Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, InspiringOur self-image as moral, well-behaved creatures is dogged by scepticism, relativism, hypocrisy, and nihilism, and by the fear that in a Godless world science has unmasked us as creatures fated by our genes to be selfish and tribalistic, or competitive and aggressive. Here, Simon Blackburn tackles the major moral questions surrounding birth, death, happiness, desire, and freedom, showing us how we should think about the meaning of life, and ...

'This is a blast of fresh air' Jonathan Clark, TLS'Thank goodness for Gottlieb' Daily Telegraph'A joy to read' EconomistThe author of the celebrated The Dream of Reason vividly explains the rise of modern thought from Descartes to RousseauIn a short period - from the early 1640s to the eve of the French Revolution - Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, and Hume all made their mark on Western thought. The Dream of Enlightenment tells their story and that of the birth of modern philosoph...

In this major work, Mary Midgley, one of our foremost intellectuals argues that humans are rather more like animals than we have previously allowed ourselves to believe.

First published in 1946, History of Western Philosophy went on to become the best-selling philosophy book of the twentieth century. A dazzlingly ambitious project, it remains unchallenged to this day as the ultimate introduction to Western philosophy. Providing a sophisticated overview of the ideas that have perplexed people from time immemorial, it is 'long on wit, intelligence and curmudgeonly scepticism', as the New York Times noted, and it is this, coupled with the sheer brilliance of its...

Why I am not a Christian is considered one of the most blasphemous philosophical documents ever written, and at a time when we have faith schools and wars over religious beliefs, its message today couldn't be more relevant.

Nearly forty years after its first publication in French, this collection of Sartre’s writings on colonialism remains a supremely powerful, and relevant, polemical work.

In this typically crusading work, universally acclaimed as a classic on first publication, Midgley asserts her corrective view that without poetry (or literature, or music, or history, or even theology) we cannot hope to understand our humanity.

The first of his famous BBC Reith lectures in which Russell examines Ancient Greek philosophy, the French Revolution and the modern welfare state with characteristic clarity and deep understanding. This is Russell at his intellectual best.

Few philosophers have had more influence on the shape of western philosophy after 1900 than Martin Heidegger. This title offers a full range of this profound and controversial thinker's writings, including: "The Origin of the Work of Art"; "The introduction to Being and Time"; "What Is Metaphysics?"; and, "The End of Philosophy".

What is time? Does it pass? Is the future open? Why do we care? Philosophy of Time: The Basics doesn’t answer these questions. It does give you an opinionated introduction to thinking a bit more deeply about them.