Download or read book The Vanity of the Philosopher written by Sandra Peart and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2009-12-21 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The "Vanity of the Philosopher" continues the themes introduced in Levy's acclaimed book How the Dismal Science Got Its Name. Here, Peart and Levy tackle the issues of racism, eugenics, hierarchy, and egalitarianism in classical economics and take a broad view of classical economics' doctrine of human equality. Responding to perennial accusations from the left and the right that the market economy has created either inequality or too much equality, the authors trace the role of the eugenics movement in pulling economics away from the classical economist's respect for the individual toward a more racist view at the turn of the century. The "Vanity of the Philosopher" reveals the consequences of hierarchy in social science. It shows how the "vanity of the philosopher" has led to recommendations that range from the more benign but still objectionable "looking after" paternalism, to overriding preferences, and, in the extreme, to eliminating purportedly bad preferences. The authors suggest that an approach that abstracts from difference and presumes equal competence is morally compelling. "People in the know on intellectual history and economics await the next book from Peart and Levy with much the same enthusiasm that greets a new Harry Potter book in the wider world. This book delivers the anticipated delights big time!" -William Easterly, Professor of Economics and Africana Studies, NYU, and non-resident Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development "In their customary idiosyncratic manner, Sandra Peart and David Levy reexamine the way in which the views of classical economists on equality and hierarchy were shifted by contact with scholars in other disciplines, and the impact this had on attitudes towards race, immigration, and eugenics. This is an imaginative and solid work of scholarship, with an important historical message and useful lessons for scholars today." -Stanley Engerman, John Munro Professor of Economics and Professor of History, University of Rochester Sandra J. Peart, Professor of Economics at Baldwin-Wallace College, has published articles on utilitarianism, the methodology of J. S. Mill, and the transition to neoclassicism. This is her fourth book. David M. Levy is Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Director of the Center for Study of Public Choice. This is his third book.
Download or read book The Vanity of Existence written by Arthur Schopenhauer and published by . This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I shall be told, I suppose, that my philosophy is comfortless - because I speak the truth, and people prefer to be assured that everything the Lord has made is good. Go to the priests, then, and leave philosophers in peace!" A collection of essays by the great 19th-century German philosopher, including On Style, On Human Nature, On Genius, and On the Suffering of the World.
Download or read book Three Philosophies of Life written by Peter Kreeft and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2009-12-08 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I've been a philosopher for all my adult life and the three most profound books of philosophy that I have ever read are Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Songs." These are the opening lines of Kreeft's Three Philosophies of Life. He reflects that there are ultimately only three philosophies of life and each one is represented by one of these books of the Bible-life is vanity; life is suffering; life is love. In these three books Kreeft shows how we have Dante's great epic The Divine Comedy played out, from Hell to Purgatory to Heaven. But it is an epic played out in our hearts and lives, here and now. Just as there is movement in Dante's epic, so there is movement in these books, from Ecclesiates to Job, from Job to Song of Songs. Love is the final answer to Ecclesiastes' quest, the alternative to vanity, and the true meaning of life. Finally, Kreeft sees in these books the epitome of theological virtues of faith, hope and love and "an esstential summary of the spiritual history of the world".
Download or read book On the Vanity of Existence written by Arthur Schopenhauer and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-08-20 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the Vanity of Existence is one of Arthur Schopenhauer's classics.
Download or read book On the Basis of Morality written by Arthur Schopenhauer and published by Hackett Publishing. This book was released on 2019-08-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edition originally published by Berghahn Books. Schopenhauer's treatise on ethics is presented here in E. F. J. Payne’s definitive translation, based on the Hubscher edition (Wiesbaden, 1946-1950). This edition includes an Introduction by David Cartwright, a translator’s preface, biographical note, selected bibliography, and an index. For convenient reference to passages in Kant's work discussed by Schopenhauer, Academy edition numbers have been added.
Download or read book The vanity of the Philosopher written by Sandra Peart and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Philosophers written by and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-06-28 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Steve Pyke, a photographer whose work is a regular feature of The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, is known for his stunning portraits of prominent authors, artists, actors, and intellectuals. In this riveting collection, which he has been working on for twenty-five years, Pyke presents 100 black-and-white portraits of contemporary philosophers, photographed in his distinctive style. The effect of his technique can be startling but always revealing, showing insight into personality while shedding new light on the philosophical temperament. These fascinating portraits feature virtually every major philosopher working in the West, including Anthony Appiah, David Chalmers, Umberto Eco, Ruth Marcus, Richard Rorty, Roger Scruton, and Peter Singer, among others. The facing page of each portrait contains a brief piece written by the subject on the nature of philosophy and their place in it. For this volume, Arthur C. Danto has written a foreword and Jason Stanley has interviewed Pyke. Both a who's who of philosophy today and a stunning gallery of captivating images, this marvelous volume is the long-awaited sequel to Pyke's original collection, published in 1993.
