Criticism Books - Page 3

Study Guide t/a Critical Thinking

Brooke Noel Moore

Amazon Price: $25.62 List Price: $25.62 Usually ships in 2 to 5 weeks By: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $1.69

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Criticism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Logic & Language
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Rhetorical tricks exposed 4 out of 5 stars.
21 of 21 people found this review helpful.

This is a college textbook that I purchased because I was searching for a book that would review all the rhetorical tricks being used by politicians and special interest groups. For the past six years I've been simultaneously impressed and distressed with the increased sophistication being used to dodge discussing core issues and deceiving people. I believed I needed to further develop my awareness of when someone was using a rhetorical trick to avoid an issue or deceive the public, including myself. Once again excellent reader reviews helped me navigate to and choose this book and I was not disappointed! This book confronted many of the tricks being used by those in the media and using the media to get their message across while avoiding the truth.

First off, this book mostly focuses on only one aspect critical thinkers require, and that is identifying and rejecting rhetorical arguments. This book does not have any chapters that would help business people to filter out extraneous information and focus on critical factors even though in fast moving industries, this is a critical skill coming under the umbrella necessary to be labeled a critical thinker in the business world. A better title for this book would have been "Rhetorical Fallacies".

So don't buy this book to help you hone your skill in deciding what issues to focus on at work and how to drill-down to essential issues necessary to make good decisions. I highly recommend this book if you are looking to minimize the ability of ever-increasingly sophisticated rhetoric to mislead you. I also now enjoy the fact that I can name most of the rhetorical tricks being used in an attempt to deceive us. This book is a fast read, with many examples that help clarify the principles; many of these examples are humorous. I'll definitely keep this book as a reference to name the ploy being attempted.

Because the book is a textbook, the new price is ridiculous. I bought this used through Amazon and had an excellent experience; easily getting a barely marked-up book from a student at a very fair price - ya gotta love Amazon!

Naturalism (Interventions)

Stewart Goetz, Charles Taliaferro

Amazon Price: $10.88 List Price: $16.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $8.94

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Criticism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Movements -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Movements -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Concise yet Rigorous 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book is truly a gem. It is short and sweet, and offers a great look at the heart of Naturalism. The authors have done a great job of examining philosophical Naturalism without the language being too technical. The chapters on Morality and Consciousness are by far the best in my opinion. The appendix on the argument from reason is solid as well. I would recommend it to anyone who is doing work in philosophy of religion, worldviews, and apologetics. It is simply one of those must-reads in philosophy.

A Meticulous, Yet Brief Critique of Naturalism 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This is a fascinating, yet concise book. At only 122 pages (including the appendix) one might assume that the book is too short to argue against a philosophical methodology such as naturalism, yet this is not the case. In fact, the brevity serves a greater purpose that I will mention below. Let me begin with a brief discussion of the title followed by some strengths and weaknesses.

A commenter above suggests that the title is misleading, and states, "Given the title, you would think this book would introduce and explain 'Naturalism.'" I'm assuming that the reviewer merely skimmed the book for one cannot deny that the book does introduce and explain both strict and broad naturalism. Outside of the final chapter (and a few very brief sections in the first four chapters) this book could very easily have been written by naturalists. The book actually excels in describing both strict and broad naturalistic worldviews, mainly relying on extensive quotes from some of naturalism's most well respected proponents. It then suggests gaps and logical problems within their methodologies. The book could have very well been written (with the few exceptions mentioned above) by a naturalist, and then simply replaced the final chapter with a naturalistic attempt to answer the critiques of the previous four chapters. Books like this are typical in every field, and thus I must contend that "Naturalism" is the correct title for the work, that the previous reviewer was unjustified, and that naturalism is the topic of discussion throughout. Now for some strengths and weaknesses:

Strengths

1. The language is easily understandable for the average reader. The book avoids philosophical language when possible, which is to its benefit. Occasionally the authors are required to use philosophical language, but I believe that this will not be an issue for anyone who has had at least an introductory philosophy course in high school or college.

2. The book is brief. This may be a weakness for some (as I'll discuss below), but for me added value to the book. The work is not intended to answer the questions as much as give trajectories through which the reader may find an answer. As such, in response to the brevity and the quality of the arguments, I often found myself taking the arguments much further, and also coming up with other arguments and responses. I believe the success in prompting the reader to think through the issues more thoroughly for themselves is due much in part to the brevity of the work combined with the strong arguments.

