The eminent and award-winning historian Robert A. Gross presents his long-awaited, immersive journey through Concord in the age of Emerson and Thoreau.

This long-awaited book by one of the world's leading philosophers offers a systematic account of kinds of being, ways in which things can be or can fail to be.

Wit, it can be said, is the compact expression of wisdom. Robert S. Hartman wrote with both wit and wisdom. Many times, though, his wit gets buried in demanding and lengthy prose. In this book, we have extracted the wit from the wisdom of a selection of Hartman's writing so that more of the world can learn from this man's genius. It's a quote book. It consists entirely of Hartman's own words. But, in small doses. We have pulled vital (...) ideas, thoughtful considerations, and clever remarks from six of Hartman's published pieces plus two heretofore unpublished manuscripts that are soon to be published by the Hartman Institute. We present these quotes in an order that, we believe, best tells the story of formal axiology. (shrink)

La Construction du bonheur est, à la fois, un livre et un film... Les deux objets sont, ici, matériellement présents. Mais les deux peuvent être pris séparément. Dans l'un comme dans l'autre y apparaît Robert Misrahi sous des éclairages et des angles changeants. A l'écrit, Robert Misrahi, s'il commence par revenir sur son oeuvre livresque, consacré au bonheur et au philosophe eudémonique Spinoza, c'est afin de planter le décor. Très vite il en arrive à l'image. Car c'est là (...) le sujet. Doublement. Voilà qui est nouveau. Il y consacre quatre chapitres : La fascination de l'image ; La mise en chantier ; Les premiers tournages ; La création. Ce court texte est des plus réjouissants. Il témoigne du courage d'un homme, philosophe de son état, qui n'hésite pas à se prêter à une expérience phénoménologique d'un genre particulier où champ et hors-champ, d'écriture et d'images, se mêlent. Robert Misrahi, même s'il bouge beaucoup, n'est pas un philosophe de l'action : la grande action de sa vie a été d'enseigner, ce qui n'est pas rien, mine de rien. L'oeoeuvre d'un philosophe, c'est avant tout de la pensée, et cette pensée produit d'abord des livres. Un philosophe, c'est un livre au milieu de la route, au milieu des gens. Répétons-le : le philosophe est quelqu'un qui pense. D'où : filmer la pensée est-ce que cela peut faire un film? Un vrai film s'entend. Avec de vraies images, avec de la vraie musique, avec de vrais lieux, avec du concret donc et de vraies abstractions aussi. Nous avons tenté, avec ce film, une narration filmique. L'image devenant le miroir des mots et les mots devenant générateurs d'images. C'est une expérience particulière à laquelle, à 86 ans, Robert Misrahi a bien voulu se prêter. Nicolas Martin a été très soucieux de parvenir à un "point d'équilibre" dans ce mariage à trois : la pensée, la parole et l'image... Car le difficile est bien de représenter le bonheur. Le malheur, la douleur, la souffrance c'est facile : c'est une sorte de pot commun où tout le monde peut se reconnaître. La mort est toujours la même, partout dans le monde. Mais le bonheur? Le bonheur est individuel. Le bonheur de l'un ne ressemble pas au bonheur de l'autre. Quelles images pour le bonheur? Mais il s'agit, dans ce film, avant tout, d'accompagner les propos d'un philosophe sur la construction du bonheur. (shrink)

This work is ''a systematic ontology.'' Ontology is the study of being as such, and a systematic ontology is an account of the most fundamental ways of being something or other - of what they are and of how they are related to each other. The questions it pursues are not primarily about what causes things, but about what things are or consist in - though causal questions cannot be totally avoided. The title of the work, What Is, and What (...) Is in Itself, marks the most important distinction in ways of being. What is includes everything there is, but not everything there is included in what is in itself. The first five chapters of the book define and examine the ways of being: in chapters 1 and 2, being actual or existing, or even just being something without existing or being actual; in chapter 3, being an intentional object, and perhaps a merely intentional object; in chapter 4, relations between things and their properties; and in chapter 5, being a thing in itself. Chapter 6 discusses whether only conscious beings are things in themselves, and suggests an affirmative answer. Chapter 7 discusses the epistemology of ontology. Chapters 8 and 9 discuss issues about thisness and identity. And chapters 10 and 11 discuss mainly occasionalist and panentheist answers to questions about the causal unity of the universe. (shrink)

