John Dewey, one of America's greatest popular philosophers and educators, emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and the vital role education should play.
In this progressive work, written more than 80 years ago, Dewey, recognizing that we are born with the ability to think, argues that the educator's fundamental role is to train us to think well. At a time when America is lamenting the lack of solid training in the sciences at the elementary and secondary levels, Dewey's enthusiastic correlation between the scientific mind and the natural attitude of childhoodmarked by curiosity,...

"Nothing is more curiously enquired after . . . than the causes of every phenomenon. . . . We] push on our enquiries, till we arrive at the original and ultimate principle. . . . This is our aim in all our studies and reflections."

These words sum up David Hume's plan: To discover the fundamental principles at work in the nature and extent of human knowledge, and in so doing to gain a clearer understanding of our perception, ideas (e.g. of cause and effect), impressions, beliefs, passions, virtues, and vices. Hume's piercing critique and relentless analysis make this truly one of the...

The art of rhetoric, or persuasive public speaking, was brought to perfection in classical Athens. During the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E., rhetoric came under the scrutiny of the philosophers. While Plato dismissed public speaking as mere hackwork devoid of a rational basis, Aristotle defended it as a true art.
In his great work, Treatise on Rhetoric, which laid the foundations of philosophical rhetoric, Aristotle deals at length with the processes of argument and with style, including rhythm and meter. For Aristotle, rhetoric is a brand of the art of reasoning; its function he...

This could be the most controversial book yet in the Contemporary Issues Series. Its balanced approach could risk the wrath of advocates and critics alike, offering powerful essays on four key issues: the causes of homosexuality, disputes about the role the courts should play, gays and the military, and religious attitudes toward homosexuality.

Nearly two years before his powerful Communist Manifesto, Marx (1818-1883) co-wrote The German Ideology in 1845 with friend and collaborator Friedrich Engels expounding a new political worldview, including positions on materialism, labor, production, alienation, the expansion of capitalism, class conflict, revolution, and eventually communism. They chart the course of -true- socialism based on Hegel's dialectic, while criticizing the ideas of Bruno Bauer, Max Stirner and Ludwig Feuerbach. Marx expanded his criticism of the latter in his now famous Theses on Feuerbach, found after Marx's death...

From the blaming of Princess Diana's death on news photographers to the public apology by CNN over its erroneous Vietnam-nerve-gas story, journalism and the American media in general are being placed under the microscope. The media-now more powerful than ever before due to computer advances, cable television, and the internet-controls our opinions, tastes, and, as some would have us believe, our actions.
But has the media shed its ethics and gotten completely out of control? Has the quest to get the big scoop crippled the news media into believing "first" is better than factual? To whom...

America's most renowned social philosopher John Dewey shines his powerful intellect on the serious public and cultural issues surrounding the place of the individual in a technologically advanced society. In this penetrating study, he addresses the fear that personal creative potential will be trampled by assembly-line monotony, political bureaucracy, and an industrialized culture of uniformity. Armed with his pragmatic approach and his belief in the power of critical intelligence, Dewey argues that individualism has in fact been offered a uniquely higher plane of technological development...

What, in today's seemingly enlightened society, compels a bigot? How do prejudice and hatred emerge, and sometimes lead to such horrific violence? What can be done to overcome this subversive social undercurrent? This concise and relevant collection of essays explores the definitions, origins, and outcomes of intolerance in America.

The amazing transformation of society brought about by the wide dispersion of computers has given rise to new moral dilemmas. With the rapid development of this technology, the impact of computers on privacy, personal identity, intellectual property, and the form and practice of democracy is becoming more apparent every day. Inevitably, this penetration of computer technology into our private and social lives has a moral dimension, which raises questions about our conduct and requires moral reflection and decision-making. The twenty-six groundbreaking essays collected in this insightful...

What should society or individuals do when the compelling dictates of personal conscience conflict with the law? To what extent should lawyers and lawmakers be influenced by considerations of morality? Are there principles that go beyond legal jurisdiction to justify acts of civil disobedience? Is it right to violate the laws of society when they are opposed to personal moral convictions? Is it ever appropriate for religious considerations to influence lawyers or the law?
Few questions have had and will continue to have a more compelling effect on the human community. For this reason the...