This volume contains a unique theological-philosophical text in Syriac known as the Book on the Knowledge of the Truth, or the Cause of Causes. The author describes it as “a common book for all peoples under heaven.”

This volume presents, in Syriac and English, Job of Edessa’s encyclopedic work covering all manner of scientific topics. It will be of interest to readers interested in Aristotelianism and the intellectual climate of the Middle East around the ninth century.

Written in the period affected by the Neo-Scholastic movement in philosophy, Perrier’s well-known treatment of the subject is still ubiquitously cited. This handy resource lays out the premises of Scholasticism and traces its development up to the author’s time.

In Philosophical Inquiries, Nicholas Rescher offers his perspectives on many of the foundational concerns of philosophy and reminds us that the purpose of philosophy is to \u201cquestion the questions.\u201d Rescher sees the need to inquire as an evolutionary tool for adapting to a hostile environment and shows how philosophy has thus developed in an evolutionary fashion, building upon acquired knowledge and upon itself. In a historical thread that informs and enriches his overview, Rescher recalls the contributions of Aristotle, Plato, Plotinus, Kant, Hegel, Leibniz, Laplace, Bertrand Russell, and others. Among his many topics, Rescher discusses knowledge and the unattainablity of absolutes, skepticism and its self-defeating nature, the limits of science vs. the limits of cognition, refuting reality as mind-independent, and idealism and divining our role in nature. He considers the universe and intelligence as the product of intelligent design, science and religion as non-conflicting and purposeful pursuits, and determinism and other fallacies surrounding the concept of free will. Rescher views morality in its hierarchal structure, its applicability to human coexistence, and its ontological commitment to the enhancement of value for ourselves and our world. He examines questions of authority and the problem of judging past actions or knowledge by present standards. Overall, he argues for philosophy as an unavoidable tool for rational, cogent responses to large questions.

Having lived for many years in Beirut, John Wortabet grew to know much about the Islamic world. Recognizing the wisdom and integrity of the people and religion of what was then known as Syria, Wortabet set about to preserve the essentials of Arabic wisdom in this little book. The wisdom saying, a literary form of ancient pedigree in this part of the world, is generally a brief but pointed statement of a truth distilled from careful observation. Wortabet here presents these saying arranged according to topic, with the goal of facilitating understanding between the wider world and those who live in what has become a very unsettled region.

Makings of the Sea is an inquiry into the makings of the Mediterranean imagination in the 20th century, focusing on specific cases in the visual and performing arts, music and literature. It also questions a number of populist perceptions of the Mediterranean and its cultures. Following a thematic structure that falls broadly under the headings of journey, doubt and nostalgia, this is an essay on Mediterranean aesthetics.

In addition to war, terrorism, and unchecked military violence, modernity is also subject to less visible but no less venomous conflicts. Global in nature, these "culture wars" exacerbate the tensions between tradition and innovation, virtue and freedom. Internationally acclaimed scholar Fred Dallmayr charts a course beyond these persistent but curable dichotomies in Integral Pluralism: Beyond Culture Wars. Consulting diverse fields such as philosophy, literature, political science, and religious studies, Dallmayr equates modern history with a process of steady pluralization. This process, which Dallmayr calls "integral pluralism," requires new connections and creates ethical responsibilities.Dallmayr critically compares integral pluralism against the theories of Carl Schmitt, the Religious Right, international "realism," and so-called political Islam. Drawing on the works of James, Heidegger, Gadamer, and Merleau-Ponty, Integral Pluralism offers sophisticated and carefully researched solutions for the conflicts of the modern world.

Thomas Kuhn is viewed as one of the most influential (and controversial) philosophers of science, and this re-release of a classic examination of one of his seminal works reflects his continuing importance. In World Changes, the contributors examine the work of Kuhn from a broad philosophical perspective, comparing earlier logical empiricism and logical positivism with the new philosophy of science inspired by Kuhn in the early 1960s. The nine chapters offer interpretations of his major work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and subsequent writings. The introduction outlines the significant concepts of Kuhn's work that are examined and is followed by a brief appraisal of Kuhn by Carl Hempel. The chapters discuss topics that include: a systematic comparison of Kuhn and Carnap viewing similarities and differences; the disputation of absolute truth; rational theory evaluation and comparison; applying theory to observation and the relation of models in a new conceptualization of theory content; and interpreting Kuhn's plurality-of-worlds thesis. The volume also presents four historical papers that speak to Kuhn's views on lexical structures and concept-formation and their antecedents. The afterward, by Kuhn himself, reviews his own philosophical development, his thoughts on the dynamics of scientific growth, and his response to issues raised by the contributors and other interpreters of his work.

