Philosophy

"[A] magnificent contribution to scholarship on the Phenomenology. What sets this book apart from the rest is Harris’s deep commitment to thinking Hegel in context, even when Hegel’s position runs counter to Harris’s own cultural and philosophical position. Thus Harris self-effacingly clears away the encrustations of ideology that distorted or undermined Hegel’s influence in the nineteenth century, and the contemporary biases that lead to piecemeal commentaries and salvagings of Hegel in the present day, and opens a window through which Hegel’s thought can appear with perhaps less distortion than at any previous time. This commentary on the Phenomenology is a landmark that will date Hegel scholarship by whether it appeared before or after Harris."
    —Robert R. Williams, The Review of Metaphysics

“This is an incredibly rich and provocative book for such a slim volume, and it will no doubt become a standard accompaniment to many classes on the Phenomenology, a kind of short, lucid skeleton key to the whole book.”
     —Terry Pinkard, Georgetown University

“The best book-length treatment of Heidegger with which I am familiar. . . . What Guignon does, very skillfully, is to use the problem of knowledge as a focus for organizing a discussion of Heidegger’s thought in its entirety. . . . Places him squarely within the philosophical tradition he struggled to overcome and provides an account of his development from Being and Time to the last writings, which make the changes in his thought continuous and intelligible.”
     —Harrison Hall, Inquiry

This new edition of Hellenistic Philosophy—including nearly 100 pages of additional material—offers the first English translation of the account of Stoic ethics by Arius Didymus, substantial new sources on Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Scepticism, expanded representation of Plutarch and Cicero, and a fuller presentation of papyrological evidence. Inwood and Gerson maintain the standard of consistency and accuracy that distinguished their translations in the first edition, while regrouping some material into larger, more thematically connected passages. This edition is further enhanced by a new, more spacious page design.

Richard Popkin’s meticulous translation—the most complete since the eighteenth century—contains selections from thirty-nine articles, as well as from Bayle’s four Clarifications. The bulk of the major articles of philosophical and theological interest —those that influenced Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, and Voltaire and formed the basis for so many eighteenth-century discussions—are present, including “David”, “Manicheans,” “Paulicians,” “Pyrrho,” “Rorarius,” “Simonides,” “Spinoza,” and “Zeno of Elea.”

"Teachers of introductory ethics and applied ethics classes will have a hard time resisting Charles Cardwell's Hornbook Ethics. I am a big fan. The author has a remarkable gift for briefly introducing the basics of moral philosophy, and his book is so clear and concise that any serious student will be able to learn much from it. Not every philosopher will share its views or priorities of course, but these are set forth with such clarity that it will be easy to use even disagreements as teaching moments. I am unaware of a better introduction to ethics whose brevity approaches this one's."
     —Peter Tramel, Department of Philosophy, Fort Hays State University

"An excellent and engaging introduction to epistemology, with a special focus on issues in social epistemology that are very relevant in today’s world. An accessible guide to practical epistemological questions about which experts you should trust, the pervasiveness of bias in oneself and others, the proliferation of misinformation on the internet, and how you should respond when lots of people disagree with you. Highly recommended." —James Beebee, State University of New York at Buffalo

"How Do You Know? is an accessible and engaging foray into the growing field of applied epistemology, and a welcome resource for students or anyone else coming to these issues for the first time." —David Coady, University of Tasmania

This anthology provides a set of distinctive, influential views that explore the mysteries of human nature from a variety of perspectives. It can be read on its own, or in conjunction with Joel Kupperman’s text, Theories of Human Nature.

"A genuine understanding of Hume's extraordinarily rich, important, and influential moral philosophy requires familiarity with all of his writings on vice and virtue, the passions, the will, and even judgments of beauty—and that means familiarity not only with large portions of A Treatise of Human Nature, but also with An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals and many of his essays as well.  This volume is the one truly comprehensive collection of Hume's work on all of these topics.  Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, a leading moral philosopher and Hume scholar, has done a meticulous job of editing the texts and has provided an extensive Introduction that is at once accessible, accurate, and philosophically engaging, revealing the deep structure of Hume's moral philosophy."
     —Don Garrett, New York University

The first thematically arranged collection of Hume's political writings, this new work brings together substantive selections from A Treatise on Human Nature, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, and Essays: Moral, Political and Literary, with an interpretive introduction placing Hume in the context of contemporary debates between liberalism and its critics and between contextual and universal approaches.

