Philosophy Academic

A thrilling scientific investigation and the portrait of an extraordinary genius, The Seashell on the Mountaintop gives us new insight into our planet, revealing how we learned to read the story told to us by the Earth itself, written in rock and stone.

The father of modern philosophy, Descartes is still one of the most widely discussed philosophers today. Putting rationalism above all else, he sought to base all knowledge of the world on a single idea: "I think, therefore I am." This introduction expertly summarises his thoughts on the dualism of mind and body, his proofs for God’s existence, and his responses to scepticism. Explaining how his life informed his philosophy, Bracken demonstrates the philosopher’s enduring significance.

René Descartes is one of the formative figures in Western philosophy, logic and mathematics. His famous statement: "I think, therefore I am," has become perhaps the most famous phrase in all of philosophy. Descartes’s ground-breaking writings attempted to establish unshakeable foundations of knowledge, and set a trend for subsequent Western philosophy, which has endlessly critiqued and expanded upon his ideas.

Mesmerized, at times unnerved, by his 97-year-old father's nearly superhuman vitality and optimism, David Shields undertakes an investigation of the human physical condition. The result is this exhilarating book - both a personal meditation on mortality and an exploration of flesh-and-blood existence from crib to oblivion. It's an exploration that paradoxically prompts a renewed and profound appreciation of life.

John Roebling was one of the 19th century's most brilliant engineers, ingenious inventors, successful manufacturers, and fascinating personalities. Raised in a German backwater amid the war-torn chaos of the Napoleonic Wars, he immigrated to the US in 1831, where he became wealthy and acclaimed, eventually receiving a carte-blanche contract to build one of the 19th century's most stupendous and daring works of engineering: a gigantic suspension bridge to span the East River between New York and Brooklyn.

On May 10, 1998, biologist Craig Venter, director of the Institute for Genomic Research, announced that he was forming a private company that within three years would unravel the complete genetic code of human life, seven years before the projected finish of the U.S. government's Human Genome Project. Venter hoped that by decoding the genome ahead of schedule, he would speed up the pace of biomedical research and save the lives of thousands of people. He also hoped to become very famous and very rich.

Before she was an author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels, N. D. Jones was an educator. In her essay, she reflects on her 20-plus years as an educator in a field where most public school teachers and administrators are middle-class White women responsible for the academic future of more than 20 million students of color. Jones’ insights come from her years of facilitating cultural proficiency professional development for employees in a White-dominated public school system where all is supposed to mean all, yet racial inequity and disproportionality persist.

Der Klassiker über das Aussteigerleben und ein radikales Selbstexperiment in der Natur: Der 28-jährige Henry D. Thoreau zog sich 1845 an den Walden-See in eine einsame Waldregion Massachusetts in eine selbstgebaute Blockhütte zurück, um zwei Jahre lang ein Leben fernab der industrialisierten Zivilisation zu leben. Bis heute ist dieses sprachlich versierte Buch, das auf Thoreaus Tagebucheinträgen basiert, für alle interessant, die einen alternativen Lebensstil erstreben.

For centuries, Augustine's writings have moved and fascinated readers. With the keen eye of a writer whose own intellectual analysis won him a Pulitzer Prize, Gary Wills examines this famed fourth-century bishop and seminal thinker whose grounding in classical philosophy informed his interpretation of Christian doctrine. Saint Augustine explores Augustine's thought as well as the everyday man who set pen to parchment. It challenges many misconceptions.

As the revenues generated by big-time college sports continue to skyrocket, virtually all of the debate involves whether (and how much) student-athletes should be paid for play. Kenneth L. Shropshire and Collin D. Williams Jr., argue that "student" has to come first: the focus should be on prioritizing a meaningful education. They draw on new research to reveal that it has become increasingly difficult for college athletes to balance school and sports, much less a social life, leading to serious economic, professional, and emotional consequences for young people.

Are you ready to lead a life that is full of virtue, where you are able to lead a good life that isn't controlled by your emotions but still allows you to have empathy and feelings for others? Stoicism is an ancient thought that has stood the test of time and can provide you with the fulfilling life that you are looking for.

