Through extensive textual analysis, this book concludes that the prevailing opinion about the nature of modern and contemporary philosophy is wrong. It maintains that almost all modern and contemporary philosophy is deconstructed, secularized, Augustinian theology, not philosophy. The work is divided into eight chapters, a guest Foreword by Herbert I. London (President of the Hudson Institute and Olin Professor of Humanities at New York University) notes, bibliography, and an index. Chapter 1 (Protagoras Sees the Ghost of Hippo) considers Cartesian thought, Hobbes, and Newton. Chapter 2 (I Feel the Spirit Move Me) examines Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. Chapter 3 (The Urge to Emerge) investigates Lessing and Rousseau. Chapters 4 (To Dream the Impossible Dream) and 5 (Wake Up, Wake Up, You Sleepyhead) treat Kant. Chapters 6 (I Am Music) and 7 (Looking for God in All The Wrong Places) deal with Hegel. Chapter 8 (Dirty Dancing: Higher Education as Enlightened Swindling) concludes that a lack of philosophical and historical experience coupled with a widespread inability to read philosophical texts according to the intention of the author (1) causes us to mistake secularized theology for philosophy and (2) is a main cause for the decline of contemporary universities.

This book is the first translation from Latin into English of the juridical writings of one of the greatest minds of the Enlightenment and one of the greatest figures in Italian philosophy. The complete text is fully annotated, supplied with an extensive introduction, completed by historical and biographical documents, and graced with evocative illustrations. Legal scholars, philosophers, historians, and political scientists throughout the world may now discover a classic by one of the world’s great jurists. Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) spent his entire life in Naples, where he taught at the University of Naples from 1699, the year he won the Chair of Rhetoric and Forensic Eloquence, to 1741, the year Gennaro Vico, his son, took over the duty of lecturer. In 1723, after having written the Universal Right, he competed, though without success, for the Chair of Civil Law, at the same University. He wrote the Universal Right in Latin, the official and universal language of scholarly works, to prove his competency in the field of law and jurisprudence. The Universal Right had a continuous relevance to the development and growth of juristic studies, both in Italy and in Europe, where it was translated into French and German. From the eighteenth to the twentieth century, the Universal Right influenced the writings and teaching of the practitioners of the Forum—Emmanuele Duni, Antonio Genovesi, Jules Michelet, Francesco Lomonaco, Mario Francesco Pagano, Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Cesare Lombroso, Pasquale Galluppi, Cesare Beccaria, and, among the many recent jurists, Emilio Betti, who taught in Italy and Germany, the author of Allgemeine Auslegungslehre als Methodik der Geisteswissenschaften. Due to the influence of Benedetto Croce’s disapproving interpretation, the Universal Right remained often overshadowed by the New Science in its three editions of 1725, 1730, and 1744. As we start the twenty-first century, scholars are by-passing Croce’s statement, and are looking at the Universal Right with due objectivity and renewed interest. While the New Science has been available since 1948, the Universal Right appears now, for the first time, in English, the contemporary universal language. Contrary to the opinion of some scholars, Vico, in the New Science, stated that he did not regret having written the Universal Right; he used the copy in his possession as a reference manual for all the works written afterward, until 1735. Andrea Battistini wrote, “When an English translation of the Diritto universale [Universal Right] is available, which will be able to rectify the trend toward contemporary relevance with a greater sense of historicity through an emphasis on the debt to Roman jurisprudence, one will finally arrive at a synthetic overall view, obscured today by the numerous specialized analyses. At all events, however, it is to be hoped that the multiplicity of voices, the dialectical battle of interpretations and the duel between historicity and contemporary relevance do not subside”. Isaiah Berlin stated that, “Vico was not read,” and, thus, his ideas were the treasure-trove in the hands of a few specialists and, in like manner, they remained to our day. Other scholars have mentioned the “copiatori di [copycats of] Vico” when speaking about the history and transmission of ideas. In regard to Universal Right, contemporary research and writing is pale and scarce, given the unavailability of translations and the difficulties of the original.

