Showing titles in History

La pensée des Lumières émerge dans la seconde moitié du XVIIe siècle avant de se développer dans toute l'Europe, notamment en France, au XVIIIe siècle. Ses penseurs sont engagés contre l'oppression religieuse et politique, et œuvrent pour le progrès contre l'obscurantisme et les superstitions passées ; leur pensée a amené le triomphe de la raison sur la croyance, et s'est montrée déterminante dans les grands événements qui ont marqué l'Histoire moderne.

Classic ideas and ancient concepts broken down for the modern age. A non-academic approach to better living and greater happiness. Philosophy doesn’t have to be pointless and boring. If we can cut through the difficult language and roundabout reasoning, we’ll find a treasure trove of knowledge and enlightenment. But don’t worry, this is no textbook.

Carl von Clausewitz's On War is the most significant attempt in Western history to understand war, both in its internal dynamics and as an instrument of policy. Since the work's first appearance in 1832, it has been enjoyed throughout the world, and has stimulated generations of soldiers, political leaders, and intellectuals.

What happens when someone sounds wise—but isn’t? In Sophist, Plato takes us into a thoughtful and eye-opening conversation about truth, falsehood, and the power of language.

Perception, memory, truth, and knowledge all play major roles in this dialogue. What is remarkable about Plato's treatment of those ideas is how contemporary are both the questions and the answers he puts in the mouths of his characters. Socrates is adamant in asserting that he does not know the answers but that his function is simply to help formulate and critically examine the doctrines presented by others.

A deeply divisive figure, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) remains an enigma to this day. Infamous for his startling assertion that "God is dead", he is often misrepresented. In this illuminating account of Nietzsche's life and work, Robert Wicks skilfully navigates the controversy that continues to surround one of today’s most famous but least understood thinkers. Exploring the impact of Nietzsche's Christian upbringing and his childhood on his beliefs, Wicks demonstrates that, far from being a nihilist, Nietzsche offers a positive and understanding of human nature.

Aristotle said that philosophy begins with wonder, and the first Western philosophers developed theories of the world which express simultaneously their sense of wonder and their intuition that the world should be comprehensible. But their enterprise was by no means limited to this proto-scientific task. Through, for instance, Heraclitus's enigmatic sayings, the poetry of Parmenides and Empedocles, and Zeno's paradoxes, the Western world was introduced to metaphysics, rationalist theology, ethics, and logic.

Augustine and the Cure of Souls situates Augustine within the ancient philosophical tradition of using words to order emotions. Paul Kolbet uncovers a profound continuity in Augustine's thought, from his earliest prebaptismal writings to his final acts as bishop, revealing a man deeply indebted to the Roman past and yet distinctly Christian. Rather than supplanting his classical learning, Augustine's Christianity reinvigorated precisely those elements of Roman wisdom that he believed were slipping into decadence.

In 2011, Emerick, an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church and a licensed clinical social worker, embarked on a self-directed study to educate himself about the nation's principal political disputes. He discovered that America's dominant political and economic theories...are... pitting the demands of the individual against the needs of the community. But in the Constitution's preamble... the concerns of individual liberty and the general welfare are given equal weight, and a more equitable national philosophy will...combine the two.

Divided into short chapters that can be listened to in brief sittings, What Is Stoicism? compiles two millennia of Stoic thought into simple conversational prose.

Over the millennia, the great thinkers of the world have sought to come up with rules for how to live better lives, how to govern better, and how to understand the world around us. As they have written down their thoughts, they have discovered laws and techniques that can help further advance human thought and explain why the world is the way it is today.

Aristotle knew things about happiness, habits, and human nature. This book is about his book, the Nichomachean Ethics.

Perhaps the most important book in philosophy after the Allegory of the Cave. Incomparable logic and findings about the things that matter in life with a clear succinct prose touch.

Genius. The word connotes an almost unworldly power: the power to create, to grasp universal secrets, even to destroy. As renowned intellectual historian Darrin McMahon explains in Divine Fury, the concept of genius can be traced back to antiquity, when men of great insight were thought to be advised by demons. The modern idea of genius emerged in tension with a growing belief in human equality; contesting the notion that all are created equal, geniuses served to dramatize the exception of extraordinary individuals not governed by ordinary laws.

In showing how the great philosophers of human history lived and thought – and what they thought about – Peter Cave provides an accessible and enjoyable introduction to thinking philosophically and how it can change our everyday lives. With a lightness of touch, he addresses questions such as: Is there anything ‘out there’ that gives meaning to our lives? Does reality tell us how we ought to live? What indeed is reality and what is appearance – and how can we tell the difference?

Medieval philosophy is primarily associated today with university-based disputations and the authorities cited in those disputations. In their own time, however, scholastic debates were recognized as just one part of wide-ranging philosophical and theological discussions. A Hidden Wisdom breaks new ground by drawing attention to another crucial component of these conversations: the Christian contemplative tradition.

Epictetus was one of the main voices of the philosophy of the Stoa, and as such most influentia. His "Enchiridion", or handbook, is a manual for practical philosophy. It offers carefully worded instructions for an ethical, sustained way of life. A very old text - but true to this very day and age!

For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by peace and freedom from fear, the absence of pain, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and evil; death is the end of both body and soul and should therefore not be feared; the gods neither reward nor punish humans; the universe is infinite and eternal; and events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms.

What are the secrets to a contented life? One of Rome's greatest and most influential poets, Horace (65-8 BCE) has been cherished for more than 2,000 years not only for his wit, style, and reflections on Roman society, but also for his wisdom about how to live a good life - above all else, a life of contentment in a world of materialistic excess and personal pressures. In How to Be Content, Stephen Harrison provides fresh, contemporary translations of poems from across Horace's works that continue to offer important lessons about the good life, friendship, love, and death.

The Atlantis story remains one of the most haunting and enigmatic tales from antiquity and one that still resonates very deeply with the modern imagination. But where did Atlantis come from, what was it like, and where did it go to? Atlantis was first introduced by the Greek philosopher Plato in two dialogues, the Timaios and Kritias, written in the fourth century BC. As he philosophises about the origins of the universe and humanity, he puts forward a stunning description of Atlantis, an island paradise with an ideal society.