Alain Badiou, Quentin Meillassoux, Catherine Malabou, Michel Serres and Bruno Latour: this comparative, critical analysis shows the promises and perils of new French philosophy's reformulation of the idea of the human.
The Ideal of Rationality presents an evaluation of all the main varieties of rationalism, in clear and jargon-free language. Different notions of rationality - such as means-end, conception, hedonism, and the evil-avoidance view - are examined and rejected, in favor of the theory that to act rationally is to 'act for the best', a theory Nathanson characterizes as "critical pluralism". Among present-day thinkers whose ideas are scrutinized are Richard Brandt, Bernard Gert, Gilbert Harman, John Kekes, Robert Nozick, Karl Popper, and John Rawls.
Risse takes a refreshingly different approach to understanding the important and topical debates in the subject through the lens of issues of global reach such as justice, human rights, fair trade and immigration, focusing on normative questions that arise about globalization.
With a focus on phenomenological methods, this new edition of Shaun Gallagher’s highly regarded textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to phenomenology considered as a philosophical and interdisciplinary practice. Phenomenology 2e encompasses both the classic 20th century explications of phenomenology as well as recent developments in the practical and scientific uses of phenomenology. Key features: Explores debates about naturalizing phenomenology and reviews recent extensions of phenomenological methodology. Relates the phenomenological analysis of intentionality to discussions of enactive perception. Includes a discussion of the phenomenology of performance and a new chapter on critical phenomenology. Examines specialized topics in phenomenology, including Husserl’s concept of hyletic data, embodiment, time-consciousness, action, intersubjectivity and self-consciousness. Each chapter concludes with suggestions for further reading. This book is essential reading for all undergraduate and graduate philosophy students taking courses in phenomenology. It is also ideal for use on cognitive science modules that incorporate a phenomenological perspective.
Richard Rorty is famous, maybe even infamous, for his philosophical nonchalance. His groundbreaking work not only rejects all theories of truth but also dismisses modern epistemology and its preoccupation with knowledge and representation. At the same time, the celebrated pragmatist believed there could be no universally valid answers to moral questions, which led him to a complex view of religion rarely expressed in his writings. In this posthumous publication, Rorty, a strict secularist, finds in the pragmatic thought of John Dewey, John Stuart Mill, William James, and George Santayana, among others, a political imagination shared by religious traditions. His intent is not to promote belief over nonbelief or to blur the distinction between religious and public domains. Rorty seeks only to locate patterns of similarity and difference so an ethics of decency and a politics of solidarity can rise. He particularly responds to Pope Benedict XVI and his campaign against the relativist vision. Whether holding theologians, metaphysicians, or political ideologues to account, Rorty remains steadfast in his opposition to absolute uniformity and its exploitation of political strength.
Alain Badiou, Quentin Meillassoux, Catherine Malabou, Michel Serres and Bruno Latour: this new generation of French philosophers is laying fresh claim to the human. Across a number of new strains of philosophy, they are rethinking humanity's relationships: to 'nature' and 'culture', to the objects that surround us, to the possibility of social and political change, to ecology and even to our own brains. Christopher Watkin draws out both the promises and perils of these new philosophies. And he shows just how high the stakes are for our technologically advanced but socially atomised and ecologically vulnerable society.
Whenever Guy CREQUIE, a recognized writer and philosopher, makes a publication like the present one, it always generates a great expectation among the audience. His permanent updating of the global policy and social issues, along with his philosophical knowledge, since the French Revolution of 1789 to the present, makes a perfect combination for the interpretation of current problems and dilemmas."