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The foundation for a general system of morals, this 1749 work is a landmark in the history of moral and political thought. Readers familiar with Adam Smith from The Wealth of Nations will find this earlier book a revelation. Although the author is often misrepresented as a calculating rationalist who advises the pursuit of self-interest in the marketplace, regardless of the human cost, he was also interested in the human capacity for benevolence -...
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Lucretius dazzling poetic work, On the Nature of Things, composed during the late Roman Republic, has captivated imaginations for twenty-one centuries. This epic promises to lift the reader above common fears, ambitions, and misery; as well as the terror of living in a universe controlled by little-understood forces. Lucretius uses the framework of Epicurus teachings to create an ethics based on free will, the value of friendship, and the serenity...
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Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 10.9 - AR Pts: 24
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Barack Obama’s lucid vision of America’s place in the world and call for a new kind of politics that builds upon our shared understandings as Americans, based on his years in the Senate
“In our lowdown, dispiriting era, Obama’s talent for proposing humane, sensible solutions with uplifting, elegant prose does fill one with hope.”—Michael...
“In our lowdown, dispiriting era, Obama’s talent for proposing humane, sensible solutions with uplifting, elegant prose does fill one with hope.”—Michael...
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"A galvanizing critique of the forces vying for our attention--and our personal information--that redefines what we think of as productivity, reconnects us with the environment, and reveals all that we've been too distracted to see about ourselves and our world. Nothing is harder to do these days than nothing. But in a world where our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity ... doing nothing may be our most important form of resistance....
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These brief and enlightening explorations of our greatest thinkers bring their ideas to life in entertaining and accessible fashion. Philosophical thought is deciphered and made comprehensive and interesting to almost everyone. Far from being a novelty, each book is a highly refined appraisal of the philosopher and his work, authoritative and clearly presented.
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First published posthumously in 1779, "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" is Scottish philosopher David Hume's classic work of religious philosophy. This detailed and exhaustive examination of the nature and existence of God was begun by Hume in 1750, but not completed until shortly before his death in 1776. Hume was an important and influential English Empiricist, along with other English philosophers such as Francis Bacon, John Locke, and Thomas...
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German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche was one the most controversial figures of the 19th century. His evocative writings on religion, morality, culture, philosophy, and science were often polemic attacks against the established views of his time. First published in 1887, "The Genealogy of Morals," is a work, which follows and expands upon the principles of his previous works, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" and "Beyond Good and Evil." In a preface and...
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This .... book allows us to explore his beliefs, philosophical ideas, and opinions on many subjects so we can walk away afterwords knowing and understanding one of the world's greatest intellectual giants. Subjects include politics, religion, education, the meaning of life, Jewish issues, the world economy, peace and pacifism"-- Back cover.
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"What does everyone in the modern world need to know? Renowned psychologist Jordan B. Peterson's answer to this most difficult of questions uniquely combines the hard-won truths of ancient tradition with the stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research. Humorous, surprising and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate awaits those who criticize too easily, and why you should...
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"From the eponymous subject of the beloved classic Tuesdays with Morrie comes an insightful, poignant masterpiece on staying vibrant and connected for life. Who am I really? What have I done? What is important and meaningful to me? What difference does it make that I have lived? What does it mean to be truly human, and where am I on that scale? Morrie Schwartz, the beloved subject of the classic, multimillion-copy number one bestseller Tuesdays with...
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First published in 1751, "An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals" by David Hume, the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, was the enquiry subsequent to his 1748 work "Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" and is often referred to as "the second Enquiry". In Hume's own opinion it was the very best of all his writings. In "An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals", Hume expands upon his ideas of morality first discussed in his earlier...
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Perhaps this book will be understood only by someone who has himself already had the thoughts that are expressed in it-or at least similar thoughts.
-So it is not a textbook.
-Its purpose would be achieved if it gave pleasure to one person who read and understood it.
The book deals with the problems of philosophy, and shows, I believe, that the reason why these problems are posed is that the logic of our language is mis-understood. The whole sense...
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The second of Immanuel Kant's three critiques, "Critique of Practical Reason", published in 1788, is considered by many to be one of the most important works on the subject of moral philosophy ever written. Written several years after his first critique, "Critique of Pure Reason", this work addresses Kant's views on moral philosophy and what it means to be good and ethical. In this work, Kant explores his philosophy of the categorical imperative,...
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After kicking open the doors to twentieth-century philosophy in Thus Spake Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche refined his ideal of the superman with the 1886 publication of Beyond Good and Evil. Conventional morality is a sign of slavery, Nietzsche maintains, and the superman goes beyond good and evil in action, thought, and creation. Nietzsche especially targets what he calls a "slave morality" that fosters herd like quiescence and stigmatizes the...
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When Stefan Klein, an acclaimed journalist, sits down to talk with 18 of the world's leading scientists, he finds they're driven by, above all, curiosity. When they talk about their work, they turn to what's next, to what they still hope to discover. And, they see inspiration everywhere: From the sports car that physicist Steven Weinberg says helped him on his quest for "the theory of everything" to the jazz musicians who gave psychologist Alison...
18) The Ethics
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"Ethics" is the most famous work of Benedict de Spinoza, who is considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy. Spinoza was born of Jewish and Portuguese ancestry in 1632 and lived a simple life in Amsterdam as an optical lens grinder. His greatest fame came about when "Ethics," a collection of several of his philosophical works, was published anonymously by his close friends in 1677 shortly after Spinoza's untimely death at age...
20) Principia Ethica
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This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. When Principia Ethica appeared, in 1903, it became something of a sacred text for the Cambridge-educated elite who formed the core of the Bloomsbury Group. In a letter of October 11, 1903, Strachey confesses to Moore that he is "carried away" by Principia, which inaugurates, for him, "the beginning of the Age of Reason." Moore's critique of convention, his caustic...
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