The Treasure of a Friend


John C. Maxwell - 1999
    Motivational speaker John Maxwell's enthusiasm and encouragement make you want to be a better friend and to give this colorful book to one.

The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists


Ravi Zacharias - 2008
    When author Sam Harris confronted Christianity in Letter to a Christian Nation, reviewers called the book "marvelous" and a generation of readers--hundreds of thousands of them--were drawn to his message. Deeply troubled, Dr. Ravi Zacharias knew that he had to respond.For over thirty years, Dr. Zacharias has been an acclaimed apologist for Christian thought and belief. In this response, he gives a strong and rational answer to Harris's claims and questions, such as:Is your God real, or just an "imaginary friend"?How can a loving God exist when there is so much suffering?Have Christians waged senseless war on other faiths, on the environment, and on each other in the name of a nonexistent God?In Zacharias's compelling and uplifting response, he spells out:The true nature of evilThe bankruptcy of an atheistic worldviewThe coexistence of religion and scienceThe foundation of moralityThe power and goodness of GodDr. Zacharias's words are not only for those who have read the writings of the new atheists, but also for Christians who have felt their beliefs come under fire in the marketplace of ideas. His powerful, passionate message will ignite you with the hope of the gospel and the authority of Jesus Christ's teachings.

The Malaise of Modernity


Charles Taylor - 1991
    To Taylor, self-fulfillment, although often expressed in self-centered ways, isn't necessarily a rejection of traditional values and social commitment; it also reflects something authentic and valuable in modern culture. Only by distinguishing what is good in this modern striving from what is socially and politically dangerous, Taylor says, can our age be made to deliver its promise.

Infinite Potential: What Quantum Physics Reveals About How We Should Live


Lothar Schäfer - 2013
    With his own research as well as that of some of the most distinguished scientists of our time, Schäfer moves us from a reality of Darwinian competition to cooperation, a meaningless universe to a meaningful one, and a disconnected, isolated existence to an interconnected one. In so doing, he shows us that our potential is infinite and calls us to live in accordance with the order of the universe, creating a society based on the cosmic principle of connection, emphasizing cooperation and community.

Reconstruction in Philosophy


John Dewey - 1919
    Dewey's lectures have lost none of their vigor … The historical approach, which underlay the central argument, is beautifully exemplified in his treatments of the origin of philosophy." — Philosophy and Phenomenological Research."It was with this book that Dewey fully launched his campaign for experimental philosophy." — The New Republic.Written shortly after the shattering effects of World War I, John Dewey's Reconstruction in Philosophy offers an insightful introduction to the concept of pragmatic humanism. The eminent philosopher presents persuasive arguments against traditional philosophical constructs, suggesting their basis in self-justification; instead, he proposes an examination of core values in terms of their ultimate effects on the self and others. Dewey's experimental philosophy represented a significant departure from its predecessor, utilitarianism, and it was received with both outrage and acclaim for daring to mingle ethics and science.Delivered in 1919 as a series of lectures at Tokyo's Imperial University of Japan, Dewey's landmark work appears here in an enlarged edition that features an informative introduction by the author, written more than 25 years after the book's initial publication.

Logics of History: Social Theory and Social Transformation


William H. Sewell Jr. - 2005
    William H. Sewell Jr. observes that on questions of theory the communication has been mostly one way: from social science to history. Logics of History argues that both history and the social sciences have something crucial to offer each other. While historians do not think of themselves as theorists, they know something social scientists do not: how to think about the temporalities of social life. On the other hand, while social scientists’ treatments of temporality are usually clumsy, their theoretical sophistication and penchant for structural accounts of social life could offer much to historians.Renowned for his work at the crossroads of history, sociology, political science, and anthropology, Sewell argues that only by combining a more sophisticated understanding of historical time with a concern for larger theoretical questions can a satisfying social theory emerge. In Logics of History, he reveals the shape such an engagement could take, some of the topics it could illuminate, and how it might affect both sides of the disciplinary divide.

Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge


Karl Popper - 1963
    It provides one of the clearest and most accessible statements of the fundamental idea that guided his work: not only our knowledge, but our aims and our standards, grow through an unending process of trial and error.

