ON PHILOSOPHY challenges and stimulates its readers to identify and deliberate about crucial philosophical issues. The book deals with some of the central areas of philosophy, such as the nature of God, perception, the relation between the mind and body, and ethics. It provides practical guidance on how to think philosophically, with appendices on critical thinking, analysis, logic, reading, and writing. The Wadsworth Philosophical Topics Series presents readers with concise, timely, and insightful introductions to a variety of traditional and contemporary philosophical subjects. With this series edited by Robert Talisse of Vanderbilt University, philosophy students will be able to discover the richness of philosophical inquiry across a wide array of concepts, including hallmark philosophical themes and topics typically underrepresented in mainstream philosophy publishing. Written by a distinguished list of scholars who have been noted for their exceptional teaching abilities, this series presents the vast sweep of today's philosophical exploration in highly accessible and affordable volumes. These books will prove valuable to philosophy teachers and their students as well as to other readers who share a general interest in philosophy.
In teaching Modern philosophy, the absence of a comprehensive secondary text results in much class time spent on clarifying the ideas of the philosophers, leaving little room for philosophical discussion of wider issues. Bacon to Kant was developed as a response to the classroom need to offer undergraduate philosophy students an introduction to the claims and arguments of ten of the most-studied Rationalist, Empiricist, and Enlightenment-era philosophersDescartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Bacon, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Rousseau, and Kant. The text is designed to be accessible without being philosophically naive. Thomson explains and analyzes central arguments in a readable and engaging style. Critical assessments of evolving views and arguments, contrasting interpretations of original texts, and thought-provoking questions designed to promote lively discussion help students connect the material to broader contemporary philosophical issues.
With selections of philosophers from Thales to Sextus Empiricus, this new anthology provides significant learning support and historical context for the readings along with a wide variety of pedagogical assists. Biographical headnotes, reading introductions, study questions, and special “Prologues” and “Philosophical Overviews” help students understand and appreciate the philosophical concepts under discussion. “Philosophical Bridges" discuss how the work of earlier thinkers would influence philosophers to come, and place major movements in a contemporary context showing students how the schools of philosophy interrelate and how various philosophies apply to the world today. In addition to this volume of Ancient Philosophy, a comprehensive survey of the whole of Western philosophical history and other individual volumes for each of the major historical eras are also available for specialized courses.
In teaching Modern philosophy, the absence of a comprehensive secondary text results in much class time spent on clarifying the ideas of the philosophers, leaving little room for philosophical discussion of wider issues. Bacon to Kant was developed as a response to the classroom need to offer undergraduate philosophy students an introduction to the claims and arguments of ten of the most-studied Rationalist, Empiricist, and Enlightenment-era philosophers—Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Bacon, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Rousseau, and Kant. The text is designed to be accessible without being philosophically naive. Thomson explains and analyzes central arguments in a readable and engaging style. Critical assessments of evolving views and arguments, contrasting interpretations of original texts, and thought-provoking questions designed to promote lively discussion help students connect the material to broader contemporary philosophical issues.
With selections of philosophers from Fichte to Dewey, this new anthology provides significant learning support and historical context for the readings along with a wide variety of pedagogical assists.Biographical headnotes, reading introductions, study questions, and specialPrologues andPhilosophical Overviews help students understand and appreciate the philosophical concepts under discussion.Philosophical Bridges discuss how the work of earlier thinkers would influence philosophers to come, and place major movements in a contemporary context, showing students how the schools of philosophy interrelate and how various philosophies apply to the world today.In addition to this volume of 19th Century Philosophy, a comprehensive survey of the whole of Western philosophical history, and other individual volumes for each of the major historical eras are also available for specialized courses.
With selections of philosophers from Plotinus to Bruno, this new anthology provides significant learning support and historical context for the readings along with a wide variety of pedagogical assists. Featuring biographical headnotes, reading introductions, study questions, as well as special “Prologues” and “Philosophical Overviews,” this anthology offers a unique set of critical thinking promtps to help students understand and appreciate the philosophical concepts under discussion. “Philosophical Bridges" discuss how the work of earlier thinkers would influence philosophers to come and place major movements in a contemporary context, showing students how the schools of philosophy interrelate and how the various philosophies apply to the world today. In addition to this volume of Medieval Philosophy, a comprehensive survey of the whole of Western philosophical history and other individual volumes for each of the major historical eras are also available for specialized courses.
Typically, attempts to transform public governance tend to focus on changes to the practices of existing institutions or on reforms to such institutions. In contrast, this book aims to articulate the underlying normative and evaluative design principles for rethinking systematically the kinds of process and institution that good governance would require, and why. It maintains that the claim that 'persons are non-instrumentally valuable' should form the basis of human equality. This sees the main aim of public governance to be the well-being of all persons consistent with our being part of the natural world. This argument contends that any political system seeking such an ethical aspiration must be a participatory deliberative democracy as opposed to representative democracy. The book investigates the consensus-building and decision-making processes necessary for a participatory deliberative democracy and how to transcend conflict and discord. It characterises the institutions that are required for public governance thus conceived, including the creation of various types of public spaces for open dialogue, listening and mutual inquiry intended to empower political actors' active engagement in democracy. It shows how the innovative vision for these institutions would effectively transform the conceptions of governance as normally understood in terms of governments, or national states.
