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
Paul McAuley is one of the most exciting new talents to emerge in science fiction over the last several years, acclaimed for his richly imagined scientific concepts as well as for his clear and stylish storytelling. Now McAuley enters the twenty-first century with a vivid and prescient novel in which science, politics, greed, and terrorism compete for nothing less than THE SEC RET OF LIFE. 2026: Something is growing in the Pacific Ocean, a strange fungus-like organism that may ultimately threaten Earth's entire food chain. Christened "the slick," the bizarre phenomenon is soon the subject of intense, top-secret scientific analysis, which rapidly discovers that the slick contains unique DNA unlike any other lifeform on the planet. Where has the slick come from? A Chinese-manned mission to Mars is rumored to have discovered life deep beneath the Martian icecap, but the Chinese aren't talking. Could this mysterious discovery have something to do with the possibly extraterrestrial organism spreading throu
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.
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 has journeyed farbeyond the modest purpose of its author to universal acclaim as thebest history of philosophy in English.
Perhaps the French philosopher's masterpiece, which isconcerned with an extraordinary question: What does it mean to bemad?
Many appreciate Richard P. Feynman’s contributions totwentieth-century physics, but few realize how engaged he was withthe world around him—how deeply and thoughtfully he considered thereligious, political, and social issues of his day. Now, awonderful book—based on a previously unpublished, three-part publiclecture he gave at the University of Washington in 1963—shows usthis other side of Feynman, as he expounds on the inherent conflictbetween science and religion, people’s distrust of politicians, andour universal fascination with flying saucers, faith healing, andmental telepathy. Here we see Feynman in top form: nearly burstinginto a Navajo war chant, then pressing for an overhaul of theEnglish language (if you want to know why Johnny can’t read, justlook at the spelling of “friend”); and, finally, ruminating on thedeath of his first wife from tuberculosis. This is quintessentialFeynman—reflective, amusing, and ever enlightening.
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.
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.
How do we see the world around us? "The Penguin on Design"series includes the works of creative thinkers whose writings onart, design and the media have changed our vision forever. SusanSontag's groundbreaking critique of photography asks forcefulquestions about the moral and aesthetic issues surrounding this artform. Photographs are everywhere. They have the power to shock,idealize or seduce, they create a sense of nostalgia and act as amemorial, and they can be used as evidence against us or toidentify us. In six incisive essays, Sontag examines the ways inwhich we use these omnipresent images to manufacture a sense ofreality and authority in our lives.
Contains a complete synthesis of Piaget's thoughts on the mechanisms of intellectual development: it is an extraordinary volume by an extraordiary writer.
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
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.
'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.
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
Use human means as though divine ones did not exist, and usedivine means as though there were no human ones. So wrote theJesuit scholar Baltazar Gracian some 300 years ago, in a book thatwill be compared to Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Machiavelli's ThePrince. A new translation of long lost wisdom on livingsuccessfully yet responsibly.
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.
Review 'Must have come on like punk rock to a public groaning under the weight of over-cooked Augustanisms.' - The Guardian Must have come on like punk rock to a public groaning under the weight of over-cooked Augustanisms. - The Guardian Product De*ion "... must have come on like punk rock to a public groaning under the weight of over-cooked Augustanisms." The Guardian "The majority of the following poems are to be considered as experiments. They were written chiefly with a view to ascertain how far the language of conversation in the middle and lower classes of society is adapted to the purposes of poetic pleasure." --William Wordsworth, from the Advertisement prefacing the original 1798 edition When it was first published, Lyrical Ballads enraged the critics of the day: Wordsworth and Coleridge had given poetry a voice, one decidedly different to what had been voiced before. For Wordsworth, as he so clearly stated in his celebrated preface to the 1800 edition (a
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.