"Husserl's Ideas is one of the most important works of twentieth-century philosophy, offering a detailed introduction to the phenomenological method, including the reduction, and outlining the overall scope of phenomenological philosophy. Husserl's explorations of the a priori structures of intentionality, consciousness, perceptual experience, evidence and rationality continue to challenge contemporary philosophy of mind. Dan Dahlstrom's accurate and faithful translation, written in pellucid prose and in a fluid, modern idiom, brings this classic work to life for a new generation." —Dermot Moran, University College, Dublin

This volume collects a number of Perry’s classic works on personal identity as well as four new pieces, “The Two Faces of Identity,” “Persons and Information,” “Self-Notions and The Self,” and “The Sense of Identity.” Perry’s Introduction puts his own work and that of others on the issues of identity and personal identity in the context of philosophical studies of mind and language over the past thirty years.

This rich collection of writings—many translated especially for this volume and some available in English for the first time—provides a journey through the history of Chinese culture, tracing the Chinese understanding of women as elucidated in writings spanning more than two thousand years. From the earliest oracle bone inscriptions of the Pre-Qin period through the poems and stories of the Song Dynasty, these works shed light on Chinese images of women and their roles in society in terms of such topics as human nature, cosmology, gender, and virtue.

Reid’s previously published writings are substantial, both in quantity and quality. This edition attempts to make these writings more readily available in a single volume. Based upon Hamilton’s definitive two volume 6th edition, this edition is suitable for both students and scholars.

Imaginary Interviews with Sartre, Heidegger, and Camus

Mock interviews with Kant, Hegel, Fichte, Schelling, Reinhold, Jacobi, Schlegel, and a letter from Schopenhauer.

"This book is an introduction in the very best sense of the word. It provides the beginner with an accurate, sophisticated, yet accessible account, and offers new insights and challenging perspectives to those who have more specialized knowledge. Focusing on the period in Chinese philosophy that is surely most easily approachable and perhaps is most important, it ranges over of rich set of competing options. It also, with admirable self-consciousness, presents a number of daring attempts to relate those options to philosophical figures and movements from the West. I recommend it very highly." —Lee H. Yearley, Walter Y. Evans-Wentz Professor, Religious Studies, Stanford University

"This book on philosophers who arose in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty is also an introduction to comparative ways of nonsuperficial thinking both within Chinese tradition and between Chinese tradition and the West. . . . The work is carefully detailed at every philosophically interesting turn, providing, e.g., a detailed discussion of mysticism that does not conflate traditions but sees distinctiveness. Throughout there are translations of technical terms, along with both pinyin and Chinese characters. Chapters conclude with well-crafted review questions. . . . Appendixes on hermeneutics, Chinese language, and the Kongzi are very useful. Summing up: Highly recommended." —F. J. Hoffman, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, in Choice

Includes an introduction, selected bibliography, works by Comte in English translation, and works about Comte in English - I. The Nature and Importance of the Positive Philosophy, II. The Classification of the Positive Sciences.

"An elegant and intelligent translation. The text provides a perfect solution to the problem of how to introduce students to Hegel in a survey course in the history of Western philosophy.  
     —Graham Parkes, University of Hawaii

“The overall standard of the volume is extraordinarily high, and I have no doubt that this will be the text in philosophy of science for a couple of decades. The coverage is remarkable both in breadth and depth. . . . an amazingly good book. . . . written by an all-star team. . . . “
     —Philip Kitcher, Columbia University

“Daniel Breazeale is unquestionably the most erudite Fichte scholar now writing in English.”
     —Philosophical Review

This concise anthology of primary sources designed for use in an ancient philosophy survey ranges from the Presocratics to Plato, Aristotle, the Hellenistic philosophers, and the Neoplatonists. The Second Edition features an amplified selection of Presocratic fragments in newly revised translations by Richard D. McKirahan. Also included is an expansion of the Hellenistic unit, featuring new selections from Lucretius and Sextus Empiricus as well as a new translation, by Peter J. Anderson, of most of Seneca’s De Providentia. The selections from Plotinus have also been expanded.

“For the undergraduates who have read little or no philosophy, Yuval Steinitz’s Invitation to Philosophy is quite possibly the best introduction to philosophy available.”
     —Justin Leiber, University of Houston

The readings in Justice include the central philosophical statements about justice in society organized to illustrate both the political vision of a good society and different attempts at an analysis of the concept of justice.

While most interpretive studies of the Critique of Pure Reason are either too scholarly or too superficial to be of practical use to students, Hartnack has achieved a concise comprehensive analysis of the work in a lucid style that communicates the essence of extraordinarily complex arguments in the simplest possible way. An ideal companion to the First Critique, especially for those grappling with the work for the first time.

