In addition to its interest as one of Plato's most brilliant dramatic masterpieces, the Protagoras presents a vivid picture of the crisis of fifth century Greek thought, in which traditional values and conceptions of humanity were subjected to criticism of the Sophists and to the far more
radical criticism of Socrates. The dialogue deals with many themes which are central to the ethical theories which Plato developed under the influence of Socrates, notably, the nature of human excellence, the relation of knowledge to right conduct, and the place of pleasure in the good life. This
revised edition includes a new Preface and Introduction, as well as numerous changes to the translation and commentary.

Presented here in a new translation, with a historical introduction by the translators, Fear and Trembling and Repetition are the most poetic and personal of Soren Kierkegaard's pseudonymous writings. Published in 1843 and written under the names Johannes de Silentio and Constantine Constantius, respectively, the books demonstrate Kierkegaard's transmutation of the personal into the lyrically religious. Each work uses as a point of departure Kierkegaard's breaking of his engagement to Regine Olsen - his sacrifice of "that single individual." From this beginning Fear and Trembling becomes an exploration of the faith that transcends the ethical, as in Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac at God's command. This faith, which persists in the face of the absurd, is rewarded finally by the return of all that the faithful one is willing to sacrifice. Repetition discusses the most profound implications of unity of personhood and of identity within change, beginning with the ironic story of a young poet who cannot fulfill the ethical claims of his engagement because of the possible consequences of his marriage. The poet finally despairs of repetition (renewal) in the ethical sphere, as does his advisor and friend Constantius in the aesthetic sphere. The book ends with Constantius' intimation of a third kind of repetition - in the religious sphere.

The past quarter of a century has seen dramatic developments in social and political thought. These essays offer an indispensable introduction to some of the most influential amongst them. Quentin Skinner's Introduction traces broad transformations such as the erosion of empiricist assumptions and the undermining of the positivist ideal of the unification of the sciences by the impact of foreign traditions on English-speaking social science. The essays themselves discuss major figures such as Gadamer, Derrida, Foucault, Habermas, Althusser and Levi-Strauss, giving valuably lucid introductory studies of some difficult but unquestionably major thinkers of our time. Professor Skinner has been awarded the Balzan Prize Life Time Achievement Award for Political Thought, History and Theory. Full details of this award can be found at http://www.balzan.it/News_eng.aspx?ID=2474

What is science? Is there a real difference between science and myth? Is science objective? Can science explain everything? This Very Short Introduction provides a concise overview of the main themes of contemporary philosophy of science. Beginning with a short history of science to set the scene, Samir Okasha goes on to investigate the nature of scientific reasoning, scientific explanation, revolutions in science, and theories such as realism and anti-realism. He also looks at philosophical issues in particular sciences, including the problem of classification in biology, and the nature of space and time in physics. The final chapter touches on the conflicts between science and religion, and explores whether science is ultimately a good thing.

Head hits cause brain damage - but not always. Should we ban sport to protect athletes? Exposure to electromagnetic fields is strongly associated with cancer development - does that mean exposure causes cancer? Should we encourage old fashioned communication instead of mobile phones to reduce cancer rates? According to popular wisdom, the Mediterranean diet keeps you healthy. Is this belief scientifically sound? Should public health bodies encourage consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables? Severe financial constraints on research and public policy, media pressure, and public anxiety make such questions of immense current concern not just to philosophers but to scientists, governments, public bodies, and the general public.
In the last decade there has been an explosion of theorizing about causality in philosophy, and also in the sciences. This literature is both fascinating and important, but it is involved and highly technical. This makes it inaccessible to many who would like to use it, philosophers and scientists alike.
This book is an introduction to philosophy of causality - one that is highly accessible: to scientists unacquainted with philosophy, to philosophers unacquainted with science, and to anyone else lost in the labyrinth of philosophical theories of causality. It presents key philosophical accounts, concepts and methods, using examples from the sciences to show how to apply philosophical debates to scientific problems.

Many definitions of postmodernism focus on its nature as the aftermath of the modern industrial age when technology developed dynamically. In The Postmodern Condition Jean-Francois Lyotard extends that analysis to postmodernism by looking at the status uf science, technology, and the arts, the significance of technocracy, and the way the flow of information and knowledge are controlled in the Western world. Lyotard emphasized language; the world of postmodern knowledge can be represented as a game of language where speaking is participation in the game whose goal is the creation of new and ever-changing social linkages.

