Ralph Ellison, Temporal Technologist examines Ralph Ellison's body of work as an extended and ever-evolving expression of the author's philosophy of temporality-a philosophy synthesized from the writings of Henri Bergson and Friedrich Nietzsche that anticipates the work of Gilles Deleuze. Author Michael Germana presents Ellison's theory of temporality and social change as going up against all forms of linear causality and historical determinism-a theory that views time as a multip...

In the wake of the Civil War, Constance Fenimore Woolson became one of the first northern observers to linger in the defeated states from Virginia to Florida. Born in New Hampshire in 1840 and raised in Ohio, she was the grandniece of James Fenimore Cooper and was gaining success as a writer when she departed in 1873 for St. Augustine. During the next six years, she made her way across the South and reported what she saw, first in illustrated travel accounts and then in the poetry, stories...

Atkinson argues that the mind is the most powerful tool we have, and that we can use it to achieve almost anything we want in life. He explores various techniques and exercises that can help us develop and strengthen our mental powers, such as visualization, concentration, and meditation.One of the key ideas in the book is the concept of "mental magic," which refers to the ability to control our thoughts and emotions in order to achieve our goals. Atkinson explains that by focusing our min...

Metaphysics is one of the traditional four main branches of philosophy, alongside ethics, logic and epistemology. It is also an area that continues to attract and hold a fascination for many people yet it is associated with being complex and abstract. For some it is associated with the mystical or religious. For others it is known through the metaphysical poets who talk of love and spirituality.This Very Short Introduction goes right to the heart of the matter, getting to the basic and mos...

The rise of modern science has brought with it increasing acceptance among intellectual elites of a worldview that conflicts sharply both with everyday human experience and with beliefs widely shared among the world’s great cultural traditions. Most contemporary scientists and philosophers believe that reality is at bottom purely physical, and that human beings are nothing more than extremely complicated biological machines. On such views our everyday experiences of conscious decision-maki...

From “our most popular guide to the new epoch” (Guardian), a new edition of the book about ecology without information dumping, guilt inducing, or preaching to the choir.Ecology books can be confusing information dumps that are out of date by the time they hit you. Slapping you upside the head to make you feel bad. Grabbing you by the lapels while yelling disturbing facts. Handwringing in agony about “What are we going to do?” This book has none of that.

‘Informative, accessible, and fun to read— this is an excellent reference guide for undergraduates and anyone wanting an introduction to the fundamental issues of metaphysics. I know of no other resource like it.’– Meghan Griffith, Davidson College, USA'Marvellous! This book provides the very best place to start for students wanting to take the first step into understanding metaphysics.Undergraduates would do well to buy it and consult it regularly...

Was Aleister Crowley a British spy? A documented investigation into occultism, espionage, and twentieth-century intelligence. Secret Agent 666 by historian Richard B. Spence examines the long-debated claim that occultist Aleister Crowley operated as an intelligence asset during the first half of the twentieth century. Known as a central figure in modern occultism and a controversial cultural personality, Crowley has been the subject of numerous biographies—but few have focused on his possi...

A longtime student and friend reveals both the spiritual greatness and the human pathos of his remarkable teacher.

Composition is the relation between a whole and its parts--the parts are said to compose the whole; the whole is composed of the parts. But is a whole anything distinct from its parts taken collectively? It is often said that 'a whole is nothing over and above its parts'; but what might we mean by that? Could it be that a whole just is its parts? This collection of essays is the first of its kind to focus on the relationship between composition and identity. Twelve original articl...

Kant stated that there are three mental faculties: cognition, feeling, and desire. The faculty of feeling has received the least scholarly attention, despite its importance in Kant's broader thought, and this volume of new essays is the first to present multiple perspectives on a number of important questions about it. Why does Kant come to believe that feeling must be described as a separate faculty? What is the relationship between feeling and cognition, on the one hand, and desire, on t...

Is it possible to approach quantum theory in a 'therapeutic' vein that sees its foundational problems as arising from mistaken conceptual presuppositions? The book explores the prospects for this project and, in doing so, discusses such fascinating issues as the nature of quantum states, explanation in quantum theory, and 'quantum non-locality'.