Download or read book Distortion written by Jesse Duplantis and published by Harrison House. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Duplantis explains how to recognize the difference between the real and raw power of God's Word, and the powerless "genetically altered" face of distorted Christianity. By going back to the fearless roots of your faith, and seeing God's Word for what it really is, you can rid yourself of the distorted views that keep you from excelling. Discover how you can stimulate the Bible's timeless inherent power by reading and applying it with greater discernment and, more importantly, a fearless and open heart.
Download or read book Philosophical Tales written by Martin Cohen and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-01-21 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enlightening and entertaining, Philosophical Tales examinesa few of the fascinating biographical details of history’sgreatest philosophers (alas, mostly men) and highlights theircontributions to the field. By applying the true philosophicalapproach to philosophy itself, the text provides us with arefreshing 'alternative history' of philosophy. Opens up new philosophical debate by applying the truephilosophical approach to philosophy itself Provides summaries of the most celebrated and philosophicallyinteresting tales, their backgrounds, and assessments of theleading players Explores philosophers and schools of thought in one keyphilosophical text to supply a solid grounding in philosophicalideas and individuals Shakes some of the foundations of philosophy with the aim ofencouraging the reinvigoration of philosophy itself
Download or read book Of the Dignity or Meanness of Human Nature written by David Hume and published by Library of Alexandria. This book was released on 2020-09-28 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THERE are certain sects, which secretly form themselves in the learned world, as well as factions in the political; and though sometimes they come not to an open rupture, they give a different turn to the ways of thinking of those who have taken part on either side. The most remarkable of this kind are the sects, founded on the different sentiments with regard to the dignity of human nature; which is a point that seems to have divided philosophers and poets, as well as divines, from the beginning of the world to this day. Some exalt our species to the skies, and represent man as a kind of human demigod, who derives his origin from heaven, and retains evident marks of his lineage and descent. Others insist upon the blind sides of human nature, and can discover nothing, except vanity, in which man surpasses the other animals, whom he affects so much to despise. If an author possess the talent of rhetoric and declamation, he commonly takes part with the former: If his turn lie towards irony and ridicule, he naturally throws himself into the other extreme. I am far from thinking, that all those, who have depreciated our species, have been enemies to virtue, and have exposed the frailties of their fellow creatures with any bad intention. On the contrary, I am sensible that a delicate sense of morals, especially when attended with a splenetic temper, is apt to give a man a disgust of the world, and to make him consider the common course of human affairs with too much indignation. I must, however, be of opinion, that the sentiments of those, who are inclined to think favourably of mankind, are more advantageous to virtue, than the contrary principles, which give us a mean opinion of our nature. When a man is prepossessed with a high notion of his rank and character in the creation, he will naturally endeavour to act up to it, and will scorn to do a base or vicious action, which might sink him below that figure which he makes in his own imagination. Accordingly we find, that all our polite and fashionable moralists insist upon this topic, and endeavour to represent vice as unworthy of man, as well as odious in itself.
Download or read book Mirror Mirror written by Simon Blackburn and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-03-02 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of Think, an enlightening and entertaining exploration of narcissism and self-esteem Everyone deplores narcissism, especially in others. The vain are by turns annoying or absurd, offending us whether they are blissfully oblivious or proudly aware of their behavior. But are narcissism and vanity really as bad as they seem? Can we avoid them even if we try? In Mirror, Mirror, Simon Blackburn, the author of such best-selling philosophy books as Think, Being Good, and Lust, says that narcissism, vanity, pride, and self-esteem are more complex than they first appear and have innumerable good and bad forms. Drawing on philosophy, psychology, literature, history, and popular culture, Blackburn offers an enlightening and entertaining exploration of self-love, from the myth of Narcissus and the Christian story of the Fall to today's self-esteem industry. A sparkling mixture of learning, humor, and style, Mirror, Mirror examines what great thinkers have said about self-love—from Aristotle, Cicero, and Erasmus to Rousseau, Adam Smith, Kant, and Iris Murdoch. It considers today’s "me"-related obsessions, such as the “selfie,” plastic surgery, and cosmetic enhancements, and reflects on connected phenomena such as the fatal commodification of social life and the tragic overconfidence of George W. Bush and Tony Blair. Ultimately, Mirror, Mirror shows why self-regard is a necessary and healthy part of life. But it also suggests that we have lost the ability to distinguish—let alone strike a balance—between good and bad forms of self-concern.