Chi è più sapiente? Colui che dice di sapere o colui che sa di non sapere? Su questo bivio del pensiero Socrate ha fondato la sua vita e imposta ora la sua autodifesa: stringente, appassionante, inoppugnabile. La fine è nota. E tuttavia Socrate non perde la sua forza: perché anche la morte può essere un’avventura, di silenzio o di conversazione.

This is a delightfully insightful overview of the life and work of Herbert Spencer, the famous evolutionist of the 19th century. Although Spencer's thought is not without controversy, he was nevertheless responsible for a number of important contributions, not the least of which is his coining of the term "survival of the fittest", which Charles Darwin (on the advice of Alfred Russel Wallace) used as a placeholder for his more generalistic term, "natural selection".

Friedrich Nietzsche sagte: "Er ist der Nachtwächter der griechischen Philosophiegeschichte, man kann nicht in sie hinein, ohne dass einem nicht von ihm der Schlüssel gegeben wird." Die Rede ist von Diogenes Laertios, der im 3. Jahrhundert nach Christus lebte. Er war ein antiker Philosophiehistoriker, der das Leben und die Lehren der antiken Philosophen beschrieb - aus heutiger Sicht sehr kurz nach deren Tod! Seine Texte beanspruchen nicht wissenschaftliche Exaktheit; vielmehr erzählt er in Anekdoten - und zwar äußerst unterhaltsam!

Friedrich Nietzsche sagte: "Er ist der Nachtwächter der griechischen Philosophiegeschichte, man kann nicht in sie hinein, ohne dass einem nicht von ihm der Schlüssel gegeben wird." Die Rede ist von Diogenes Laertios, der im 3. Jahrhundert nach Christus lebte. Er war ein antiker Philosophiehistoriker, der das Leben und die Lehren der antiken Philosophen beschrieb - aus heutiger Sicht sehr kurz nach deren Tod! Seine Texte beanspruchen nicht wissenschaftliche Exaktheit; vielmehr erzählt er in Anekdoten - und zwar äußerst unterhaltsam!

Diogenes Laertios, der im 3. Jahrhundert nach Christus lebte, war ein antiker Philosophiehistoriker, der das Leben und die Lehren der antiken Philosophen beschrieb - aus heutiger Sicht sehr kurz nach deren Tod! Seine Texte beanspruchen nicht wissenschaftliche Exaktheit; vielmehr erzählt er in Anekdoten - und zwar äußerst unterhaltsam! In diesem knappen Hörstück erörtert er die Philosophie von Epikur, der den Hedonismus lehrte.

Begeben sie sich mit diesem Hörbuch auf die Spuren der großen philosophischen Denker. Hartmut Sommer nimmt sie mit auf eine spannende geistesgeschichtliche Entdeckungsreise, bei der sie Berge erklimmen, Orte erkunden und Wege begehen, die das Denken berühmter Philosophen wie Albertus Magnus, Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche oder Edith Stein beeinflussten.

In Simply Hegel, Robert L. Wicks presents Hegel’s revolutionary philosophy in clear and simple language, illuminating not only his basic ideas, but also the deeper meanings hidden within the book. Wicks’s analysis also contextualizes Hegel’s thought by providing a vivid chronology of his times, which included such earth-shaking events as the French Revolution and Napoleon’s invasion of Prussia.

Ludwig Wittgenstein is één van de belangrijkste denkers uit de 20e eeuw en zijn filosofische werk omvat vrijwel het hele menselijk denken en handelen, met nadruk op de logica. Weinig mensen echter weten dat muziek een hoofdrol speelde in zijn leven. Hij groeide op in een muzikale familie, waar grote componisten als Brahms en Mahler over de vloer kwamen. Zelf speelde Wittgenstein klarinet en hij componeerde een muziekstuk, getiteld Leidenschaftlich, dat hij met potlood tussen zijn filosofische aantekeningen krabbelde.

The tens of millions who perished in the First World War – not to mention the horrendous turmoil that culminated in the outbreak of its successor – understandably marred the conception of the first decades of the 20th century. However, during that time, unparalleled minds from all over the globe unsnarled age-old mysteries and perfected prevailing theories, conjuring up wave after wave of breakthroughs that catapulted the world of science to unprecedented heights.