Humans have always had the ability to influence the genetic makeup of their children. Individuals who wanted tall and attractive children, for instance, could find tall and attractive partners to reproduce with, thereby raising the probability that their progeny would be tall and attractive. However, until very recently, this power was limited. Individuals …
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“Psychoanalysis has never claimed to provide a complete theory of human mentality in general.”1 Freud wrote these words in 1914, shortly after his break with Jung. It is indeed true that he never concerned himself with developing an all-embracing system, but rather moved from the analysis of patients to areas of special attention: repression, dreams,…
Within any spiritual or religious tradition, nothing could seem more obvious than the reality of the unseen world. Gods demand attention. Spirits compel action. In a famous essay on religion’s cultural foundations, Clifford Geertz (1973, 118) wryly observed that when he asked a Balinese man who had gone into trance and performed as the goddess Rangda if the…
You have probably heard Reinhold Niebuhr’s serenity prayer in some version or other: ‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’ It’s clever and touching, but there is a bit of a false dichotomy. There is often very little we can do to make changes to the world, …
Aural History is an anti-memoir memoir of encountering devastating grief that uses experimental storytelling to recreate the winding, fractured path of loss and transformation.Written by a thirty-something psychotherapist and queer theorist, Aural History is structured as a sequence of three sections that each use different narrative styles to represent a distinctive stage in the protagonist’…
Theredoesnotseemtobeanyseriousreasontosupposeasignificantevo-lution in Plotinus’ philosophy. Even leaving aside the problematic nature ofdevelopmentaltheoriesfromahermeneuticalperspective,thereexistssomepositiveevidenceforconsistencyinPlotinus’thought.InhisLifeof Plotinus,Porphyrygivesatleastfourreasonsforadoptingaunitaryperspective.Thefirsttwoargumentsareratherindirect:First,Plotinusbegant…
There are many reasons why I liked Mary so much, as a person, a writer and a philosopher. I liked her for her wit, her warmth, her level- headedness and her moral clarity; her ability to steer clear of all unnecessary technicalities and cut straight to the chase, focusing on the big picture rather than getting mired in the details of any particu…
What did Immanuel Kant really think about love? This book is the first in-depth study of the concept of love in Kant`s philosophy. It argues that love is much more important to Kant than previously thought, and that understanding love is actually essential for Kantian ethical life. Perhaps surprisingly, for Kant, love permeates human existence from the strongest impulses of nature to the highes…
The subject of this book is how the brain works. In order to understand this, it is essential toknowwhatis computed by different brain systems; andhowthe computations are performed.The aim of this book is to elucidate what is computed in different brain systems; and todescribe current computational approaches and models of how each of these brain systemscomputes. Understanding the brain in this…
The truth is, THE SECRET helps bring riches to the poor, abundance to the hungry, peace to the war-torn, wellness to the unhealthy. But it can also help make dreams come true for you. Maybe you don’t think you deserve it. But you do. And if you can dream it, you have the power to make it happen. Seriously. Now, it might seem obvious, but the hardest part about living your dream is knowing jus…
The scene of fasciation in the novel, as such, spreads beyond its most compelling and tragic evocation, illustrating Wildeve’s orientation towards Eustacia and vice versa. The subsection titled ‘Fascination’ begins with the ‘system’ of Clym’s face and figure, moving through a series of encounters and settings in which the phenomenon takes hold or e…
What are the practical implications of truly caring about yourself and others, of approaching each day with an open mind, an open heart, and a desire to reduce the suffering of all living beings? Can we learn compassion as a way of life, as an antidote to violence and cruelty? In The Seven Virtues of Highly Compassionate People, social scientists Nancy Guerra and Kirk R. Williams provide easy-t…
ohn Cage’s 4'33" remains an echo, a repetition of the space of silence and all silence entails. Performed for the first time by pianist David Tudor in 1954 during a piano recital in Wood-stock, New York, it asks of the performer to sit at the piano, and to “perform” a piece of music. Tudor interpreted the instruc-tions Cage had written and sat at t…
The “Psychology of Human Thought” is an “open access” collection of peer-reviewed chapters from all areas of higher cognitive processes. The book is intended to be used as a textbook in courses on higher process, complex cognition, human thought, and related courses. Chapters include concept acquisition, knowledge representation, inductive and deductive reasoning, problem solving, metac…
When a victor asks you to pray for him, it means that he of-fers you his victory. “Can you do anything with this victory?” he seems to say. It is true, not anyone can triumph over his own vic-tory and feel as deep as brother Alexander that he has nothing to do with it. At his own level, however, a common man offers various victories on the market, victories that he cannot alway…
Our next task is to carry out formal-ontological analyses on the one hand, and material-ontological1 ones on the other, that are connected to our main problem. We begin with the basic conviction that an entity of arbitrary form and material deter-mination cannot exist in an altogether arbitrary manner, but rather that necessary interconnections yet to be discovered obtain between an existent’…
Medical ethics is an area that has particular interest for the general public as well as for the medical practitioner, and issues concerning medical ethics seem to be constantly in the headlines. This short and accessible introduction provides an invaluable tool with which to think about the ethical values that lie at the heart of medicine. Tony Hope deals with thorny moral issues, including…
