Bøger udgivet af Globe Pequot Press

The essays in this volume are the outcome of a centennial celebration honoring the life and career of Sidney Hook. In addition to some of his former students, colleagues, allies, and adversaries, this volume contains several essays by relatively unknown scholars. The value of their contributions is measured by fresh insights into Hook's philosophical significance, as well as the underlying argument that adequate distance is needed to evaluate his historical relevance. Despite the contentious nature of these two approaches, ultimately these essays represent the comprehensive attempt to both reexamine Hook's legacy and celebrate his life. The contributors include Jo-Ann Boydston, Gary Bullert, Steven Cahn, Matthew Cotter, Michael Eldridge, Barbara Forrest, Nathan Glazer, Neil Jumonville, Marvin Kohl, Paul Kurtz, Tibor Machan, Christopher Phelps, Kathleen Poulos, Edward Shapiro, David Sidorsky, Robert Talisse, and Bruce Wilshire. With a completely revised and updated bibliography of Hook's works, plus an afterword by Richard Rorty, this outstanding collection of essays examining the rich and varied experience of one of America's most misunderstood intellectuals will be of great interest to students and scholars of American intellectual history and philosophy.

Elder care has become a growing concern for many families, communities, health professionals, and the many establishments that provide living arrangements for the elderly. To work in elder care, as a professional caregiver or a family care provider, requires a command of current information from multiple disciplines, including nursing, medicine, social work, counseling, as well as dentistry and physical therapy. Now, for the first time, this information has been gathered in a single source.The Encyclopedia of Elder Care features nearly three hundred articles providing practical information on how to care for elders. Written by more than three hundred experts, this accessible state-of-the-art resource addresses home care, including family-based care; nursing-home care; rehabilitation; case management; social services; assisted living; palliative care; and more.Each article concludes with references to pertinent Web sites. Easy to read and extensively cross-referenced, this comprehensive resource on geriatric and social care will be an indispensable tool for all who care for our nation's elders.

When in 1823 Sigmund Freud published his structural id/ego/superego concept of the mind, he predicted that future scientific study would show that all mental experiences originate in the brain. Indeed, the extraordinary advances in neuroscience and brain-imaging technologies during the last three decades have indisputably established that the brain is involved in every mental activity.However, we have yet to discover how electro-chemical activities in the brain produce or convert into mental events. Most theories have centered on Freud's claim that mental functions are ego functions. In this ambitious and deeply thoughtful work, psychiatrist Christiaan D. van der Velde presents the results of a different approach: the analysis of the origin, nature, and functionality of the common denominators of all mental events - our mental representations. While Freud conceived these to be products of the mind, Van der Velde's analysis disputes Freud's claim. Mental representations are actually autochthonously occurring phenomena, which originate as activated cerebral imprints of previously experienced visual percepts whose gestalts - or patterns - determine cognitive content. Each gestalt is accompanied by a sense of having experienced it previously. This sense of "knowing" cannot be explained by any physical process or function of the brain. By applying a new interpretation of the philosophical concept of dialectics the author describes cognition as an empirical - that is, purely experiential - epiphenomenon, which reflects the specific differences between internal images and actual visual percepts. Van der Velde concludes that mental representations (1) are not the products but the constituents of the mind and (2) enable us to explain the psychodynamics of all mental functions.This cogent, incisive analysis by a leading psychotherapist and researcher in cognition provides much to ponder and many insights into the nature of the mind.

In recent years, our society has witnessed a resurgence in astrology that has elevated that durable art form to a level of popularity it hasn't enjoyed since the eve of western European Renaissance. In what has thus far been a relatively successful attempt to cash in on the triumphs of twentieth-centiry science and technology, contemporary astrologers unashamedly claim far and wide that their craft is rationally consistent, that it is scientifically based, and, above all, that "it works." In The Gemini Syndrome, two professional astronomers have produced a highly readable and well-referenced response to claims by astrologers that their theories are scientifically based. The authors elucidate the glaring internal inconsistencies associated with many of the basic concepts of "modern" astrology. They trace the historical development of the celestial "twins" of astronomy and astrology and leave little doubt concerning the differences, both historical and modern, between astronomical science and astrological art-form. The book's most telling chapters are those dealing with the empirical evidence concerning the supposed astrological influences. Culver and Ianna offer the reader what is the most complete summary of the available data about sun-signs, houses, and aspects. In every instance the empirical astrologer is found to have no clothes on! Finally, the oft-stated claim that "astrology works" is investigated and laid to rest under the debris of more than three thousand "busted" predictions made by the astrologers themselves, ranging from the start of World War III to the existence of an "anti-earth" orbiting on the other side of the sun.

