Building on the crucial insight that jokes use many of thesame mechanisms he had already discovered in dreams, Freuddeveloped one of the richest and most comprehensive theories ofhumor that has ever been produced. Jokes, he argues, provideimmense pleasure by allowing us to express many of our deepestsexual, aggressive and cynical thoughts and feelings which wouldotherwise remain repressed. In elaborating this central thesis, hebrings together a dazzling set of puns, anecdotes, snappyone-liners, spoonerisms and beloved stories of Jewish beggars andmarriage-brokers. Many remain highly amusing, while others throw avivid light on the lost world of early twentieth-centuryVienna.
Since their breakthrough hit "Creep" in 1993, Radiohead hascontinued to make waves throughout popular and political culturewith its views about the Bush presidency (its 2003 album was titledHail to the Thief), its anti-corporatism, its pioneering efforts toproduce ecologically sound road tours, and, most of all, itsdecision in 2007 to sell its latest album, In Rainbows, online witha controversial "pay-what-you-want" price. Radiohead and Philosophyoffers fresh ways to appreciate the lyrics, music, and conceptualground of this highly innovative band. The chapters in this bookexplain how Radiohead’s music connects directly to thephilosophical phenomenology of thinkers like Maurice Merleau-Pontyand Martin Heidegger, the existentialism of Albert Camus and JeanPaul Sartre, and the philosophical politics of Karl Marx, JeanBaudrillard, and Noam Chomsky. Fans and critics know that Radioheadis "the only band that matters" on the scene today — Radiohead andPhilosophy shows why.
The "Meditations" of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius are areadable exposition of the system of metaphysics known as stoicism.Stoics maintained that by putting aside great passions, unjustthoughts and indulgence, man could acquire virtue and live at onewith nature.
The first edition of The Interpretation of Dreams is muchshorter than its subsequent editions; each time the text wasreissued, from 1909 onwards, Freud added to it. The mostsignificant, and in many ways the most unfortunate addition, is a50-page section devoted to the kind of mechanical reading of dreamsymbolism--long objects equal male genitalia, etc.--that has gainedpopular currency and partially obscured Freud's more profoundinsights into dreams. In the original version presented here,Freud's emphasis falls more clearly on the use of words in dreamsand on the difficulty of deciphering them. Without the strata oflater additions, readers will find here a clearer development ofFreud's central ideas--of dream as wish-fulfillment, of the dream'smanifest and latent content, of the retelling of dreams as acontinuation of the dreamwork, and much more. Joyce Crick'stranslation is lighter and faster-moving than previous versions,enhancing the sense of dialogue with the reader, one of Freud'ssyllogistic strengths, a
Featuring David Sedaris's unique blend of hilarity and heart,this new illustrated collection of animal-themed tales is an utterdelight. Though the characters may not be human, the situations inthese stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity ofeveryday life. In "The Toad, the Turtle, and the Duck," three strangerscommiserate about animal bureaucracy while waiting in a complaintline. In "Hello Kitty," a cynical feline struggles to sit throughhis prison-mandated AA meetings. In "The Squirrel and theChipmunk," a pair of star-crossed lovers is separated by prejudicedfamily members. With original illustrations by Ian Falconer, author of thebestselling Olivia series of children's books, thesestories are David Sedaris at his most observant, poignant, andsurprising.
Jean-Paul Sartre, the seminal smarty-pants of mid-century thinking, launched the existentialist fleet with the publication of Being and Nothingness in 1943. Though the book is thick, dense, and unfriendly to careless readers, it is indispensable to those interested in the philosophy of consciousness and free will. Some of his arguments are fallacious, others are unclear, but for the most part Sartre's thoughts penetrate deeply into fundamental philosophical territory. Basing his conception of self-consciousness loosely on Heidegger's "being," Sartre proceeds to sharply delineate between conscious actions ("for themselves") and unconscious ("in themselves"). It is a conscious choice, he claims, to live one's life "authentically" and in a unified fashion, or not--this is the fundamental freedom of our lives. Drawing on history and his own rich imagination for examples, Sartre offers compelling supplements to his more formal arguments. The waiter who detaches himself from his job-role sticks in the reader'
The author's final work, presented in a one-volume edition, is arich, challenging analysis of man's mental activity, considered interms of thinking, willing, and judging. Edited by Mary McCarthy;Indices.