Our self-image as moral, well-behaved creatures is dogged by scepticism, relativism, hypocrisy, and nihilism, by the fear that in a Godless world science has unmasked us as creatures fated by our genes to be selfish and tribalistic, or competitive and aggressive. In this 'sparklingly clear' (Guardian) introduction to ethics Simon Blackburn tackles the major moral questions surrounding birth, death, happiness, desire and freedom, showing us how we should think about the meaning of life, and how we should mistrust the soundbite-sized absolutes that often dominate moral debates.

Schopenhauer is the most readable of German philosophers. This book gives a succinct explanation of his metaphysical system, concentrating on the original aspects of his thought, which inspired many artists and thinkers including Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, and Wittgenstein. Schopenhauer's central notion is that of the will - a blind, irrational force that he uses to interpret both the human mind and the whole of nature. Seeing human behaviour as that of a natural organism governed by the will to life, Schopenhauer developed radical insights concerning the unconscious and sexuality which influenced both psychologists and philosophers.

We human beings had no say in existing—we just opened our eyes and found ourselves here. We have a fundamental need to understand who we are and the world we live in. Reason takes us a long way, but mystery remains. When our minds and senses are baffled, faith can seem justified—but faith is not knowledge. In Ultimate Questions, acclaimed philosopher Bryan Magee provocatively argues that we have no way of fathoming our own natures or finding definitive answers to the big questions we all face.
With eloquence and grace, Magee urges us to be the mapmakers of what is intelligible, and to identify the boundaries of meaningfulness. He traces this tradition of thought to his chief philosophical mentors—Locke, Hume, Kant, and Schopenhauer—and shows why this approach to the enigma of existence can enrich our lives and transform our understanding of the human predicament. As Magee puts it, "There is a world of difference between being lost in the daylight and being lost in the dark."
The crowning achievement to a distinguished philosophical career, Ultimate Questions is a deeply personal meditation on the meaning of life and the ways we should live and face death.
Reviews:
"Magee’s writing always makes very easy reading."--Anthony Kenny, Standpoint
"[Magee] writes with relaxed fluency."--Rowan Williams, New Statesman
Endorsements:
"In this fluently written and beautifully clear book, Bryan Magee offers a series of reflections on the human condition, based on a lifetime's study of the central questions of philosophy. Ultimate Questions is a personal testament, one that reflects a yearning for answers coupled with an honest, and indeed humble, admission that such answers cannot be reached."--John Cottingham, author of Philosophy of Religion: Towards a More Humane Approach
"Thought-provoking and well-written, Ultimate Questions provides an elegant and candid summary of where Magee stands on these deep philosophical questions."--Nigel Warburton, author of A Little History of Philosophy

This title explores 2,500 years of Western philosophy. In this updated guide to philosophy, Professor Bryan Magee expertly guides us through the history of ideas and thinking, tracing over 2,500 years of Western philosophy from the Ancient Greeks to modern thinkers. Discover what philosophy is, how philosophers have questioned the fundamental principles underlying all knowledge and existence and address life's big questions, such as 'What is being' and 'Can the existence of God be proved'. Covering every major philosopher from Plato to Popper, via Saint Augustine Locke and Nietzsche, explore these great thinkers in their historical context and learn the influences that shaped their lives and work. It is an essential guide to this fascinating subject.

本书为郭宏安译加缪文集第一卷，收录了哲理小说《局外人》和随笔集《西绪福斯神话》，重点阐述了加缪的荒诞哲学。
他试图告诉人们，没有希望并不等同于绝望，清醒也不导致顺从，人应该认识到他的唯一的财富是生命，而生命既是必然要消逝的，同时也是可以尽量加以开发的，人应该而且能够在这个世界中获得生存的勇气，甚至幸福。他提出的“荒诞”，就是“确认自己的界限的清醒的理性”。他拒绝了永恒，同时就肯定了人世间的美和生命的欢乐。

One of the most influential works of this century, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide; the question of living or not living in a universe devoid of order or meaning. With lyric eloquence, Albert Camus brilliantly posits a way out of despair, reaffirming the value of personal existence, and the possibility of life lived with dignity and authenticity.

