Backed by intellectuals at respectable universities, Intelligent Design Theory (ID) proposes an alternative to accepted accounts of evolutionary theory: that life is so complex, and that the universe is so fine-tuned for the appearance of life, that the only plausible explanation is the existence of an intelligent designer. For many ID theorists, thedesigner is taken to be the god of Christianity.Niall Shanks has written the first accessible introduction to, and critique of, this controversial new intellectual movement. Shanks locates the growth of ID in the last two decades of the twentieth century in the growing influence of the American religious right. But as he shows, its roots go backbeyond Aquinas to Ancient Greece. After looking at the historical roots of ID, Shanks takes a hard look at its intellectual underpinnings, discussing modern understandings of thermodynamics, and how self-organizing processes lead to complex physical, chemical, and biological systems. He considerscosmological arguments for ID rooted in so-called anthropic coincidences and also tackles new biochemical arguments for ID based on irreducible biological complexity. Throughout he shows how arguments for ID lack cohesion, rest on errors and unfounded suppositions, and generally are grosslyinferior to evolutionary explanations.While ID has been proposed as a scientific alternative to evolutionary biology, Shanks argues that ID is in fact old creationist wine in new designer label bottles and moreover is a serious threat to the scientific and democratic values that are our cultural and intellectual inheritance from theEnlightenment.

    Now, in The Unimaginable Mathematics of Borges' Library of Babel, William Goldbloom Bloch takes readers on a fascinating tour of the mathematical ideas hiddenwithin one of the classic works of modern literature.Written in the vein of Douglas R. Hofstadter's Pulitzer Prize-winning G�del, Escher, Bach, this original and imaginative book sheds light on one of Borges' most complex, richly layered works. Bloch begins each chapter with a mathematical idea--combinatorics, topology, geometry, informationtheory--followed by examples and illustrations that put flesh on the theoretical bones. In this way, he provides many fascinating insights into Borges' Library. He explains, for instance, a straightforward way to calculate how many books are in the Library--an easily notated but literallyunimaginable number--and also shows that, if each book were the size of a grain of sand, the entire universe could only hold a fraction of the books in the Library. Indeed, if each book were the size of a proton, our universe would still not be big enough to hold anywhere near all the books.Given Borges' well-known affection for mathematics, this exploration of the story through the eyes of a humanistic mathematician makes a unique and important contribution to the body of Borgesian criticism. Bloch not only illuminates one of the great short stories of modern literature but alsoexposes the reader--including those more inclined to the literary world--to many intriguing and entrancing mathematical ideas.

    The answers are by Sadhguru,a living master and profound mystic of our times.Unshakably anchored in inner experience,he remains unaffiliated to any organized religions,sectarian or ideological tradition.Forthright,witty, unconventional,provovative,but deeply compassionate,these answers were shared with close disciples over a period of ten years on various occasions.Spanning a variety of subjects that he seldom addresses otherwise in public,these words were spoken to foster the growth of a few who had been with him for a long time.The tone is intimate,the cadence conversational,the context specific.And this is the book s strength.Seekers of every culture and persuasion will find themselves turning from eavesdroppers to participants from the very first page.For the answers carry the unmistakable ring of authenticity,the deep clarity and wisdom of one who knows what it means to seek.And to know.And just how to map the arduous,often interminable,journey in between.

    Although he was throughout his life interested in the philosophy of history and in various theoretical formulations, he concerned himself with these mainly in private reading and private discussion. Why then did he write this essay? He had read the works of Louis Althusser and found very little in them to affect his work. When Althusser appeared on the scene he made little impact on practising historians. For some reason however, he suddenly became a major force among graduate students and some young historians and literary scholars. Most historians would have been prepared to wait for the new influence to demonstrate its validity in the production of innovative work in history; not only did this not happen, but Althusser's followers - even some of the historians among them - began to declare that history was a non-discipline and that its study was of no value. It was the influence that Althusser's writings were having on scholarship that made Edward take on the uncongenial task of putting the case for history against his closed system.'The result is a major critique of Althusserian Marxism, or 'theoretical practice', entering closely into questions of epistemology and of the theory and practice of the historian. Around this detailed polemic, Thompson develops a constructive view of an alternative, socialist tradition, empirical and self-critical in method, and fully open to the creative practice evidenced by history - a tradition sharply opposed to much that now passes as 'Marxism'. In converging shafts of close analysis and Swiftian irony, the author defoliates Althusser's arcane, rationalist rhetoric and reinstates 'historicism', 'empiricism', 'moralism' and 'socialist humanism' in a different Marxist inheritance.The title of this essay echoes The Poverty of Philosophy, Marx's annihiliating attack on Proudhon, which, like Engels' Anti-Duhring, is a work read long after its subject has been consigned to oblivion.

    This classic, provocative introduction to classical metaphysical questions focuses on appreciating the problems, rather than attempting to proffer answers.

    this is one of those rare books that will change your beliefs - and in doing so will change your life. tHE ANt AND tHE FERRARI offers readers a clear, navigable path through the big questions that confront us all today. What is the meaning of life? Can we be ethical beings in today's world? Can we know if there is life after death? Is there such a thing as Absolute truth? What caused the Big Bang and why should you care?

