It presents a profound and challenging investigation into the nature of human reason, its knowledge and its illusions. Reason, Kant argues, is the seat of certain concepts that precede experience and make it possible, but we are not therefore entitled to draw conclusions about the natural world from these concepts. The Critique brings together the two opposing schools of philosophy: rationalism, which grounds all our knowledge in reason, and empiricism, which traces all our knowledge to experience. Kant's transcendental idealism indicates a third way that goes far beyond these alternatives.

    Now he brings his historical acumen and political savvy to this fresh, new interpretation of The Federalist Papers, the 18th-century collection of political essays that defined and shaped our Constitution and laid bare the “original argument” between states’ rights and big federal government—a debate as relevant and urgent today as it was at the birth of our nation.Adapting a selection of these essential essays—pseudonymously authored by the now well-documented triumvirate of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay—for a contemporary audience, Glenn Beck has had them reworked into “modern” English so as to be thoroughly accessible to anyone seeking a better understanding of the Founding Fathers’ intent and meaning when laying the groundwork of our government. Beck provides his own illuminating commentary and annotations and, for a number of the essays, has brought together the viewpoints of both liberal and conservative historians and scholars, making this a fair and insightful perspective on the historical works that remain the primary source for interpreting Constitutional law and the rights of American citizens.

    Schneewind's illuminating introduction succinctly situates the Enquiry in its historical context, clarifying its relationship to Calvinism, to Newtonian science, and to earlier moral philosophers, and providing a persuasive account of Hume's ethical naturalism. --Martha C. Nussbaum, Brown University

    In her study of the state of modern humanity, Hannah Arendt considers humankind from the perspective of the actions of which it is capable. The problems Arendt identified then--diminishing human agency and political freedom; the paradox that as human powers increase through technological and humanistic inquiry, we are less equipped to control the consequences of our actions—continue to confront us today.

    Tracing the exchange of ideas between history's key philosophers, The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy, Fifth Edition, demonstrates that while constructing an argument or making a claim, one philosopher almost always has others in mind. The book addresses the fundamental questions of human life: Who are we? What can we know? How should we live? and What sort of reality do we inhabit? The fifth edition retains the distinctive feature of previous editions: author Norman Melchert provides a generous selection of excerpts from major philosophical works and makes them more easily understandable to students with his lucid and engaging explanations. Ranging from the Pre-Socratics to Derrida and Quine, the selections are organized historically and include four complete works: Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, and Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy. The author's commentary offers a rich intellectual and cultural context for the philosophical ideas conveyed in the excerpts. Extensive cross-referencing shows students how philosophers respond appreciatively or critically to the thoughts of other philosophers. The text is enhanced by two types of exercises--Basic Questions and For Further Thought--and more than sixty illustrations.New to the Fifth Edition: * A new chapter (25) on Simone de Beauvoir and her contributions to philosophy * New material on Buddhist, Muslim, and Jewish thinkers, including profiles of the Buddha, Avicenna (Ibn Sina), Averro�s (Ibn Rushd), and Maimonides (Moses ben Maimon) * A new profile of Jean-Jacques Rousseau * Improved translations of several of Plato's works, including Protagoras, Gorgias, Phaedo, Symposium, Meno, and the Republic * Review questions that are now dispersed throughout the chapters (instead of at chapter ends) to follow relevant passages and facilitate classroom discussion * Thirteen new images, including seven explanatory cartoons that help students understand key concepts * A revised Instructor's Manual and Test Bank--available both on CD and in a printed version--containing essential points, teaching suggestions, and multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay exam questionsThe Great Conversation, Fifth Edition, is also available in two paperback volumes to suit your course needs. Volume I: Pre-Socratics through Descartes includes chapters 1-13 of the combined volume, while Volume II: Descartes through Derrida and Quine includes chapters 12-26.

    The Story of Western Science shows us the joy and importance of reading groundbreaking science writing for ourselves and guides us back to the masterpieces that have changed the way we think about our world, our cosmos, and ourselves.Able to be referenced individually, or read together as the narrative of Western scientific development, the book's twenty-eight succinct chapters lead readers from the first science texts by Hippocrates, Plato, and Aristotle through twentieth-century classics in biology, physics, and cosmology. The Story of Western Science illuminates everything from mankind's earliest inquiries to the butterfly effect, from the birth of the scientific method to the rise of earth science and the flowering of modern biology.Each chapter recommends one or more classic books and provides entertaining accounts of crucial contributions to science, vivid sketches of the scientist-writers, and clear explanations of the mechanics underlying each concept. The Story of Western Science reveals science to be a dramatic undertaking practiced by some of history's most memorable characters. It reminds us that scientific inquiry is a human pursuit—an essential, often deeply personal, sometimes flawed, frequently brilliant way of understanding the world.In the tradition of her perennial bestseller The-Well Educated Mind, Susan Wise Bauer delivers an accessible, entertaining, and illuminating springboard into the scientific education you never had.

