Tells about truth, and the enemies of truth, and the wars that are fought between them. This guide looks at relativism and absolutism, toleration and belief, objectivity and knowledge, science and pseudo-science, and the moral and political implications, as well as the nuances, of all these.

Writing with wit and elegance, Simon Blackburn tackles the basic questions of ethics in this lively book, highlighting the complications and troubling issues that spring from the very simple question of how we ought to live. Blackburn dissects the many common reasons for why we are skeptical about ethics. Drawing on examples from history, politics, religion and everyday personal experience, he shows how cynicism and self-consciousness can paralyze us into considering ethics a hopeless pursuit. He assures us that ethics is neither futile nor irrelevant, but an intimate part of the most...

Here at last is a coherent, unintimidating introduction to the challenging and fascinating landscape of Western philosophy. Written expressly for "anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to
approach them," Think provides a sound framework for exploring the most basic themes of philosophy, and for understanding how major philosophers have tackled the questions that have pressed themselves most forcefully on human consciousness.
Simon Blackburn, author of the best-selling Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, begins by making a convincing case for the...

Provides a comprehensive introduction to the major philosophical theories attempting to explain the workings of language.

Simon Blackburn presents a selection of his philosophical essays from 1995 to 2010. He offers engaging and illuminating discussions of various problems which arise when such familiar notions as representation, truth, reason, and assertion are applied in the sphere of practical thought. It is puzzling how our thinking gets to grip with such things as values and norms. Blackburn explores how we can try to understand what we say in terms of what we are doing when we say it. He investigates how propositions interact with linguistic expressions whose primary function is identified in terms of...

Simon Blackburn presents a selection of his philosophical essays from 1995 to 2010. He offers engaging and illuminating discussions of various problems which arise when such familiar notions as representation, truth, reason, and assertion are applied in the sphere of practical thought. It is puzzling how our thinking gets to grip with such things as values and norms. Blackburn explores how we can try to understand what we say in terms of what we are doing when we say it. He investigates how propositions interact with linguistic expressions whose primary function is identified in terms of...

The 'How to Read' series is an introduction to some of the most influential and challenging writers in history, exploring the minds and philosophies of those who have shaped our intellectual and political landscape.

This book presents a collection of over 350 quotes from Karl Marx - as well as from his friend and collaborator, Frederick Engels - drawing on such major works as 'The Communist Manifesto' (1848), 'Capital' (1867), 'The Poverty of Philosophy' (1847), and 'Critique of the Gotha Programme' (1875). Additionally, a range of newspaper articles, personal correspondence, pamphlets and other manuscripts have been sourced. As editor and translator, Simon Blackburn has selected quotations from several 'disciplinary' fields - including economics and politics (or, more traditionally, 'political economy')...