences and how they came to shape his ideological and spiritual development. The intricacies of Jung's complex systems of thought are discussed in a straightforward and jargon-free way with particular focus on his lifelong fascination with the spiritual, the numinous, the inner world and the self-realization of the unconscious. Jung's exploration of mythology, dreams, visions and fantasies, as well as his studies into the journey of the psyche, are all explained, making often complex theories easy to get to grips with and the book also looks at his legacy and how his work and ideas have shaped psychology with many therapists still trained in the Jungian method.