This is a timely, accessible and engaging book of considerable intellectual stature, bold imagination and practical wisdom. Not only does it develop penetrating, elegant analyses of what is wrong with current state controlled and alternative approaches to contemporary education, it also offers imaginative, practical suggestions for a more fulfilling, human centred alternative.' Professor Michael Fielding, Institute of Education, University of London, UK. 'With great sensitivity and force, and in wonderfully clear prose, Scherto Gill and Garrett Thomson explore some fundamental questions about what we want from our education system and what we can expect from it. [...] It is highly recommended for all who are interested in education, whether from a more theoretical point of view or from a more practical point of view' Professor Adrian W. Moore, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, UK. Could we have a system of secondary education that provides alternatives to the current mainstream schooling and its emphasis on exams, learning outcomes and the delivery of a fixed curriculum? How could such a system focus on both human and educational values? How could secondary education combine the personal development of students with good academic standards? In response to these questions, Gill and Thomson have written a new, cutting-edge text aimed at all those involved in the study of education or teacher training. Rethinking Secondary Education explores, debates and critiques new and alternative approaches to teaching young people today. The book discusses a 'human-centred' approach to curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and the culture of schools and colleges. It is grounded in theory and empirical research, discussing the need for a curriculum for the future, bridging a gap between mainstream and alternative education. It also offers practical guidance on how these ideas can be put into practice, making it an ideal resource for trainee teachers, experienced practitioners and students of education alike. Key features of the text: A balanced approach, comparing and contrasting both traditional and alternative approaches to education Strong grounding in theory and research The inclusion of young people's perspectives and 'voices' on their education and on being an adolescent Links to practice - showing how the theory and research can actually be put into practice to bring about change
The period spanning approximately 624–545 BC to 175–225 AD is often considered the most exciting in Western philosophy. Designed as a companion to the original works of the ancient philosophers from this early period, this introductory text spotlights seminal thinkers, including the Sophists; offers a detailed analysis of the thoughts and teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; and features a well-rounded assessment of the Hellenistic and Roman philosophers, examining Epicureanism, Stoicism, and skepticism. Thomson’s comprehensive treatment features accessible explanations of the philosophers’ central arguments in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and politics. He presents critical assessments of the philosophers’ views and recounts some of the major interpretations of the original texts by noted scholars.
Well-being studies is an exciting and relatively new multi-disciplinary field, with data being gathered from different domains in order to improve social policies. In its reliance on a truncated account of well-being based implicitly on neoclassical economic assumptions, however, the field is deeply flawed. Departing from reductive accounts of well-being that exclude the normative or evaluative aspect of the concept and so impoverish the attendant conception of human life, this book offers a new perspective on what counts normatively as being well. In reconceptualising well-being holistically, it presents a fresh vista on how we can consider the meanings of human life in a manner that also serves as a source of constructive social critique. The book thus undertakes to invert the usual approach to the social sciences, in which the research is required to be objective in terms of methodology and subjective with regard to evaluative claims. Instead, the authors are deliberately objective about values in order to be more open to the subjectivities of human life. Happiness, Flourishing and the Good Life thus seeks to move away from economic considerations’ domination of all social spaces in order to understand the possibilities of well-being beyond instrumentalisation or commodification. A radical new approach to the human well-being, this book will appeal to philosophers, social theorists and political scientists and all who are interested in human happiness.
Human-Centred Education (HCE) radically rethinks the aims of education, the nature of learning, and the relationship between individuals in schools. This accessible guide presents a HCE approach to schooling and includes a variety of rich pedagogical examples. It provides practical suggestions as to how the approach might be adopted as a whole-school initiative, or else woven into particular aspects of existing school life, including the curriculum, classroom culture and feedback for learning. This handbook also illustrates how holistic educational practices, found in some alternative schools, can be introduced fruitfully into the state educational system with step-by-step guidance on how to integrate HCE into teacher training and school governance. HCE is more than a set of inflexible pedagogical prescriptions or a recipe of lesson plans. It originates from the fundamental values of care, positive relationships and well-being. National education policies tend to ignore deeper educational processes, such as the cultivation of qualities that are central to living meaningfully and well, because they focus on measured, high-stakes academic performance. HCE is an effective antidote to this, and brings to the fore a more human-centred approach without sacrificing academic standards. Current secondary teachers, members of school management and leadership teams, as well as those currently undertaking teacher training will all benefit from reading this important book.
This book introduces the readers to the philosophers that have had a profound influence on Western thought from their own times to the present day: Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, & Hume.
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