Santayana's Life of Reason, published in five books from 1905 to 1906, ranks as one of the greatest works in modern philosophical naturalism. Acknowledging the natural material bases of human life, Santayana traces the development of the human capacity for appreciating and cultivating ideals. It is a capacity he exhibits as he articulates a continuity running through animal impulse, practical intelligence, and ideal harmony in reason, society, art, religion, and science. The work is an exquisitely rendered vision of human life lived sanely.

In this fifth book, Santayana...

Hegel's philosophy of history--which most critics view as a theory of inevitable progress toward modern European civilization--is widely regarded as a failure today. In Does History Make Sense? Terry Pinkard argues that Hegel's understanding of historical progress is not the kind of teleological or progressivist account that its detractors claim, but is based on a subtle understanding of human subjectivity.

Pinkard shows that for Hegel a break occurred between modernity and all that came before, when human beings found a new way to make sense of themselves as rational,...

Mit dem gewachsenen Interesse fu r die Geistesgeschichte Nachkriegsdeutschlands und der Bundesrepublik hat auch der Name Joachim Ritter in den letzten Jahren verstArkt Beachtung gefunden. Zwischen 1946 und 1968 lehrte er Philosophie an der UniversitAt Mu nster und beeinflusste als akademischer Lehrer durch sein Collegium Philosophicum eine ganze Reihe von namhaften Hochschullehrern und Intellektuellen. Diese Studie rekonstruiert zum einen die Entwicklung dieses Kreises. Insbesondere untersucht sie, wie Joachim Ritters Philosophie, sein VerstAndnis der modernen Welt und seine eigene...

Thomas Reid was one of the greatest thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment. In his own time he was seen as the most able opponent of the scepticism of David Hume and the architect of 'Common Sense' philosophy. His ideas were immensely influential both in his native Scotland and abroad, and the last forty years have seen a marked revival of interest in his work. Reid published very little about religion and his notes from the lectures on natural theology that he regularly gave have not survived. This volume -- a companion to Thomas Reid: Selected Philosophical Writings (Imprint...

The three parts of Shakespeare's Global Philosophy present evidence and argument that Shakespeare's Sonnets of 1609 articulate the philosophy behind all his plays and longer poems and that the Globe Theatre symbolises the global significance of the philosophy.

Part 1 examines the 1609 edition of the sonnets to demonstrate the presence of a comprehensive and consistent nature-based philosophy.

Part 2 shows how Shakespeare uses the sonnet philosophy to structure and vivify all his poems and plays.

Part 3 reflects on the relationship between the Globe Theatre and the current...

The three parts of Shakespeare's Global Philosophy present evidence and argument that Shakespeare's Sonnets of 1609 articulate the philosophy behind all his plays and longer poems and that the Globe Theatre symbolises the global significance of the philosophy.

Part 1 examines the 1609 edition of the sonnets to demonstrate the presence of a comprehensive and consistent nature-based philosophy.

Part 2 shows how Shakespeare uses the sonnet philosophy to structure and vivify all his poems and plays.

Part 3 reflects on the relationship between the Globe Theatre and the...

In the West, Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel is a thinker of unusual prominence. In China, he's a phenomenon, greeted by vast crowds. China Daily reports that he has acquired a popularity "usually reserved for Hollywood movie stars." China Newsweek declared him the "most influential foreign figure" of the year. In Sandel the Chinese have found a guide through the ethical dilemmas created by the nation's swift embrace of a market economy--a guide whose communitarian ideas resonate with aspects of China's own rich and ancient philosophical traditions.

Chinese citizens...