    G. Narasingha for the 21st Century. Includes: * Complete eighteen chapters with a brief history to set the context * Sanskrit text for each verse with english transliteration & translation * Straightforward & concise commentaries * Sanskrit pronunciation guide * Glossary of terms & names * Linked 'Verse Index' for both Gita & Quoted verses The sublime message of Bhagavad Gita is timeless and is applicable in every facet of life. Within the Bhagavad Gita are the answers to the mysteries of existence – our real purpose in this world, how we should act and why we suffer, or are oftentimes helpless in our struggle for survival. To understand the Bhagavad Gita one must enter into the spirit of the Gita by accepting the path of devotion (bhakti). Accordingly, the Gita’s message cannot be properly understood by mental speculation. To this end, the sublime process illuminated within the Gita must be accepted as given by the speaker Himself, Sri Krishna. The philosophy of Bhagavad Gita is clear for the sincere reader, yet for some, approaching the Gita may seem daunting – its language too ancient. However, this obstacle is easily overcome by a straightforward translation and commentary (Anuvritti). The requirement for a translation and commentary on the Gita is as necessary today as anytime in the past. With the passing of time, our values and our worldview are constantly changing, and this demands a fresh approach to the understanding of the Gita.

    Images of the Buddha are everywhere: selling tea bags, mobile phones, holidays. But what is the true attraction of Buddhism? Why is it the fastest growing religion in the West? Check out the real goods on offer: freedom, compassion, awareness, wisdom and meditation in this clear introduction to the Buddhist path. This best-selling book explains the essential teachings and practices that underlie most forms of Buddhism and may even tempt you to try this practical way of transformation for yourself!

    But there is much, much more in this work. Paul Grice himself has carefully arranged and framed the sequence of essays to emphasize not a certain set of ideas but a habit of mind, a style of philosophizing.Grice has, to be sure, provided philosophy with crucial ideas. His account of speaker-meaning is the standard that others use to define their own minor divergences or future elaborations. His discussion of conversational implicatures has given philosophers an important tool for the investigation of all sorts of problems; it has also laid the foundation for a great deal of work by other philosophers and linguists about presupposition. His metaphysical defense of absolute values is starting to be considered the beginning of a new phase in philosophy. This is a vital book for all who are interested in Anglo-American philosophy.

    "The best available in English. Bakunin's insights into power and authority, and the conditions of freedom, are refreshing, original and still unsurpassed in clarity and vision. I read this selection with great pleasure."--Noam Chomsky

    The extreme volatility in contemporary political economic fortunes seems to mock our best efforts to understand the forces that drive development in the world economy. David Harvey is the single most important geographer writing today and a leading social theorist of our age, offering a comprehensive critique of contemporary capitalism. In this fascinating book, he shows the way forward for just such an understanding, enlarging upon the key themes in his recent work: the development of neoliberalism, the spread of inequalities across the globe, and 'space' as a key theoretical concept. Both a major declaration of a new research programme and a concise introduction to David Harvey's central concerns, this book will be essential reading for scholars and students across the humanities and social sciences.

    It challenges the orthodoxies of all and suggests fresh modes of inquiry to all." —The Quarterly Journal of Speech

    This edition includes notes by Sprague and an updated bibliography.

    The pay was good and the work was easy - or so he thought. Then the truth was revealed: he had to sail to South America to collect one of the biggest shipments of cocaine ever bound for the UK. And to the gangsters who hired him, refusal was not an option.There followed a harrowing journey to Venezuela, where almost £50 million of coke was waiting. But someone had tipped off the authorities. Donald and his fellow crewman were arrested, convicted of drug smuggling and sentenced to six years in the notorious island prison of San Antonio.He soon discovered why Venezuela’s prisons are the most violent in the world, a nightmare gulag where hundreds are killed and thousands maimed every year in riots, vendettas and petty disputes. Thrown into a filthy, over-crowded dormitory known as Pavilion 4, and surrounded by armed gangs, crack addicts, death and disease, he faced a daily fight to survive. Ferocious guards beat prisoners indiscriminately and many cut themselves in “blood strikes” to protest against the scarce food, undrinkable water and lack of medical care. Finally a war broke out between two prison compounds, involving guns, machetes and even grenades.Through it all, and despite witnessing the brutal killing of his friend and mentor, MacNeil clung to the belief that one-day he would be home. Journey To Hell is a harrowing but compelling account of man’s extraordinary will to survive in a world gone mad.

    Originally published in 1637, it has been characterized as "the greatest single step ever made in the progress of the exact sciences" (John Stuart Mill); as a book which "remade geometry and made modern geometry possible" (Eric Temple Bell). It "revolutionized the entire conception of the object of mathematical science" (J. Hadamard).With this volume Descartes founded modern analytical geometry. Reducing geometry to algebra and analysis and, conversely, showing that analysis may be translated into geometry, it opened the way for modern mathematics. Descartes was the first to classify curves systematically and to demonstrate algebraic solution of geometric curves. His geometric interpretation of negative quantities led to later concepts of continuity and the theory of function. The third book contains important contributions to the theory of equations.This edition contains the entire definitive Smith-Latham translation of Descartes' three books: Problems the Construction of which Requires Only Straight Lines and Circles; On the Nature of Curved Lines; and On the Construction of Solid and Supersolid Problems. Interleaved page by page with the translation is a complete facsimile of the 1637 French text, together with all Descartes' original illustrations; 248 footnotes explain the text and add further bibliography.