Rousseau's theory of the effect of culture on politics is critical to his philosophy. In Making Citizens, Zev M. Trachtenberg takes Rousseau's theory as a model of how considerations of culture can be incorporated into a wider account of political life. He critically evaluates Rousseau's account and finds it inadequate. Using techniques from the theory of collective action to devise a new interpretation of Rousseau's concept of the general will, Trachtenberg identifies the ways culture conditions politics and examines the attitudes individuals can adopt that facilitate or impede social cooperation.

What is the nature of poetic language when its experience involves an encounter with finitude; with failure, loss, and absence? For Martin Heidegger this experience is central to any thinking that would seek to articulate the meaning of being, but for Friedrich Hölderlin and Maurice Blanchot it is a mark of the tragic and unanswerable demands of poetic language. In Ellipsis, a rigorous, original study on the language of poetry, the language of philosophy, and the limits of the word, William S. Allen offers the first in-depth examination of the development of Heidegger's thinking of poetic language--which remains his most radical and yet most misunderstood work--that carefully balances it with the impossible demands of this experience of finitude, an experience of which H&ounl;lderlin and Blanchot have provided the most searching examinations. In bringing language up against its limits, Allen shows that poetic language not only exposes thinking to its abyssal grounds, but also indicates how the limits of our existence come themselves, traumatically, impossibly, to speak.

Epistemic logic is one of the most exciting areas in medieval philosophy. Neglected almost entirely after the end of the Middle Ages, it has been rediscovered by philosophers of the twentieth century. Epistemic Logic in the Later Middle Ages provides the first comprehensive study of the subject.

A lively reading which takes on important questions in the philosophy of religion today--what is the nature of true religion, what is the relationship between theology and piety, and how should we actively engage with God?

To illustrate this, Richards gathers together in Everyday Creativity a provocative collection of essays; an interdisciplinary group of eminent thinkers and writers who offer their thoughts on how embracing creativity--tapping into the "originality of everyday life"--can lead to improved physical and mental health, to new ways of thinking, of experiencing the world and ourselves. They show how creativity can refine our views of human nature at an individual and societal level and, ultimately, change our paradigms for survival--and for flourishing--in a world fraught with urgent challenges. Neither a dry treatise nor a manual, this anthology draws upon the latest research in the area to present a lively examination of the phenomenon and process of everyday creativity and its far-reaching ramifications for self, culture, history, society, politics, and humankind's future.

First published in 1987, Althusser, The Detour of Theory was widely received as the fullest account of its subject to date. Drawing on a wide range of hitherto untranslated material, it examined the political and intellectual contexts of Althusser's `return to Marx' in the mid-1960s; analysed the novel character of the Marxism developed in his major works; charted their author's subsequent evolution, from his self-criticism to the proclamation of a `crisis of Marxism'; and concluded with a balance-sheet of Althusser's contribution to historical materialism.

The Elimination of Morality poses a fundamental challenge to the dominant conception of medical ethics. In this controversial and timely study, Anne Maclean addresses the question of what kind of contribution philosophers can make to the discussion of medico-moral issues and the work of health care professionals. She establishes the futility of bioethics by challenging the conception of reason in ethics which is integral to the utilitarian tradition. She argues that a philosophical training confers no special authority to make pronouncements about moral issues, and proposes that pure utilitarianism eliminates the essential ingredients of moral thinking. Maclean also exposes the inadequacy of a utilitarian account of moral reasoning and moral life, dismissing the claim that reason demands the rejection of special obligations. She argues that the utilitarian drive to reduce rational moral judgment to a single form is ultimately destructive of moral judgment.

The authors discuss the nature of depression and its treatment, examine the role of emotion, present a schematic model of depression and an overview of the course of treatment, and suggest who might benefit.

Self-forgetfulness is the reigning temptation of the technological era. This is why we so readily give our assent to the absurd proposition that a computer can add two plus two, despite the obvious fact that it can do nothing of the sort--not if we have in mind anything remotely resembling what we do when we add numbers. In the computer's case, the mechanics of addition involve no motivation, no consciousness of the task, no mobilization of the will, no metabolic activity, no imagination. And its performance brings neither the satisfaction of accomplishment nor the strengthening of practical skills and cognitive capacities.

Exageramos con eso de portarnos bien? ¿Realmente somos sólo unos animales evolucionados, egoístas, que vagamos por la Tierra y nuestra existencia no tiene ningún significado? ¿Sería mejor leer menos y ver más televisión? ¿Es House un maestro de la filosofía occidental o simplemente un perfecto sangrón? Podría decirse que el doctor Gregory House es el antihéroe más desafiante y complejo en toda la historia de la televisión, pero ¿existe algo más que materia gris y ego para este genio engreído? Esta obra analiza la serie Dr. House con el fin de explicar sus bases filosóficas y la conducta extravagante de su protagonista gruñón.

Terrorism, ethnocentrism, religious tension, competition over limited resources, war - these are just a few of the problems and challenges that have emerged in today's global economy. Globalization both implies and requires economic interdependence; and this should bring with it a heightened sense of the interconnectedness of the participating societies. But unfortunately, as recent events indicate, rather than our having formed a global community, today's society is more fragmented than ever. In light of this, education faces some formidable new challenges. How do we prepare future citizens for the world they will live in? How do we teach future generations to embrace the paradox of accepting the value of multiculturalism despite the conflicts it has produced? How do we instill religious tolerance in a time when fundamentalism has become inextricably tied with terrorism? How do we promote economic growth in the face of overpopulation and its depletion of resources? The authors of this collection of essays explore these and related challenges, and they suggest some novel ways of dealing with them.

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One of the most important and influential philosophers of the last 30 years, John Searle has been concerned throughout his career with a single overarching question: how can we have a unified and theoretically satisfactory account of ourselves and of our relations to other people and to the natural world? In other words, how can we reconcile our common-sense conception of ourselves as conscious, free, mindful, rational agents in a world that we believe includes brute, unconscious, mindless, meaningless, mute physical particles in fields of force? The essays in this collection are related to this broad overarching issue that unites the diverse strands of Searle's work.

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