Plato defined eros as the yearning for things beautiful and good. It is on this original sense that philosopher James Gouinlock bases this insightful study of ethics and wisdom. Gouinlock argues that the only fruitful way to evaluate the norms of social life is to understand them as natural forces, not as arbitrary matters of convention or derivatives of some abstract theory. The good life and the meanings of life consist in the recognition and pursuit of values that are already resident in natural experience. Successful pursuit of them requires teaching, the accumulation of wisdom, and the cultivation of virtue. Above all is eros, the motivating force that drives us to search for life's most precious goods. In so doing we acquire a "wisdom according to nature."Inspired by Greek philosophy, Gouinlock's approach avoids the pitfalls of moral systems that evolve out of abstract theorizing and tend to ignore well-established practice and conviction. Gouinlock makes the important point that social practices, like natural forces, though subject to change in varying degrees, are rarely amenable to radical overhaul. The real values of common life occur in a difficult, demanding, and often-perilous environment. This is not a context in which anything goes, for it possesses inherent constraints as well as opportunities. As Gouinlock shows in detail, there is much wisdom to be gained from understanding the distinctive functions of nature in the conduct of life.Written with clarity and eloquence, this original and fully developed philosophy of life makes fundamental philosophical arguments accessible to educated lay readers as well as to professional philosophers.

This stress-free layperson's introduction to the intriguing world of numbers is designed to acquaint the general reader with the elegance and wonder of mathematics.

As the executive director of Freedom House for twenty-one years and now its Senior Scholar in International Communications, Leonard R. Sussman has had the extraordinary opportunity of both leading and serving an organization that has been at the center of the struggle for freedom for more than sixty years. Founded by Eleanor Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie, and other visionary Americans, both Democratic and Republican, Freedom House has championed worthy causes from the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, to the new democracies that have emerged around the world since the 1990s. In this engrossing memoir of his adventures with courageous men and women in fifty-nine countries, Sussman pays tribute to those mostly unsung heroes who contributed to freedom and humanistic ideals and in some cases paid the heavy price of imprisonment, torture, or death.Among the many interesting individuals profiled are: Helen Suzman, a white parliamentarian who fought apartheid for three decades; Milovan Djilas, a leading Yugoslav anticommunist who suffered years of imprisonment; philosopher-activist Sidney Hook; Luis Munoz Marin, Puerto Rica's first elected native governor; Lucia Thorne, a courageous journalist who risked her life in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion; and many other journalists, politicians, activists, and intellectuals.Also included is a never-before-published 1987 interview with civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, in which Rustin compares the NAACP's Roy Wilkins with Martin Luther King.This one-of-a-kind memoir, full of intriguing insights and vignettes, is a fascinating record of people, ideas, and history in the making.

For anyone who has ever wondered about the ethics of killing animals for food, this is the definitive collection of essays on the ethical debate. Written by internationally recognized scholars on both sides of the debate, the provocative articles here compiled will give vegetarians and meat-eaters a thorough grounding in all aspects of this controversial issue.After an introduction to the nature of the debate by editor Steve F. Sapontzis, Daniel Dombrowski reviews the history of vegetarianism. There follows a discussion of health issues and what anthropology has to tell us about human diet. Also included are the classic cases for vegetarianism from philosophers Peter Singer and Tom Regan, and new essays rebutting those classic positions from humanists Roger Scruton and Carl Cohen, among others. Various scholars then examine religious teachings about eating animals, which are drawn from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as Native American and Eastern traditions. Finally, Carol J. Adams, Deanne Curtin, and Val Plumwood, among other outstanding advocates, debate the ethics of eating meat in connection with feminism, environmentalism, and multiculturalism.Containing virtually a "Who's Who" of philosophers, social critics, environmentalists, feminists, and religious scholars who have participated in the vegetarianism debate over the past quarter century, this outstanding anthology of expert articles, most of them new, provides the latest thinking on a subject of increasing public interest.

