English Philosophy

We've all found ourselves checking email at the dinner table, holding our breath while waiting for Outlook to load, or sitting hunched in front of a screen for an hour longer than we intended. Mobile devices and the web have invaded our lives, and this is a big idea book that addresses one of the biggest questions of our age: Can we stay connected without diminishing our intelligence, attention spans, and ability to really live? Can we have it all?

In this deeply entertaining book, philosopher and baseball fan Alva Noë explores the many unexpected ways in which baseball is truly a philosophical kind of game. For example, he ponders how observers of baseball are less interested in what happens, than in who is responsible for what happens; every action receives praise or blame. To put it another way, in baseball - as in the law - we decide what happened based on who is responsible for what happened.

From the best-selling authors of The Daily Stoic comes an inspiring guide to the lives of the Stoics, and what the ancients can teach us about happiness, success, resilience, and virtue. In Lives of the Stoics, Holiday and Hanselman present the fascinating lives of the men and women who strove to live by the timeless Stoic virtues of Courage. Justice. Temperance. Wisdom. Organized in digestible, mini-biographies of all the well-known - and not so well-known - Stoics, this book vividly brings home what Stoicism was like for the people who loved it and lived it.

The need for a better understanding of how we feed ourselves has never been more urgent. In this wide-ranging and definitive book, philosopher Julian Baggini expertly delves into the best and worst food practices in a huge array of different societies. His exploration takes him from cutting-edge technologies, such as new farming methods, cultured meat, GM and astronaut food, to the ethics and health of ultra processed food and aquaculture, as he takes a forensic look at the effectiveness of our food governance, the difficulties of food wastage, and the effects of commodification.

When Jon Katz got a call from an animal control officer about Simon, a neglected donkey who had been found on a failing farm in upstate New York, he wasn't expecting to add another animal to his already full life. But when he made the trek out to meet him, he couldn't help falling in love with the skinny, mangy donkey who had already suffered so much, and he ended up taking him into his home. It was Simon who listened in the fields as Jon read to him and discussed philosophy.

Why do we hate to wait—and what if waiting is exactly what we need? JD Arden’s The Philosophy of Waiting peels back the layers of impatience to reveal a hidden world of meaning. From the ancient art of queueing to the split-second speed of modern life, Arden offers wisdom, humor, and insight into the quiet moments in between. If you’ve ever felt stuck in line, this book is for you.

Over the last century, the search for human ancestors has spanned four continents and resulted in the discovery of hundreds of fossils. While most of these discoveries live quietly in museums, there are a few that have become world-renowned celebrity personas. In Seven Skeletons, historian of science Lydia Pyne explores how seven such famous fossils of our ancestors have the social cachet they enjoy today.

This book is the second in my series on "5 Lessons" from famous writers. The first book in the 5 Lessons series is 5 Lessons from Augustine published in 2011 and based on the Confessions of St. Augustine. This second book 5 Lessons from Seneca is based on five of the Stoic philosopher Seneca's Moral Letters (also known as the Letters on Ethics or Moral Epistles). It discusses shrewd and practical lessons on the passage of time, on friendship, on anxiety, on courage, and on aging. For further insight on Seneca, see Seneca and Roman Slavery Under Nero's Rule (2022) also by Oswald Sobrino at ...

Unlock the timeless wisdom of the Buddha with "Pāli Canon for Beginners: An Introduction to the Buddha's Words." This comprehensive guide will take you on an enlightening journey through the foundational texts of Theravāda Buddhism, offering clarity and insight for both newcomers and seasoned practitioners. Dive into the heart of Buddhist teachings with easy-to-understand explanations and practical applications: Discover the core principles that form the bedrock of Buddhism. Explore the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and other essential teachings that provide a roadmap to a ...

All great leaders, thinkers, artists, athletes, and visionaries share one indelible quality. It enables them to conquer their tempers. To avoid distraction and discover great insights. To achieve happiness and do the right thing. Ryan Holiday calls it stillness - to be steady while the world spins around you. In this book, he outlines a path for achieving this ancient, but urgently necessary way of living.

This book I want to explore the debates over political philosophy between the two Harvard professors John Rawls and Robert Nozick.

This book presents a history of spiritual exercises from Socrates to early Christianity, an account of their decline in modern philosophy, and a discussion of the different conceptions of philosophy that have accompanied the trajectory and fate of the theory and practice of spiritual exercises. Hadot's book demonstrates the extent to which philosophy has been, and still is, above all else a way of seeing and of being in the world.

Kids are naturally curious, but when it comes to school it seems like their minds are turned off. Why is it that they can remember the smallest details from their favorite television programs, yet miss the most obvious questions on their history test? Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham has focused his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning and has a deep understanding of the daily challenges faced by classroom teachers.

Considering nonviolence as an ethical problem within a political philosophy requires a critique of individualism as well as an understanding of the psychosocial dimensions of violence. Butler draws upon Foucault, Fanon, Freud, and Benjamin to consider how the interdiction against violence fails to include lives regarded as ungrievable. By considering how "racial phantasms" inform justifications of state and administrative violence, Butler tracks how violence is often attributed to those who are most severely exposed to its lethal effects.

Living each day fully and serenely is the ideal we aspire to, without really believing in it. Reaching our goals can seem impossible, and even pursuing them feels challenging. The personal development advice and methods we have tried repeatedly haven’t proven convincing, to the point where leading a harmonious, meaningful, and fulfilled life may feel like an unreachable utopia.

Nagarjuna stands second only to the Buddha in his importance in Buddhist thought. The concept of “emptiness (shunyata)” became the central ontological concept in Mahayana Buddhism thanks to his effort. Not only did he found the Madhyamaka tradition in India, understanding his philosophy is needed to understand the Zen tradition and the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan tradition. Included here are translations from the Sanskrit of his most important philosophical works into plain English, so that the general educated public interested in Buddhism or philosophy can understand his thought. Also ...

Ta-Nehisi Coates originally set out to write a book about writing, in the tradition of Orwell’s classic “Politics and the English Language,” but found himself grappling with deeper questions about how our stories—our reporting and imaginative narratives and mythmaking—expose and distort our realities. In the first of the book’s three intertwining essays, Coates, on his first trip to Africa, finds himself in two places at once: in Dakar, a modern city in Senegal, and in a mythic kingdom in his mind.

While many falconry books briefly touch on the ethics of the sport, “The Philosophy & Ethics of Falconry” is entirely dedicated to addressing the chief ethical and philosophical questions at the heart of falconry. Listeners, whether they are aspiring, new, or experienced falconers (or simply someone intrigued by this unique method of hunting) will be introduced to several philosophical traditions and what wisdom they have to offer for falconry.

Once we were drivers, the open road alive with autonomy, adventure, danger, trust, and speed. Today we are as likely to be in the back seat of an Uber as behind the wheel ourselves. Tech giants are hurling us toward a shiny, happy "self-driving" future, selling utopia but equally keen to advertise to a captive audience strapped into another expensive device. Are we destined, then, to become passengers, not drivers? Why We Drive reveals that much more may be at stake than we might think.

In a world filled with uncertainty, absurdism offers an unexpected solution: freedom. But how can we live meaningfully when life itself resists meaning? Absurdism for Beginners: A Practical Introduction to Embracing Life's Uncertainty is the guide you’ve been waiting for. Unlock the power of embracing uncertainty. Discover how absurdism frees you from the constant pressure to find answers that may never come. Explore the lives and thoughts of the great philosophers. Understand how Camus, Sartre, and others turned chaos into the key to personal freedom. Find peace in life’s ...