3. The argument is strong and builds throughout the work. As I read the first chapter I was not entirely sure where the discussion was headed. In the next few chapters the argument grew extensively, and by the section on naturalism and values, it was clear that the case being made was both extensive and strong. As such, I must agree with Robert P. George (on the back of the book), when he says, "Patiently, gently, but in the end decisively, Goetz and Taliaferro demolish the dogmas of naturalism." The strength of the argument has affected me personally as well. I'm someone who, though a theist, tends to side with non-reductive physicalists more often than not. This work has opened my thinking to certain forms of non-Cartesian dualism.

4. The quotes from external sources are usually long and shown in proper context. Too often in critiques quotes are taken radically out of context in order to make a point. This is not the case with this book as it is clear that the authors both understand and respect the naturalists they are critiquing.

Weaknesses

1. Many will see the brevity of this work as a weakness. The book may not provide all of the answers you may be seeking in response to the critique of the naturalistic worldview. I personally see this as a strength since it provides trajectories for self-thought, but others may see this as a weakness.

2. The book ends as a critique. The final chapter assesses some of the stronger naturalistic arguments against theism showing their weaknesses, and thus indirectly (until the final line quoted in another review above) suggesting that the best interpretation of the world (beliefs, reason, intention, causality, free will, etc.) comes through a theistic worldview. As such, a reader may be left wanting more information as to how a theistic worldview better represents reality than the brief suggestions within the book. Fortunately, the book does include a good (and current) bibliography including (among many others) works by Goetz and Taliaferro that with more specificity and depth describe the theistic worldview.

In the end, I must say that I truly enjoyed this book. Having never read either of the authors, I was initially interested in reading it as a result of the strong endorsements by John Milbank and John F. Haught, both of whom I highly respect. Now I am intrigued to read more by each of these authors as this book has shown that they rigorously make an argument, but have the ability to do this in an easily understood and readable style.

Philosophy and Animal Life

Stanley Cavell, Cora Diamond, John McDowell, Ian Hacking, Cary Wolfe

Amazon Price: $19.60 List Price: $24.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Columbia University Press Amazon Marketplace: 32 new & used starting at $16.80

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Criticism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Ethics & Morality
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General

Editorial Review:

Philosophy and Animal Life offers a new way of thinking about animal rights, our obligation to animals, and the nature of philosophy itself. Cora Diamond begins with "The Difficulty of Reality and the Difficulty of Philosophy," in which she accuses analytical philosophy of evading, or deflecting, the responsibility of human beings toward nonhuman animals. Diamond then explores the animal question as it is bound up with the more general problem of philosophical skepticism. Focusing specifically on J. M. Coetzee's The Lives of Animals, she considers the failure of language to capture the vulnerability of humans and animals. Stanley Cavell responds to Diamond's argument with his own close reading of Coetzee's work, connecting the human-animal relation to further themes of morality and philosophy. John McDowell follows with a critique of both Diamond and Cavell, and Ian Hacking explains why Cora Diamond's essay is so deeply perturbing and, paradoxically for a philosopher, he favors poetry over philosophy as a way of overcoming some of her difficulties.Cary Wolfe's introduction situates these arguments within the broader context of contemporary continental philosophy and theory, particularly Jacques Derrida's work on deconstruction and the question of the animal. Philosophy and Animal Life is a crucial collection for those interested in animal rights, ethics, and the development of philosophical inquiry. It also offers a unique exploration of the role of ethics in Coetzee's fiction.

Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking

Vincent Ruggiero

Amazon Price: $46.57 Usually ships in 24 hours By: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $29.43

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Education -> College & University -> Student Life
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Education -> Education Theory -> Philosophy & Social Aspects
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Education -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Beyond Feelings 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

This book is a clear and concise guide to Critical Thinking. It presents subject matter in an easy to read fashion in a book that is not overly long. It was a great addition to my College English class.

Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 11 people found this review helpful.

The product I received is in excellent shape. It looks like it has never been used. I am very satisfied.

Beyond feeling... 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a great reference book! It came as advertised. I needed this book for a college course.

A text students will enjoy reading and talking about 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

"Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking," 8th ed. is everything I have ever hoped for in a text on critical thinking. It is nearly jargon free. It focuses on how we--students and instructor alike--come to think the way we do, how to recognize critical thinking weaknesses in ourselves and others, and how to take this knowledge and apply it not only to coursework but also to our lives. Chapters are mercifully short, easily accessible, and filled with contemporary applications, which the students enjoy. As the students progress through the text, they find topics recycled. Each time the same topics reappear, the students are able to refine their critical thinking processes and points of view. Most importantly, however, my students tell me that "Beyond Thinking" is not only relevant and easily understandable, but also fun to read. What more can an instructor ask for in a text?

Editorial Review:

This succinct, interdisciplinary introduction to critical thinking successfully dares students to question their own assumptions and to enlarge their thinking through the analysis of the most common problems associated with everyday reasoning. The text offers a unique and effective organization: Part I explains the fundamental concepts; Part II describes the most common barriers to critical thinking; Part III offers strategies for overcoming those barriers..

