Hume: A Guide for the Perplexed
Hume: A Guide for the Perplexed

Author: Angela M. Coventry

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2010-06-15

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1441119817

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to fathom, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material. David Hume is arguably one of the most important philosophers ever to have written in English. His monumental contributions to epistemology and metaphysics, represented in his two landmark works, A Treatise of Human Nature and An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, were hugely influential on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet he is also notorious as a puzzling and difficult thinker and students of his work and thought regularly face very particular intellectual challenges. Hume: A Guide for the Perplexed is a clear and thorough account of Hume's philosophy, his major works and ideas, providing an ideal guide to the important and complex thought of this key philosopher. The book covers the whole range of Hume's work, offering examination of the key areas of his thought, including the origin and association of ideas, space and time, causal (inductive) reasoning, necessary connexions, free will, personal identity, and scepticism. Geared towards the specific requirements of students who need to reach a sound understanding of Hume's thought, the book provides a cogent and reliable survey of his work and ideas. This is the ideal companion to the study of this most influential and challenging of philosophers.

How To Read Hume
How To Read Hume

Author: Simon Blackburn

Publisher: Granta Books

Published: 2014-10-02

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 1783781459

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

'Be a philosopher; but, amidst all your philosophy, be still a man.' David Hume David Hume is generally recognized as the United Kingdom's greatest philosopher, as well as a notable historian and essayist and a central figure of the Enlightenment. Yet his work is delicately poised between scepticism and naturalism, between despair at the limited powers of the mind and optimism at the progress we can make by understanding it. This difficult balancing act has given rise to a multitude of different interpretations: reading Hume has never been free of controversy. In this new approach to his writings, Simon Blackburn describes how Hume can be considered one of the earliest, and most successful, evolutionary psychologists, weaving plausible natural accounts of the way we should think of ourselves and of how we have come to be what we are.

The Great Guide
The Great Guide

Author: Julian Baggini

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2021-05-25

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 0691211205

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Invaluable wisdom on living a good life from one of the Enlightenment's greatest philosophers David Hume (1711–1776) is perhaps best known for his ideas about cause and effect and his criticisms of religion, but he is rarely thought of as a philosopher with practical wisdom to offer. Yet Hume's philosophy is grounded in an honest assessment of nature—human nature in particular. The Great Guide is an engaging and eye-opening account of how Hume's thought should serve as the basis for a complete approach to life. In this enthralling book, Julian Baggini masterfully interweaves biography with intellectual history and philosophy to give us a complete vision of Hume's guide to life. He follows Hume on his life's journey, literally walking in the great philosopher's footsteps as Baggini takes readers to the places that inspired Hume the most, from his family estate near the Scottish border to Paris, where, as an older man, he was warmly embraced by French society. Baggini shows how Hume put his philosophy into practice in a life that blended reason and passion, study and leisure, and relaxation and enjoyment. The Great Guide includes 145 Humean maxims for living well, on topics ranging from the meaning of success and the value of travel to friendship, facing death, identity, and the importance of leisure. This book shows how life is far richer with Hume as your guide.

GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED
GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED

Author: E. F. Schumacher

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 1978-05-31

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 0060906111

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The author of the world wide best-seller, Small Is Beautiful, now tackles the subject of Man, the World, and the Meaning of Living. Schumacher writes about man's relation to the world. man has obligations -- to other men, to the earth, to progress and technology, but most importantly himself. If man can fulfill these obligations, then and only then can he enjoy a real relationship with the world, then and only then can he know the meaning of living. Schumacher says we need maps: a "map of knowledge" and a "map of living." The concern of the mapmaker--in this instance, Schumacher--is to find for everything it's proper place. Things out of place tend to get lost; they become invisible and there proper places end to be filled by other things that ought not be there at all and therefore serve to mislead. A Guide for the Perplexed teaches us to be our own map makers. This constantly surprising, always stimulating book will be welcomed by a large audience, including the many new fans who believe strongly in what Schumacher has to say.

Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed
Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed

Author: William O. Stephens

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2011-11-17

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1441101799

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book is a clear and concise introduction to the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. His one major surviving work, often titled 'meditations' but literally translated simply as 'to himself', is a series of short, sometimes enigmatic reflections divided seemingly arbitrarily into twelve books and apparently written only to be read by him. For these reasons Marcus is a particularly difficult thinker to understand. His musings, framed as 'notes to self' or 'memoranda', are the exhortations of an earnest, conscientious Stoic burdened with the onerous responsibilities of ruling an entire, enormous empire. William O. Stephens lucidly sketches Marcus Aurelius' upbringing, family relations, rise to the throne, military campaigns, and legacy, situating his philosophy amidst his life and times, explicating the factors shaping Marcus' philosophy, and clarifying key themes in the Memoranda. Specifically designed to meet the needs of students seeking a thorough understanding of this key figure and his major work, Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed is the ideal guide for understanding this Stoic author - the only philosopher who was also an emperor.

Quine: A Guide for the Perplexed
Quine: A Guide for the Perplexed

Author: Gary Kemp

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2006-06-23

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 9780826484864

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Willard Van Orman Quine is one of the most influential analytic philosophers of the latter half of the twentieth century. This work offers an analysis of his writings and ideas in those areas of philosophy to which he contributed. It sets his work in its intellectual context, illuminating his connections to Russell, Carnap and logical positivism.

Truth
Truth

Author: Simon Blackburn

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2005-07-30

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 0198037570

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The author of the highly popular book Think, which Time magazine hailed as "the one book every smart person should read to understand, and even enjoy, the key questions of philosophy," Simon Blackburn is that rara avis--an eminent thinker who is able to explain philosophy to the general reader. Now Blackburn offers a tour de force exploration of what he calls "the most exciting and engaging issue in the whole of philosophy"--the age-old war over truth. The front lines of this war are well defined. On one side are those who believe in plain, unvarnished facts, rock-solid truths that can be found through reason and objectivity--that science leads to truth, for instance. Their opponents mock this idea. They see the dark forces of language, culture, power, gender, class, ideology and desire--all subverting our perceptions of the world, and clouding our judgement with false notions of absolute truth. Beginning with an early skirmish in the war--when Socrates confronted the sophists in ancient Athens--Blackburn offers a penetrating look at the longstanding battle these two groups have waged, examining the philosophical battles fought by Plato, Protagoras, William James, David Hume, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Richard Rorty, and many others, with a particularly fascinating look at Nietzsche. Among the questions Blackburn considers are: is science mere opinion, can historians understand another historical period, and indeed can one culture ever truly understand another. Blackburn concludes that both sides have merit, and that neither has exclusive ownership of truth. What is important is that, whichever side we embrace, we should know where we stand and what is to be said for our opponents.

Essays
Essays

Author: DAVID HUME

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2024-01-02

Total Pages: 90

ISBN-13: 9361157671

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The 18th-century collection of philosophical articles "Essays" was penned by Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume. The essays' broad range of subjects reflects Hume's varied interests in politics, literature, and philosophy. "A Treatise of Human Nature," one of Hume's most important essays, examines human thinking and makes the case for a more sceptical and empirical philosophy. He promotes a study of human nature based on observation and experience, challenging conventional beliefs about causality, identity, and the nature of knowledge. Hume's writing is distinguished by its empiricism, wit, and clarity. His writings, which provide insights into human nature, the basis of knowledge, and the difficulties of moral and aesthetic judgments, continue to have an impact on the domains of philosophy and economics. The compilation offers a thorough understanding of Hume's contributions to philosophy and is still studied because of its significant influence on Western thought.

A Book Forged in Hell
A Book Forged in Hell

Author: Steven Nadler

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2011-10-09

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 069113989X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

When it appeared in 1670, Baruch Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise was denounced as the most dangerous book ever published. Religious and secular authorities saw it as a threat to faith, social and political harmony, and everyday morality, and its author was almost universally regarded as a religious subversive and political radical who sought to spread atheism throughout Europe. Steven Nadler tells the story of this book: its radical claims and their background in the philosophical, religious, and political tensions of the Dutch Golden Age, as well as the vitriolic reaction these ideas inspired. A vivid story of incendiary ideas and vicious backlash, A Book Forged in Hell will interest anyone who is curious about the origin of some of our most cherished modern beliefs--Jacket p. [2].

Moral and Political Philosophy
Moral and Political Philosophy

Author: David Hume

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2010-05-11

Total Pages: 635

ISBN-13: 1439119937

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A Collection of essays from famous Scottish philosopher David Hume, one of the most prominent figures of the Scottish Enlightenment and a close friend of Adam Smith. Hume's contributions to economics are found mostly in his Political Discourses (1752), which were later incorporated into his Essays (1758).