Cette autobiographie est celle d'un philosophe du bonheur. Mais elle n'est pas un traite ni une demonstration, elle est le recit concret d'une vie singuliere. Cette vie est en meme temps sa propre invention, saisie et voulue comme telle. Elle met en scene les actes de rupture, les creations et les fulgurances qui sont en fait le deploiement meme du Desir et de la liberte. Dans le mouvement concret de la vie, dramatique ou comblee, prend place aussi le mouvement de (...) la reflexion. L'auteur suit le fil mnemonique de sa propre pensee et rend compte du travail et de la gestation de chacun de ses livres. L'oeuvre qui a exprime et construit la vie heureuse est ici eclairee en retour par cette vie meme. Une verite, ni morale ni psychologique, prend forme peu a peu: au-dela de toutes les ideologies du siecle, une philosophie du sujet et de la liberte peut etre a la fois le miroir d'une vie et la source meme de cette vie. C'est la pensee de la liberte heureuse qui cree et la liberte vraie et la joie. (shrink)

The author discusses a previously unremarked pun in which the plane tree (ho platanos) under which the conversation takes place echoes the name Plato, and hence there is the strong suggestion that the conversation in the Phaedrus is particularly close to Plato's own opinion.

Dr. Zaslavsky’s An Introductory Latin Course presents the characteristics of the Latin language in a holistic way, rather than in the fragmented, way that is typical in other Latin textbooks. This mode of presentation allows students to gain a comprehensive conceptual grasp of the linguistic characteristics that are to be learnedIn addition, since there has been a neglect—even an outright abjuration—of the teaching of English grammar in our schools for at least a third of a century, which has left our (...) students grammar poor, this textbook aims to enrich students grammatically by providing a comprehensive explanation of both English and Latin grammar. This makes it as useful for understanding English as it is for learning Latin. (shrink)

Dr. Zaslavsky has gathered together forty essays that represent the fruits of his lifetime of reading and teaching. The essays exemplify a method of reading substantive works that has been called Talmudic. The essays examine works by Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Moses Maimonides, Kant, DeQuincey, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Keats, Poe, Melville, Dickinson, Frost, Sherwood Anderson, Fitzgerald, cummings, Neruda, Arthur Miller, and Faulkner. In addition, there are essays on the Bible, the Constitution, and detective fiction. In every instance, the examined author (...) is treated as a highly deliberate, conscious craftsperson whose intention it is the reader’s task to discern. (shrink)

The author offers a fresh solution to the problem of rendering two key Aristotelian uses of the articular infinitive τὸ εἶναι with an embedded modifier, the one τί ἦν, and the other the dative noun and/or adjective, two usages which are clearly meant to be parallel.

This book is a tool intended to give readers a knowledge of, and feel for, the most basic building blocks of vocabulary, namely the roots that are the basis of so many English words. Knowing these roots enables readers to gain greater reading fluency. Armed with these roots, readers can guess the meanings of unfamiliar words without a feeling of helplessness and without unnecessary dependence upon a dictionary. In this way, reading becomes more fluid, more rewarding, less burdensome, and—most important—less (...) frustrating. (shrink)

