Bøger udgivet af Open Court Publishing Co ,U.S.

The Grateful Dead and Philosophy contains essays from 20 professional philosophers whose love of the Dead''s music and scene have led them to reflect on different philosophical questions that have arisen from the enigma that is the Grateful Dead. Coming at the Dead from a variety of perspectives, ancient and modern, Eastern and Western, this book considers how the group fits into the broader trends of American thought running through pragmatism and the Beat poets. There''s a pertinent analysis of how the parking lot scene with its tie-dyed t-shirt and veggie burrito vendors was both a rejection and embrace of capitalism, and much more. The lyrics of the Grateful Dead’s many songs are also the basis for several essays considering questions of fate and freedom, the nature-nurture debate, and gamblers’ ethics.

The most popular musical group of all time, the Beatles also brought serious thought to the bubble gum-scented world of pop and rock music, with adventurous, profound, and sometimes mysterious lyrics that veered from the deliberate absurdity of “I Am the Walrus” to the rosy Rousseau-like fantasy of “When I’m 64” to the darkly existential/nihilist visions of “Eleanor Rigby” and “A Day in the Life.” In this lively new book, 20 Beatles-loving philosophers offer fresh insight into the lives and words of the Fab Four. Among the topics investigated are the groups’ critique of consumer culture; John Lennon and the Cold War; Paul McCartney’s philosophy of love, community, and politics; the Beatles’ struggle against the inauthentic; the ethics of chemically changed states of consciousness; the metaphysical standing of popularized Eastern meditation; and skepticism in the Beatles’ worldview. Like earlier titles in this popular series, The Beatles and Philosophy discusses complex issues in an enjoyable, highly readable fashion.

This translation presents Daoism’s basic text in highly readable contemporary English. Incorporating the latest scholarship in the field (including the most recent discoveries of ancient manuscripts in the 1970s and ''90s), the book explains Daodejing''s often cryptic verses in a clear and concise way. The introduction interprets the Daodejing''s poetic imagery in the context of ancient Chinese symbolism, and a brief philosophical analysis accompanies each of the 81 translated chapters of the Daodejing.

Martin Heidegger’s (1889-1976) influence has long been felt not just in philosophy, but also in such fields as art, architecture, and literary studies. Yet his difficult terminology has often scared away interested readers lacking an academic background in philosophy. In this new entry in the Ideas Explained series, author Graham Harman shows that Heidegger is actually one of the simplest and clearest of thinkers. His writings and analyses boil down to a single powerful idea: being is not presence. In any human relation with the world, our thinking and even our acting do not fully exhaust the world. Something more always withdraws from our grasp. As Harman shows, Heidegger understood that human beings are not lucid scientific observers staring at the world and describing it, but instead are thrown into a world where light is always mixed with shadow. The book concludes with a comprehensible discussion of the philosopher’s notoriously opaque concept of the fourfold.

The shower scene in Psycho; Cary Grant running for his life through a cornfield; “innocent” birds lined up on a fence waiting, watching — these seminal cinematic moments are as real to moviegoers as their own lives. But what makes them so? What deeper forces are at work in Hitchcock’s films that so captivate his fans? This collection of articles in the series that’s explored such pop-culture phenomena as Seinfeld and The Simpsons examines those forces with fresh eyes. These essays demonstrate a fascinating range of topics: Sabotage’s lessons about the morality of terrorism and counter-terrorism; Rope’s debatable Nietzschean underpinnings; Strangers on a Train’s definition of morality. Some of the essays look at more overarching questions, such as why Hitchcock relies so heavily on the Freudian unconscious. In all, the book features 18 philosophers paying a special homage to the legendary auteur in a way that’s accessible even to casual fans.

This work presents a collection of stories about contemporary women of various ages and ethnic backgrounds who have one thing in common: each embraces a pertinent myth as her guide through a difficult passage in life. This is the third book in Open Court's "Dreamcatcher" series.

A guide to the life and work of important medieval philosopher William Ockham, explaining "Ockham's Razor", the controversy surrounding it, and anti-Razor theories. Beginning with Ockham's youth, it gives the reader background to the theology and some of the Aristotelian philosophy he would have studied as a boy.

Seven of the 20th century's greatest thinkers describe how they arrived at the ideas for which they are now known. The seven great thinkers are: A.J. Ayer, Martin Buber, Albert Einstein, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Bertrand Russell, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Skepticism, the view that reliable knowledge is beyond our grasp, has defied refutation throughout the history of philosophy. This work argues that skepticism cannot be avoided as long as knowledge is considered purely as an intellectual matter.

