4. ‘Absolutes’, Simple Natures, and Problems
Tom Sorell
in Descartes: A Very Short Introduction
‘Absolutes, Simple Natures and Problems’ deals mainly with the Regulae, an incomplete treatise which anticipated some of the innovations of the Geometry, and which adapted, in outline, some ...
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6. Aesthetics and life
Bence Nanay
in Aesthetics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Aesthetics and life’ considers several questions to show how aesthetics and life are intertwined on all kinds of levels. Should we treat our life as a work of art? Should we become the ...
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5. Aesthetics and the other
Bence Nanay
in Aesthetics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Aesthetic and the other’ looks at the interpersonal dimension of aesthetics. Aesthetics is rarely a solitary endeavour. We are social beings and there are very few aesthetic situations ...
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4. Aesthetics and the self
Bence Nanay
in Aesthetics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Aesthetics and the self’ explains how we take our aesthetic preferences to be a big part of who we are, but how these preferences change surprisingly quickly and often without us noticing. ...
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10. After Being and Time
Michael Inwood
in Heidegger: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘After Being and Time’ provides a brief survey of Heidegger’s thought after Being and Time, which reveals something of the overall coherence of his life-long project. Being and Time gave a ...
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8. The afterlife
Tim Bayne
in Philosophy of Religion: A Very Short Introduction
Speculation on the nature of the afterlife is as old as recorded history. Although the doctrine of an afterlife is not found in all religious traditions, where it does, it is typically ...
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2. Aims and Methods
A. J. Ayer
in Hume: A Very Short Introduction
Hume aimed to continue the empirical enquiry begun by Locke to criticise trust in reason and question the nature of causality. ‘Aims and Methods’ discusses Hume's attempts to create a ...
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4. Alienation and reification
Stephen Eric Bronner
in Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Alienation and reification’ explores the concepts of alienation and reification in Karl Marx's Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, and how this affected 20th century Western ...
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6. America
William M. Hamlin
in Montaigne: A Very Short Introduction
What did Montaigne think of the New World? “America” looks at two of his essays, “On Coaches” and “On Cruelty.” Montaigne saw virtue as a sliding scale, seeing natural goodness, including ...
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4. The analysis of knowledge
Jennifer Nagel
in Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction
‘The analysis of knowledge’ begins with Edmund Gettier who challenged the ‘classical analysis of knowledge’ that equates knowledge with justified true belief. His no-false-belief proposal ...
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10. Ancient sex
Gary Gutting
in Foucault: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Towards the end of his life, Foucault’s topic of exploration turned to the ethical formation of the self, which emerged from his analysis of modern power relations. ‘Ancient sex’ looks at ...
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1. Ancient Stoicism and modern life
Brad Inwood
in Stoicism: A Very Short Introduction
In the ancient world of the Greeks and Romans, the idea of philosophy as a way of life had its fullest and clearest development in Stoicism. ‘Ancient Stoicism and modern life’ provides an ...
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7. Animal research
David DeGrazia
in Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction
It is debatable under what conditions animal research is justified. Estimates of the number of animals used worldwide in research range from 41 to 100 million a year. ‘Animal research’ ...
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4. Archaeology
Gary Gutting
in Foucault: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Foucault is mostly regarded as a philosopher, despite the fact that most of his books were histories. He characterized his historic works first as ‘archaeology’ of thought and then later as ...
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3. Are persons real?
Jan Westerhoff
in Reality: A Very Short Introduction
What does it feel like to doubt the self? Some psychological conditions, lead a person to assume that they are dead or deny bodily existence. There is a paradox: how can someone be ...
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4. Are there limits to what we can say or think?
Michael Beaney
in Analytic Philosophy: A Very Short introduction
‘Are there limits to what we can say and think?’ considers the possible limits of our language and whether we can have thoughts that outstrip our ability to say what they are. It introduces ...
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3. Are wholes just sums of parts?
Stephen Mumford
in Metaphysics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Are wholes just sums of parts?’ considers the relation between wholes and their parts. In metaphysics an object is said to be complex, meaning it has parts. But how does a mobile phone ...
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1. Arguing with Plato
Julia Annas
in Plato: A Very Short Introduction
‘Arguing with Plato’ explores the themes of knowledge and belief in Plato's dialogue the Theaetetus, in which Socrates shows faults in all of the accounts of knowledge suggested by young ...
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3. Arguments for the existence of God
Tim Bayne
in Philosophy of Religion: A Very Short Introduction
Is it possible to prove that God exists? There is certainly no shortage of arguments that purport to establish God’s existence, but ‘Arguments for the existence of God’ focuses on three of ...
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7. Art and erōs
Roger Scruton
in Beauty: A Very Short Introduction
‘Art and eros’ focuses on painting, in order to distinguish between erotic art and sexual fantasy. The Platonic view, that eros is the governing principle of beauty in all its forms, ...
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