This book is an attempt to read the totality of Camus’s oeuvre as a voyage, in which Camus approaches the fundamental questions of human existence: What is the meaning of life? Can ultimate values be grounded without metaphysical presuppositions? Can the pain of the other penetrate the thick shield of human narcissism and self-interest? Solipsism and solidarity are among the destinations Camus reaches in the course of this journey. This book is a new reading of one of the towering humanists of the twentieth century, and sheds new light on his spiritual world.

This book addresses ethical conflicts arising from saving the lives of patients who need a transplant while treating living and dead donors, organ sellers, animals, and embryos with proper moral regard. Our challenge is to develop a better world in the light of debatable values and uncertain consequences.

This book is an original philosophic exploration of the meaning of Kierkegaard's life, his thought, and his works. It makes a bold case for Kierkegaard's recognition of the concrete existence of the individual, including Kierkegaard himself, as crucial to the spiritual life. Written with delicate insight, and beautifully translated from Hebrew, this work offers valuable new turns to understanding the puzzling life-work of a modern giant of spiritual reflection.

This book has its philosophical starting point in the idea that group-based social movements have positive implications for peace politics. It explores ways of imagining community, nation, and international systems through a political lens that is attentive to diversity and different lived experiences. Contributors suggest how groups might work toward new nonviolent conceptions and experiences of diverse communities and global stability.

This book makes compassionate caring and connectedness the central themes. Imbedded in the human psyche we find a deep yearning for connection. This book explores the many roadblocks that human beings put in the way of a healthy and respectful dialogue with each other, with nature, and with the universe. It also cites numerous examples from literature, philosophy, and society of a reawakening sense of connectedness.

Drawing on the writings of Jacques Maritain--and by extension those of Thomas Aquinas--the essays in this volume examine the effects of theories of knowledge on individuals, culture, and entire schools of philosophical thought. The contributors challenge contemporary epistemologies, which are largely based on writings of Descartes, Locke, and Kant. They critique these theories internally and demonstrate their incompatibility with other goods, such as liberty, human dignity, and access to the transcendent. In stark contrast to modernity's dubious and fragmented opinions and belief systems, Maritain--in works like The Degrees of Knowledge and Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry--proposed a theory of knowledge that permits real, if limited, knowledge of substances, wholes. Some contributors use these works as a springboard from which to examine aspects or applications of knowledge that Maritain left unexplored. Others challenge or question aspects of Maritain's analysis, seeking to improve upon his work. Still others compare Maritain with other neo-Thomistic philosophers, most notably Etienne Gilson, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Pope John Paul II. Maritain's works on human knowledge and the implicit critique of modernity contained within provide an alternative for those seeking to engage the various deficiencies of the "culture of death." These essays demonstrate the continuing relevance--and timeliness--of Maritain's thought. Douglas A. Ollivant is assistant professor of politics at the United States Military Academy. Contributors: George Anastaplo, James Arraj, Joseph M. de Torre, Robert Delfino, Raymond Dennehy, John M. Dunaway, Robert Fallon, Desmond FitzGerald, William J. Fossati, W. Matthews Grant, Catherine Green, James G. Hanink, Gregory J. Kerr, John F. X. Knasas, John F. Morris, Ralph Nelson, Douglas A. Ollivant, Matthew S. Pugh, Steven J. Schloeder, Christopher H. Toner, John G. Trapani, Jr., Henk E. S. Woldring, and Thomas F. Woods. "This is a valuable collection of articles on an important individual who is still influencing contemporary political thought."--Lucien J. Richard, OMI, Catholic Library World

This book evaluates the claims of scientific creationism versus materialistic evolution, while examining other scenarios. Consistently philosophical in methodology and perspective, the book is radically interdisciplinary in content, examining data and arguments drawn from natural science, philosophy, and theology. This work challenges the limits of human knowledge regarding every major question touching on human origins.

This book reminds us that "in inwardness I am in myself. " It defines our experience in terms of subjectivity, private self-awareness, and complex relationships between interiority and outwardness. The book shows that our inwardness need not confine us to narcissistic self-absorption, but may expand our capacity for richer, more sympathetic relations with others.