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Author
Series
Very short introductions volume 28
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
1980
Language
English
Author
Series
Very short introductions volume 5
Language
English
Formats
Description
Hinduism is practiced by about 80 percent of India's population, and by about 30 million people outside India. But how is Hinduism defined, and what basis does the religion have? In this Very Short Introduction, Kim Knott provides clear insight into the beliefs and authority of Hindus and Hinduism, and considers the ways in which it has been affected by colonialism and modernity. The author also considers the challenges posed to Hinduism at the end...
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English
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Description
Logic is often perceived as having little to do with the rest of philosophy, and even less to do with real life. In this lively and accessible introduction, Graham Priest shows how wrong this conception is. He explores the philosophical roots of the subject, explaining how modern formal logic deals with issues ranging from the existence of God and the reality of time to paradoxes of probability and decision theory. Along the way, the basics of formal...
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Language
English
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Description
Niccolo Machiavelli taught that political leaders must be prepared to do evil so that good may come of it, and his name has since become a byword for duplicity and immorality. Is his sinister reputation deserved? In answering this question Quentin Skinner traces the course of Machiavelli's adult life, from his time as Second Chancellor of the Florentine republic, during which he met with kings, the pope, and the Holy Roman Emperor; to the fall of...
Author
Series
Very short introductions volume 34
Language
English
Formats
Description
With his well-known idiosyncrasies and aphoristic style, Friedrich Nietzsche is always bracing and provocative, and temptingly easy to dip into. Michael Tanner's introduction to the philosopher's life and work examines the numerous ambiguities inherent in his writings and explodes many of the misconceptions that have grown in the hundred years since Nietzsche wrote "do not, above all, confound me with what I am not!"
Author
Series
Very short introductions volume 23
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2000
Language
English
Author
Series
Language
English
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Description
Socrates has a unique position in the history of philosophy; it is no exaggeration to say that had it not been for his influence on Plato, the whole development of Western philosophy might have been unimaginably different. Yet Socrates wrote nothing himself, and our knowledge of him is derived primarily from the engaging and infuriating figure who appears in Plato's dialogues.
In this Very Short Introduction, Christopher Taylor explores the life...
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Language
English
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Description
In this enlightening Very Short Introduction, Simon Critchley shows us that Continental philosophy encompasses a distinct set of philosophical traditions and practices, with a compelling range of problems all too often ignored by the analytic tradition. He discusses the ideas and approaches of philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Habermas, Foucault, and Derrida. He also introduces key concepts such as existentialism,...
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Language
English
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Description
The French Revolution is a time of history made familiar from Dickens, Baroness Orczy, and Tolstoy, as well as the legends of let them eat cake, and tricolors. Beginning in 1789, this period of extreme political and social unrest saw the end of the French monarchy, the death of an extraordinary number of people beneath the guillotine's blade during the Terror, and the rise of Napoleon, as well as far reaching consequences still with us today, such...
Author
Series
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2001
Language
English
Description
"Gandhi was one of the few men in history to fight simultaneously on moral, religious, political, social, economic, and cultural fronts. Gandhi's life and thought has had an enormous impact both within and outside India, and he continues to be widely revered as one of the greatest moral and political leaders of the twentieth century." "In the Very Short Introduction to Gandhi's life and thought, Bhikhu Parekh cutlines both Gandhi's major philosophical...
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Series
Language
English
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Description
Some people are cleverer than others. This everyday observation is the subject of an academic field that is often portrayed as confused and controversial, when in fact, the field of intelligence holds some of psychology's best-replicated findings.
This Very Short Introduction describes what psychologists have discovered about how and why people differ in their thinking powers. Drawing on large scale data, Ian Deary considers how many types of intelligence...
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Language
English
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Description
This book is intended to capture the interest of anyone who has been attracted to Russian culture through the greats of Russian literature, either through the texts themselves, or encountering them in the cinema, or opera.
Rather than a conventional chronology of Russian literature, the book will explore the place and importance of literature of all sorts in Russian culture. How and when did a Russian national literature come into being? What shaped...
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Language
English
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Description
A great deal of the world's history is the history of empires. Indeed it could be said that all history is colonial history, if one takes a broad enough definition and goes far enough back. And although the great historic imperial systems-the land-based Russian one as well as the seaborne empires of western European powers-have collapsed during the past half century, their legacies shape almost every aspect of life on a global scale. Meanwhile there...
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Language
English
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Description
What is fascism? Is it revolutionary? Or is it reactionary? Can it be both? Fascism is notoriously hard to define. How do we make sense of an ideology that appeals to streetfighters and intellectuals alike? That is overtly macho in style, yet attracts many women? That calls for a return to tradition while maintaining a fascination with technology? And that preaches violence in the name of an ordered society? In the new edition of this Very Short Introduction,...
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Language
English
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Description
The aim of this book is to explain, carefully but not technically, the differences between advanced, research-level mathematics, and the sort of mathematics we learn at school. The most fundamental differences are philosophical, and listeners of this book will emerge with a clearer understanding of paradoxical-sounding concepts such as infinity, curved space, and imaginary numbers. The first few chapters are about general aspects of mathematical thought....
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English
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Postmodernism has become the buzzword of contemporary society over the last decade. But how can it be defined? In this highly engaging introduction, the mysteries of this most elusive of concepts are unraveled, casting a critical light upon the way we live now, from the politicizing of museum culture to the cult of the politically correct. The key postmodernist ideas are explored and challenged, as they figure in the theory, philosophy, politics,...
Author
Series
Very short introductions volume 73
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2002
Language
English
Description
"Opening with a disagreement between Lewis Carroll's Alice and Humpty Dumpty over the question of meaning, this Very Short Introduction traces the key arguments that have led postructuralists to challenge traditional theories of language and culture." "While Catherine Belsey discusses such well-known figures as Barthes, Foucault, and Lacan, as well as Kristeva, Lyotard and Zizek, she also draws pertinent examples from literature, art, film, and popular...
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Language
English
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Description
This lively and accessible introduction to Plato focuses on the philosophy and argument of his writings, drawing the listener into Plato's way of doing philosophy, and the general themes of his thinking. It looks at Plato as a thinker grappling with philosophical problems in a variety of ways, rather than a philosopher with a fully worked-out system. It includes a brief account of Plato's life and the various interpretations that have been drawn from...
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Language
English
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Description
What do anarchists want? It seems easier to classify them by what they don't want, namely, the organizations of the State, and to identify them with rioting and protest rather than with any coherent ideology. But with demonstrations like those against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund being blamed on anarchists, it is clear that an explanation of what they do stand for is long overdue.
Colin Ward provides answers to these questions...