Rene Descartes(1569-1650),the 'father' of modern philosophy,is without doubt one of the greatest thinkers in history:his genius lies at the core of our contemporary intellectual identity.Breaking with the conventions of his own time and suffering persecution by the Church as a consequence,Descartes in his writings-most of which are philosophical classics-attempted to answer the central questions surrounding the self,God,free-will and knowledge,using the science of thought as opposed to received wisdom based on the tenets of faith.This edition,the most comprehensive one-volume selection of Descartes' works available in English,includes his great essay,Discourse on Method.

In Symposium, a group of Athenian aristocrats attend a party and talk about love, until the drunken Alcibiades bursts in and decides to discuss Socrates instead. Symposium gives an unsurpassed picture of the sparkling society that was Athens at the height of her empire. The setting of the other dialogues is more sombre. Socrates is put on trial for impiety, and sentenced to death. Euthyphro discusses the nature of piety, Apology is Socrates' speech in his own defence, Crito explains his refusal to escape punishment, and Phaedo gives an account of Socrates' last day. These dialogues have never been offered in one volume before. Tom Griffith's Symposium has been described as 'possibly the finest translation of any Platonic dialogue'. All the other translations are new.

Written during the golden age of Chinese philosophy, andcomposed partly in prose and partly in verse, the Tao TeChing is surely the most terse and economical of the world’sgreat religious texts. In a series of short, profound chapters itelucidates the idea of the Tao, or the Way–an idea that in itsethical, practical, and spiritual dimensions has become essentialto the life of China’s enormously powerful civilization. In theprocess of this elucidation, Lao-tzu both clarifies and deepensthose central religious mysteries around which our life on earthrevolves.

Whether we love or hate Sigmund Freud, we all have to admit that he revolutionized the way we think about ourselves. Much of this revolution can be traced to The Interpretation of Dreams, the turn-of-the-century tour de force that outlined his theory of unconscious forces in the context of dream analysis. Introducing the id, the superego, and their problem child, the ego, Freud advanced scientific understanding of the mind immeasurably by exposing motivations normally invisible to our consciousness. While there's no question that his own biases and neuroses influenced his observations, the details are less important than the paradigm shift as a whole. After Freud, our interior lives became richer and vastly more mysterious. These mysteries clearly bothered him--he went to great (often absurd) lengths to explain dream imagery in terms of childhood sexual trauma, a component of his theory jettisoned mid-century, though now popular among recovered-memory therapists. His dispassionate analyses of his own dr

In On the Nature of the Psyche Jung presents a masterly overview of his theories of the unconscious, and its relation to the conscious mind. Jung's discovery of the 'collective unconscious', a psychic inheritance common to all humankind, transformed the understanding of the self and the way we interpret the world. In On the Nature of the Psyche Jung describes this remarkable theory in his own words, and presents a masterly overview of his theories of the unconscious, and its relation to the conscious mind. Also contained in this collection is On Psychic Energy , where Jung defends his interpretation of the libido, a key factor in the breakdown of his relations with Freud. For anyone seeking to understand Jung's insights into the human mind, this volume is essential reading.

The ancient Taoist text that forms the central part of thisbook was discovered by Wilhelm, who recognized it as essentially apractical guide to the integration of personality. Foreword andAppendix by Carl Jung; illustrations. Translated by Cary F.Baynes.A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

Insightful and highly accessible, this selection of seven essays displays Russell's signature brilliance of exposition in the examination of ethical subjects and the nature of truth, and marks an important period in the evolution of thought of one of the world’s most influential thinkers.

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.

'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.

In an era when the relationship between Islam and the Westseems mainly defined by mistrust and misunderstanding, it isimportant to remember that for centuries Muslim civilization wasthe envy of the world. Lost History fills a significant void and isessential reading for anyone seeking to understand the major theearly Muslims played in influencing modern society. Morgan reveals how early Muslim advancements in science andculture laid the cornerstones of the European Renaissance, theEnlightenment, and modern Western society. As he chronicles theGolden Ages of Islam, beginning in A.D. 570 with the birth ofMuhammad, and resonating today, he introduces scholars like IbnAl-Haytham, Ibn Sina, Al-Tusi, Al-Khwarizmi, and Omar Khayyam,towering figures who revolutionized the mathematics, astronomy, andmedicine of their time and paved the way for Newton, Copernicus,and many others. And he reminds us that inspired leaders fromMuhammad to Suleiman the Magnificent and beyond championedreligious tolerance, encou

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

Bestselling author John C. Maxwell shows you how the GoldenRule works everywhere, and how, especially in business, it bringsamazing dividends.

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 Yeats anthology of the poems of William Blake is that great rarity: one great visionary poet's anthology of everything that moves him about another, even greater one. Yeats prepared it in 1905 and it probably remains the single greatest single one-volume edition of William Blake extant, the one that, in less than 250 pages, presents as sensibly compressed and canny an edition as you'll ever find of perhaps the least sensible and most chaotic genius of English poetry. Even those who have the complete Blake in a couple of editions will find Yeats' Blake all-but-indispensable. –Buffalo News, April 6, 2003 This selection of Blake's work was commissioned in 1905 by the firm of George Routledge from W.B. Yeats. Yeats, one of the few poets comparable to Blake, prepared a unique selection of his poetic and prose writings.

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.

The new "Penguin Freud", under Adam Phillips' generaleditorship, offers a fantastic opportunity to see Freud in a freshlight. This endlessly beguiling, suggestive, thought-provokingwriter can be appreciated nowhere more vividly than in "The CaseHistories": "Little Hans", "The Rat Man", "The Wolf Man" and "SomeCharacter Types Met within Psychoanalytic Work".

Contains a complete synthesis of Piaget's thoughts on the mechanisms of intellectual development: it is an extraordinary volume by an extraordiary writer.

"To quietly persevere in storing up what is learned, to continuestudying without respite, to instruct others without growingweary--is this not me?" --Confucius Confucius is recognized as China's first and greatest teacher, andhis ideas have been the fertile soil in which the Chinese culturaltradition has flourished. Now, here is a translation of therecorded thoughts and deeds that best remember Confucius--informedfor the first time by the manu* version found at Dingzhou in1973, a partial text dating to 55 BCE and only made available tothe scholarly world in 1997. The earliest Analects yet discovered,this work provides us with a new perspective on the centralcanonical text that has defined Chinese culture--and clearlyilluminates the spirit and values of Confucius. Confucius (551-479 BCE) was born in the ancient state of Lu into anera of unrelenting, escalating violence as seven of the strongeststates in the proto-Chinese world warred for supremacy. Thelandscape was not only fierce politically but also intel

A brilliant account of the life of one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century. Popper also explains some of the central ideas in his work, making this ideal reading for anyone coming to his life and work for the first time.

A collection of some of Freud's most famous essays, including"On The Introduction of Narcissism", "Remembering, Repeating andWorking Through", "Beyond the Pleasure Principle", "The Ego and theID" and "Inhibition, Symptom and Fear".

Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors—and born vaudevillians—Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar . . . is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?) to Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything). Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read—and finally, it all makes sense!