Modern Renaissance Books - Page 12

Case Studies in Information Technology Ethics (2nd Edition)

Richard A. Spinello

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Editorial Review:

For junior/senior-level and graduate courses in Computer, Business, Engineering, and Information Technology Ethics in departments of business, philosophy, and humanities. Collection of 42 high-quality, well-researched case studies on information technology ethics and offers a practical balance for all levels of students--neither too technical for the novice in computer issues, nor overly simplistic for those majoring in computer related subjects.

Death and Philosophy

Jeff Malpas

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Great Book to Buffer a Dark Wind 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

In his introduction to the book, Robert C. Solomon rightly points out that if, as the ancients once asserted, philosophy is essentially concerned with death, then "contemporary philosophizing has failed to fulfil one of its essential functions, since death is a topic that is seldom addressed in contemporary philosophical discussion" (1).

Sure, many of the fashionable postmodernists have catchy titles that sometimes allude to death, but when you delve into their books, what you often end up with are lengthy discussions on the meaning of the word "but" or long-winded excursions into linguistics and semantics. The turgid, bloated prose is enough to make you think that the text you are reading is itself a corpse and, in terms of meaningful content, it might as well be. One starts to wonder if Ernest Becker's "The Denial of Death" has found its most obvious validation in philosophy that claims to speak about death, but then does little more than speak about speaking about death.

This book, on the other hand, keeps its promise and fills a void. Published by Routledge, in terms of readability and format, it might just as easily have been published by Blackwell or OpenCourt, the same folks that have been publishing books on popular culture and philosophy. You know the series: "Lost and Philosophy" or "Science Fiction and Philosophy." Inside, are fourteen solid, lucid essays about death: the moving testimony of an existentialist who died and was brought back to life; an edifying comparison of Western and Eastern ideas regarding death (by way of investigations of Daoism, Buddism, and other Asian traditions); a galvanizing look at the (flawed) argument against death by Elias Canetti; and a personal and profound reflection on the fear of death as a personal, social, and metaphysical phenomenon. This, to highlight just a few.

The authors draw primarily from the Existentialists and their influences: scattered about are some of the clearest explications of Heidegger that I have ever read. Moreover, references to Epicurus, Camus, Nietzshe, and Sartre abound. While a couple of the essays might be heavy going for the uninitiated, the book is clearly intended for an intelligent general audience (much like the above mentioned Blackwell/OpenCourt series). And while each of the essays is about death and mortality, the overall tone of the book is uplifting and empowering (Solomon's essay "Death Fetishism, Morbid Solipsism" especially). This may be because, as Confucious and Heidegger and Camus and Sartre and so many others have suggested (directly or indirectly), to die well one must live well.

Ironically, philosophizing about death is really philosophizing about life. To that end, this is a book that might just inspire you to live better.

Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

Death and Philosophy presents a wide ranging and fascinating variety of different philosophical, aesthetic and literary perspectives on death.
Death raises key questions such as whether life has meaning of life in the face of death, what the meaning of "life after death" might be and whether death is part of a narrative that can be retold in different ways, and considers the various types of death, such as brain death, that challenge mind-body dualism. The essays also include explorations of Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan perspectives on death and why death in some cultures, such as in Mexico's day of the dead, is celebrated.

Modern Political Philosophy (Explorations in Philosophy)

Richard Hudelson

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Editorial Review:

As we approach the end of the century and reflect on the large number of wars and political incidents that continue to rage throughout the world, it is imperative to understand the background and implication of the political philosophies that instigate many of these conflicts. Hudelson's book is a brief introduction to the major topics and issues in political philosophy from the Enlightenment to Postmodernism. Within the scope of ten short chapters, he presents both the historical background of, and a systematic discussion of contemporary issues relating to, the major traditions within political philosophy, making this the ideal introduction to the topic for students and interested readers.

Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought

Patrick S. Bresnan

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Ideal for readers with little or no previous knowledge of the subject, this book provides an exceptionally complete overview of the historical development of the major Eastern traditions of religious and philosophical thought (in India, China, and Japan.). The book uses an engaging style that is filled with anecdotes, analogies, definitions, comparisons, and supporting quotes from primary and secondary sources. It guides learners in recognizing the interrelationships that exist among the various systems, appreciating the relevance of these traditions to the concerns of modern times, and understanding the major issues of interpretation regarding these systems. The traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism are broad umbrellas that include a number of specific schools, each of which is treated individually. Other schools–such as Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto–are brought into the story at the appropriate place. Owing to the current high degree of interest in the subject, the historical development of Zen Buddhism receives a bit more attention that the other traditions. For anyone new to the study, and excited by the idea, of Eastern thought.

Philosophical Events Essays of the Eighties

John Rajchman

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The Selfhood of the Human Person

John F. Crosby

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A phenomenological analysis of personal selfhood 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

While drawing on an extensive body of scholarship, Crosby's textured analysis of selfhood hews closely to lived experience. It is this experiential orientation that makes Crosby's work accessible to a non-philosophical audience. Crosby also provides an antidote to certain strains of personalist thinking that reduce the person to a "system of relationships." While giving transcendence and relatedness their due (especially in light of such moral phenomena as value response and obligation), Crosby takes pains to anchor relationality in a prior understanding of the person as a unique individual, characterized by self-possession and incommunicability.

A milestone in phenomenological anthropology 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This book by a Catholic phenomenologist marks a milestone in philosophical anthropology. It is probably the most significant original contribution to the field in recent years, from the perspective of phenomenological personalism, to appear in the English language. No less important, it is clearly and accessibly written. Any reader who has languished through the iniquitous translation of Karol Wojtyla's THE ACTING PERSON, or who finds phenomenological approaches frequently impenetrable and mystifying, will be pleasantly surprised by the remarkable clarity and accessibility of Crosby's crisply-written and well-organized presentation. Crosby draws from phenomenology (Scheler, Wojtyla, Edith Stein, and his own mentor, von Hildebrand), personalist sources (Kierkegaard, Newman, Wojtyla again, and Josef Seifert), neo-Thomism (Maritain) and the philosophia perennis, combining many of the same sorts of perspectives one finds in Wojtyla. Readers of Crosby's painstaking phenomenological analysis of human "selfhood" may find portions of his discussion sufficiently penetrating and compelling to induce an eerie sense of having been conducted into the precincts of that profound, mysterious interiority called the "self" as if for the first time.

Editorial Review:

Crosby unfolds the mystery of personal uniqueness, shedding new light on the unrepeatability of each human person.

Perspectives on Habermas

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

For those with a vested interest in the study of philosophy 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Perspectives On Habermas is an outstanding anthology of 30 essays by established philosophers on the work of the controversial philosopher Jurgen Habermas, who is perhaps the best-known spokesperson for the tradition called Critical Theory. Habermas devoted his life to articulating the defense of the Enlightenment ideals of rationality, humanism, and the limitless possibilities of rational, intellectual discourse. Thought-provoking and highly complex, Perspectives On Habermas is a work especially for those with a vested interest in the study of philosophy, for to weigh and judge the entire depth and breadth of Jurgen Habermas' postulations is a challenging mental task indeed.