This dissertation presents evidence that a number of the great traditional Western metaphysicians based their metaphysical systems upon their experiences of altered states of consciousness . It poses the question: what state of consciousness would be necessary for the metaphysician to actually experience "reality" in the way that he describes it? It specifically discusses evidence in the philosophical writings of Plato, Berkeley, Schopenhauer and Hegel which strongly suggests that they experienced various non-ordinary planes of "reality" during certain ASCs. ;Four different (...) metaphysical planes or levels of "reality" are presented: the everyday material world , the eternal soul , the archetypal Platonic Ideas or essences and the Divine Mind of God , which is identified with the mystical godhead. ;It is argued that Plato directly experienced the non-ordinary realm of the eternal Ideas . Berkeley's metaphysical claims about the unreality of matter and the dependence of the entities in the everyday world upon the mind or soul for their existence are grounded in his direct experience of the soul during a worldless ASC. Schopenhauer's description of the aesthetic experience of the Platonic Ideas is discussed as a perceptual form of concentrative meditation. Hegel's fundamental metaphysical concept of the Universal Mind of God or Absolute Spirit is rooted in his mystical experiences of Level Four. His non-Aristotelian form of logic is described as a "state-specific logic," i.e., a form of logic which is rooted in the experience of a specific ASC. ;It is argued that "analytic" philosophers have misunderstood the experiential nature of traditional metaphysical language. Some of the implications of this experiential approach to philosophy are explored in terms of the notion of "state-specific metaphysical systems.". (shrink)

Anhand des phänomenologischen Begriffs der Auffassung soll die Beziehung von Freudscher Psychoanalyse und Husserlscher Phänomenologie näher bestimmt werden. Dabei wird von einer methodologischen Fragestellung ausgegangen, die sich allerdings notwendig auch zu einer inhaltlich bestimmten Perspektive weiten muss. Die These ist, dass die Phänomenologie sich in der Auseinandersetzung mit dem grundverschiedenen Ansatz der Psychoanalyse selbst genauer verstehen lernt, und zwar vor allem in ihrem Anspruch auf Wissenschaftlichkeit, in ihrer Forderung nach anschaulicher Ausweisung von philosophischer Wahrheit und in der Problematisierung des Subjektbegriffs.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain (...) in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

This short and accessible book is designed for those learning about the search for ethical rules that can apply despite cultural differences. Robert Audi looks at several such attempts: Aristotle, Kant; Mill; and the movement known as "common-sense" ethics associated with W.D. Ross. He shows how each attempt grew out of its own time and place, yet has some universal qualities that can be used for an ethical framework. This is a short, accessible treatment of a major topic in (...) ethics by a senior and highly-respected figure. (shrink)

Examining select high points in the speculative tradition from Plato and Aristotle through the Middle Ages and German tradition to Dewey and Heidegger, _Placing Aesthetics_ seeks to locate the aesthetic concern within the larger framework of each thinker's philosophy. In Professor Robert Wood's study, aesthetics is not peripheral but rather central to the speculative tradition and to human existence as such. In Dewey's terms, aesthetics is “experience in its integrity.” Its personal ground is in “the heart,” which is the (...) dispositional ground formed by genetic, cultural, and personal historical factors by which we are spontaneously moved and, in turn, are inclined to move, both practically and theoretically, in certain directions. Prepared for use by the student as well as the philosopher, _Placing Aesthetics_ aims to recover the fullness of humanness within a sense of the fullness of encompassing Being. It attempts to overcome the splitting of thought, even in philosophy, into exclusive specializations and the fracturing of life itself into theoretical, practical, and emotive dimensions. (shrink)

Can it be rational to be religious? Robert Audi gives a persuasive positive answer through an account of rationality and a rich, nuanced understanding of what religious commitment means. It is not just a matter of belief, but of emotions and attitudes such as faith and hope, of one's outlook on the world, and of commitment to live in certain ways.

Robert Cummins argues that any causal theory of mental content (CT) founders on an established fact of human psychology: that theory mediates sensory detection. He concludes,.