Although there are many kinds of love, erotic love has been celebrated in art and poetry as life's most rewarding and exalting experience, worth living and dying for and bringing out the best in ourselves. And yet it has excused, and even been thought to justify, the most reprehensible crimes. Why should this be? This Very Short Introduction explores this and other puzzling questions. Do we lov…
Logic is often perceived as having little to do with the rest of philosophy, and even less to do with real life. In this lively and accessible introduction, Graham Priest shows how wrong this conception is. He explores the philosophical roots of the subject, explaining how modern formal logic deals with issues ranging from the existence of God and the reality of time to paradoxes of probability…
The subject of leadership raises many questions: What is it? How does it differ from management and command? Are leaders born or bred? Who are the leaders? Do we actually need leaders? Inevitably, the answers are provocative and partial; leadership is a hugely important topic of debate. There are constant calls for 'greater' or 'stronger' leadership, but what this actually means, how we can …
Poststructuralism changes the way we understand the relations between human beings, their culture, and the world. Following a brief account of the historical relationship between structuralism and poststructuralism, this Very Short Introduction traces the key arguments that have led poststructuralists to challenge traditional theories of language and culture. While the author discusses such we…
Postmodernism has become the buzzword of contemporary society over the last decade. But how can it be defined? In this highly readable introduction the mysteries of this most elusive of concepts are unraveled, casting a critical light upon the way we live now, from the politicizing of museum culture to the cult of the politically correct. The key postmodernist ideas are explored and challenged,…
Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, developed a totally new way of looking at human nature. Only now, with the hindsight of the half-century since his death, can we assess his true legacy to current thought. As an experienced psychiatrist himself, Anthony Storr offers a lucid and objective look at Freud's major theories, evaluating whether they have stood the test of time, and in the …
Why do we measure time in the way that we do? Why is a week seven days long? At what point did minutes and seconds come into being? Why are some calendars lunar and some solar? The organization of time into hours, days, months, and years seems immutable and universal, but is actually far more artificial than most people realize. For example, the French Revolution resulted in a restructuring of…
This lively and accessible book focuses on the philosophy and argument of Plato's writings, drawing the reader into Plato's way of doing philosophy and the general themes of his thinking. It discusses Plato's style of writing: his use of the dialogue form, his use of what we today call fiction, and his philosophical transformation of myths. It also looks at his discussions of love and philosoph…
With over 520 million followers, Buddhism is now the world's fourth largest religion. Over the last seventy years or so there has been a growing interest in Buddhism, and it continues to capture the imagination of many in the West, who see it as either an alternative or a supplement to their own religious beliefs. For complex cultural and historical reasons, ethics has not received as much a…
To understand China, it is essential to understand Confucianism. First formulated in the sixth century BCE, the teachings of Confucius would come to dominate Chinese society, politics, economics, and ethics. In this Very Short Introduction, Daniel K. Gardner explores the major philosophical ideas of the Confucian tradition, showing their profound impact on state ideology and imperial government…
Causation is the most fundamental connection in the universe. Without it, there would be no science or technology. There would be no moral responsibility either, as none of our thoughts would be connected with our actions and none of our actions with any consequences. Nor would we have a system of law because blame resides only in someone having caused injury or damage. Any intervention we m…
In this enlightening new Very Short Introduction, Simon Critchley shows us that Continental philosophy encompasses a distinct set of philosophical traditions and practices, with a compelling range of problems all too often ignored by the analytic tradition. He discusses the ideas and approaches of philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Habermas, Foucault, and D…
Written in simple and accessible language, this nontechnical introduction to cosmology, or the creation and development of the universe, explains the discipline, covers its history, details the latest developments, and explains what is known, what is believed, and what is purely speculative. In addition, the author discusses the development of the Big Bang theory, and more speculative modern is…
What is depression? What is bipolar disorder? How are they diagnosed and how are they treated? Can a small child be diagnosed with depression and treated with antidepressants - and should they be? Covering depression, manic depression, and bipolar disorder, this Very Short Introduction gives a brief account of the history of these concepts, before focussing on the descriptions and understand…
What is dreaming, and what causes it? Why are dreams so strange and why are they so hard to remember? Replacing dream mystique with modern dream science, J. Allan Hobson provides a new and increasingly complete picture of how dreaming is created by the brain. Focusing on dreaming to explain the mechanisms of sleep, this book explores how the new science of dreaming is affecting theories in psyc…
Was love invented by European poets in the Middle Ages or is it part of human nature? Will winning the lottery really make you happy? Is it possible to build robots that have feelings? In this Very Short Introduction Dylan Evans explores these and many other intriguing questions in this guide to the latest thinking about the emotions. Drawing on a wide range of scientific research, from anth…
