When it was first published in 1781, The Confessions scandalisedEurope with its emotional honesty and frank treatment of theauthor's sexual and intellectual development. Since then, it hashad a more profound impact on European thought. Rousseau leftposterity a model of the reflective life - the solitary,uncompromising individual, the enemy of servitude and habit and theselfish egoist who dedicates his life to a particular ideal. TheConfessions recreates the world in which he progressed fromincompetent engraver to grand success; his enthusiasm forexperience, his love of nature, and his uncompromising charactermake him an ideal guide to eighteenth-century Europe, and he wasthe author of some of the most profound work ever written on therelation between the individual and the state.
'Lacan's work marks a crucial moment in the history of psychoanalysis, a moment which will perhaps prove as significant as Freud's original discovery of the unconscious.' - Colin MacCabe 'Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Georges Bataille had often urged Lacan to publish the text of his seminars: the influence of his teaching can be observed in works by Maurice Blanchot and Michel Foucault... in Roland Barthes's studies on semiology and Louis Althusser's "reading" of Marx. But it can be felt still more basically [in] the current revival of interest in psychoanalysis... the desire for a return to origins which is a common factor in so many avenues of modern thought.' - The Times Literary Supplement Ecrits is the essential source for anyone who seeks to understand this seminal thinker and his influence on contemporary thought and culture.
One of America's best-known philosophers offers a succinct,easy-to-follow guide for applying philosophical theory to reallife. Disillusionment with psychology is leading more and more peopleto formal philosophy for clues about how to think about life. Butmost of us who try to grapple with concepts such as reality, truth,common sense, consciousness, and society lack the rigorous trainingto discuss them with any confidence. John Searle brings thesenotions down from their abstract heights to the terra firma ofreal-world understanding, so that those with no knowledge ofphilosophy can understand how these principles play out in oureveryday lives. The author stresses that there is a real world outthere to deal with, and condemns the belief that the reality of ourworld is dependent on our perception of it. "A remarkable feat. This is the book for anyone who wants tolearn about the big philosophical questions." -Owen Flanagan, DukeUniversity "This book is a major event. John Searle has brought t
For many of us, life seems like a puzzle with pieces missing. Weform plans and then change them; we choose one path, then another,trying to find the right mate and career, hoping we’ve made theright decision and that it will all work out. At some point, we mayeven ask the important questions: What is the purpose of my life?How shall I spend it? This book provides some answers to finally bring your lifeinto sharper focus. First, we have to understand that we are hereto fulfill not one but four fundamental purposes: Learning Life’s Lessons Finding Your Career and Calling Fulfilling Your Hidden Life Path Attending to This Arising Moment The Four Purposes of Life was born from Dan Millman’sdecades-long search to make sense of life. He distills decades ofexperience into a concise map of the journey — the full scope ofwhat we’re each here to accomplish here on planet Earth. You will learn: the higher purpose of daily life twelve required l
From ancient Greece to nineteenth-century America, thiscollection traces the history of our civilization through theseminal works of its most influential thinkers. Perfect for anyoneinterested in understanding the progression of Western thought,this volume includes: Plato: Apology, Crito, and Death of Socrates from Phaedo Aristotle: Poetics St. Anselm: The Ontological Proof of St. Anselm, fromProslogium St. Thomas Aquinas: St. Thomas' Proofs of God's Existence, from TheSumma Theologica René Descartes: Meditations on the First Philosophy David Hume: An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding Immanuel Kant: Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism William James: The Will to Believe
Perhaps the French philosopher's masterpiece, which isconcerned with an extraordinary question: What does it mean to bemad?
