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Humanism and Early Modern Philosophy is an original and timely volume that examines the distinctive and important role played by humanism in the development of early modern philosophy. Focusing on individual authors as well as intellectual trends, this collection of essays aims to portray the humanist movement as an essential part of the philosophy of the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. ... Read more

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Humanism and Ideology focuses on the philosophical problems that confront the humanist who also wishes to be an ideologue, who wishes to claim that certain ideals are worthy of regard by all mankind. The problem of ethical skepticism is of central importance to the book's discussion. Questions as to whether belief in ethical truth is compatible with tolerance; the relationship of natural law to natural right; and the relationship of happiness to moral goodness are all examined by drawing upon the ancient philosophers, particularly Aristotle, as well as upon contemporary analytical philosophy. ... Read more

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This collection of essays presents a systematic and up-to-datesurvey of the main aspects of Georg Henrik von Wright's philosophy,tracing the general humanistic leitmotiv to be found in hisvast, varied output. The analysis covers the developments in VonWright's thought up to the end of the 1990s. The essays are arrangedthematically to focus on the chief areas of Von Wright's interests:practical rationality; human action and determinism; philosophicallogic and theories of norms; research in the analytical tradition; andWittgenstein studies.
Readership: Scholars and students of moral philosophy, logic,psychology, sociology, cognitive science and the history ofcontemporary philosophy. ... Read more

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In this volume, the author covers a range of topics, including Marsilio Ficino, Nicholas of Cusa, Giovanni Gatti, and Italian Scholasticism. ... Read more

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This study compares Althusser's and Sartre's work to determine if the dichotomy between structuralism and humanism truly exists: is Althusser a dogmatic structuralist; and does Sartre's theory explore the concept of freedom so radically that it negates the effects of the social structure? The text examines several areas important to political theory: how agency or the concept of the self is depicted by both authors; and how each develops a theory of epistemology for political society, and the possibility for revolution. ... Read more

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This text provides an accessible, student-centred guide to both the set text "Existentialism and Humanism" and to the broader existentialist philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre. It is suitable for both A Level and HE philosophy students. The book features a biographical introduction setting Sartre in his historical context; a section by section guide to "Existentialism and Humanism" including key quotes; tasks and activities to help you understand and evaluate Sartre's philosophy; and a critical analysis of the philosophical implications of Sartre's ideas. It also offers summaries of key points needed for exam questions about Sartre and existentialism plus an extensive glossary of key words and ideas This title is part of the Philosophy in focus series which provides clear and focused coverage of AS and A2 Philosophy ... Read more

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This is a collection of Davis' works that contains selections from his principle writings from 1977-2008.Included are his postmodern epics, Aspects of Actuality and Order and Chaos, as well as his essays that address contemporary philosophical issues, including Humanistic Salvation, Toward Human Perfection, The Purpose Paradox Unraveled and On the Possibility of Revelation.

Also included in this volume are other works by Davis, including Egress and The Fugues in their entirety, and a selection of his plays written for dancers and voice which includes; The Preludes to the Five Acts of Prometheus: One Now There Is and the complete plays, Dream Of The Last Romantic and Sabrina's Fantasy. A selection of his poems from the same period are also included. ... Read more

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This book deals with the impact of the Reformation debate in Germany on the most prominent intellectual movement of the time: humanism Although it is true that humanism influenced the course of the Reformation, says Erika Rummel, the dynamics of the relationship are better described by saying that humanism was co-opted, perhaps even exploited, in the religious debate. ... Read more

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Martin Heidegger's impact on contemporary thought is massive and controversial. In France, the prestige of this German philosopher is such that contemporary French thought cannot be properly understood without reference to him.

Heidegger and French Philosophy examines the reception of Heidegger's thought in France. Tom Rockmore argues that in the period after World War II, due to the peculiar nature of the humanist French philosophical tradition, Heidegger became the master thinker of French philosophy. Rockmore engages with the controversy over Heidegger's political affiliation with Nazism and the debate on how this commitment can be reconciled with his theory. Examining the relation between Heidegger's philosophy and his politics, the book contends that the French reception of Heidegger's thought--first as philosophical anthropology and later as postmetaphysical humanism--has been systematically mistaken. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

A philosophy of the human person
Renaissance is French for "re-birth." But what, exactly, was reborn? The human person as a rational soul capable of free thought and choice--if we take these Renaissance thinkers seriously.