Robert Schofield explores the rational elements of British experimental natural philosophy in the 18th century by tracing the influence of two opposing concepts of the nature of matter and its action—mechanism and materialism. Both concepts rested on the Newtonian interpretation of their proponents, although each developed more or less independently. By integrating the developments in all the areas of experimental natural philosophy, describing their connections and the influences of Continental science, natural theology, and to a lesser degree social and (...) institutional changes, the author demonstrates that mechanistic concepts dominated interpretations from about 1687 to 1740, when they were replaced by materialistic concepts. A revival of the mechanistic approach early in the next century made England a fertile field for ideas on the dynamic interaction of forces. Originally published in 1970. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. (shrink)

Janna Lea Thompson, one of Australia’s most distinguished philosophers, died on 24 June 2022, only a few months after being diagnosed with multiple brain tumours. She was, fortunately, largely free...

From ancient Greece to 19th-century America, this collection traces the history of civilization through the seminal works of its most influential thinkers ...

Philosophy develops the direction towards the Whole opened up by the Notion of Being that makes the mind to be a mind. It isgrounded in awe that can increase as inquiry continues, though it tends to fall back into the routines of its exercise, like every otherhuman activity. In a time when it is common to think of ourselves as just another combination of elements in the evolutionary universe,reflection upon our own awareness turns the tables on materialists by re-minding the (...) earliest phases called “mere matter” and setting the cosmos back into the encompassing realm of absolute Mystery. (shrink)

Recent policy debates in the US over access to mental health care have raised several philosophically complex ethical and conceptual issues. The defeat of mental health parity legislation in the US Congress has brought new urgency and relevance to theoretical and empirical investigations into the nature of mental illness and its relation to other forms of sickness and disability. Manifold, nebulous, and often competing conceptions of mental illness make the creation of coherent public policy exceedingly difficult. Referencing a variety of (...) approaches to ethical reflection on health care, and drawing from the empirical literature on therapeutic efficacy and economic efficiency, we argue that differential rationing, ‘disparity,’ is unjustifiable. (shrink)

The first words in the inaugural version of the American Psychological Association Ethical Standards of Psychologists (1953) declared, ?Psychology is a science? (p. v). Professional ethics for all of the mental health disciplines support science (and objectivity) for knowledge and practice. Using school psychology as an example, consideration is given to the presence of science and research in the scientist-practitioner, professional practitioner, and psychoeducational training and practice models. Although none of the three models truly ignores a commitment to science, the (...) potential Achilles heel comes from the individual practitioner who fails to rely on science in planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions. Similarly, idiosyncratic preferences within training programs could lead to a diminution of science in the curriculum. (shrink)

A computational theory of primate social intelligence is proposed in which primates represent social situations internally by discrete symbol structures, called scripts. Three well‐defined computational operations on scripts are sufficient to support social learning, planning, and prediction. This gives a formal, predictive model with which to analyse how primate social knowledge is acquired, as well as how it is used.The theory is compared with primate data, such as Cheney and Seyfarth's observations of vervet monkeys. It gives simple, understandable script‐based analyses (...) of many observed phenomena—such as the recognition and use of kin relations, learning of alarm calls, habituation to calls, knowledge of rank, tactical deception, and attachment behaviour.I argue that a tight, concise theory of social cognition, such as script theory, is needed to explain the rapid learning and social guile seen in primates. It also has the benefits of simplicity and testability. The extension of scripts to incorporate a primate theory of mind is described in a subsequent paper. (shrink)

Even the briefest and most superficial perusal of leading mainstream economics journals will attest to the degree that mathematical formalism has captured the economics profession. Whereas up to the early 20th century virtually all of the output of the dismal scientists was in the literary format, by the early 21st century this is not at all any longer the case. Mathematical formalism is supposed to serve economics, and yet now true economic insight has been crowded out by the math. If (...) mainstream neoclassical economics is to come back to its proper path, a far less central role for mathematical economics, statistics and econometrics will have to be fashioned. (shrink)