Conceived originally as a serious presentation of thedevelopment of philosophy for Catholic seminary students, FrederickCopleston's nine-volume A History Of Philosophy hasjourneyed far beyond the modest purpose of its author to universalacclaim as the best history of philosophy in English.
Conceived originally as a serious presentation of thedevelopment of philosophy for Catholic seminary students, FrederickCopleston's nine-volume A History Of Philosophy hasjourneyed far beyond the modest purpose of its author to universalacclaim as the best history of philosophy in English.
Did Newton "unweave the rainbow" by reducing it to itsprismatic colors, as Keats contended? Did he, in other words,diminish beauty? Far from it, says acclaimed scientist RichardDawkins; Newton's unweaving is the key to much of modern astronomyand to the breathtaking poetry of modern cosmology. Mysteries don'tlose their poetry because they are solved: the solution often ismore beautiful than the puzzle, uncovering deeper mysteries. Withthe wit, insight, and spellbinding prose that have made him abest-selling author, Dawkins takes up the most important andcompelling topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics tolanguage and virtual reality, combining them in a landmarkstatement of the human appetite for wonder. This is the bookRichard Dawkins was meant to write: a brilliant assessment of whatscience is (and isn't), a tribute to science not because it isuseful but because it is uplifting.
Augustine's fourth-century spiritual autobiography not only is amajor document in the history of Christianity, a classic of RomanAfrica, and the unchallenged model through the ages for theautobiographical record of the journey to self-knowledge, it alsomarks a vital moment in the history of Western culture. AsAugustine explains how, when, and why he became the man he is, heprobes the great themes that others were to explore afterhimCfaith, time, truth, identity, and self-understanding--with arichness of detail unmatched in ancient literature. Dense withvivid portrayals of friends, family, colleagues, and enemies, The Confessions chronicles the passage from a life ofsensuality and superstition to a genuine spiritual awakening--in apowerful narrative of one man's inner education that continues toshape the way we think and act today.