This edited collection takes a multifaceted approach to the various limitations and achievements of Western philosophy. Considered on its own, Western philosophy is a highly contentious name. The contributors question its validity as a label and take to task its grand appearance within education. However, part of the problem with Western philosophy is that it has less conventional as well as dominant manifestations. The writers consider both forms of Western philosophy, devoting significant thought and time to it in its own right, but always referring it to the more specific issue of education. This book adds to a growing corpus that sketches the relationship between education and philosophy, showing that they are deeply intertwined, and it is indeed philosophy (and especially its Western variation) that supports Western education and allows it to flourish in the first instance. It is fitting, then, that at various points this book depicts education as a hegemonic vehicle of a deeper phenomenon – that of dominant Western philosophy. This book was originally published as a special issue of Educational Philosophy and Theory.

The development of modern culture along subjectivist lines has led to an analogue of psychological narcissism—to philosophical narcissism—in the culture. The intrinsic value of human cultural activity has been lost, and the intellectual foundation of the modern world-view has been destroyed. Cahoone carefully develops the idea of subjectivity and narcissism using psychological theory, the dialectical theory of the Frankfurt school, and historians. The core of his interpretive argument is developed through careful analysis of Descartes and Kant as well as of Husserl and Heidegger. Cahoone maintains a carefully controlled continuity between the analysis of philosophic positions and what they reveal about culture. In the conclusion, he moves toward a recreation of culture in non-subjectivist naturalism. Insights are drawn from Freud, Fairbairne, Winnicott, Kohut, Sennett, Lasch, Horkheimer, Adorno, Dewey, Cassirer, Kundera, and Buchler.

Western Philosophy: An Anthology provides the most comprehensive and authoritative survey of the Western philosophical tradition from ancient Greece to the leading philosophers of today. Features substantial and carefully chosen excerpts from all the greats of philosophy, arranged thematically and chronologically Readings are introduced and linked together by a lucid philosophical commentary which guides the reader through the key arguments Embraces all the major subfields of philosophy: theory of knowledge and metaphysics, philosophy of mind, religion and science, moral philosophy (theoretical and applied), political theory, and aesthetics Updated edition now includes additional contemporary readings in each section Augmented by two completely new sections on logic and language, and philosophy and the meaning of life

"This edited collection takes a multifaceted approach to the various limitations and achievements of Western philosophy. Considered on its own, Western philosophy is a highly contentious name. The contributors question its validity as a label and take to task its grand appearance within education. However, part of the problem with Western philosophy is that it has less conventional as well as dominant manifestations. The writers consider both forms of Western philosophy, devoting significant thought and time to it in its own right, but always referring it to the more specific issue of education. This book adds to a growing corpus that sketches the relationship between education and philosophy, showing that they are deeply intertwined, and it is indeed philosophy (and especially its Western variation) that supports Western education and allows it to flourish in the first instance. It is fitting, then, that at various points this book depicts education as a hegemonic vehicle of a deeper phenomenon - that of dominant Western philosophy. This book was originally published as a special issue of Educational Philosophy and Theory."--Provided by publisher.

Does the existence of evil call into doubt the existence of God? Show me the argument. Philosophy starts with questions, but attempts at answers are just as important, and these answers require reasoned argument. Cutting through dense philosophical prose, 100 famous and influential arguments are presented in their essence, with premises, conclusions and logical form plainly identified. Key quotations provide a sense of style and approach. Just the Arguments is an invaluable one-stop argument shop. A concise, formally structured summation of 100 of the most important arguments in Western philosophy The first book of its kind to present the most important and influential philosophical arguments in a clear premise/conclusion format, the language that philosophers use and students are expected to know Offers succinct expositions of key philosophical arguments without bogging them down in commentary Translates difficult texts to core arguments Designed to provides a quick and compact reference to everything from Aquinas’ “Five Ways” to prove the existence of God, to the metaphysical possibilities of a zombie world

This fully revised third edition of this Concise Encyclopedia brings it completely up-to-date. Featuring lively and engaging entries by some of the leading philosophers of our age, it is a readable reference work and engaging introduction.

This illustrated edition of Sir Anthony Kenny’s acclaimed survey of Western philosophy offers the most concise and compelling story of the complete development of philosophy available. Spanning 2,500 years of thought, An Illustrated Brief History of Western Philosophy provides essential coverage of the most influential philosophers of the Western world, among them Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Jesus, Augustine, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Berkeley, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Mill, Nietzsche, Darwin, Freud, Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein. Replete with over 60 illustrations - ranging from Dufresnoy’s The Death of Socrates, through to the title page of Thomas More’s Utopia, portraits of Hobbes and Rousseau, photographs of Charles Darwin and Bertrand Russell, Freud’s own sketch of the Ego and the Id, and Wittgenstein’s Austrian military identity card - this lucid and masterful work is ideal for anyone with an interest in Western thought.

For many of us, the image of the cowboy hero facing off against the villain dominates our memories of the movies. Peter French examines the world of the western, one in which death is annihilation, the culmination of life, and there is nothing else. In that world he finds alternatives to Judeo-Christian traditions that dominate our ethical theories, alternatives that also attack the views of the most prominent ethicists of the past three centuries. More than just a meditation on the portrayal of the good, the bad, and the ugly on the big screen, French's work identifies an attitude toward life that he claims is one of the most distinctive and enduring elements of American culture.

"[This] magnificent critical survey, with its inherent respect for both the 'Westt's mainstream high culture' and the 'radically changing world' of the 1990s, offers a new breakthrough for lay and scholarly readers alike....Allows readers to grasp the big picture of Western culture for the first time." SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE Here are the great minds of Western civilization and their pivotal ideas, from Plato to Hegel, from Augustine to Nietzsche, from Copernicus to Freud. Richard Tarnas performs the near-miracle of describing profound philosophical concepts simply but without simplifying them. Ten years in the making and already hailed as a classic, THE PASSION OF THE WESERN MIND is truly a complete liberal education in a single volume.

How perfectible is human nature as understood in Eastern and Western philosophy, psychology, and religion? Harold Coward examines some of the very different answers to this question. He poses that in Western thought, including philosophy, psychology, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, human nature is often understood as finite, flawed, and not perfectible—in religion requiring God's grace and the afterlife to reach the goal. By contrast, Eastern thought arising in India frequently sees human nature to be perfectible and presumes that we will be reborn until we realize the goal—the various yoga psychologies, philosophies, and religions of Hinduism and Buddhism being the paths by which one may perfect oneself and realize release from rebirth. Coward uses the striking differences in the assessment of how perfectible human nature is as the comparative focus for this book.