The first 119 pages are devoted to six pieces by poet Francesco Petrarca written in the mid 14th Century. "On His Own Ignorance and that of Many Others" is a wide ranging self defense against a group of Aristotelian attackers who suggested, essentially, that Petrarca's not very bright. You might expect a poet who developed the sonnet form (as Petrarca did in his Canzionere) to speak in a distinctive voice--and he certainly does.

Petrarca claims that he's inspired by Cicero, the Roman rhetorician/politician: "You might be astonished, if you did not know me that I can hardly tear myself away from Cicero, so much am I fascinated by this genius. Even now I am carried along by the no longer unfamiliar charm of the subjects he treats . . . Furthermore, he points out the miraculously coherent structure and disposition of body, sense and limbs, and finally reason and sedulous activity." He then engages in a discussion of whether it's better to have a good will or strong intellect (Petrarca himself had both): "It is safer to strive for a good and pious will than for a capable and clear intellect. The object of the will, as it pleases the wise, is to be good; that of the intellect is truth. It is better to will the good than to know the truth. The first is never without merit; the latter can often be polluted with crime and then admits no excuse."

Bravo. It's not enough to be "smart."

What's impressive here is the focus on how a person should be, what traits and characteristics one ought to adopt to live a virtuous life--with the idea implicit that one has a choice, is master of ones own destiny.

There's no "one size fits all" idea of the self nor how to lead a proper life among these thinkers, who include Lorenzo Valla, Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola, Pietro Pompanazzi and Juan Luis Vives. All strive to define the self. We'd never say philosophy of "man" today, as in 1948 when this collection was created by the University of Chicago. The important thing is their recognition of a highly conscious self working on the self--a return to and enlargement upon classical ideas of the person stretching from Plato to St. Augustine.

Marsilio Ficino's "Five Questions Concerning the Mind" taken from his Epistolae, Book 2is a work of genius. Ficino, a neo-Platonist, asks whether the motion of the mind is directed toward a definite end, whether it's a particular or universal end and whether it's obtainable. The universe itself is the end of the soul, and it is entirely infinite, he concludes. Throughout his exhilarating exploration, Ficino isn't held back by dogma or doctrine--he's freely defining how the soul and mind might work on his own terms adapting classical thinking.

Renaissance thinkers fly in the face of deterministic ideas. The independent self is thinking through its own destiny--not enslaved by a prepackaged "template" of thought.

In our post-modern world, are we held down by determinist notions that our fate is decided by genes, gender, culture etc.? That's a question worth considering as Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize-winning economist has lately done. Sen deplores the "little boxes" that divide us and observes that ideologies typically slot people into communities based on a single dimension that trumps individual identities.

Ideas of self and destiny need to be reconsidered every so often.

Maybe now would be a good time. Maybe another rebirth is needed.

A Fine Anthology of Key Renaissance Writings
This work attempts to resurface pieces of encrypted Renaissance literature which have unjustly passed out of the philosophical circles of the recent modern world and does so in a fashion which will be quite beneficial for the student of the Italian Renaissance or for well-versed philosophers who have either passed these texts by accident or sheer intent.Of the works displayed here the reader will find Petrarch in all his refined literary grace and splendor; and the inquirer will no doubt be left impressed with his sharp exposition of suggestive ideas.The great Lorenzo Valla also stands out in all his unique vigor, using the courteous method of the dialouge to impart his opinions on free will.Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola, the youthful champion of liberal studies, is found here as well, spinning the artful web-of-a-work, Oration on the Dignity of Man.A small portion of the giant corpus of Marsilio Ficino's works may also be digested: of the Latin scion of Plato's writings his Five Questions Concerning the Mind will only be discovered here.At last, the Aristotelian Pompanazzi's essay concerning immortality and Juan Luis Vives short work, A Fable About a Man, will be found here as well.Overall, the editors and translators should receive a gold-star for their efforts; the great men who wrote these treasured texts also deserve a place of precedence in the hall of histories men of literary and philosophical genius.A lover of literature, classic or contemporary, should come to grips with this compendium of Renaissance texts. ... Read more