“If ever a literary work was a sleep of reason, bruised by menacing shapes, it is Kleist’s. He was one of the first of a line of German writers whose inwardness is so intense it seems to dissolve the weak bonds of his society. . . . Even as order and paternalism struggled to assert themselves in the private and public life of the nineteenth century, Kleist was introducing scenes of mob violence, cannibalism, and less than benevolent fathers. . . . David Constantine, a distinguished poet and Germanist, and a translator of Hölderlin, has taken pains to give us a literary Kleist, ‘a writer we cannot do without.’ . . . This book, containing all the stories and three key plays, provides a compelling view of a misfit genius who, in one of his last notes, remarked ‘the world is a strange set-up.’”
     —Iain Bamforth, The Times Literary Supplement

“Sellars’ s argument in EPM is enormously rich, subtle, and compelling. It is also, for the uninitiated, extraordinarily dense. Willem deVries and Timm Triplett’s comprehensive commentary Knowledge, Mind, and the Given provides a much needed guide. Beginning with a general overview to introduce some main themes and difficulties, deVries and Triplett take the reader step by step through the sixteen parts of the essay, providing at each stage necessary background, illuminating connections, and insightful clarifications of the main lines of argument. . . . deVries and Triplett have written a fine introduction to Sellars’s most important work.”
     —Danielle Macbeth, The Philosophical Review

“This excellent translation in current idiomatic English continues the superb quality set by Sprague in her previous version of Plato’s Euthydemus. . . . Its accuracy and reliability make the present volume suitable for use in various courses in the humanities.”
     —The Classical Outlook

“Like Dewey, he has revolted against the empiricist dogma and the Kantian dualisms which have compartmentalized philosophical thought. . . . Unlike Dewey, he has provided detailed incisive argumentation, and has shown just where the dogmas and dualisms break down.”
     —Richard Rorty, The Yale Review

"This is a superb new translation that is remarkably accurate to Plato's very difficult Greek, yet clear and highly readable. The notes are more helpful than those in any other available translation of the Laws since they contain both the information needed by the beginning student as well as analytical notes that include references to the secondary literature for the more advanced reader. For either the beginner or the scholar, this should be the preferred translation." —Christopher Bobonich, Clarence Irving Lewis Professor of Philosophy, Stanford University

These lively essays, transcribed by Kant's students during his lectures on ethics at Konigsberg in the years 1775-1780, are celebrated not only for their insight into Kant's polished and often witty lecture style but also as a key to understanding the development of his moral thought. As Lewis White Beck points out in the Foreword to this edition, those who know Kant only from his rigorous and abstract intellectual critiques may be surprised by the accessibility of these essays, which "put flesh on the bones of the critical ethics," while revealing Kant as a practical moralist, greatly concerned with the nuances of human conduct and the social effects of his moral teaching. The sharply focused discussions and definitions strengthen an interpretation of Kant's more mature speculative works and remain the riches document we have for understanding the history of the preeminent ethical theory of modern times.

For this new edition, Roger Ariew has adapted Samuel Clarke’s edition of 1717, modernizing it to reflect contemporary English usage. Ariew’s introduction places the correspondence in historical context and discusses the vibrant philosophical climate of the times. Appendices provide those selections from the works of Newton that Clarke frequently refers to in the correspondence. A bibliography is also included.

Although Leibniz's writing forms an enormous corpus, no single work stands as a canonical expression of his whole philosophy. In addition, the wide range of Leibniz's work—letters, published papers, and fragments on a variety of philosophical, religious, mathematical, and scientific questions over a fifty-year period—heightens the challenge of preparing an edition of his writings in English translation from the French and Latin.

Designed to meet the needs of both student and scholar, this edition of Leviathan offers a brilliant introduction by Edwin Curley, modernized spelling and punctuation of the text, and the inclusion, along with historical and interpretive notes, of the most significant variants between the English version of 1651 and the Latin version of 1668. A glossary of seventeenth-century English terms, and indexes of persons, subjects, and scriptural passages help make this the most thoughtfully conceived edition of Leviathan available.

Volume 2 of two readers containing essential important works on constitutional liberty and the foundations of modern western political theory.

Life and Death brings together philosophical and literary works representing the many ways—metaphysical, scientific, analytic, phenomenological, literary—in which philosophers and others have reflected on questions about life and death. North American rights only.

“. . . advances aggressively through pertinent and lively argument. . . . There are numerous brief and incisive responses to important philosophers of language (Sellars, Quine, Dummett, Putnam, Chomsky, Ziff) on issues of major significance and no little controversy.”
     —Margaret Urban Coyne, International Philosophical Quarterly

This comprehensive collection brings together the main published works (excluding polemical attacks on other people’s views) with the most important surviving evidence from among Locke’s papers relating to his political philosophy. David Wootton’s wide-ranging and scholarly Introduction sets the writings in the context of their time, examines Locke’s developing ideas and unorthodox Christianity, and analyzes his main arguments. The result is the first fully rounded picture of Locke’s political thought in his own words.

A comprehensive introduction to formal logic, Logic and Philosophy: A Modern Introduction is a rigorous yet accessible text, appropriate for students encountering the subject for the first time. Abundant, carefully crafted exercise sets accompanied by a clear, engaging exposition build to an exploration of sentential logic, first-order predicate logic, the theory of descriptions, identity, relations, set theory, modal logic, and Aristotelian logic. And as its title suggests, Logic and Philosophy is devoted not only to logic but also to the philosophical debates that led to the development of the field.

