Continuum Philosophy News

April: THE month to be born or die in the world of philosophy

With all this talk about today being Shakespeare's birth and death day, I thought I'd see when the big names in philosophy were born and died. I found this handy little resource and, to my surprise, it seems that April is the month to be born or die in the world of philosophy.

 

So here's my pick of the big names who came into the world, who shuffled off this mortal coil, and the select few that - like Shakespeare - managed to do both in the month of April... in the form of shameless links to previews of our books by or about them!

 

Births

Starting with the cheery, a rousing happy birthday (belated and premature) to all of the following...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas Hobbes - b. 5th April 1588

Immanuel Kant - b. 22nd April 1724

Marcus Aurelias - b. 26th April 121

Georg Lukács - b. 13th April 1885

David Hume - b. 26th April 1711

 

Deaths

We lost some great thinkers in Aprils gone by, so spare a moment to consider the impact of these big names...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simone de Beauvoir - d. 14th April 1986

Jean-Paul Sartre - d. 15th April 1980

Dietrich Bonhoeffer - d. 9th April 1945

 

 

 

 

Special Mentions

Finally, a very special mention to these following two philosophers, who were born and then later died in the same month...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edmund Husserl - b. 8th April 1859 and d. 26th April 1938

Ludwig Wittgenstein - b. 26th April 1889 and d. 29th April 1951

 

So, in conclusion, a note to all budding philosophers out there: If you were born in April, you're probably on to a winner.

 

Charlotte Hoare

Marketing Executive

UK and Rest of World

Just landed on my desk: Morality and the Movies

I tweeted a while back saying how excited I was for this book, so I was thrilled this week when I came in to work to find an advanced copy of Dan Shaw's Morality and the Movies sitting on my desk.

 

This fantastic new book presents the ideal introduction to philosophical ethics for film lovers. Dan Shaw uses a series of sixteen popular films to illustrate all the major ethical theories and key contemporary moral issues. The book provides a brief summary and philosophical interpretation of each film, with reference throughout to primary philosophical sources. A unique pedagogical feature is that each chapter begins with a five-step summary of the theoretical position in question and a critical evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses through a specific film.

Topics covered include:

 

• divine authority
• the social contract
• moral relativism
• virtue ethics
• freedom and determinism
• euthanasia
• capital punishment
• war and terrorism
• abortion
• business ethics

 

Ideal for undergraduate students coming to philosophical ethics for the first time, this book utilises popular film to introduce a central topic in the study of philosophy.

 

If that's not enough to get you excited, take a look at some of the films covered:

 

 

Some absolute classics there!

 

There's also tips after each chapter for further films on the topic covered, for example in the chapter 'The Ethics of Business in Wall Street', Shaw also recommends Blue Collar, The Social Network and, of course, the sequel to the main film covered, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. (Personally though, I wouldn't recommend the last one. It's pretty terrible. Even Shia LaBeouf's face can't save it.) These handy extra features really do make Morality and the Movies an accessible and truly invaluable tool for students.

 

You don't have to just trust me though, Thomas Wartenberg from Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts had this to say:

 

"Shaw makes morality go down as easily as a bag of popcorn.No more will philosophy be dull.I can only wish that I had had a text like Morality and the Movies when I was a student just encountering ethics.This book is certain to engage students, as they discover they were already thinking about morality when they were watching movies."

 

So, be sure to take a look at the exclusive preview above and send for your inspection copy today. What other films do you think would fit with ethical analysis? Tweet me your ideas to @ContinuumPhilos or comment here, I'd love to hear them!

 

Finally, and because I just can't let it go unmentioned, how cool is the cover?! I love it - one of my favourites of the year so far. Definitely one to show off at the Film-Philosophy conference in September!

 

Charlotte Hoare

Marketing Executive UK and Rest of World

New Lautman translation

Continuing the trend of publishing English translations of key texts in modern European philosophy, we are delighted to be publishing the first English translation of Albert Lautman's published works between 1933 and his untimely death at the hands of the Nazis in 1944 , collected together in Mathematics, Ideas and the Physical Real (translated by Simon Duffy). Lautman was a major figure in philosophy of mathematics and a key influence on Deleuze and Badiou, amongst others. His work played a crucial role in the history of contemporary French philosophy and his ideas remain a major touchstone in the development of contemporary engagements with mathematics. This collection of his major writings is long overdue in English and offers readers a much-needed insight into his influence on the development of mathematics and philosophy. A must-read for all fans of Deleuze and Badiou.

Free Will: A Guide for the Perplexed by T.J. Mawson

It is perhaps surprising that free will has not been covered in our Guides for the Perplexed series before now, so central is it as a topic for debate at all levels of study, both in philosophy and philosophy of religion. However, that oversight has now been rectified with the publication of T.J. Mawson’s fine contribution to the series. Dr. Mawson, a Fellow and Tutor at St. Peter’s College (University of Oxford), has, in the spirit of the series, attempted to narrow in upon and unravel those aspect of free will that students find especially problematic and difficult (no small undertaking).