    Unlike traditional textbooks that overwhelm, this easy-to-read guide presents the key concepts of ethics in fun, straightforward lessons and exercises featuring only the most important facts, theories, and ideas. Ethics 101 includes unique, accessible elements such as: -Explanations of the major moral philosophies including utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, and eastern philosophers including Avicenna, Buddha, and Confucius. -Classic thought exercises including the trolley problem, the sorites paradox, and agency theory -Unique profiles of the greatest characters in moral philosophy -An explanation of modern applied ethics in bioethics, business ethics, political ethics, professional ethics, organizational ethics, and social ethics From Plato to Jean-Paul Sartre and utilitarianism to antirealism, Ethics 101 is jam-packed with enlightening information that you can’t get anywhere else!

    In his introductory essay, John Cooper explains the presentation of these works, discusses questions concerning the chronology of their composition, comments on the dialogue form in which Plato wrote, and offers guidance on approaching the reading and study of Plato's works.Also included are concise introductions by Cooper and Hutchinson to each translation, meticulous annotation designed to serve both scholar and general reader, and a comprehensive index. This handsome volume offers fine paper and a high-quality Smyth-sewn cloth binding in a sturdy, elegant edition.

    Here, distinguished Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben uses such circumstances to argue that this unusual extension of power, or "state of exception," has historically been an underexamined and powerful strategy that has the potential to transform democracies into totalitarian states.The sequel to Agamben's Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life, State of Exception is the first book to theorize the state of exception in historical and philosophical context. In Agamben's view, the majority of legal scholars and policymakers in Europe as well as the United States have wrongly rejected the necessity of such a theory, claiming instead that the state of exception is a pragmatic question. Agamben argues here that the state of exception, which was meant to be a provisional measure, became in the course of the twentieth century a normal paradigm of government. Writing nothing less than the history of the state of exception in its various national contexts throughout Western Europe and the United States, Agamben uses the work of Carl Schmitt as a foil for his reflections as well as that of Derrida, Benjamin, and Arendt.In this highly topical book, Agamben ultimately arrives at original ideas about the future of democracy and casts a new light on the hidden relationship that ties law to violence.

    A leading exponent of French existentialism, her work complements, though it is independent of, that of her great friend Jean-Paul Sartre. In "The Ethics of Ambiguity," Madame de Beauvoir penetrates at once to the core ethical problems of modern man: what shall he do, how shall he go about making values, in the face of this awareness of the absurdity of his existence? She forces the reader to face the absurdity of the human condition, and then, having done so, proceeds to develop a dialectic of ambiguity which will enable him not to master the chaos, but to create with it.

    Features twenty new chapters that cover such areas as Internet behavior, raising well-mannered children, dating, post-September 11 travel etiquette, tipping, and observing religious ceremonies.

    Travel via Thermopylae, the Oracle at Delphi, and the site of the epic Battle of Marathon to the city of Athena, goddess of wisdom. Meet Socrates, Thucydides, Phidias, and others who are among the greatest philosophers, writers, and artists who ever lived. Encounter ordinary Athenians in the marketplace and at the theater and learn the true character of one of the most extraordinary cities of any age.Of course, ancient Athens was not all art, intellect, and politics. This well-researched yet irreverently unacademic guide also plunges gleefully into the hedonistic side of Athenian life with wine-sodden symposiums, brothels, and brawls, advising the reader to avoid slatternly prostitutes and inns where the beds are infested with bugs, and warning that both torches and an escort are needed to avoid muggers after an evening on the town.Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day takes you through the raucous city crowds to the serene heights of the Parthenon and evokes the wonder of a city where the monuments and ideas that form the bedrock of Western culture are as fresh and new as the garlands of flowers on Athena's altar.

    The History of the World, but not as you know it.A new type of history is here – all 13.8 billion years of it, exploded into a visually jaw-dropping feast of facts, trends and timelines that tell you everything you’d ever want to know about the history of the world.From the primordial soup to the technological revolution of the 21st century, interesting stuff has been going on; and ever since prehistoric man scratched the first tally markings into a damp cave wall, we’ve been counting and measuring it all.Which historic warriors conquered the most territory, killed the most people, or had the largest empire?When did everything evolve?Which languages are related to which?What’s been invented and when?Where are we being born, and what are we dying of?Which countries are eating all the food, causing all the pollution and taking all the drugs?A story of civilisation and barbarism, of war and peace, this is history done in a new way – a beautifully designed collection of the most insightful and revealing trends that tell us what the human race has been up to, and where we’re heading.

    One of the most important books on the social sciences since the Second World War, it is a searing insight into the ideas of this great thinker.

    This is as true of scientific empiricism as it is of poststructualism.The Houses of History provides a comprehensive introduction to the twelve schools of thought which have had the greatest influence on the study of history in the twentieth century. Ranging from Empiricism to Postcolonialism, Marxism to the Ethnohistorians, each chapter begins with an introduction to the particular school, the main protagonists, the critics, and is followed by a useful section of further readings. From the classic, such as G. R. Elton's England Under the Tudors and E. P. Thompson's The Making of the English Working Class, to the recent, such as Henrietta Whiteman's White Buffalo Woman and Judith Walkowitz's City of Dreadful Delight, the diverse selections collected here bring together the leading historians and theorists of the century.Comprehensive and accessible to undergraduates, The Houses of History is ideally suited to classroom use.