During his long, productive life the great English philosopher and exponent of utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) wrote not just on political philosophy but also clandestinely on religion. Under the pseudonym of Philip Beauchamp he published an attack on natural religion called "Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind" and under the pseudonym of Gamaliel Smith he published a book of New Testament criticism called "Not Paul, But Jesus." In addition, Bentham bravely released under his own name" Church-of-Englandism and Its Catechism Examined," a thorough, biting critique of Anglican doctrine. These little-known works are discussed at length by philosopher Delos B. McKown in this informative contribution to Bentham scholarship. McKown introduces these major works on religion, and then presents an extensive synopsis of each. He defends Bentham against the criticisms of opponents where necessary, but does not hesitate to criticize Bentham when he feels he goes astray. McKown also shows how Bentham's attacks on the Christianity of his time, which denigrated human life in the here-and-now for some imagined future postmortem state of glory, fully complemented his utilitarian philosophy of the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. This thorough analysis of three little-known works by one of philosophy's great minds makes an outstanding contribution to Bentham scholarship and will be of interest to humanists and philosophers of religion.

This is both the story of Li's family and a story of modern China, offering hope for the future of United States-Chinese relations and insight for Americans into an ancient land.

Based on an intensive qualitative study of a diverse group of 51 older widowers, this unique book sets widowhood within the context of life experience and identifies characteristics and patterns of behavior that contribute to widowersAE success, or lack of it, in adjusting satisfactorily to their circumstances. The authors shed light on widowers' specific needs and on the services needed to help widowers develop greater self-reliance.Among the topics discussed are models of resilience, marriage and illness of the spouse, caregiving and communication, death of the wife, grief and adjustment, living alone and remarriage, life values carried forward, adult children and other social support, and cohorts and the future. The authors conclude with a consideration of trends that may influence the next generation's experience of widowhood.This excellent volume offers expert guidance on the needs and care of the nearly invisible population of older widowers.

In this probing critique of aviation security since 9/11, security expert Thomas examines the recent overhaul of the national aviation security system. Illustrations.

The conviction that death means everlasting extinction, with no possibility of an afterlife, is described by Heinegg as "mortalism." In this unique anthology, he has collected more than 50 selections of poetry and prose that reflect this view.

Is it possible to live the good life and be morally responsible without religious belief? In this translation from the English original for Spanish-language readers, Paul Kurtz, America's leading secular-humanist philosopher, affirms that it is. Although orthodox theists and fundamentalists deny this possibility and reject secularism, Kurtz is firmly convinced that we can transcend the limits of parochial loyalties and achieve a higher stage of ethics. Since history has shown that belief in God is no guarantee of moral virtue, Kurtz maintains that we need to move beyond now-outmoded theistic belief systems. He argues for the development of a rational ethics based on a realistic appraisal of nature and an awareness of the common moral decencies shared by all peoples. Only by summoning the courage and wisdom to eat the "forbidden fruit" of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, will we be able to ground principles and values in autonomous reason and discover significant ethical truths that can guide both self-reliant conduct and consideration for the rights of others. "Forbidden Fruit" contains important chapters on privacy and human rights, and presents concrete ethical recommendations as alternatives to the reigning orthodoxies.

This hard-hitting critique will serve as a wake-up call to university administrators and faculty, as well as to the average parent or prospective college student facing ever- increasing tuition costs. While reports of poor teaching at the elementary and secondary school level have unleashed widespread public outcry for reform, little attention has been paid to the quality of teaching in colleges and universities. Yet according to the National Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University, "universities have too often failed, and continue to fail their undergraduate populations," and "the students paying the tuition get, in all too many cases, less than their money's worth." Citing this report and other similar studies, experienced university administrator Dr. Mel Scarlett criticizes the deficits of the current undergraduate educational system and suggests improvements that would ensure that college students get the education they're paying for. Among his suggestions for reform are: *Renewed emphasis on teaching skills in Ph.D. programs to ensure that those who do teach have some pedagogical training besides their special expertise *The more active role of experienced professors in the teaching of undergraduates to reverse the current trend of using graduate assistants or part-time faculty to teach lower-level courses *Encouraging students' active participation in the learning process as opposed to the passive learning model of the lecture method *An adjustment of the university's publish-or-perish reward system, which stresses research and ignores teaching. Dr. Scarlett lists a total of 20 "deadly sins" committed by universities against undergraduates and 80 improvements that would help to reform the current inadequate higher educational system.

How likely is it that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe? This is the intriguing question explored by the author, who makes the case that human evolution may be unique in our galaxy. Illustrations.

