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This book is the scholarly & fully annotated edition of the award-winning _The Illustrated To Think Like God.__ _To Think Like God_ focuses on the emergence of philosophy as a speculative science, tracing its origins to the Greek colonies of Southern Italy, from the late 6th century to mid-5th century B.C. Special attention is paid to the sage Pythagoras and his movement, the poet Xenophanes of Colophon, and the lawmaker Parmenides of Elea. In their own ways, each thinker held that (...) true insight, whether as wisdom or certainty, belonged not to mortal human beings but to the gods. The Pythagoreans sought to approach this otherwordly knowledge by studying numerical relationships, believing them to govern the universe, and that those who know the number of a thing know its true nature. Yet their quest was a hopeless one, bogged down by cultism, numerology, political conspiracies, bloody uprisings, and exile. Above all, number did not turn out as the most reliable of mediums; it was certainly not a key to the realm of the divine. Thus, their contributions to philosophy's inception, while much better-publicized, was not the most significant. That particular role was reserved for an unusual challenge and the elaborate reaction it provoked. The challenge came from Xenophanes, who had argued that reliable truth was beyond mortal reach, because even if by accident a human being should state what is exactly the case, he had no way of knowing that he did, all things being susceptible to opinion. This dilemma is sure to have bothered a legislative mind like that of Parmenides, and we find him introducing techniques for testing the veracity of statements. These methods were meant to be carried out by reasoning and argument alone, without relying in physical evidence or mortal sense-perception, which was deemed untrustworthy. Reason was that one faculty shared by gods and humans alike. In time, Parmenides' ingenious arguments have earned him the titled of the first logician and metaphysician whose influence on subsequent thinkers was immeasurable. Parmenides taught us that philosophy was not about claims but about proof, which also makes him the father of theoretical science -- which, curiously, began as a quest into the mind of God. "Arnold Hermann makes a genuine contribution to Presocratics studies. This book, which is both an introduction to Pythagoras and Parmenides and a scholarly study, will interest novices and experts alike. Hermann's multi-leveled approach and his careful analyses of alternate views make his work a useful teaching tool, while his systematic inquiry into Pythagoreanism, the poem of Parmenides, and the development of early Greek thought will well repay the attention of scholars. — Patricia Curd_,_ _Purdue University_ "_To Think Like God_ is a highly ambitious book... Hermann's approach deserves to be taken seriously as an alternative to standard interpretations." — Richard D. McKirahan, Jr.,___ __Edwin Clarence Norton Professor of Classics and Professor of Philosophy, Pomona College_ "Arnold Hermann brings fresh life into the specialists' debates... a blow of wind that dissipates much fog." — Walter Burkert_, Professor Emeritus of Classical Philology, University of Zurich_ ARNOLD HERMANN_ is pursuing independent research on the origins of philosophy and methods of thinking. He specialices on subjects connected with Parmenides and Plato's _Parmenides._. (shrink)

Hermann von Helmholtz was a leading figure of nineteenth-century European intellectual life, remarkable even among the many scientists of the period for the range and depth of his interests. A pioneer of physiology and physics, he was also deeply concerned with the implications of science for philosophy and culture. From the 1850s to the 1890s, Helmholtz delivered more than two dozen popular lectures, seeking to educate the public and to enlighten the leaders of European society and governments about the (...) potential benefits of science and technology to a developing modern society. David Cahan has selected fifteen of these lectures, which reflect the wide range of topics of crucial importance to Helmholtz and his audiences. Among the subjects discussed are the origins of the planetary system, the relation of natural science to science in general, the aims and progress of the physical sciences, the problems of perception, and academic freedom in German universities. This collection also includes Helmholtz's fascinating lectures on the relation of optics to painting and the physiological causes of harmony in music, which provide insight into the relations between science and aesthetics. Science and Culture makes available again Helmholtz's eloquent arguments on the usefulness, benefits, and, intellectual pleasures of understanding the natural world. With Cahan's Introduction to set these essays in their broader context, this collection makes an important contribution to the philosophical and intellectual history of Europe at a time when science played an increasingly significant role in social, economic, and cultural life. (shrink)

Die folgende Darstellung geht davon aus: I) so sehr die Sprache der Dichtung ein ernst zu nehmendes Problem der Sprachphilosophie ist, so darf doch nicht umgekehrt unter der letzteren ein Dichten und Raunen über die Sprache ver­ standen werden. Kants Entscheidung für prosaische, nicht für poetische Philosophie bleibt Vorbild. Einzig und allein das Nüchterne zählt. 2) Wenn es scheinen könnte, dass verschie­ dene deutsche Darstellungen der Sprachphilosophie aus den letzten ] ahren ausgerechnet auf diesem Gebiet der Philoso­ phie dem, was (...) nach den Klassikern und nicht von ihnen her kommt, relativ wenig Raum und Gewicht geben, so liegt es im Sinn dieses Buches, gerade umgekehrt zu verfahren. 3) Ein Verhältnis befremdlich und betrüblich geringer gegenseitiger Berücksichtigung zwischen deutschsprachiger Literatur über Sprache und der ins riesenhafte angewachsenen nichtdeut­ schen Literatur darüber ruft nach Abhilfe. Es werden im fol­ genden die Brücken zwischen deutschsprachigen und in der nichtdeutschen westlichen Welt dominanten Darstellungen bevorzugt gewürdigt. 4) Die Abgrenzung der Schrift gegen Logistik und Informationstheorie, die sich als selbständige Gebiete mit eigenen Methoden konstituiert haben, ist klar. Ebenso, dass umfassende Philosophien des zwanzigsten] ahr­ hunderts - wie diejenigen Husserls, Whiteheads, Moores, Russells, Croces, Heideggers, ] aspers', Nicolai Hartmanns- in ihrer Ganzheit an anderer Stelle zu behandeln sind, mögen sie auch gleichzeitig spezifische Quellen der Sprach-Philo­ sophie unseres] ahrhunderts sein. (shrink)

1. T. Die Grundlegung der systematischen Ästhetik.-- 2. T. Die Bestätigung der systematischen Ästhetik in den Arten der Künste und an ihrer Geschichte.

Geschichte der Aesthetik in Deutschland ist ein unveränderter, hochwertiger Nachdruck der Originalausgabe aus dem Jahr 1868. Hansebooks ist Herausgeber von Literatur zu unterschiedlichen Themengebieten wie Forschung und Wissenschaft, Reisen und Expeditionen, Kochen und Ernährung, Medizin und weiteren Genres. Der Schwerpunkt des Verlages liegt auf dem Erhalt historischer Literatur. Viele Werke historischer Schriftsteller und Wissenschaftler sind heute nur noch als Antiquitäten erhältlich. Hansebooks verlegt diese Bücher neu und trägt damit zum Erhalt selten gewordener Literatur und historischem Wissen auch für die Zukunft (...) bei. (shrink)

1. Bd. Der Leib. Die Seele. Das Leben -- 2. Bd. Der Mensch. Der Geist. Der Welt Lauf -- 3. Bd. Die Geschichte. Der Fortschritt. Der Zusammenhang der Dinge.