“Witty and profound” musings on questions of art and religion from a celebrated novelist known for her philosophical explorations (Library Journal). For centuries, the works of Plato, featuring his mentor and teacher Socrates, have illuminated philosophical discussions. In Acastos: Two Platonic Dialogues, acclaimed philosopher, poet, and writer Iris Murdoch turns her keen eye to the value of art, knowledge, and faith, with two dramatic conversations featuring Plato and Socrates. “Art and Eros”: After witnessing a theatrical performance, Socrates and his pupils—Callistos, Acastos, Mantias, Deximenes, and Plato—undertake a quest to uncover the meaning and worth of artistic endeavors. “Above the Gods”: The celebration of a religious festival leads to a lively discussion of the gods and their place in society, as Socrates, along with several of his followers, talk about the morality of religion, wisdom, and righteousness. Told through vivid characterizations and lively discourse, Acastos is at once a “profound and satisfying” exploration of the Socratic method and an enjoyable example of theatrical writing from a Man Booker Prize–winning novelist known for her studies with Ludwig Wittgenstein and her philosophy lectures at Oxford University, as well as for such works of fiction as The Sea, The Sea and The Black Prince (Kirkus Reviews).

Best known as the author of twenty-six novels, Iris Murdoch has also made significant contributions to the fields of ethics and aesthetics. Collected here for the first time in one volume are her most influential literary and philosophical essays. Tracing Murdoch's journey to a modern Platonism, this volume includes incisive evaluations of the thought and writings of T. S. Eliot, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvior, and Elias Canetti, as well as key texts on the continuing importance of the sublime, on the concept of love, and the role great literature can play in curing the ills of philosophy.Existentialists and Mystics not only illuminates the mysticism and intellectual underpinnings of Murdoch's novels, but confirms her major contributions to twentieth-century thought.

This book is a demonstration of how the interpretive phenomenology and hermeneutics of Hans Georg Gadamer can be applied to the study and practice of business pedagogy. The application of Existential Hermeneutic Phenomenology (EHP) uncovered underlying themes and essences that crossed internal pedagogical differences and debates within the Business Academy. This book has an implication for personal pedagogical practice as the essences uncovered by the research create indicators of action for professional educators. Also, the development of this form of Existential Hermeneutic Phenomenological demonstrates how the reflective techniques informed by Gadamer’s hermeneutics can be used to enhance the process of discursive exchange amongst key stakeholders in the evolution of Business pedagogy. There have been many books written on the principles and practices of business pedagogy but none have examined this from a phenomenological perspective. The book gives a suggested template in which the interpretive phenomenology of Gadamer can be used to conduct research into the themes and essences that underpin key relationships in this field. Books that examine this technique in other academic disciplines are also rare.

Iris Murdoch was a philosopher and novelist of extraordinary breadth and originality whose work defies simple categorisation. Her philosophical writing engages with an astonishingly wide range of figures, from Plato and Kant to Sartre and Heidegger, and her work increasingly inspires debate in ethics, aesthetics, religion, and literature. The Murdochian Mind is an outstanding reference source to the full span of Murdoch's philosophical work, comprising 37 specially commissioned chapters written by an international team of leading scholars. Divided into five clear parts, the volume covers the following areas: A guide to Murdoch's key philosophical texts, including The Sovereignty of Good and Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals. Core themes and concepts in Murdoch's philosophy, such as love, moral vision, and attention. Murdoch's engagement with the history of philosophy, including Plato, Kant, Hegel, Simone Weil, and Wittgenstein. Interdisciplinary connections with art, literature, and religion, including Judaism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Murdoch and contemporary philosophical debates, including feminism, virtue ethics, and metaethics. The application of Murdoch’s thought to applied ethics, including animal ethics, psychiatric ethics, and the environment. Although recent years have seen a blossoming of interest in Murdoch’s philosophy, The Murdochian Mind is the first volume to do justice to the incredibly rich and wide-ranging nature of her work. As such it will be of great interest to students of philosophy, especially ethics and aesthetics, as well as those in related disciplines such as literature, religion, and gender studies.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1838.

The Second Book of The Last War of Gods and Men In an ancient world of gods and heroes, the threat of war is rising… From the city of Trachis, near the pass of Thermopylae, three kings set sail for the holy island of Asteria and the gathering of kings called by the twin temples of Apollo and Artemis, intent on foiling the plans of Atreus, king of Mycenae, who seeks dominion over all the cities and kingdoms of the Aegean sea. To the north, in the shadow of Mount Olympus, the hero Heracles looks to free the besieged city of Elone, joining forces with the Centaurs to wage war against the combined armies of Lapith and Dryopes warriors, who under the command of the Strategos Coronus have been ordered to destroy the city of the Hellenes. While Hera, the outcast Queen of the Gods, strives to raise a new god to cast aside the old, and will sacrifice the immortals of Pelasgia to achieve her goal. Yet all the while the question remains, where are the other Olympians? Against a backdrop of war and betrayal, a young man will struggle to understand the power of the gods, and his role in the struggle to come. And if they are not careful, the Dark Queen will sacrifice all to chaos.

The First Book of The Last War of Gods and Men An age of myth and legend, of gods and heroes. And the final struggle, is about to begin… The fate of three Houses will decide the destiny of nations, and of the world. The House of Perseus, rulers of Mycenae rich in gold, they will turn upon one another in their fight for the right to rule. Outcasts, they will wander the world seeking lost glory. Will Heracles, the scion of this once great dynasty, return it to its former glory, or ensure its downfall forever? The House of Deucalion, chosen by Zeus and the Circle of Twelve to be the last survivors of the Race of Bronze, and to bring order and chaos to a darkened world, they are forced to flee to the shadow of Mount Olympus, as war and treachery tears the Aegean world apart. The House of Pelops, thrice cursed, their undead namesake will seal a deal with the Queen of the Gods, an arrangement that will see his sons Atreus and Thyestes called to take the Lion Throne. Will the curse continue? Or will they overcome the past to replace those chosen by the Gods of Olympus to rule? Behind it all Hera, the outcast Queen of the Olympians, rolls the dice in the game of Gods and Kings, as she seeks to change the ancient world forever. It is a time of blood and betrayal. A time of myth and legend. A time for the Sword of Olympus to rise.