David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, first published in 1748, is a concise statement of Hume's central philosophical positions. It develops an account of human mental functioning which emphasizes the limits of human knowledge and the extent of our reliance on (non-rational) mental habits. It then applies that account to questions of free will and religious knowledge before closing with a defence of moderate scepticism. This volume, which presents a modified version of the definitive 1772 edition of the work, offers helpful annotation for the student reader, together with an...
David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, first published in 1748, is a concise statement of Hume's central philosophical positions. It ...
Plato's Symposium, written in the early part of the 4th century BC, is set at a drinking party (symposium) attended by some of the leading intellectuals of the day, including Aristophanes, the comic dramatist, Socrates, Plato's mentor, and Alcibiades, the brilliant but (eventually) treacherous politician. Each guest gives a speech in praise of the benefits of desire and its role in the good and happy human life. At the core of the work stands Socrates' praise of philosophical desire, and an argument for the superiority of the philosophical life as the best route to happiness. This edition...
Plato's Symposium, written in the early part of the 4th century BC, is set at a drinking party (symposium) attended by some of the leading intellectua...
The great medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas (1224/6-1274) was Dominican regent master in theology at the University of Paris, where he presided over a series of academic debates on ethical topics. This volume offers new translations of disputed questions on the nature of virtue. The introduction explains how Aquinas' theory of virtue fits into his conception of ethics as a whole, and clarifies Aquinas's views by explaining the institutional and intellectual context in which the disputed questions were debated.
The great medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas (1224/6-1274) was Dominican regent master in theology at the University of Paris, where he presided over...
The works presented in this volume, in a new English translation, are among the most important and characteristic texts of the Enlightenment, and bring together all three aspects of Voltaire: the writer, the doer and the philosophe. Originating in Voltaire's campaign to exonerate Jean Calas, they are works of polemical brilliance, informed by his deism and humanism and by Enlightenment values and ideals more generally. The issues that they raise, concerning questions of tolerance and human dignity, are still highly relevant to our own times.
The works presented in this volume, in a new English translation, are among the most important and characteristic texts of the Enlightenment, and brin...
In this rich and resonant work, Soren Kierkegaard reflects poetically and philosophically on the biblical story of God's command to Abraham, that he sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of faith. Was Abraham's proposed action morally and religiously justified or murder? Is there an absolute duty to God? Was Abraham justified in remaining silent? In pondering these questions, Kierkegaard presents faith as a paradox that cannot be understood by reason and conventional morality, and he challenges the universalist ethics and immanental philosophy of modern German idealism, especially as represented...
In this rich and resonant work, Soren Kierkegaard reflects poetically and philosophically on the biblical story of God's command to Abraham, that he s...