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The senses, or sensory modalities, constitute the different ways we have of perceiving the world, such as seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling. But how many senses are there? How many could there be? What makes the senses different? What interaction takes place between the senses? This book is a guide to thinking about these questions. Together with an extensive introduction to the topic, the book contains the key classic papers on this subject together with nine newly commissioned essays.
One reason that these questions are important is that we are receiving a huge influx of new information from the sciences that challenges some traditional philosophical views about the senses. This information needs to be incorporated into our view of the senses and perception. Can we do this whilst retaining our pre-existing concepts of the senses and of perception or do we need to revise our concepts? If they need to be revised, then in what way should that be done? Research in diverse areas, such as the nature of human perception, varieties of non-human animal perception, the interaction between different sensory modalities, perceptual disorders, and possible treatments for them, calls into question the platitude that there are five senses, as well as the pre-supposition that we know what we are counting when we count them as five (or more).
This book will serve as an inspiring introduction to the topic and as a basis from which further new research will grow. ... Read more

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Schiller (1864-1937) was the primary representative of the pragmatist movement in Europe for three decades. He was also a major figure in the personal idealism movement, and a proponent of incorporating evolution into philosophical thinking. ... Read more

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In this book, Nicholas Boyle offers ten studies of the implications of the increasingly integrated world economic structure for our sense of political, cultural, and personal identity. He argues for the deep interconnectedness of politics, religion, philosophy, and literature and their shared inseparability from the economic base. In the process, he uses philosophical and literary ideas to establish systematic grounds for optimism about an emerging supra-national order, aiming to restore the possibility of "grand narrative" to our collective past and future. Boyle takes a close look at Germany and Britain, their differences and growing similarity. He discusses, among others, Thatcher, Fukuyama, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, and Seamus Heaney. Boyle asserts that as the world becomes less divided but more disparate, and its order less draconian but more precarious, choosing the paths most likely to lead to justice and peace will reform our shattered sense of identity. ... Read more

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The Best Book I've Read in Several Years
Boyle has a capacity to take in the whole of political theory, philosophy, economics, literature, culture, and faith with the deepest insight and with a powerful integration of vision and thoughtfulness. The book has beengestating for many years, but is of timely importance.

In the world ofthe global marketplace, Boyle maintains, we are all proletarians, 'down tothe last yuppie among us.' We are--each and every one of us--consumers andproducers, but globalized capitalism pressures us to disregard and forgetour place as producers, encouraging us to be mere 'punctual consumers,'unattached to place, to time, to our bodies; solely 'there' as ciphers inthe vast exchanges of capital. We thus become slaves to our forgetfulness,while wages, job security and opportunities, and our connectedness to ourwork and our control over it all diminish. Who said Marx is dead?

ButBoyle is no knee-jerk marxist. He masterfully traces the course ofmodernity and its philosophical blindspots through the political andeconomic shifts of 19th and 20th century Europe, calling us to an awarenessof the moral and religious underpinnings of our meaningful identity as wefind it in literature and in daily life--as both producers and consumers.He unapologetically considers himself a 'Christian humanist,' and thisperspective affords him a valuable and critical eye toward the dehumanizingeffects of globalization, as well as the grounds for hope we may findtherein. ... Read more

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This is a book about sensory states and their apparent characteristics.It confronts a whole series of metaphysical and epistemological questions and presents an argument for type materialism:the view that sensory states are identical with the neural states with which they are correlated.According to type materialism, sensations are only possessed by human beings and members of related biological species; silicon-based androids cannot have sensations.The author rebuts several other rival theories (dualism, double aspect theory, eliminative materialism, functionalism), and explores a number of important issues: the forms and limits of introspective awareness of sensations, the semantic properties of sensory concepts, knowledge of other minds, and unity of consciousness. The book is a significant contribution to the philosophy of mind, and has much to say to psychologists and cognitive scientists. ... Read more