Heidegger's Topology: Being, Place, World

Jeff Malpas

Amazon Price: $15.12 List Price: $21.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: The MIT Press Amazon Marketplace: 19 new & used starting at $15.11

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Criticism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Metaphysics
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General

Editorial Review:

This groundbreaking inquiry into the centrality of place in Martin Heidegger's thinking offers not only an illuminating reading of Heidegger's thought but a detailed investigation into the way in which the concept of place relates to core philosophical issues. In Heidegger's Topology, Jeff Malpas argues that an engagement with place, explicit in Heidegger's later work, informs Heidegger's thought as a whole. What guides Heidegger's thinking, Malpas writes, is a conception of philosophy's starting point: our finding ourselves already "there," situated in the world, in "place." Heidegger's concepts of being and place, he argues, are inextricably bound together.

Malpas follows the development of Heidegger's topology through three stages: the early period of the 1910s and 1920s, through Being and Time, centered on the "meaning of being"; the middle period of the 1930s into the 1940s, centered on the "truth of being"; and the late period from the mid-1940s on, when the "place of being" comes to the fore. (Malpas also challenges the widely repeated arguments that link Heidegger's notions of place and belonging to his entanglement with Nazism.) The significance of Heidegger as a thinker of place, Malpas claims, lies not only in Heidegger's own investigations but also in the way that spatial and topographic thinking has flowed from Heidegger's work into that of other key thinkers of the past 60 years.

The Odd One In: On Comedy (Short Circuits)

Alenka Zupancic

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: The MIT Press Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $11.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Criticism

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

Editorial Review:

Why philosophize about comedy? What is the use of investigating the comical from philosophical and psychoanalytic perspectives? In The Odd One In, Alenka Zupančič considers how philosophy and psychoanalysis can help us understand the movement and the logic involved in the practice of comedy, and how comedy can help philosophy and psychoanalysis recognize some of the crucial mechanisms and vicissitudes of what is called humanity.

Comedy by its nature is difficult to pin down with concepts and definitions, but as artistic form and social practice it is a mode of tarrying with a foreign object—of including the exception. Philosophy's relationship to comedy, Zupančič writes, is not exactly a simple story (and indeed includes some elements of comedy). It could begin with the lost book of Aristotle's Poetics, which discussed comedy and laughter (and was made famous by Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose ). But Zupančič draws on a whole range of philosophers and exemplars of comedy, from Aristophanes, Molière, Hegel, Freud, and Lacan to George W. Bush and Borat. She distinguishes incisively between comedy and ideologically imposed, "naturalized" cheerfulness. Real, subversive comedy thrives on the short circuits that establish an immediate connection between heterogeneous orders. Zupančič examines the mechanisms and processes by which comedy lets the odd one in.

Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Open Court Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $10.94

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> History & Criticism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Criticism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Working on the highway? Springsteen academized 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Uneven collection of essays reflects the range of interests and writing abilities of the writers, almost all of whom are professors of philosophy of apparently accredited institutions of higher education, raising questions as to the current standing and academic rigor of the philosophical field of study in 2008.

Not to say this set of essays is egregiously bad, but the writing and proofreading left numerous errors in the text of the essays, a sure sign for me that I should treat the material with the same level of seriousness that its authors and editors did. There are way too many bad puns and flat attempts at word play on Springsteen songs, characters, and lyrics, starting with the vapid subtitle. Truth has an edge? It's dark there? What does that mean, other than the "yeah, we get it" reference to Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town"?

And note to most of the writers: dial back (waaaaaaaaay back) on the wanna-be-Bruce vibes already. We get it. We all wanted to be Bruce, cut someplace of our own with these drums and these guitars, but we're not, and we didn't, so let it go, and write with the seriousness and focus and academic abilities that the subject and your positions demand.

A couple of the essays did stand out for their insight and interest:

--Auxier's "Blinded by the Subterranean Homesick Muse: The Poet as Virtuous and Virtuoso" pairs Springsteen and his constant comparator Dylan in this essay introducing the classical Muses and their uses in these great poets' lyrics (as well as tracing the etymological connection between the two adjectives in his essay's subtitle).

--Auxier deconstructs Wendy, the lover to whom Springsteen sings "Born to Run", and places her (and Springsteen) in the literary canon in the essay "An Everlasting Kiss: The Seduction of Wendy."

--"Straight Time: Images of Oppression" by Luke Dick examines that phrase and the use of images in meaning, understanding, imagination and empathy (along the way explaining why Dana Carvey's impression of Jimmy Stewart works).

