David Berman's posthumous collection Progressions of the Mind abounds in sagacity, empathy, and wit. Often in sonnet form, this former lawyer's meditations on humanity may be poignant or humorous, but they are always entertaining. He deftly interrogates commonplace notions of morality, religious beliefs, and human frailties and resilience. Readers of this collection will understand why Berman was such a respected and beloved figure among the Powow River Poets.PRAISE FOR PROGRESSION...

This book examines Richard Whately's classic book Historic Doubts Relative to Napoleon Buonaparte. After considering its textual development, the analysis focusses on Whately's idea of the ‘Preliminary Question’; the idea that in the debate about Jesus’s miracles there is a more basic question that has been overlooked and which invalidates the debate. It is asked whether the notion of a Preliminary Question might not illuminate other philosophical disputes. Finally, a variant of t...

The Essential Berkeley and Neo-Berkeley is an introduction to the life and work of one of the most significant thinkers in the history of philosophy and a penetrating philosophical assessment of his lasting legacy.Written in clear and user-friendly style, Berman provides:· A concise summary of George Berkeley (1685-1753)'s life and writings· An accessible introduction to the structure of Berkeley's most authoritative work, The Principles of Human...

The title is meant to indicate that consciousness is being examined largely within the history of philosophy, and within the period of time from Descartes to Ayer.Investigators aiming to understand consciousness and minds usually try to take account of all individual human minds, so as to have the most data for the most encompassing induction. The problem with that approach is that because of the vastness of the data, its results tend to be vague, lacking the specificity of studies...

Alciphron, or the Minute Philosopher (1732) is Berkeley's main work of philosophical theology and a crucial source of his views on meaning and language. This edition contains the four most important dialogues and a selection of critical essays and commentaries reflecting the response of such writers as Hutcheson, Mill and Antony Flew. The only single edition currently in print, it argues that Alciphron has a more important place both in the Berkeley canon and in early mod...

This book offers an overview of the legal, political, and broad intergovernmental environment in which relations between local and state units of government take place, the historical roots of the conflict among them, and an analysis of contemporary problems concerning local authority, local revenues, state interventions and takeovers, and the restructuring of local governments. The author pays special attention to local governmental autonomy and the goals and activities of local officials...

Part of the GREAT PHILOSOPHERS series.George Berkeley 1685-1753A scientist, theologian and writer on medicine and economics, George Berkeley was in his way a most improbable philosopher. A master of English prose, he was suspicious of language; scornful of abstractions, he looked instead to immediate experience for the basis of his thought.David Berman's readable guide traces Berkeley's experimentalism - for experiments with sight and touch to near-...

Politics at the state and local level has never been more interesting than in our "devolutionary" age. This popular text is the most concise, readable, and current introduction to the field. Now in its ninth edition, the book keeps its focus on the varied and changing political and economic environments in which state and local governments function, and their strengths and weaknesses in key areas of public policy. The text is enlivened by boxed sections that relate individual experiences o...

Probably no doctrine has excited as much horror and abuse as atheism. This first history of British atheism, first published in 1987, tries to explain this reaction while exhibiting the development of atheism from Hobbes to Russell. Although avowed atheism appeared surprisingly late – 1782 in Britain – there were covert atheists in the middle seventeenth century. By tracing its development from so early a date, Dr Berman gives an account of an important and fascinating strand of intellectu...

Roger Scruton is one of the most widely respected philosophers of our time, whose often provocative views never fail to simulate debate. In Modern Philosophy he turns his attention to the whole of the field, from the philosophy of logic to aesthetics, and in so doing provides us with an essential and comprehensive guide to modern thinking.

What exists? How do we know? What are we going to do about it?These three questions are at the heart of philosophical enquiry, an endeavour which has stretched more than two thousand years. It's multiple branches, including ethics, aesthetics, epistemology and theology, have been pondered over by many a philosopher, and this series from The Independent introduces some of these great minds.The ideas of these wide-ranging philosophers will be examined, alongside thei...

Kant is arguably the most influential modern philosopher, but also one of the most difficult. Roger Scruton tackles his exceptionally complex subject with a strong hand, exploring the background to Kant's work and showing why the Critique of Pure Reason has proved so enduring.