While well-known for his book-length work, philosopher Peter Unger's articles have been less widely accessible. These two volumes of Unger's Philosophical Papers include articles spanning more than 35 years of Unger's long and fruitful career. Dividing the articles thematically, this first volume collects work in epistemology and ethics, among other topics, while the second volume focuses on metaphysics. Unger's work has advanced the full spectrum of topics at the heart of philosophy, including epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of language and philosophy of mind, and ethics. Unger advances radical positions, going against the so-called "commonsense philosophy" that has dominated the analytic tradition since its beginnings early in the twentieth century. In epistemology, his articles advance the view that nobody ever knows anything and, beyond that, argue that nobody has any reason to believe anything--and even beyond that, they argue that nobody has any reason to do anything, or even want anything. In metaphysics, his work argues that people do not really exist--and neither do puddles, plants, poodles, and planets. But, as Unger has often changed his favored positions, from one decade to the next, his work also advances the opposite, "commonsense" positions: that there are in fact plenty of people, puddles, plants and planets and, quite beyond that, we know it all to be true. On most major philosophical questions, both of these sides of Unger's significant work are well represented in this major two volume collection. Unger's vivid writing style, intellectual vitality, and fearlessness in the face of our largest philosophical questions, make these volumes of great interest not only to the philosophical community but to others who might otherwise find contemporary philosophy dry and technical.
Collected in two volumes, this work includes articles spanning over 40 years of philosopher Peter Unger's long career. Dividing the articles thematically, this first volume collects work in epistemology and ethics, among other topics, while the second volume focuses on metaphysics.
This bold and original work of philosophy presents an exciting new picture of concrete reality. Peter Unger provocatively breaks with what he terms the conservatism of present-day philosophy, and returns to central themes from Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Russell. Wiping the slate clean, Unger works, from the ground up, to formulate a new metaphysic capable of accommodating our distinctly human perspective. He proposes a world with inherently powerful particulars of two basic sorts: one mental but not physical, the other physical but not mental. Whether of one sort or the other, each individual possesses powers for determining his or her own course, as well as powers for interaction with other individuals. It is only a purely mental particular--an immaterial soul, like yourself--that is ever fit for real choosing, or for conscious experiencing. Rigorously reasoning that the only satisfactory metaphysic is one that situates the physical alongside the non-physical, Unger carefully explains the genesis of, and continual interaction of, the two sides of our deeply dualistic world. Written in an accessible and entertaining style, while advancing philosophical scholarship, All the Power in the World takes readers on a philosophical journey into the nature of reality. In this riveting intellectual adventure, Unger reveals the need for an entirely novel approach to the nature of physical reality--and shows how this approach can lead to wholly unexpected possibilities, including disembodied human existence for billions of years. All the Power in the World returns philosophy to its most ambitious roots in its fearless attempt to answer profoundly difficult human questions about ourselves and our world.
While well-known for his book-length work, philosopher Peter Unger's articles have been less widely accessible. These two volumes of Unger's Philosophical Papers include articles spanning more than 35 years of Unger's long and fruitful career. Dividing the articles thematically, this first volume collects work in epistemology and ethics, among other topics, while the second volume focuses on metaphysics. Unger's work has advanced the full spectrum of topics at the heart of philosophy, including epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of language and philosophy of mind, and ethics. Unger advances radical positions, going against the so-called "commonsense philosophy" that has dominated the analytic tradition since its beginnings early in the twentieth century. In epistemology, his articles advance the view that nobody ever knows anything and, beyond that, argue that nobody has any reason to believe anything--and even beyond that, they argue that nobody has any reason to do anything, or even want anything. In metaphysics, his work argues that people do not really exist--and neither do puddles, plants, poodles, and planets. But, as Unger has often changed his favored positions, from one decade to the next, his work also advances the opposite, "commonsense" positions: that there are in fact plenty of people, puddles, plants and planets and, quite beyond that, we know it all to be true. On most major philosophical questions, both of these sides of Unger's significant work are well represented in this major two volume collection. Unger's vivid writing style, intellectual vitality, and fearlessness in the face of our largest philosophical questions, make these volumes of great interest not only to the philosophical community but to others who might otherwise find contemporary philosophy dry and technical.
Unger provocatively breaks with what he terms the conservatism of present day philosophy, and returns to central themes from Descartes, Locke, Hume and others. He sets out to answer profoundly difficult human questions about ourselves and the world in this philosophical journey into the nature of reality.
During the middle of the twentieth century, philosophers generally agreed that, by contrast with science, philosophy should offer no substantial thoughts about the general nature of concrete reality. Instead, philosophers offered conceptual truths. It is widely assumed that, since 1970, things have changed greatly. This book argues that's an illusion that prevails because of the failure to differentiate between "concretely substantial" and "concretely empty" ideas.