In this fresh evaluation of Western ethics, noted philosopher Richard Taylor argues that philosophy must return to the classical notion of virtue as the basis of ethics. To ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, ethics was chiefly the study of how individuals attain personal excellence, or "virtue," defined as intellectual sophistication, wisdom, strength of character, and creativity. With the ascendancy of the Judeo-Christian ethic, says Taylor, this emphasis on pride of personal worth was lost. Instead, philosophy became preoccupied with defining right and wrong in terms of a divine lawgiver, and the concept of virtue was debased to mean mere obedience to divine law. Even today, in the absence of religious belief, modern thinkers unwittingly continue this legacy by creating hairsplitting definitions of good and evil.Taylor points out that the ancients rightly understood the ultimate concern of ethics to be the search for happiness, a concept that seems to have eluded contemporary society despite unprecedented prosperity and convenience. Extolling Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Taylor urges us to reread this brilliant and still relevant treatise, especially its emphasis on an ethic of aspiration.

""Creative.... Readers of this book cannot help but get caught up in the students' voyages of discovery.... A powerful introduction to the challenges and the joys of doing science." -American Reference Books Annual 2003 "The introduction by Lederman should be required reading for all high school science teachers and students...[a] rare offering that talks to kids about something besides their problems.... [It] delightfully demonstrates that not all scientists are nerdy white men wearing thick eyeglasses." -San Jose Mercury News "This book comes along at a time of growing science illiteracy among Americans. If you know a young, potential scientist, this book would make a fine...gift with its insightful and inspiring stories." -Bookviews.com "A well-written, very interesting, book." -Science Books & Films

This lucid, informal, and very accessible history of Western thought takes the unique approach of interpreting skepticism--i.e., doubts about knowledge claims and the criteria for making such claims--as an important stimulus for the development of philosophy. The authors argue that practically every great thinker from the time of the Greeks to the present has produced theories designed to forestall or refute skepticism: from Plato to Moore and Wittgenstein. The influence of and responses to such 20th-century skeptics as Russell and Derrida are also discussed critically. Popkin and Stroll review each major theory of philosophy chronologically and then further organize these theories into their respective subject areas: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and philosophy of religion. Within each subject area the authors discuss how the skeptical challenge gave rise to new philosophical positions. The volume concludes with an especially interesting debate between the authors on the merits of skepticism today. Stroll thinks that ultimately the doubts expressed by skeptics can be refuted, while Popkin denies this. This is an outstanding introduction to the problems of philosophy by two eminent philosophers with a gift for presenting the history of ideas in a very enjoyable fashion.

In the health and fitness industry truth is a scarce commodity, charges Dr. Larry M. Forness. American consumers, exposed to a daily barrage of hype and misinformation about all the products and services that claim to make them healthier and more attractive, annually spend forty billion dollars needlessly on a cornucopia of vitamins, minerals, herbal supplements, ergogenic aids, fitness equipment, and alternative healthcare treatments. In this "survival manual," Forness's goal is to teach consumers the critical tools to make them more knowledgeable about these questionable items. The topics covered include the real meaning of oscientifically proven," methods for quantitatively analyzing such claims as "more energy" and "improved strength," alternative healthcare treatments vs. hard science, fad diets, aging remedies, abuse of the labels "certified" and "licensed," plus an extremely useful glossary explaining commonly used marketing terms. To reinforce his message, Forness has originated the "Bozo du Jour Award," bestowed on various individuals, groups, or companies that have created or participated in misleading advertising, or have done something that could harm consumers. Before you begin yet another weight loss or fitness program or buy the next healthcare product, you owe it to yourself to read what Dr. Forness has to say.

A longtime admirer of well crafted prose, word puzzles and clever turns of phrase, Gardner assembles his favorite examples of the lighter side of poetry. Illustrations.

Mathematical truths are often so compelling that some mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers posit a purely nonmaterial realm of eternal truths accessible to the mind alone. Mathematical physicist Simon Altmann carefully criticizes this revival of dualistic philosophy la Plato in this highly stimulating book. Has mathematics and physics discovered a new supernatural world, or is this mental cosmos simply an outgrowth of natural evolutionary processes? This is the crucial philosophical issue that Altmann elucidates.Altmann provides a thorough philosophical basis to understand the meaning of natural law, the scientific method, and causality in science. He reviews the classical approach to time, space, and the laws of mechanics, and discusses the implications of relativity theory. Key modern concepts, like randomness, probability, and time's arrow are explained, and the nature of mathematics and Gdel's theorems is discussed in depth. A mystery-free treatment of quantum mechanics, Schrdinger's cat, and the famous Bell inequalities follows. He also assesses the reactions of various philosophical schools to these developments - idealism, physicalism, cultural relativism and social constructivism. The book concludes with a fascinating dialogue on science and belief. Educated lay readers will welcome Altmann's engaging and lucid exposition.

