Now he turns his eye to an array of technologies that could change our relationship not with the rest of nature but with ourselves. He explores the frontiers of genetic engineering, robotics, and nanotechnology—all of which we are approaching with astonishing speed—and shows that each threatens to take us past a point of no return. We now stand, in Michael Pollan's words, "on a moral and existential threshold," poised between the human past and a post-human future. McKibben offers a celebration of what it means to be human, and a warning that we risk the loss of all meaning if we step across the threshold. Instantly acclaimed for its passion and insight, this wise and eloquent book argues that we cannot forever grow in reach and power—that we must at last learn how to say, "Enough."

    In response to requests from instructors and students for shorter and less expensive composition readers, 40 Model Essays — featuring material adapted from the successful The Compact Reader — offers about half the usual number of readings for about half the price of similar books.

    This 8-hour free course introduced the study of philosophy and the methods employed by The Open University in teaching philosophy.

    These unabridged essays by Carl Sagan were originally published in either popular science magazines or academic journals. This is the first time his essays have become available on audio.

    The view is better from on high.<br><br>Need a fresh, up-high purr-spective on life? You'll find it with this insightful and inspiring gift book! Author Niki Anderson inspires you to see life from a cat's-eye-view--and what a view it is! You'll be inspired to live with passion, pouncing on every precious moment.<br><br>What My Cat Has Taught Me About Life offers all the motivation you need to enjoy life to its fullest with your favorite felines. Inside you'll discover purr-sonal meditations, real-life cat stories, little-known cat facts, kitty wisdom, and a lot more!<br><br>Curl up for some quiet time with these inspiring meditations. Right on the same page with each meditation, you'll also enjoy a companion scripture verse, a brief prayer, a memorable quote, a lighthearted cat quip, and a helpful cat care tip. Whether you're in the mood for something dignified or just need a chuckle or two, What My Cat Has Taught Me About Life has all you're looking for.<br><br>Each chapter focuses on one cat-fancying theme. So where and whenever you need a touch of inspiration you're sure to find a paw-full of practical, sensible counsel that'll have you purring in no time!

    Its Philosophy 101 for everyone who knows not to take all this heavy stuff too seriously. Some of the Big Ideas are Existentialism (what do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?), Philosophy of Language (how to express what its like being stranded on a desert island with Halle Berry), Feminist Philosophy (why, in the end, a man is always a man), and much more. Finally it all makes sense!

    The theme of Heisenberg's exposition is that words and concepts familiar in daily life can lose their meaning in the world of relativity and quantum physics. This in turn has profound philosophical implications for the nature of reality and for our total world view.

    With case studies and advice for a fitter life, this is an intriguing and thought-provoking book, one which should be read by anyone who cares about their wellbeing.

    Here's the link- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...------I have been both good and bad to people.Because,I have had ups and downs in my life.---I have been extremely happy whenever something good happened.And like everyone else, I have had my fair share of failures as well.I have been sad and depressed as well.There was a time when nothing went right.I know you might have witnessed such time in your life as well.So, at that moment,I started seeking life advices.While searching-“How to be happy in your life”,on Google,I stumbled upon a few philosophies.Out of those,stoicism was the one that attracted me the most.While researching on stoicism,I couldn’t help but notice that the simplicity and effectiveness of stoicism were lost in either the fancy words of contemporary writers or the outdated words by ancient stoic writers.So, here are my interpretations of stoicism in the simplest way possible.

    Philosopher Alex Rosenberg maintains that science is the only thing that can really answer them—all of them. His bracing and ultimately upbeat book takes physics seriously as the complete description of reality and accepts all its consequences. He shows how physics makes Darwinian natural selection the only way life can emerge, and how that deprives nature of purpose, and human action of meaning, while it exposes conscious illusions such as free will and the self. The science that makes us nonbelievers provides the insight into the real difference between right and wrong, the nature of the mind, even the direction of human history. The Atheist's Guide to Reality draws powerful implications for the ethical and political issues that roil contemporary life. The result is nice nihilism, a surprisingly sanguine perspective atheists can happily embrace.

    In these pages both everyday riders and pros tell their stories of freak accidents, animal attacks, sabotage, idiotic decisions, eerie or unexplained incidents, and other jaw dropping, adrenalin-pumping calamities. These stories bring to life the strange things possibilities that await, once we step on the pedals of our road, mountain, or commuter bikes. A sampling of misadventures in this collection includes the stories of: the mountain biker who follows a bull and then gets gored by it; the twenty African Americans who pioneered cycle touring by completing a Transamerica ride in 1897, but wait - this story gets strange...; the large rat that leapt on top of a woman's bike and slapped her repeatedly with its tail; an inside-the-head narration by a professional racer as he rides a brutal race, and then gets humiliated in changing room afterwards; the recreational cyclist who accidentally rides deep into a prison yard; the computer programmer who crashes a stationary bike during his first spin class; the bike messenger who can't call it quits even after getting hit by eight cars; and, the man who carefully spreads out tacks on the route of an all female race in an attempt to get a date. These stories will make you wonder, drop you to the floor laughing and leave you shaking your head with disbelief.

    A compelling and revolutionary work that calls for the immediate extension of our human rights to the great apes.The Great Ape Project looks forward to a new stage in the development of the community of equals, whereby the great apes-chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans-will actually receive many of the same protections and rights that are already accorded to humans.This profound collection of thirty-one essays by the world's most distinguished observers of free-living apes make up a uniquely satisfying whole, blending observation and interpretation in a highly persuasive case for a complete reassessment of the moral status of our closest kin.

    This book has the subtitle "Speculative Essays on Time Travel, The Future, Flying Saucers, L.S.D., Life on Other Worlds and Lots More" And if anyone at that time (the late 50s and the early 60s) knew much or anything about those topics it was Asimov.

    Peirce's theories of pragmatism as a basis for his own conception of that influential philosophy. For James, this meant an emphasis on "radical empiricism" and the concept that the meaning of any idea — philosophical, political, social, or otherwise — has validity only in terms of its experiential and practical consequences. James propounded his theories of pragmatism in this book, one of the most important in American philosophy. In a sense, he wished to test competing systems of thought in the "marketplace of actual experience" to determine their validity, i.e. whether adopting a particular philosophical theory or way of looking at the world makes an actual difference in individual conduct or in how we perceive and react to the varieties of experience. In these pages, James not only makes a strong case for his own ideas, but mounts a powerful attack against the transcendental and rationalist tradition.For anyone interested in William James or the history of American philosophical thought, Pragmatism is an essential and thought provoking reference. In this handy, inexpensive edition, it will challenge and stimulate any thinking person.

    His influence on 20th-century thinking and issues is arguably unparalleled, affecting attitudes on sex, religion, art, culture, and more. Written for the layperson, Freud for Beginners explains the doctor's dogma with wit and clarity, all in a contemporary context.