The Story of Elmer Barron is more than the story of one man. It is an extraordinary example of a man raised in a simple environment who lived 96 years of a full and wholesome life encapsulating virtues that we should all emulate. This book, by Elmer's Pastor, Rev. Peter Unger, is a tribute--and an attempt to capture the unique Spirit of a close friend, mentor, father figure, and church member all rolled into one. The lessons that flow from Elmer's life are day-to-day examples of ethical living. The biography is skillfully woven into a theological context as an uplifting example worth studying in detail as a guide for living our own lives.
By contributing a few hundred dollars to a charity like UNICEF, a prosperous person can ensure that fewer poor children die, and that more will live reasonably long, worthwhile lives. Even when knowing this, however, most people send nothing, and almost all of the rest send little. What is the moral status of this behavior? To such common cases of letting die, our untutored response is that, while it is not very good, neither is the conduct wrong. What is the source of this lenient assessment? In this contentious new book, one of our leading philosophers argues that our intuitions about ethical cases are generated not by basic moral values, but by certain distracting psychological dispositions that all too often prevent us from reacting in accord with our commitments. Through a detailed look at how these tendencies operate, Unger shows that, on the good morality that we already accept, the fatally unhelpful behavior is monstrously wrong. By uncovering the eminently sensible ethics that we've already embraced fully, and by confronting us with empirical facts and with easily followed instructions for lessening serious suffering appropriately and effectively, Unger's book points the way to a compassionate new moral philosophy.
The topic of personal identity has prompted some of the liveliest and most interesting debates in recent philosophy. In a fascinating new contribution to the discussion, Peter Unger presents a psychologically aimed, but physically based, account of our identity over time. While supporting the account, he explains why many influential contemporary philosophers have underrated the importance of physical continuity to our survival, casting a new light on the work of Lewis, Nagel, Nozick, Parfit, Perry, Shoemaker, and others. Deriving from his discussion of our identity itself, Unger produces a novel but commonsensical theory of the relations between identity and some of our deepest concerns. In a conservative but flexible spirit, he explores the implications of his theory for questions of value and of the good life.
In this short but meaty book, Peter Unger questions the objective answers that have been given to central problems in philosophy. As Unger hypothesizes, many of these problems are unanswerable, including the problems of knowledge and scepticism, the problems of free will, and problems of causation and explanation. In each case, he argues, we arrive at one answer only relative to an assumption about the meaning of key terms, terms like "know" and like "cause," even while we arrive at an opposite answer relative to quite different assumptions, but equally arbitrary assumptions, about what the key terms mean.
During the middle of the twentieth century, philosophers generally agreed that, by contrast with science, philosophy should offer no substantial thoughts about the general nature of concrete reality. Instead, philosophers offered conceptual truths. It is widely assumed that, since 1970, things have changed greatly. This book lays crucial challenges at the door of mainstream analytic philosophy, for Unger argues persuasively that (contrary to its explicit self-conception), a great deal of recent philosophy has been concerned with merely conceptual issues - nothing 'concretely substantial'.
Argues for the thesis of universal ignorance, i.e., for the claim that nobody can ever know anything. To this effect, puts forward versions of the classical Cartesian argument for skepticism as well as novel arguments involving normative premises and the concept of certainty.
Don’s life and childhood faith are shattered by the senseless death of his mother and sister in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. Anger, at times even rage, over this injustice, as well as gnawing faith doubts now consume Don. Seeking rational reassurances for these doubts, and to rebuild his shattered faith Don applies and is accepted to a prestigious liberal seminary in the North-East. This decision, in the wake of the accident and given his working-class Southern Baptist roots, seems misguided, and ill-fated. A series of dramatic, even violent, confrontations nearly resulting in Don’s expulsion, appear to bear this out. Ironically, it is the earthly angels God places in Don’s path, more than any rational insights, that precipitate a transformative faith experience for Don. Inspired by true life experiences and historical events Don’s story may well restore your faith in God’s power to intervene and work miracles in our everyday lives, even amidst Life’s deepest, darkest spiritual valleys.
The view known as Liberationism, which holds that moral intuitions are often unreflective of basic values, contrasts with the more common view known as Preservationism, which maintains that our moral intuitions accord with our basic moral values. This book explores the inconsistencies in the Preservationist position.
The view known as Liberationism, which holds that moral intuitions are often unreflective of basic values, contrasts with the more common view known as Preservationism, which maintains that our moral intuitions accord with our basic moral values. This book explores the inconsistencies in the Preservationist position.