Gottlob Frege (1848-1925)believed that arithmetic and all mathematics are derived from logic, and to prove his he developed a completely new approach to logic and numbers. Joan Weiner presents Frege's life and ideas, showing how his thinking evolved through successive books and articles.

A collection of 65 stories from around the world, handed down through oral tradition and steeped in their respective cultures. Interpretative comments and suggested uses are offered by the author, with true-life examples of changes that can be made when a healing story is taken to heart.

This unique book is an authoritative and detailed guide to all the best musical creations for small string ensembles, including prominent works by Mozart, Hayden, Beethoven, Schubert and more. It provides a description and evaluation of all the works covered, rating the level of difficulty and the level of enjoyment for the amateur performer.

Written by the man considered the "Person of the Century" by Time magazine, this is not a glimpse into Einstein's personal life, but an extension and elaboration into his thinking on science. Two of the great theories of the physical world were created in the early 20th century: the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. Einstein created the theory of relativity and was also one of the founders of quantum theory. Here, Einstein describes the failure of classical mechanics and the rise of the electromagnetic field, the theory of relativity, and of the quanta. Written in German by Einstein himself, the book is faced, page-by-page, with a translation by the noted Professor of Philosophy Paul Arthur Schilpp.

In this clearly reasoned defense of Bayes's Theorem -- that probability can be used to reasonably justify scientific theories -- Colin Howson and Peter Urbach examine the way in which scientists appeal to probability arguments, and demonstrate that the classical approach to statistical inference is full of flaws. Arguing the case for the Bayesian method with little more than basic algebra, the authors show that it avoids the difficulties of the classical system. The book also refutes the major criticisms leveled against Bayesian logic, especially that it is too subjective. This newly updated edition of this classic textbook is also suitable for college courses.

"The Revolutionary Kant" offers a new appreciation of Kant's classic, arguing that Kant's reform of philosophy was far more radical than has been previously understood. The book examines his proposed revolutionary reform -- to abandon traditional metaphysics and point philosophy in a new direction -- and contends that critics have misrepresented conflicts between Kant and his predecessors. Kant, Bird argues, was not a flawed innovator but an advocate of a new philosophical project, one that began to be appreciated only in the twentieth century.

A superb classroom edition with a detailed introduction and extensive notes by Anthony Flew, author of Hume's Philosophy of Belief. This also includes Hume's autobiography, My Own Life; Hume's An abstract of A Treatise of Human Nature; the key passage Why a Cause is Always Necessary from Hume's Treatise; three letters by Hume, and the famous letter on Hume's death by Adam Smith.

Covering everything from Aristotle to ziti, this title explores such topics as: is Tony Soprano a good man?; is Carmella a feminist?; morally speaking who is the worst person on "The Sopranos"; and is watching "The Sopranos" harmful to your mental or moral health?

A light-hearted introduction to philosophy through the antics of the Simpsons, television's animated family. The contributors discuss the thought of key philosophers including Aristotle, Sartre and Kant, and tackle issues like irony and the meaning of life, and American anti-intellectualism.

This volume asserts that many philosophical controversies really depend upon whether a particular language should be used. The author explores a "Principle of Tolerance", by which everyone is free to mix and match the rules of language.

The Cours de linguistique generale, reconstructed from students'' notes after Saussure''s death in 1913, founded modern linguistic theory by breaking the study of language free from a merely historical and comparativist approach. Saussure''s new method, now known as Structuralism, has since been applied to such diverse areas as art, architecture, folklore, literary criticism, and philosophy.

A humorous investigation into the connections between the likes of Marx and Foucault and one of the legendary symbols of outlaw individualism. Here, words like Sturgis, Hollister, and panhead share the page with philosophical giants such as Marx, Hobbes and Socrates. It offers a series of essays, combining humour and philosophical introspection.

This title concerns itself with no less than the nature of what is and what it means for something to be what it is. It provides a fresh approach to the basic Western philosophical and psychological issues of identity, determinacy, being, desire, boredom, addiction, love and truth.

Using Jung's approach to dreams and myths, analyst Steven Galipeau discusses the symbolism and meaning embedded in "Star Wars", George Lucas's modern fairytale. He covers issues such as the battle between light femininity and dark masculinity, and the conflict between nature and technology.

What are we? This work approaches the riddle of personal identity by way of a general theory of identity, and argues for a view of the self opposed to that of Hume and Parfit, and more in harmony with both Kant and common sense. It adopts a transcendental argument in its discussion.

As an alternative to the view that everything from "abstract art" and "performance art" to "hyperfiction" and "chance music" can be considered art, this text explores the philosophy of art of the author Ayn Rand, which offers an analysis of the cognitive and emotional function of art.