This is the second book of literary, philosophical and historical examination of Springsteen's music that I have read recently (see Born in the U.S.A.: Bruce Springsteen and the American Tradition), and both fall short. We are still too close the power of his performance and the peak of his musical output to truly and accurately appreciate and define it. Dylan similarly suffers in literary examinations; although Dylan is closer to the end of his oeuvre, both men still have too much to say and a love and compulsion to play that makes it impossible for even the deepest among us to summarize, categorize, or academize them.

Editorial Review:

Known as the working man's poet, the Boardwalk prophet, or simply, the Boss. If "love is a banquet at which we feed," Bruce Springsteen has provided much food for thought. In this collection of metaphysical probes, a gang of E-street philosophers will undress Bruce's deeper mysteries like irresistible Jersey girls. Can Springsteen settle the nature-nurture debate through his song "Born to Run"? What do the famous philosopher Ricuoer and Springsteen have in common in their depiction of time? These die-hard Springsteen fans, who just happen to be philosophers, compile an entertaining handbook to the field of Springsteen studies, covering topics like Springsteen's connection to Marx and the proletariat, Springsteen's concept of the soul, and his status as a poet.

Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Open Court Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $7.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Television -> History & Criticism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Criticism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General

Editorial Review:

In attempting to retain her "human" side, does Sharon really have free will? Is killing a Cylon murder or garbage disposal? These are some of the questions addressed in this thoughtful collection of writings on the philosophical underpinnings of Battlestar, Galactica. The book includes a brief analysis of the original 1970s and 80s series but concentrates primarily on the episodes, characters, and issues from the entirely reimagined current series (including its fourth and final season, scheduled for airing in early 2008) as well as the two-hour TV movie and direct-to-DVD release Razor.

Chaosophy, New Edition: Texts and Interviews 1972–1977 (Semiotext(e) / Foreign Agents)

Félix Guattari

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Semiotext(e) Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $12.21

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Criticism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General AAS

Editorial Review:

Chaosophy is an introduction to Félix Guattari's groundbreaking theories of "schizo-analysis": a process meant to replace Freudian interpretation with a more pragmatic, experimental, and collective approach rooted in reality. Unlike Freud, who utilized neuroses as his working model, Guattari adopted the model of schizophrenia—which he believed to be an extreme mental state induced by the capitalist system itself, and one that enforces neurosis as a way of maintaining normality. Guattari's post-Marxist vision of capitalism provides a new definition not only of mental illness, but also of the micropolitical means for its subversion.

Chaosophy includes Guattari's writings and interviews on the cinema (such as "Cinema Fou" and "The Poor Man's Couch"), a group of texts on his collaborative work with Gilles Deleuze (including the appendix to the second edition of Anti-Oedipus, not available in the English edition), and his texts on homosexuality (including his "Letter to the Tribunal" addressing the French government's censorship of the special gay issue of Recherches he edited, which earned him a fine for publishing "a detailed exposition of depravity and sexual deviations… the libidinous exhibition of a minority of perverts"). This expanded edition features a new introduction by François Dosse (author of a new biography of Guattari and Gilles Deleuze), along with a range of added essays—including "The Plane of Consistency," "Machinic Propositions," "Gangs in New York," and "Three Billion Perverts on the Stand"—nearly doubling the contents of the original edition.

The Affirmation of Life: Nietzsche on Overcoming Nihilism

Bernard Reginster

Amazon Price: $15.34 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harvard University Press Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $15.34

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Criticism
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Modern
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Movements -> Existentialism

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Among all the great thinkers of the past two hundred years, Nietzsche continues to occupy a special place--not only for a broad range of academics but also for members of a wider public, who find some of their most pressing existential concerns addressed in his works. Central among these concerns is the question of the meaning of a life characterized by inescapable suffering, at a time when the traditional responses inspired by Christianity are increasingly losing their credibility. While most recent studies of Nietzsche's works have lost sight of this fundamental issue, Bernard Reginster's book The Affirmation of Life brings it sharply into focus.

Reginster identifies overcoming nihilism as a central objective of Nietzsche's philosophical project, and shows how this concern systematically animates all of his main ideas. In particular, Reginster's work develops an original and elegant interpretation of the will to power, which convincingly explains how Nietzsche uses this doctrine to mount a critique of the dominant Christian values, to overcome the nihilistic despair they produce, and to determine the conditions of a new affirmation of life. Thus, Reginster attributes to Nietzsche a compelling substantive ethical outlook based on the notions of challenge and creativity--an outlook that involves a radical reevaluation of the role and significance of suffering in human existence.

Replete with deeply original insights on many familiar--and frequently misunderstood--Nietzschean concepts, Reginster's book will be essential to anyone approaching this towering figure of Western intellectual history.

(20060315)