In this volume Peter Unger questions the objective answers that have been given to traditional problems in philosophy. He casts doubt on the unquestioned view that fundamental questions pertaining to meaning and existence have direct solutions.
This book grows out of Rev. Peter Unger's nearly ten year spiritual search to find a more relevant, and dynamic way to minister to traditional Christians in these transitional times. Graduate studies, along with much prayer and soul searching characterized this period. The paradigm for spiritual journeying advocated in this book is one major realization of that search. This liberating, holistic, and Scripturally based paradigm both informed, and helped revitalize Rev. Unger's ministry. Most importantly, having become a better vessel for God's grace in Jesus Christ Rev. Unger was empowered to minister to those embittered, cynical, or just indifferent Christians to whom he had also been called to pastor. It is Rev. Unger's hope for this small book that its readers might be re-introduced, through its stories, songs and prayers, to the indwelling spirit of God's grace who can give transformative meaning to every experience on our spiritual journey through life. Such a spiritual journey, once undertaken, has the potential, through the work of the Spirit, not only to revitalize one's spiritual life but then through them that of others as well. A companion CD of Music is available separately as amazon ASIN: B00NG0R02M Spiritual Journeys in Prayer and Song.
The only anthology available on material constitution, this book collects important recent work on well known puzzles in metaphysics and philosophy of mind. The extensive, clearly written introduction helps to make the essays accessible to a wide audience.
The introduction of innovative light sources, fibre laser sources and light emitting diodes, is opening unexpected perspectives into optical techniques and is promising new exciting applications in the field of biomedicine. Lasers and Current Optical Techniques in Biology aims to provide an overview of light sources, together with an extensive and authoritative description of the optical techniques in bio-medicine. This book is designed to give biomedical researchers a strong feel for the capability of physical approaches, promote new interdisciplinary interests and persuade more practitioners to take advantage of optical techniques. Current developments in a variety of optical techniques, including Near-Infra Red Spectroscopy, and traditional and advanced fluorescence techniques are covered, ranging from those that are becoming common practice to those that need much more experimentation before they can be accepted as real breakthroughs. Further topics include optical coherence tomography and its variations, polarised light imaging and, principle laser and lamp sources- a usually fragmentary topic, often dispersed among specialist publications. The wide range of topics covered make Lasers and Current Optical Techniques in Biology of interest to a diverse range of scientific communities.
There is a common hope for a richer, deeper life that connects a person to their past, to the people around them, and to a transcendental source—sometimes referred to as God, or the Unconscious. Root Out of Dry Ground provides an exploration into Carl Jung's depth psychology as it is used to understand a person's growth, the development of spirituality and religion in the West, as well as ways to live outside of traditional cultural and religious structures. Root Out of Dry Ground is an autobiographical sketch of Peter Buhler's life in southern Manitoba and Alberta; it covers Mennonite history in Canada and in Europe, and offers a philosophical analysis of historical developments across both Western and Eastern cultures. The book utilizes the ideas of Carl Jung in order to analyze historical developments over thousands of years, with a particular emphasis on world religions and the cultures they gave birth to, and to better understand Christian language and theology. In the autobiographical sketch, there is also careful attention to Peter Buhler's family, with an affirming remembrance of his brothers and sisters, and their mother and father. Root Out of Dry Ground serves as a foundation for bringing people together in a meaningful way, where the ideas of great thinkers and artists can help guide discussions and explorations of reality particularly for those who have lost their religious practice but remain rooted in their religious language and story.
State failure, ethnopolitical war, genocide, famine, and refugee flows are variants of a type of complex political and humanitarian crisis, exemplified during the 1990s in places like Somalia, Bosnia, Liberia, and Afghanistan. The international consequences of such crises are profound, often threatening regional security and requiring major inputs of humanitarian assistance. They also may pose long-term and costly challenges of rebuilding shattered governments and societies. A vital policy question is whether failures can be diagnosed far enough in advance to facilitate effective international efforts at prevention or peaceful transformation. This volume of original essays examines crisis early warning factors at different levels, in different settings, and judges their effectiveness according to various models. Top contributors offer answers along with analyses as they move from early warning to early response in their policy recommendations.
Presents the background and context of all ideas, concepts, algorithms, analyses and arguments before discussing details. Accessible to both beginners as well as specialists.
Mold design is one of the most challenging tasks in injection molding and it is crucial for successful profitable operations. The book compiles the experience of many seasoned designers and presents tried and tested molds that run successfully in production. For this fourth edition, changes and supplements were once again undertaken with the aim of representing the state of the art. The book is written by practitioners for practitioners, describing problem solving in the design and the manufacture of injection molds.
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