Russian philosopher Valery A. Kuvakin reviews the major principles of humanism as the starting point for an overall definition of humanity. Humanism, as definied by Kuvakin, is based on the scientific method, seeks objective knowledge, is anthropocentric, uses reason as its guiding principle, and extolls common sense based on scientifically verifiable knowledge without any restriction from tradition, customs, political systems, or religion.Arrayed against these humanist values are the "pseudovalues" of the paranormal and irrational faith, and the "antivalues" of greed, corruption, addiction, violence, and environmental destruction. Avoiding both the heaven of our fantasies and the hell of our own making, humanism offers the 21st century the basis for establishing a just, free, and sane society.

This entertaining history of America's supermarket tabloids offers a behind-the-scenes look at the intriguing world of tabloid journalism, and especially the unique personalities that made it a successful and influential force in today's media. Illustrations.

Two women come together at the bedside of a dying man. One is his wife, one his mistress. A layered tale of undying love and never ending war.

Issued on the 25th anniversary of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), this book brings together personal statements by the leading skeptics of the world. CSICOP, the first major organization of skeptics on the contemporary scene, is worldwide in scope and is dedicated to the skeptical evaluation of both paranormal and religious claims in the light of scientific inquiry. All of the articles are original and written especially for this collection. Many pieces are autobiographical; others reflect on the current state of research into paranormal claims. The contributors focus on ESP and parapsychology, astrology, UFOlogy, the difference between science and pseudoscience, alternative medicine, magic, near-death experiences, spiritual energy, Bible codes, and religious claims that purport to have empirical foundations. Among the thirty-seven distinguished contributors are Martin Gardner (former columnist for "Scientific American"), Leon Jaroff (former science editor of "Time"), Philip J. Klass (the leading UFO skeptic), Antony Flew (noted British philosopher), Kendrick Frazier (editor of the" Skeptical Inquirer"), the late Steve Allen (noted author, comedian, and television pioneer), Bill Nye ("The Science Guy"), Jean-Claude Pecker (one of France's leading astronomers), Joe Nickell (paranormal investigator), Susan J. Blackmore (parapsychologist), Eugenie Scott (critic of "creationism"), among others. Contributors come from the USA, Canada, Britain, France, India, the Netherlands, Spain, Mexico, and Russia. This is a unique and exciting history of the current skeptical movement.

Everyone has creative potentials waiting to be discovered. The challenge we all face is learning how to tap into those potentials to release our creative gifts. Innovative educator Roy P. Fairfield has mined his many years of experience and his own creativity in teaching people new ways to explore their inner resources by writing this fun, practical, and truly inspiring book. Fairfield's main thesis is that the process of creativity is more important than the product, and we can all learn to be creative every day. To that end he has created a series of entertaining and interesting exercises, including a "Write-in-the-Dark Kit," a retirement kit called "Count Down to Re-FIRE-ment," and "Crap-Detecting as a Way of Life." Encouraging readers to "go forth and do likewise," Fairfield demonstrates how such exercises can open entire new mental landscapes to be explored with both joy and satisfaction. Drawing on the ideas of Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and other pioneers in the humanistic tradition, Fairfield discusses everything from creating a climate for creativity to the uses of illusion to spur on creative expression of all sorts. Truly a hands-on guide for living in the moment, Get Inspired! will change your life, and you'll be thankful for it.

This irreverent romp over the sacred cows of religion is a humorous and refreshingly down-to-earth call for common sense. Judith Hayes, the Erma Bombeck of the secular humanist community, has the unique ability to raise serious points while making us laugh as she throws buckets of cold water on the irrational beliefs and maddening inconsistencies that often characterize popular religion. She's at her best when recounting modern-day "miracles" such as the apparition of the Virgin Mary's face in a waffle at a Fresno diner; or when she describes how she started rubbing a stuffed penguin whenever she had the urge to pray, and got the same results. But there are also poignant stories about believing friends and acquaintances whose struggles with irrational beliefs in the face of perplexing dilemmas and personal tragedies are in many cases heartrending. She also devotes a chapter to explaining in clear, concise, layperson's terms exactly what humanism is and stands for, in particular extolling its tolerance. "When people ask me why I write what I write," she says, "I usually answer, 'To nudge people.' This is literally the truth. I try to nudge people into thinking about things they might otherwise never give a passing thought to. I try to make it easier for them to do so by using satire, vivid imagery, and a sprinkling of merry nonsense." By turns funny, provocative, and touching, Judith Hayes is the perfect popular spokesperson for clear thinking and reason.