Misunderstood Lives 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

From the title it would be difficult for most, if not the majority of less culturally sophisticated to appreciate the value contained in these essays on the main components of enlightenment: humanism, and humane treatment, civility and civil communication, compassion, and kindness. Yet all indications of the current state of our social networks, and a great many of our social interactions, personal or impersonal, could benefit from a re-examination of the importance of legitimacy, honesty, cooperation, and redemption. In fact, it may well be golden age for philosophers to introduce updated analysis on both the need for this, and the negligence of society to provide focus upon this very important social and psychological topic as we slide further and further into the "neverland" of returning from the most uncivil, unkind, uncaring terrorism yet known to man, a point where the individual is perceived as useless, and has no value whatsoever. Very timely in view of both foreign events and domestic response and reaction to them, but not necessarily confined to that scope of "reasonable and logical intervention." The society that fails to help itself due to fear, repugnance, and resignation may well be one that cannot be pulled back into optimism and hope. Having taken the first steps upon and along this road, few pathways lead back to comfort and happiness. It is much like entering the world of the insane and finding the door closed and locked behind. The most logical foresight is never to step inside in the first place, but in view of events after 9/11/2001, backtracking is impossible, and before us lies the very rocky road of recovery. Understanding this is merely half the battle, since cooperation and determination of the safe road forward remains elusive. Never begun, the end is not so difficult to imagine. Appreciating the past has little value when the future imagined is closed to hope.

Editorial Review:

This collection of writings by eminent philosophers explores the controversial career of Jurgen Habermas, whose adherence to the Enlightenment ideals of rationality, humanism, and respect for discourse has set him apart from most postmodernist thinkers.

African American Humanism: An Anthology

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Editorial Review:

This collection demonstrates the strong influence that humanism and free-thought had in developing the history and ideals of black intellectualism. Most people are quick to note the profound influence that religion has played in African-American history: consoling the downtrodden slave or inspiring the abolitionists, the underground railroad, and the civil rights movement. But few are aware of the role humanism played in shaping the black experience: developing the thought and motivating the actions of powerful African-American intellectuals.

The Nature of Love: Plato to Luther (Nature of Love)

Irving Singer

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An Apology for Raymond Sebond (Penguin Classics)

Michel de Montaigne

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Anything But ... The Apology for Raymond Sebond 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) was never famous for staying on topic. The titles of his essays, and this book is his longest essay, are pretexts for writing about what interested him at the time. If you don't know any more about Raymond Sebond after reading this essay than you did before, don't worry about it! If you gave it a slow, thoughtful read, you have experienced one of the greatest minds in all of history asking what was the value of man's mind to arrive at the truth.

The answer could be expressed as the saying for which Montaigne is most famous: "Que scais-je?" or "What do I know?" Reason may be what separates man from the animals, but what benefit has man derived from it? Is he any happier for it? Is he any closer to the ultimate truth?

As one who has loved the _Essaies_ (French for "attempts") for many years, my advice to readers is to take them a little at a time. Don't be put off by all the quotes from Classical Antiquity. This was, after all, the Renaissance; and Montaigne was, like many of his contemporaries, delighted to see reflections of his thoughts in the writings of the Greeks and Romans. (Rabelais in _Gargantua and Pantagruel_ did the same thing.) Many of those quotes are interesting enough to make we want to follow up on Lucretius, Cicero, Marcus Manilius, and others whose names predominate through the essay.

Montaigne had the motto "Que scais-je?" inscribed on the walls of the tower on his property. He was the ultimate skeptic, but (forgive the pun) he essayed to explain his thoughts more thoroughly, perhaps, than any man who ever lived. I heartily suggest you read this, and follow it up with a reading of his greatest essay, "Of Experience."

Editorial Review:

"An Apology for Raymond Sebond" is widely regarded as the greatest of Montaigne's essays: a supremely eloquent expression of Christian scepticism. An empassioned defence of Sebond's fifteenth-century treatise on natural theology, it was inspired by the deep crisis of personal melancholy that followed the death of Montaigne's own father in 1568, and explores contemporary Christianity in prose that is witty and frequently damning. As he searches for the true meaning of faith, Montaigne is heavily critical of the arrogant tendency of mankind to create God in its own image, and offers his personal reflections on the true role of man, the need to eschew personal arrogance, and the vital importance of faith if we are to understand our place in the universe. Wise, perceptive and remarkably informed, this is one of the true masterpieces of the essay form.