Brentano's Four Phases of Philosophy, first published in 1895 and here translated into English for the first time, presents a dramatic account of the history of philosophy in terms of a succession of cycles of renewal and decline. Phases of renewal are associated with the rediscovery of science, of empiricism, of rigour and clarity. Phases of decline are associated with competing schools and sects, with mysticism and obfuscation, and with relativisms and idealisms of various sorts. Each final phase of decline, with its ultimate collapse into nonsense, gives rise to the call for a new phase of renewal, and Aristotle, in Brentano's eyes, represents the ideal type of this renewal phase of philosophy. Brentano exploits his cyclical theory to provide a guiding path through the history of Western philosophy from the beginnings in the Presocratics to what was from his perspective the final phase of decline in the work of Kant and the German idealists. In an extensive introduction, Balász Mezei and Barry Smith present a detailed account of Brentano's method in the history of philosophy. They demonstrate its roots in the work of August Comte, and compare it to other methodologies in the historiography of philosophy, including that of Kant. Most interestingly, however, they seek to bring up to date Brentano's account of the cycles of renewal and decline in the history of philosophy. They show how Brentano's method can be applied to the histories of twentieth-century analytic and Continental philosophy, from their auspicious beginnings in the work of Frege and Husserl (and Brentano) himself to their ultimate decline in the work of Rorty, Levinas and Derrida.

Brentano's Four Phases of Philosophy, first published in 1895 and here translated into English for the first time, presents a dramatic account of the history of philosophy in terms of a succession of cycles of renewal and decline. Phases of renewal are associated with the rediscovery of science, of empiricism, of rigour and clarity. Phases of decline are associated with competing schools and sects, with mysticism and obfuscation, and with relativisms and idealisms of various sorts. Each final phase of decline, with its ultimate collapse into nonsense, gives rise to the call for a new phase of renewal, and Aristotle, in Brentano's eyes, represents the ideal type of this renewal phase of philosophy. Brentano exploits his cyclical theory to provide a guiding path through the history of Western philosophy from the beginnings in the Presocratics to what was from his perspective the final phase of decline in the work of Kant and the German idealists. In an extensive introduction, Balász Mezei and Barry Smith present a detailed account of Brentano's method in the history of philosophy. They demonstrate its roots in the work of August Comte, and compare it to other methodologies in the historiography of philosophy, including that of Kant. Most interestingly, however, they seek to bring up to date Brentano's account of the cycles of renewal and decline in the history of philosophy. They show how Brentano's method can be applied to the histories of twentieth-century analytic and Continental philosophy, from their auspicious beginnings in the work of Frege and Husserl (and Brentano) himself to their ultimate decline in the work of Rorty, Levinas and Derrida.

A crucial text in the development of François Laruelle's oeuvre and an excellent starting point for understanding his broader project, Philosophies of Difference offers a theoretical and critical analysis of the philosophers of difference after Hegel and Nietzsche. Laruelle then uses this analysis to introduce a new theoretical practice of non-philosophical thought. Rather than presenting a narrative historical overview, Laruelle provides a series of rigorous critiques of the various interpretations of difference in Hegel, Nietzsche and Deleuze, Heidegger and Derrida. From Laruelle's innovative theoretical perspective, the forms of philosophical difference that emerge appear as variations upon a unique, highly abstract structure of philosophical decision, the self-posing and self-legitimating essence of philosophy itself. Reconceived in terms of philosophical decision, the seemingly radical concept of philosophical difference is shown to configure rather the identity of philosophy as such, which thus becomes manifest as a contingent and no longer absolute form of thinking. The way is thereby opened for initiating a new form of thought, anticipated here with the development of a key notion of non-philosophy, the Vision-in-One.