Born Knowing


John Holland - 2003
    He refused to acknowledge his gift until a near-fatal automobile accident amplified his skills to the point that he had to learn how to control what was once pushed away.Drawn by the history and knowledge of spiritualism in England, John went on a two-year journey throughout Great Britain. He tells the story of his training in the British spiritualist organizations and his time at Arthur Findlay College, an institution for psychic studies that John refers to humorously as "Spirit Boot Camp." He goes on to explain how he gained acceptance and respect within this tightly knit, often-conservative spiritual community.Throughout Born Knowing, John presents real-life case studies where he discusses his readings with clients, the effect on their lives, and the sense of closure people feel, knowing that their loved ones who have passed on are still with them.The book will also help you discover and develop your own psychic and intuitive abilities, recognize signals from the Other Side, and make spiritual connections for yourself.

Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies


C.G. Jung - 1958
    In this essay, Jung applies his analytical skills to the UFO phenomenon. Rather than assuming that the modern prevalence of UFO sightings are due to extraterrestrial craft, Jung reserves judgment on their origin & connects UFOs with archetypal imagery, concluding that they have become a "living myth." This essay is intriguing in its methodology & implications as to the nature of UFOs & their relation to the human psyche.

The Ethics of Belief


William Kingdon Clifford - 1877
    A dynamic table of contents enables to jump directly to the chapter selected. Table of Contents - About This Book - The Duty Of Inquiry - The Weight Of Authority - The Limits Of Inference

Kuhn vs. Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science


Steve Fuller - 2003
    In contrast, Karl Popper's seminal book "The Logic of Scientific Discovery" has lapsed into relative obscurity. Although the two men debated the nature of science only once, the legacy of this encounter has dominated intellectual and public discussions on the topic ever since.Almost universally recognized as the modern watershed in the philosophy of science, Kuhn's relativistic vision of shifting paradigms--which asserted that science was just another human activity, like art or philosophy, only more specialized--triumphed over Popper's more positivistic belief in science's revolutionary potential to falsify society's dogmas. But has this victory been beneficial for science? Steve Fuller argues that not only has Kuhn's dominance had an adverse impact on the field but both thinkers have been radically misinterpreted in the process. This debate raises a vital question: Can science remain an independent, progressive force in society, or is it destined to continue as the technical wing of the military-industrial complex? Drawing on original research--including the Kuhn archives at MIT--Fuller offers a clear account of "Kuhn vs. Popper" and what it will mean for the future of scientific inquiry.

Making the Social World: The Structure of Human Civilization


John Rogers Searle - 2009
    Now he offers a profound understanding of how we create a social reality--a reality of money, property, governments, marriages, stock markets and cocktail parties. The paradox he addresses in Making the Social World is that these facts only exist because we think they exist and yet they have an objective existence. Continuing a line of investigation begun in his earlier book The Construction of Social Reality, Searle identifies the precise role of language in the creation of all "institutional facts." His aim is to show how mind, language and civilization are natural products of the basic facts of the physical world described by physics, chemistry and biology. Searle explains how a single linguistic operation, repeated over and over, is used to create and maintain the elaborate structures of human social institutions. These institutions serve to create and distribute power relations that are pervasive and often invisible. These power relations motivate human actions in a way that provides the glue that holds human civilization together. Searle then applies the account to show how it relates to human rationality, the freedom of the will, the nature of political power and the existence of universal human rights. In the course of his explication, he asks whether robots can have institutions, why the threat of force so often lies behind institutions, and he denies that there can be such a thing as a "state of nature" for language-using human beings.

Being Taoist: Wisdom for Living a Balanced Life


Eva Wong - 2015
         Taoism isn’t a spiritual extracurricular activity, it’s an integral practice for living all of  life to the fullest.  The modern Taoist adept Eva Wong is your guide to living well according to the wisdom of this ancient system.  She uses the ancient texts to demonstrate the Taoist masters’ approach to the traditional four aspects of life--the public, the domestic, the private, and the spiritual—and shows how learning to balance them is the secret to  infusing your life with health, harmony, and deep satisfaction.​

Philosophy of Natural Science


Carl G. Hempel - 1966
    This volume explores the logic and methodology of scientific inquiry rather than its substantive results.

Ethical Intuitionism


Michael Huemer - 2005
    The author rebuts all the major objections to this theory and shows that the alternative theories about the nature of ethics all face grave difficulties.