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Much new material has been added for the 13th edition. An introduction to set theory and its relationship to logic and mathematics, including philosophical issues, is now part of Chapter 13. Chapter 15 is an introduction to modal logic and Kripke semantics, concluding with a discussion of philosophical problems with any logical accommodation of modalities. Instructors who do not wish to present proof methods will find chapters on truth trees for both sentential and first-order logic, and a presentation of trees for modal logic.
 
Special features of this text include presentations of the history of logic, alternatives to traditional methods of conditional and indirect proof, and a discussion of semantic problems with universal and existential instantiations. Throughout, the authors are sensitive to philosophical issues that arise from the relationship between ordinary language, symbolic logic, and justifications for the syntax and semantics of the various symbolic languages. Discussions range from the justification of the truth table for the sentential rendering of if . . . then statements to semantic and syntactic paradoxes, including some troubling paradoxes that arise in ordinary language (e.g., the so-called hangman or surprise quiz paradox). Answers to the even-numbered exercises are included in the back of the book.

Logic and Philosophy includes ample material for a one-semester or two-semester course and provides a thorough preparation for more advanced logic courses.

Contains the only complete English-language text of “The Concept of Truth in Formalized Languages.” Tarski made extensive corrections and revisions of the original translations for this edition, along with new historical remarks. It includes a new preface and a new analytical index for use by philosophers and linguists as well as by historians of mathematics and philosophy.

This anthology provides a set of distinctive selections that explore both Western and Eastern views of lying and truthfulness, including selections from Augustine, Grotius, Aristotle, the Mahābhārata, Confucius, Kant, Plato, Sunzi, Han Feizi, Aquinas, the Lotus Sutra, Hobbes, Hume, Locke, Bacon, Nietzsche, and more.

Hackett Readings in Philosophy is a versatile series of compact anthologies, each devoted to a topic of traditional interest in philosophy or political theory. Selections are chosen for their accessibility, significance, and ability to stimulate thought and discussion.

“The Introduction is vibrant, comprehensive and persuasive. Manages to address the needs of undergraduates while constituting an original contribution to contemporary scholarship. Bravo!” —Alan Houston, University of California, San Diego

“Wootton’s Introduction is an excellent piece of work that offers both scholars and students a valuable guide to Machiavelli’s texts.”  —Maurizio Viroli, Princeton University 

This study of the origins and progress of Greek science focuses especially on the interaction between scientific and traditional patterns of thought from the sixth to the fourth century BC. It begins with an examination of how particular Greek authors deployed the category of "magic," sometimes attacking its beliefs and practices; these attacks are then related to their background in Greek medicine and philosophical thought. In his second chapter Lloyd outlines developments in the theory and practice of argument in Greek science and assesses their significance. He next discuses the progress of empirical research as a scientific tool from the Presocratics to Aristotle. Finally, he considers why the Greeks invented science, their contribution to its history, and the social, economic, ideological and political factors that had a bearing on its growth.

These substantial selections from The Search after Truth, Elucidations of the Search after Truth, Dialogues on Metaphysics, and Treatise on Nature and Grace, provide the student of modern philosophy with both a broad view of Malebranche's philosophical system and a detailed picture of his most important doctrines. Malebranche's occasionalism, his theory of knowledge and the 'vision in God', and his writings on theodicy and freedom are solidly represented.

The first modern translation of the complete texts of La Mettrie's pioneering L'Homme machine and L'Homme plante, first published in 1747 and 1748, respectively, this volume also includes translations of the advertisement and dedication to L'Homme machine.

Contains the most helpful version of Hobbes’s political and moral philosophy available in English. Includes the only English translation of De Homine, chapters X-XV. Features the English translation of De Cive attributed to Hobbes.

Featuring the most important and enduring works from Marx's enormous corpus, this collection ranges from the Hegelian idealism of his youth to the mature socialism of his later works. Organized both topically and in rough chronological order, the selections (many of them in the translations of Loyd D. Easton and Kurt H. Guddat) include writings on historical materialism, excerpts from Capital, and political works.

“P. J. Ivanhoe is one of the English-speaking world’s foremost translators and interpreters of classical Chinese philosophical texts. His translation of the Sunzi Bingfa reads beautifully, adorned only by sobering photographic plates of the famed terracotta army of the first Qin emperor that turn one back to the text in a properly reflective mood. The Introduction and endnotes are blessedly spare, providing just the right amount of interpretive scholarship to assist comprehension of the text, while not interfering with its intrinsic simplicity, clarity, and profundity.”
    —Sumner B. Twiss, Distinguished Professor of Human Rights, Ethics, and Religion, Florida State University