What makes a sensible, mature, slippers-by-the-fire sort of chap turn suddenly into a hiking junkie? Why would anyone want to switch from doing moderate, two-mile pub walks to trekking an arduous 289 miles along the South West Coast Path? The Hiking Obsession takes you on an alarming journey, from your comfort zone to the trials and tribulations of long-distance walking, from the seed of a flawed idea to the execution of a meticulous but seriously flawed plan. See what happens when it all ...

Philosophy begins, Aristotle said, with wonder; it addresses the great questions of life. This process of self-discovery through philosophy leads one to ask questions not only about human existence but also about God. In *Philosophy: The Quest for Truth and Meaning,*Andrew Beards introduces readers to some key philosophical ideas 'the mind's ability to know truth and reality, metaphysics, ethics, and questioning life's ultimate purpose 'in order to guide them in philosophical reflection. B...

In challenging us to be conscious of our own subjectivity, Bernard Lonergan set out an updated mode of Aristotelian epistemology that took insights from every major philosophical tradition of the modern era. This book explains how that unique positioning makes his ideas perfectly placed to bridge the divide between analytic and continental philosophy.Andrew Beards uses Lonergan's approach not only to understand the many connections between analytic and continental ...

Bernard Lonergan (1904-84) is acknowledged as one of the most significant philosopher-theologians of the 20th century. Lonergan, Meaning and Method in many ways complements Andrew Beards' previous book on Lonergan, Insight and Analysis (Bloomsbury, 2010). Andrew Beards applies Lonergan's thought and brings it into critical dialogue and discussion with other contemporary philosophical interlocutors, principally from the analytical tradition. He also introduces themes and a...

In the last few decades, analytical philosophers have rediscovered an interest in the subject of metaphysics. Surveying the contributions made by these philosophers, Method in Metaphysics initiates a critical dialogue between analytical metaphysics and the philosophy of Bernard Lonergan. It argues for a basic method in metaphysics, a method that arises from a critically grounded epistemology and cognitional theory. In addition, it serves as a much-needed overview and introduction ...

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an extraordinarily original philospher, whose influence on twentieth-century thinking goes well beyond philosophy itself. In this book, which aims to make Wittgenstein's thought accessible to the general non-specialist reader, A. C. Grayling explains the nature and impact of Wittgenstein's views. He describes both his early and later philosophy, the differences and connections between them, and gives a fresh assessment of Wittgenstein's continuing influe...

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.

In this textbook, Michael Morris offers a critical introduction to the central issues of the philosophy of language. Each chapter focusses on one or two texts which have had a seminal influence on work in the subject, and uses these as a way of approaching both the central topics and the various traditions of dealing with them. Texts include classic writings by Frege, Russell, Kripke, Quine, Davidson, Austin, Grice and Wittgenstein. Theoretical jargon is kept to a minimum and is fully expl...

First published in 1976, the Dictionary of Philosophy has established itself as the best available text of its kind, explaining often unfamiliar, complicated and diverse terminology. Thoroughly revised and expanded, this fourth edition provides authoritative and rigorous definitions of a broad range of philosophical concepts.Concentrating on the Western philosophical tradition, The Routledge Dictionary of Philosophy offers an illuminating and informed introduction...

This is the first full exploration of the implications of Wittgenstein's philosophy for understanding the arts and cultural criticism. These original essays by philosophers and critics address key philosophical topics in the study of the arts and culture, such as humanism, criticism, psychology, painting, film and ethics. All exemplify Wittgenstein's method of conceptual investigation and highlight his notion of philosophy as a cure.

In this timely study, Dawes defends the methodological naturalism of the sciences. Though religions offer what appear to be explanations of various facts about the world, the scientist, as scientist, will not take such proposed explanations seriously. Even if no natural explanation were available, she will assume that one exists. Is this merely a sign of atheistic prejudice, as some critics suggest? Or are there good reasons to exclude from science explanations that invoke a supernatural a...

Richard Rorty is one of the most influential, controversial and widely-read philosophers of the twentieth century. In this GuideBook to Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature Tartaglia analyzes this challenging text and introduces and assesses:Rorty's life and the background to his philosophythe key themes and arguments of Philosophy and the Mirror of Naturethe continuing importance of Rorty's work to philosophy.Rorty and ...