In this book a distinguished philosopher offers a comprehensive interpretation of Plato’s most controversial dialogue. Treating the Republic as a unity and focusing on the dramatic form as the presentation of the argument, Stanley Rosen challenges earlier analyses of the Republic (including the ironic reading of Leo Strauss and his disciples) and argues that the key to understanding the dialogue is to grasp the author’s intention in composing it, in particular whether Plato believed that the city constructed in the Republic is possible and desirable.

The Critique of Theological Reason describes the nature and prospects of Christian theology in the postmodern era. It neither takes a monolithic view of postmodernism, nor does it believe that postmodernism monopolizes all that rings most true in contemporary thought. Instead, it takes the best of modern scientific theory about the nature and end of the universe, the best of modern British philosophy of art and morality, and the best of contemporary Christian theology, and outlines a philosophically viable theology for the thoroughly evolutionary world we occupy today.

The Heirs of Plato is the first book exclusively devoted to an in-depth study of the various directions in philosophy taken by Plato's followers in the first seventy years or so following his death in 347 BC - the period generally known as 'The Old Academy'. Speusippus, Xenocrates, and Polemon, the three successive heads of the Academy in this period, though personally devoted to the memory of Plato, were independent philosophers in their own right, and felt free to develop his heritage in individual directions. This is also true of other personalities attached to the school, such as Philippus of Opus, Heraclides of Pontus, and Crantor of Soli. After an introductory chapter on the school itself, and a summary of Plato's philosophical heritage, John Dillon devotes a chapter to each of the school heads, and another to the other chief characters, exploring both what holds them together and what sets them apart. There is a final short chapter devoted to the turn away from dogmatism to scepticism under Arcesilaus in the 270s, and some reflections on the intellectual debt of Stoicism to the thought of Polemon, in particular. Dillon's clear and accessible book fills a significant gap in our understanding of Plato's immediate philosophical influence, and will be of great value to scholars and historians of ancient philosophy.

In this short and engaging book Simon Glendinning traces the origins and development of the idea of a distinctive Continental tradition, critiquing current attempts to survey the field of contemporary philosophy.

"The central claim of this book, which identifies desire as essentially grounded in the reward function, rather than in terms of its more obvious links with motivation and pleasure, is a major contribution to philosophy. In addition, we get a persuasive representational theory of pleasure. Both theses are original, philosophically subtle and scientifically informed, and Schroeder defends them with spectacular virtuosity. Schroeder's writing is energetic, pithy and direct, and as easy to follow as the subject allows. This is a splendid book, which should attract wide attention."--Ronald de Sousa, University of Toronto

A delightful collection of interviews with 20 famous names in the study of consciousness. Sue Blackmore, herself a writer on consciousness, engages in conversation with each of these very different personalities, drawing out their views on the nature of the mind, on how what goes on in the network of neurons in the brain produces our vivid experiences, and whether we have free will. The collection includes interviews with such well-known names as Daniel Dennett, John Searle, David Chalmers, Francis Crick (the last interview he gave), V. Ramachandran, Roger Penrose, Richard Gregory, and Susan Greenfield. The interviews are conducted in an informal but focused style, bringing out the personality of each interviewee, and giving the reader a very accessible and readable introduction to their ideas, and to the central scientific and philosophical challenges involved in understanding the nature of mind and consciousness.

A delightful collection of interviews with 20 famous names in the study of consciousness. Sue Blackmore, herself a writer on consciousness, engages in conversation with each of these very different personalities, drawing out their views on the nature of the mind, on how what goes on in the network of neurons in the brain produces our vivid experiences, and whether we have free will. The collection includes interviews with such well-known names as Daniel Dennett, John Searle, David Chalmers, Francis Crick (the last interview he gave), V. Ramachandran, Roger Penrose, Richard Gregory, and Susan Greenfield. The interviews are conducted in an informal but focused style, bringing out the personality of each interviewee, and giving the reader a very accessible and readable introduction to their ideas, and to the central scientific and philosophical challenges involved in understanding the nature of mind and consciousness.

This book is designed to give someone new to Asian philosophy a clear sense of its most foundational and widely available texts, ranging from the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita through Confucius to Zen. It presents philosophies that are at the roots of the cultures of India, China, Korea, and Japan, as well as other countries of south and east Asia. Each chapter brings a classic text to life, conveying the vitality and appeal of the work, while at the same time explaining its philosophical roots and the reasons for the positions it takes.

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Jonathan Israel presents the first major reassessment of the Western Enlightenment for a generation. Continuing the story he began in the best-selling Radical Enlightenment, and now focusing his attention on the first half of the eighteenth century, he returns to the original sources to offer a groundbreaking new perspective on the nature and development of the most important currents in modern thought. Israel traces many of the core principles of Western modernity to their roots in the social, political, and philosophical ferment of this period: the primacy of reason, democracy, racial equality, feminism, religious toleration, sexual emancipation, and freedom of expression.

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