Download or read book Philosopher of the Heart written by Clare Carlisle and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philosopher of the Heart is the groundbreaking biography of renowned existentialist Søren Kierkegaard’s life and creativity, and a searching exploration of how to be a human being in the world. Søren Kierkegaard is one of the most passionate and challenging of all modern philosophers, and is often regarded as the founder of existentialism. Over about a decade in the 1840s and 1850s, writings poured from his pen pursuing the question of existence—how to be a human being in the world?—while exploring the possibilities of Christianity and confronting the failures of its institutional manifestation around him. Much of his creativity sprang from his relationship with the young woman whom he promised to marry, then left to devote himself to writing, a relationship which remained decisive for the rest of his life. He deliberately lived in the swim of human life in Copenhagen, but alone, and died exhausted in 1855 at the age of 42, bequeathing his remarkable writings to his erstwhile fiancée. Clare Carlisle’s innovative and moving biography writes Kierkegaard’s life as far as possible from his own perspective, to convey what it was like actually being this Socrates of Christendom—as he put it, living life forwards yet only understanding it backwards.
Download or read book The Vanity of Dogmatizing written by Joseph Glanvill and published by . This book was released on 1931 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Impartial Spectator written by D. D. Raphael and published by Clarendon Press. This book was released on 2007-01-25 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: D. D. Raphael provides a critical account of the moral philosophy of Adam Smith, presented in his first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Whilst it does not have the same prominence in its field as his work on economics, The Wealth of Nations, Smith's writing on ethics is of continuing importance and interest today, especially for its theory of conscience. Smith sees the origin of conscience in the sympathetic and antipathetic feelings of spectators. As spectators of the actions of other people, we can imagine how we would feel in their situation. If we would share their motives, we approve of their action. If not, we disapprove. When we ourselves take an action, we know from experience what spectators would feel, approval or disapproval. That knowledge forms conscience, an imagined impartial spectator who tells us whether an action is right or wrong. In describing the content of moral judgement, Smith is much influenced by Stoic ethics, with an emphasis on self-command, but he voices criticism as well as praise. His own position is a combination of Stoic and Christian values. There is a substantial difference between the first five editions of the Moral Sentiments and the sixth. Failure to take account of this has led some commentators to mistaken views about the supposed youthful idealism of the Moral Sentiments as contrasted with the mature realism of The Wealth of Nations. A further source of error has been the supposition that Smith treats sympathy as the motive of moral action, as contrasted with the supposedly universal motive of self-interest in The Wealth of Nations.
Download or read book Scepsis scientifica or confest ignorance the way to science written by Joseph Glanvill and published by . This book was released on 1665 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Vanity of Dogmatizing written by Joseph Glanvill and published by Harvester Press. This book was released on 1970 with total page 632 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Frederick the Great s Philosophical Writings written by Frederick II and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-12-01 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first modern English edition of diverse Enlightenment-era writings by Prussian monarch Frederick the Great Frederick II of Prussia (1712–1786), best known as Frederick the Great, was a prolific writer of philosophical discourses, poems, epics, satires, and more, while maintaining extensive correspondence with prominent intellectuals, Voltaire among them. This edition of selected writings, the first to make a wide range of Frederick’s most important ideas available to a modern English readership, moves beyond traditional attempts to see his work only in light of his political aims. In these pages, we can finally appreciate Frederick’s influential contributions to the European Enlightenment—and his unusual role as a monarch who was also a published author. In addition to Frederick’s major opus, the Anti-Machiavel, the works presented here include essays, prefaces, reviews, and dialogues. The subjects discussed run the gamut from ethics to religion to political theory. Accompanied by critical annotations, the texts show that we can understand Frederick’s views of kingship and the state only if we engage with a broad spectrum of his thought, including his attitudes toward morality and self-love. By contextualizing his arguments and impact on Enlightenment beliefs, this volume considers how we can reconcile Frederick’s innovative public musings with his absolutist rule. Avi Lifschitz provides a robust and detailed introduction that discusses Frederick’s life and work against the backdrop of eighteenth-century history and politics. With its unparalleled scope and cross-disciplinary appeal, Frederick the Great’s Philosophical Writings firmly establishes one monarch’s multifaceted relevance for generations of readers and scholars to come.