"An engagingly-written and thought-provoking introduction to the free will problem, full of innovative examples and arguments; and at the same time an original defense of a distinctive libertarian view of free will." -- Robert Kane, University Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy Emeritus and Professor of Law at The University of Texas at Austin, and editor of The Oxford Handbook of Free Will.

"Stimulating and engaging: Mawson is a genial guide, drawing the reader into an extended conversation on a perennially perplexing problem of philosophy. The standard ground is covered, but with regular original touches – and, if perplexity is not removed altogether by Mawson’s common sense defence of an agent-causalist libertarianism, at least it will be a perplexity better understood." -- John Bishop, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Auckland, New Zealand

I was also pleased to be notified this morning of a rather nice review of Kerry Walter's Atheism: A Guide for the Perplexed in the most recent issue of Religion and Theology:

"It is hard to fault with what is an excellent contribution to Continuum’s generally excellent ‘A Guide for the Perplexed’ series. Walters has achieved what he says he is setting out to achieve, an introduction that moves beyond the pyrotechnics and polemics of the protagonists to even-handedly describe, in plain English, the arguments for and against atheism. [...] With this Guide Walters has provided an introduction that will be either an invaluable textbook for undergraduates navigating their way into new academic territory or an important single read for general readers interested in trying to make sense of what is clearly an important area of contemporary debate that will yet have a long way to run. Walters skillfully directs his readers around the intricacies of what can be (literally) dispiriting debates, and his list of works cited is an invaluable." -- Religion and Theology

 Haaris Naqvi
Acquisitions Editor | Philosophy of Religion

Deleuze and World Cinemas

From my window on the fifth floor of the Tower Building here at Waterloo, I have a fantastic view of London's South Bank Centre, home of the British Film Institute which hosts screenings of the best of world cinema (as well as one of my favourite bars!). Gazing out of the window today, I was reminded that I haven't yet announced the publication of a book on that very topic, Deleuze and World Cinemas by David Martin-Jones. Deleuze’s Cinema books continue to cause controversy. Although they offer radical new ways of understanding cinema, his conclusions often seem strikingly Eurocentric. Deleuze and World Cinemas explores what happens when Deleuze’s ideas are brought into contact with the films he did not discuss, those from Europe and the USA (from Georges Méliès to Michael Mann) and a range of world cinemas – including Bollywood blockbusters, Hong Kong action movies, Argentine melodramas and South Korean science fiction movies. This is an original and exciting book that will make a very valuable contribution to our ever-vibrant publishing in Deleuze Studies.

Sarah

PS. Watch this space for a new series, Deleuze Encounters (edited by Ian Buchanan), the first titles in which are due out later this year.

New year, more new books...

Welcome to 2011! A very happy new year to you all - I hope it was a restful break for everyone. This is set to be another exciting year for the Continuum Philosophy list. And what better way to kick things off than with not one, not two, but three new textbooks - ideal for kickstarting your students into the new year.

The first, Phenomenology: An Introduction by Michael Lewis and Tanja Staehler, offers an introduction to the history and methods of phenomenology through the study of four key thinkers: Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre and Merleau-Ponty.

Secondly, Philosophical Logic: An Introduction to Advanced Topics by George Englebretsen and Charles Sayward introduces students to non-classical logic, syllogistic, to quantificational and modal logic. It includes exercises throughout and a glossary of terms and symbols.

Finally, Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Reasoning Well by Jamie Carlin Watson and Robert Arp is a concise and accessible introduction to logic and critical reasoning for beginning students. Designed for classroom use, it equips students with the tools they need to think critically, reason and argue well.

All three book are available to preview below.

Sarah

 

Patrick Lee Miller's 'Crosswise Christ' posts at The Immanent Frame

Patrick Lee Miller, author of Becoming God: Pure Reason in Early Greek Philosophy (just published in the UK), has begun a four-part post series, 'Crosswise Christ', on blog The Immanent Frame: Secularism, religion, and the public sphere.

The posts will draw on the ideas of Becoming God - in which Miller draws together some of the earliest thoughts on God, reason and selfhood in Greek philosophical and religious thought and offers fresh interpretations of its early figures.

So if, you're interested in these research areas, so far you can view #1 Love and Reason and #2 Truth in Conflict and #3 Crosswise Logic, with #4 Immortal Mortal to follow soon.  All posts are collected here.