Ian Schrager, Marcus Aurelius, Supreme, Kith, Rick Rubin, Kanye West, Soulcycle, Ikea, Sweetgreen, The Wu-Tang Clan, Danny Meyer, Tracy Chapman, Warren Buffett, Walt Disney, Jack's Wife Freda, Starbucks, A24, Picasso, In-N-Out Burger, intel, Tom Brady, Mission Chinese, Nike, Masayoshi Takayama, Oprah, the Baal Shem Tov. What do they all have in common? They have discovered their purpose and unlocked their creative potential. We have been born into a time when all the tools to make our dreams a reality are available and, for the most part, affordable. We have the freedom to manifest our truth, pursue our own path, and along the way discover our best selves. Whether as individuals or as part of a group, we can't be held back by anything except knowledge. The Age of Ideas provides that knowledge. It takes the reader on an incredible journey into a world of self-discovery, personal fulfillment, and modern entrepreneurship. The book starts by explaining how the world has shifted into this new paradigm and then outlines a step-by-step framework to turn your inner purpose and ideas into an empowered existence. Your ideas have more power than ever before, and when you understand how to manifest and share those ideas, you will be on the road to making an impact in ways you never before imagined. Welcome to the Age of Ideas.

Franz Brentano’s impact on the philosophy of his time and on 20th-century philosophy is considerable. The “sharp dialectician” (Freud) and “genial master” (Husserl) influenced philosophers of various allegiances, being acknowledged not only as the “grandfather of phenomenology” (Ryle) but also as an analytic philosopher “in the best sense of this term” (Chisholm). The fourteen new essays gathered together in this volume give an insight in three core issues of Brentano’s philosophy: consciousness (sect.1), intentionality (sect. 2) and ontology and metaphysics (sect. 3). Two further sections of the volume deal with the posterity of his philoso¬phy: in section 4, the legacy of his account of sense perception and feeling is discussed, while the history of Brentano’s unpublished manuscripts is discussed in section 5. This section also presents an edition of a manuscript from 1899 on relations, along with the letters from Brentano to Marty which discuss this manuscript. The last part of section 5 contains the text of a public lecture given by Brentano on the laws of inference.

Today Capitalism is generally accepted as the only viable socioeconomic system in spite of the stress, moral decay, drug abuse, and crime it fosters. Peeters shows that, before entering the present Materialistic Phase, Western society went through two other phases, the Religious and the Militaristic-Nationalistic Phase. He argues that current social problems arose because the behavior of most people was no longer determined by the laws of Church and State, but instead by the need to be productive and the desire to acquire money and material goods. Peeters shows that Materialism is, however, not the ultimate stage of development of society. A comparison of the three phases and Communism—a rival form of materialistic Phase—shows that Western society is going to enter a Fourth Phase, which Peeters asserts will occur around 2050. Peeters sets out to discover which prominent traits of today's ways of living and acting will be rejected during the transition toward the Fourth Phase and which new characteristics will emerge. The educational system, democracy, the goals of production and income inequality will all have to change when people adapt their aims to the requirements of the Post-Materialistic Phase. The challenge of the forces that now rule people's lives and the rejection of materialism will ultimately recreate a healthy, balanced society. Scholars and researchers in Future Studies as well as concerned citizens will find this a provacative analysis of today's problems and their possible resolution.

Before now, there has been no comprehensive analysis of the multiple relations between A. Comte’s and J.S. Mill’s positive philosophy and Franz Brentano’s work. The present volume aims to fill this gap and to identify Brentano’s position in the context of the positive philosophy of the 19th century by analyzing the following themes: the concept of positive knowledge; philosophy and empirical, genetic and descriptive psychology as sciences in Brentano, Comte and Mill; the strategies for the rebirth of philosophy in these three authors; the theory of the ascending stages of thought, of their decline, of the intentionality in Comte and Brentano; the reception of Comte’s positivism in Whewell and Mill; induction and phenomenalism in Brentano, Mill and Bain; the problem of the "I" in Hume and Brentano; mathematics as a foundational science in Brentano, Kant and Mill; Brentano’s critique of Mach’s positivism; the concept of positive science in Brentano’s metaphysics and in Husserl’s early phenomenology; the reception of Brentano’s psychology in Twardowski; The Brentano Institute at Oxford. The volume also contains the translation of the most significant writings of Brentano regarding philosophy as science. I. Tănăsescu, Romanian Academy; A. Bejinariu, Romanian Society of Phenomenology; S. Krantz Gabriel, Saint Anselm College; C. Stoenescu, University of Bucharest.

wide criticism both from Western and Eastern scholars.