From aesthetics to the penal system, and from madness and civilization to avant-garde literature, Foucault was happy to reject old models of thinking and replace them with fresh versions that are still being debated today. A major influence on Queer Theory and gender studies (he was openly gay and died of an AIDS-related illness in 1984), he also wrote on architecture, history, law, medicine, l…
Every day we seem to make and act upon all kinds of choices: some trivial, others so consequential that they change the course of one's life, or even the course of history. But are these choices really free, or are we compelled to act the way we do by factors beyond our control? Is the feeling that we could have made different decisions just an illusion? And if our choices are not free, is it l…
Homer, Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, Shakespeare, and Tolstoy; Curie, Darwin, Einstein, Galileo, and Newton. What do these world-famous artists and scientists have in common?- apart from the fact that their achievements predate our own time by a century or more. Most of us would probably answer: all ten possessed something we call genius, which in each instance permanently changed the way that hum…
People of faith often argue that without God, there can be no morality. Indeed, without religion, our lives are left without meaning and are likely to degenerate into moral chaos. In this Very Short Introduction, philosopher Stephen Law explains why these claims are false and why humanism--though a rejection of religion--nevertheless provides both a moral basis and a meaning for our lives. Inde…
Some people are cleverer than others. This everyday observation is the subject of an academic field that is often portrayed as confused and controversial, when in fact, the field of intelligence holds some of psychology's best-replicated findings. This Very Short Introduction describes what psychologists have discovered about how and why people differ in their thinking powers. Drawing on lar…
The influence of Aristotle, the prince of philosophers, on the intellectual history of the West is second to none. In this book, Jonathan Barnes examines Aristotle's scientific researches, his discoveries in logic and his metaphysical theories, his work in psychology and in ethics and politics, and his ideas about art and poetry, placing his teachings in their historical context.
Beauty can be consoling, disturbing, sacred, profane; it can be exhilarating, appealing, inspiring, chilling. It can affect us in an unlimited variety of ways. Yet it is never viewed with indifference. In this Very Short Introduction, the renowned philosopher Roger Scruton explores the concept of beauty, asking what makes an object--either in art, in nature, or the human form--beautiful, and ex…
What is agnosticism? Is it a belief, or merely the absence of belief? Is it the result of too little thought about an issue--or too much? Who were the first to call themselves "agnostics"? Does agnosticism deserve serious consideration today? Can an agnostic live a religious life? What place should agnosticism have in education? These are just some of the questions that Robin Le Poidevin consid…
The tradition of ancient philosophy is a long, rich and varied one, in which the notes of discussion and argument constantly resound. This book introduces ancient debates, engaging us with the ancient developments of their themes. Moving away from the presentation of ancient philosophy as a succession of great thinkers, the book gives readers a sense of the freshness and liveliness of ancient p…
Make every minute count. Your calendar is full, and yet your meetings don’t always seem to advance your work. Problems often arise with unrealistic or vague agendas, off-track conversations, tuned-out participants who don’t know why they’re there, and follow-up notes that no one reads?or acts on. Meetings can feel like a waste of time. But when you invest a little energy in preparing y…
Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress. Then, Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thoug…
About fifty meters south of ?hiradai station in the mountainous, rural area of Ha-kone (Japan) there is a small and inconspicuous temple named Rinsenji???. The temple belongs to the S?t? sect of Zen Buddhism and was established in 1559. It is not a particularly interesting or noteworthy temple except for one brief episode in its history. In May 1909 the police arrested Rinsenji’s chief priest…
In logic, we study properties of sentences, such as truth, falsity, necessity, and contin-gency, relations between sentences, such as entailment and consistency, and practicesinvolving sentences, such as argumentation. However, bysentences, we normallyonly mean sentences of a certain particular kind: declarative sentences—statements,and their counterparts in formal languages.There are princip…
The point, line, plane and solid objects represent the first three dimensions, but a kind of reversal of space is involved in the ascent to a fourth dimension. Steiner leads us to the brink of this new perspective—as nearly as it can be done with words, diagrams, analogies, and examples of many kinds. In doing so, he continues his lifelong project of demonstrating that our objective, everyday…
Questions of responsibility arise at all levels of health care. Most prominent has been the issue of patient responsibility. Some health conditions that risk death or serious harm are partly the result of lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, lack of exercise, or extreme sports. Are patients with such conditions responsible for them? If so, might healthcare providers, be they state-run systems …
This volume explores the concept of humour and its relationship with human behaviour. The interdisciplinary essays in this book cover a wide range of time, from the sixteenth century to the present day. They delve into various cultural contexts, challenging social norms and prompting readers to reflect on the ethical implications of humour. The collection highlights the varied metaphors of hero…