The authors present a number of case studies, from the Middle Age to present time, about how the past has been made meaningful and relevant to people living in later periods. It is the process of selecting, interpreting and passing on meaning that we call negotiating the past. This process is loaded with tension in part stemming from the past itself, but which is often due to the various agents involved in the process as they represent different interests, understandings and points of view. At the same time, the process is marked by a wish to come to terms with unknown conditions, to develop some consensus, again not only with the past, but also with one's contemporaries. These dynamic and dialogical processes do not only concern the past as in "history", but rather a number of pasts, which are sometimes in conflict, but at other times harmoniously complement each other. The book should be viewed as a contribution to the international and interdisciplinary field of collective memory, which has grown large over the last decades. Today, studies of commemorations and festivals, monuments, exhibitions and museums, historical films and narratives are numerous, and terms such as social memory, collective or collected memory, lieux de mémoire all demonstrate the scholarly interest in how the past - or images of it - is constructed, composed and built up, but also demolished, dismantled and rejected. To learn more about the processes when dealing with the past is an important key to understanding why and how societies and communities change and evolve. The authors are Norwegian, Danish and Swedish scholars who have collaborated in a network on the subject between 2007 and 2009. They are employed at universities and university libraries throughout Scandinavia. Contributors: Anders Berge; Brita Brenna; Bernard Eric Jensen; Helge Jordheim; Kyrre Kverndokk; Anne Birgitte Rønning; Leiv Sem; Karen Skovgaard-Petersen; Erling Sverdrup Sandmo; Anna Wallette.

Leech argues against a simplistic view of the Greeks as radical fatalists, underlining their view of the equally prevalent Greek ideas of individual freedom and self-determination.

The Book of Conversation of Wisdom is a compendium of Aristotelian philosophy by Barhebraeus in four chapters: logic, the natural sciences, metaphysics and religious matters. This facsimile edition reproduces a manuscript transcribed in 1902.

A group of ethnologists and anthropologists demonstrate creative ways of relating phenomenology to the study of culture. In a detailed introduction the reader is given an overview of how perspectives like 'being' and 'life-world' can be applied to studies of everyday life. The historical background as well as the value of fieldwork and the importance of simply 'being there' are also presented. Seven scholars write-about diaspora, multiculturalism, xenophobia, and violence; about Nordic theme parks, European regionalism, and the celebration of national holidays. Experience, body, emotions, place, action and material culture are key concepts in this book. The authors show how culture can be understood from how it 'happens', more than what it 'is', how the world became filled with meanings rather than interpretations. The book is intended for a broad spectrum of readers within the fields of cultural and behavioural sciences. Contributors include Nils Gilje, professor of philosophy and cultural studies, Michael Jackson, renowned professor of anthropology, and Jonas Frykman, professor of ethnology.

The word apory stems from the Greek aporia, meaning impasse or perplexing difficulty. In Aporetics, Nicholas Rescher defines an apory as a group of individually plausible but collectively incompatible theses. Rescher examines historic, formulaic, and systematic apories and couples these with aporetic theory from other authors to form this original and comprehensive survey. Citing thinkers from the pre-Socratics through Spinoza, Hegel, and Nicolai Hartmann, he builds a framework for coping with the complexities of divergent theses, and shows in detail how aporetic analysis can be applied to a variety of fields including philosophy, mathematics, linguistics, logic, and intellectual history.Rescher's in-depth examination reveals how aporetic inconsistency can be managed through a plausibility analysis that breaks the chain of inconsistency at its weakest link by deploying right-of-way precedence based on considerations of cognitive centrality. Thus while involvement with cognitive conflicts and inconsistencies are pervasive in human thought, aporetic analysis can provide an effective means of damage control.

Noted American philosopher Albert Balz offers his observations on the concepts of idea and essence as reflected in the philosophers Hobbes and Spinoza.

When educator William Rabenort looked at Spinoza he saw an educator. This little book on educational theory is built on the thought of Spinoza.

Football and Philosophy: Going Deep investigates many of the issues surrounding the nation's biggest sport. From a review of the flaws of the Bowl Championship Series, to a study of the violence inherent in the game, to an examination of Vince Lombardi's views on winning, the essays in this collection tackle the moral and philosophical principles behind gridiron competition. The result is an insightful, humorous, and original book that will engage all fans of the game.