Carly

Starting with Locke, Leibniz and Kierkegaard

Before we all head off the Christmas holidays, a quick word about three new titles recently published or soon forthcoming in our Starting with series - perfect holiday reading for your students! I'm delighted to announce Starting with Locke by Greg Forster, Starting with Leibniz by Roger Woolhouse and Starting with Kierkegaard by Patrick Sheil. Each book provides an introduction to one of the major philosophers studied on any philosophy degree programme, guiding students through his key concepts and the development of his ideas - ideal for students coming to philosophy for the first time. Previews for all three books below.

And with that let me wish you all a very happy holiday - see you in 2011!

Sarah

 

Aristotle, Parmenides and Becoming God

With all the new translations and textbooks coming out on the list lately, I haven't had a chance to blog about our monograph publishing for a while. But the steady stream of cutting-edge scholarship publishing in our various monograph series continues apace and I am delighted to be able to tell you about not one, not two, but three new titles recently published in the Continuum Studies in Ancient Philosophy series. Techne in Aristotle's Ethics by Tom Angier (University of Kent) argues for the importance of the concept of 'techne' in constructing a new understanding of Aristotle's moral philosophy. Parmenides, Plato and Mortal Philosophy by Vishwa Adluri (Hunter College, CUNY) explores Parmenides' philosophy and its influence on Plato and other later thinkers through philosophical and literary analysis. And Becoming God by Patrick Lee Miller (Duquesne University) offers a lucid presentation of the first and most influential attempts to weave together philosophical thought on God, reason and happiness in early Greek philosophy. All three titles are available to preview below. Enjoy!

Sarah

 

Mary Warnock interviewed by Theos (the public theology think tank)

Theos interview Mary Warnock on why she wrote Dishonest to God: On Keeping Religion out of Politics

What role should Christianity have in contemporary politics? What moral framework should underpin our laws? Are there absolutes to be drawn on in public policy or is it all a matter of perceived consequences?

These are the questions leading Theos's interview with Mary Warnock, which is now online for everyone interested in these moral issues.

Carly

 

New series: Key Thinkers

In celebration of World Philosophy Day, I'm bringing you news of a brand new series for philosophy and the first book that has now published in it. 

The series is Key Thinkers and books in this series are aimed at providing guides for students to the key thinkers in central topics in philosophy, offering a survey of their major works and analysing the evolution of the main ideas in that area.

The first book I can tell you about is Philosophy of Religion: The Key Thinkers, which covers thinkers such as Anselm, Aquinas, Pascal, Hume, Kant, Paley and James. Looking at the history of the philosophy of religion, chapters clearly illustrate the most important attempts to address such crucial issues as the ontological argument, the cosmological argument, the problem of evil, miracles, the moral argument, the design argument, religious experience and the idea of god.

Next year two more books will join the series for the philosophy of language and the philosophy of science (and I'll let you into a little sercret; three more are on their way for epistemology, aesthetics and ethics).

Hope you enjoy the preview and if you're a lecturer, you are welcome to order an inspection copy of books in the series using this order form.

Carly

... and Philosophies of Difference!

I was away for a short break last week and returned to find an advance copy of our translation of Laruelle's Philosophies of Difference had arrived on my desk, a very happy companion for Future Christ. Together they represent for me a major publishing event and I am delighted to be able to bring this extraordinary French thinker to an English-speaking audience for the first time. Philosophies of Difference is a crucial text in Laruelle's oeuvre and, as John Mullarkey comments on the back cover, 'an excellent entry-point for the Anglophone reader in this absolutely democratic vision of thought'.

Sarah

PS. Tomorrow is World Philosophy Day - on behalf of everyone at Continuum, I hope it is a happy and insightful one for you!

Preview of Laruelle's Future Christ

I was delighted to receive this morning the first advance copy of our translation of Francois Laruelle's Future Christ (translated by Anthony Paul Smith). This is a major publishing event - the first time one of Laruelle's major texts has been available in English - and I am very proud to be able to bring one of the most exciting voices in French philosophy to an English-speaking audience for the first time. The book itself opens up novel ways of thinking within existing religious and philosophical thought and marks an incisive and wide-ranging engagement with key contemporary debates in philosophy and theology.

A preview of the translation is available now - enjoy!

Sarah

On animal rights and the privatisation of the military - 2 new Think Now books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We're pleased to announce two new books for the Think Now series this autumn. 

First up (left image), Beyond Animal Rights: Food, Pets and Ethics (October UK, December US), sees Tony Milligan ask a crucial question: what sort of people do we have to become if we are to sufficiently improve the ways in which we relate to the non-human? He takes a look at our direct and personal relations with animals to offer guidance on all the relevant issues, including veganism and vegetarianism, the organic movement, pet ownership and animal experimentation.

