People demand authentic participation in decisions that affect their lives. ToP? methods answer that call because they reflect how humans think, growing out of reflective inquiry into what works in real life, and the study of phenomenology and existentialism. This book explores the foundational understandings of this body of knowledge and its practice. Getting to the Bottom of ToP works at two levels: as a guide to processes that elicit participation to bring insights to the surface and ensur...

This book introduces readers to the concepts of political philosophy - authority, democracy, freedom and its limits, justice, feminism, multiculturalism, and nationality. Accessibly written and assuming no previous knowledge of the subject, it encourages the reader to think clearly and critically about the leading political questions of our time.

This edition contains Donald Cress's completely revised translation of the Meditations (from the corrected Latin edition) and recent corrections to Discourse on Method , bringing this version even closer to Descartes's original, while maintaining the clear and accessible style of a classic teaching edition.

It is not only in our dark hours that scepticism, relativism, hypocrisy, and nihilism dog ethics. Whether it is a matter of giving to charity, or sticking to duty, or insisting on our rights, we can be confused, or be paralysed by the fear that our principles are groundless. Many are afraid that in a Godless world science has unmasked us as creatures fated by our genes to be selfish and tribalistic, or competitive and aggressive.

Simon Blackburn, author of thebest-selling Think, structures th...

The classic translation of the cornerstone work of western philosophy Plato's Republic is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy. Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, it is an inquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. During the conversation other questions are raised: what is goodness; what is reality; what is knowledge; what is the purpose of education? ...

Almost everyone has wondered at some time or another why morality requires what it appears to require and how, if at all, it speaks to us. In "Ethics: Twelve Lectures on the Philosophy of Morality, " David Wiggins surveys the answers most commonly proposed for such questions-gathering insights from Hume, Kant, the utilitarians and the post-utilitaritarian thinkers of the twentieth century. The view of morality he then proposes draws not only on Hume but on other sources as diverse as Aristotl...

Critical Thinking focuses on skills students need to think for themselves. Through a practical and accessible approach core concepts in critical thinking are illustrated through real-world examples, extensive practice, and a thoughtful set of pedagogical features.

This unique book addresses trends such as vitalism, neo-Kantianism, existentialism, Marxism and feminism, and provides concise biographies of the influential philosophers who shaped these movements, including entries on over ninety thinkers. Offers discussion and cross-referencing of ideas and figuresProvides Appendix on the distinctive nature of French academic culture.

New and thoroughly updated, Epistemology:

An Anthology continues to represent the most comprehensive and authoritative collection of canonical readings in the theory of knowledge. Concentrates on the central topics of the field, such as skepticism and the Pyrrhonian problematic, the definition of knowledge, and the structure of epistemic justificationOffers coverage of more specific topics, such as foundationalism vs coherentism, and virtue epistemologyPresents wholly new sections on 'Testim...

Three decades after his death, Michel Foucault remains one of the towering intellectual figures of the last half-century. His works on sexuality, madness, the prison, and medicine are enduring classics. From 1971 until his death in 1984, Foucault gave public lectures at the famous College de France.

These seminal events, attended by thousands, created the benchmarks for contemporary social enquiry. The lectures comprising Abnormal begin by examining the role of psychiatry in modern criminal j...