本书探讨伦理学中的几个论题。读过几本书的人知道，天下的道理差不多早都被前人讲过。其中有些，我有自己的体会、思考，尝试用当代中国普通读者比较易懂的方式把这些道理重新讲述；有些，前人好像讲得不太对不太好，我尝试讲得更好些。也许没做到——我一直对自己期望不高，更希望的倒是有几个读者能与作者一样，感到诚实的思考实是人生一大乐事。
“我该怎样生活”这个问题不只是人生道路之初的问题，而是贯穿人的一生的问题。这个问题，主要不是选择人生道路的问题，不是选对或选错人生道路的问题，而是行路的问题——知道自己在走什么路，知道这条路该怎么走：我们是否贴切着自己的真实天性行路。
在最初“选择人生道路”的时候，没谁一开始通透了解自己的本性，了解周边环境并预见环境的变化。我们一开始不可能通透了解自己的本性，这不在于我们还不够聪明，而在于我们的本性在一开始不够具体，本性有待在盘根错节的实践中向我们逐渐清晰地显现。我们大概可以在这个意义上去理解歌德说他的浮士德是一系列越来越纯粹或纯洁（rein）的努力。我把这个“纯粹”或“纯洁”理解为：自身通透。我以为，这种自身通透是phronesis最核心的含义——洞明自己行在何处，浑然一体地洞明自己和自己所行之路，从而能贴切着自己的真实天性行路，把自己大致保持在天性所指的道路上。

本书是著名哲学家陈嘉映教授集四十年从事哲学思考与研究形成的最重要的哲学专著。全书共分九章，以语言分析哲学的方法论述了相关的全部哲学命题，各章包括“哲学之为穷理”，“哲学为什么关注语言”，“哲学语法”，“论理词与论理”，“感知与语言分析”，“亲知与观念”，“看法与论证”，“普遍性：同与通”，“事情本身与事实”等。现代语言分析哲学源出自英国经验主义传统，以分析语言与意义的关系达至问道穷理的目的。陈嘉映教授初入以德国理性主义传统下海德格尔研究入手，从而将西方二十世纪现象学潮流与分析哲学的深入研究紧密无间地结合为一体，形成了自己相对独立的学说体系。该书作者首先以“哲学何为”入手，说“哲学大致就是穷理”：“从一个道理追向另一个道理，谓之穷理。所谓哲学，大致就是穷理”。而穷理，在陈嘉映教授看来，就是一个在一定的哲学语法下对感知和语言进行分析的过程。这一分析在其发展中必会涉及亲身感知与观念形成的问题，进而，陈嘉映教授又探讨这一体系在论证等重大哲学命题。本书论证之深度和论理之严谨使其成为国内近三十年来少见之重要哲学著述，必将引起国内外学界的广泛注意和关注。

Our brains were designed for tribal life, for getting along with a select group of others (Us) and for fighting off everyone else (Them). But modern times have forced the world’s tribes into a shared space, resulting in epic clashes of values along with unprecedented opportunities. As the world shrinks, the moral lines that divide us become more salient and more puzzling. We fight over everything from tax codes to gay marriage to global warming, and we wonder where, if at all, we can find our common ground.
A grand synthesis of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, Moral Tribes reveals the underlying causes of modern conflict and lights the way forward. Greene compares the human brain to a dual-mode camera, with point-and-shoot automatic settings (“portrait,” “landscape”) as well as a manual mode. Our point-and-shoot settings are our emotions—efficient, automated programs honed by evolution, culture, and personal experience. The brain’s manual mode is its capacity for deliberate reasoning, which makes our thinking flexible. Point-and-shoot emotions make us social animals, turning Me into Us. But they also make us tribal animals, turning Us against Them. Our tribal emotions make us fight—sometimes with bombs, sometimes with words—often with life-and-death stakes.
An award-winning teacher and scientist, Greene directs Harvard University’s Moral Cognition Lab, which uses cutting-edge neuroscience and cognitive techniques to understand how people really make moral decisions. Combining insights from the lab with lessons from decades of social science and centuries of philosophy, the great question of Moral Tribes is this: How can we get along with Them when what they want feels so wrong to Us?
Ultimately, Greene offers a set of maxims for navigating the modern moral terrain, a practical road map for solving problems and living better lives. Moral Tribes shows us when to trust our instincts, when to reason, and how the right kind of reasoning can move us forward.
A major achievement from a rising star in a new scientific field, Moral Tribes will refashion your deepest beliefs about how moral thinking works and how it can work better.