Moving away from animal rights completely, Just Warriors Inc.: The Ethics of Privatized Force (November UK, January US), is Deane-Peter Baker's look at the moral issues surrounding the use of private military contractors and mercenaries in war. Often met with hostility, Deane-Peter instead offers a compelling case for the ongoing use of the services these 'private warriors' offer.

I'm happy to say that these two look set to be as thought-provoking and challenging as the other books in the series!

Carly

Times Higher Education 'applauds' Derrida: Profanations

A review of Derrida: Profanations has published in today's edition of Times Higher Education - and as THE publish all their reviews online too, you can read it for yourself here.

What I particularly like about this review is that the reviewer appreciates the book because it's an 'important but obscure interpretation of Derrida's work' - it's nice that the book is being recognised and enjoyed for its orginality!

The reviewer, Robert Eaglestone (Royal Holloway, UK) also admires us for publishing it - which is always good to hear! I'll leave you with his closing thoughts: 'Continuum should be applauded for publishing it. On the savannah of academic publishing, there are, of course, books that are great beasts, audible to all as they roar; there are herds of textbooks, to be hunted and fed upon; and then there are smaller creatures, often unglamorous and seen only by a few but that are absolutely essential to the ecosystem. Without them the whole savannah becomes stale and lifeless: with them it calls out to life. This book is one of those: less a profanation, perhaps, than a provocation.'

Carly

Guest post: Tony Milligan on vegetarianism

This month sees the publication of Beyond Animal Rights by Tony Milligan in our Think Now series. The book explores our responsibilities to the animals with whom we share the planet, an issue that remains at the heart of public debate. In his guest post below, Tony talks a bit more about a topic that has personal significance for him and his family.

Sarah

PS. Watch out later this week for a guest post from another Think Now author, Deane-Peter Baker on the role (and definition) of mercenaries.

Key Terms in Philosophy - three new titles

I'm delighted to have not one, but three new books to tell you about in our Key Terms series: Key Terms in Logic edited by Jon Williamson and Federico Russo (both University of Kent, UK), Key Terms in Philosophy of Religion by Raymon J. VanArragon (Bethel University, USA) and Key Terms in Ethics by Oskari Kuusela (University of East Anglia, UK). The Key Terms books offer students clear, concise and accessible introductions to the core topics in philosophy. They are easy to navigate and ideal as a reference tool for students starting out in the subject - perfect recommended reading for introductory courses. We hope you and your students will find them invaluable. Previews for all three books are available now.

Sarah Campbell Publisher, Philosophy

Nina Power for The Guardian on The Sexual Politics of Meat

“The connections traced between rampant masculinity, misogyny, carnivorism, and militarism operate as powerfully today as when Carol Adams first diagnosed them twenty years ago," J. M. Coetzee, on The Sexual Politics of Meat

In the Comment is Free section of The Guardian's website today, Nina Power agrees with Coetzee that the book is still as relevant now as it was back then - particularly with the likes of Lady Gaga deciding to pose in a meat bikini!

Please read the article (and the hundreds of comments) here and you can preview the book if you're interested in seeing what the fuss is all about!

Carly

How to Be a Philosopher - the exclusive first look

The first peek at How to Be a Philosopher: or How to Be Almost Certain that Almost Nothing is Certain by Gary Cox [extract taken from Chapter 2, also including Contents and Index]

I've been excited about this book ever since I first heard it was coming up, probably about a year ago now, following hot on the heels of one of our bestselling 'pop philosophy' books How to Be an Existentialist, also by the same author. 

What I love about this book sums up what I love about the Philosophy list here in general - alongside our serious academic publishing, we have another book that demonstrates one of our authors breaking the subject down so that anyone and everyone can get involved.  And it has a beautiful cover - I can't help but be superficial!

Copies of the book landed on my desk this morning, which means they'll be hitting bookshops in the UK in the next week or so (hold on for a couple of months in the US)!

From the book's blurb...

How to Be A Philosopher will help you:

• Think, talk, argue and persuade like a philosopher.
• Win every agument by tying people in philosophical knots.
• Ask questions and raise doubts about things most people take for granted.
• Realise that almost nothing is certain.
• Get the absolute final word on that question about a falling tree.

What more could you want!

Carly

NDPR review Lost Intimacy in American Thought

We're always pleased to see reviews - so Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews have made our day by putting up a detailed one of Lost Intimacy in American Thought: Recovering Personal Philosophy from Thoreau to Cavell by Edward F. Mooney where reviewer, Tim Gould, praises the book's 'power', calling it 'eloquent and challenging'. Read the full review.

To remind you, this book engages Henry David Thoreau, Stanley Cavell, Hanna Arendt, Henry Bugbee, Henry James, Bruce Wilshire, and others as exemplars of intimate, transformational writing and was out late last year.  Edward Mooney (Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Syracuse University, NY, USA) also wrote a guest post for us talking about the book which can still be viewed here.

Carly