Continuum Philosophy News

Salomon Maimon online reading group now underway

As I mentioned in a previous post, a summer online reading event was scheduled by the people behind the Perverse Egalitarianism blog for the book Essay on Transcendental Philosophy, by Salomon Maimon.

The discussion is now in full swing since starting a couple of weeks ago and is not only featuring dissections of each chapter, but also additional contributions on related topics such as a post of Maimon's essay 'The Philosophical-Language Confusion' and a post by Mikhail Emelianov on Kant's Transcendental Deduction.  You'll also see one of the book's translators, Nick Midgley, is frequently contributing to the discussion.

You can see a summary page of all of the posts that have already gone up and also of the ones scheduled to follow by clicking here.

Carly

Online reading event kicks off for Mythology, Madness and Laughter

Just a reminder that the reading discussion group over at An und für sich for Mythology, Madness and Laughter: Subjectivity in German Idealism, by Markus Gabriel and Slavoj Žižek is now underway, as of Monday this week (10th May).

There's been two posts so far, so don't worry, you haven't missed too much!  There is also an outline of the scheduled posts for the event (according to this, the next one should be tomorrow):

May 10th – Introduction

May 12th – 1.0

May 14th – 1.1

May 17th – 1.2

May 19th – 1.3

May 21st – 2.0-2.1

May 24th – 2.2-2.4

May 26th – 3.0-3.2

May 28th – 3.3-3.4

May 31st – 3.5-3.7

Hope that you find the posts interesting reading - you'll see that there are already a lot of people joining in and adding to the discussion in the comments.

Carly

'A German Idealism Summer' - two online book events

Hi All

I would like to bring to your attention two imminent book reading events happening on (other) blogs that will make this, as Mikhail Emelianov puts it on one blog, 'a German Idealism Summer'!  The brilliant thing about both events being that as they are happening in the online blogosphere, potentially anyone can participate and join in with the discussions.

Listed in chronological order:

#1 - starts May 10th @ An und für sich

Book discussion of Mythology, Madness and Laughter: Subjectivity in German Idealism, by Markus Gabriel and Slavoj Žižek

The folks at An und für sich, who we've mentioned here on the blog before, are about to begin their reading event for Mythology, Madness and Laughter, which published last year.  Once it kicks off, this event will involve frequent posts (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) that discuss the book in great detail (examining the arguments in each chapter), inviting comments from those also reading along.  You can see other examples of similar events here and here, to see what to expect! 

#2 - starts June 15th (tentative) @ Perverse Egalitarianism

Book discussion of Essay on Transcendental Philosophy, by Salomon Maimon

This reading group event, starting about a month after the one above, is for the Maimon translation that published earlier this year, Essay on Trascendental Philosophy.  From looking at the reading group posts for last year's book (coindidentally by our author, Lee Braver), you can again expect an incredibly in-depth discussion that invites anyone with a copy and the will to join in!

Carly

Author blogs #7: The Notes Taken

This is the 7th - and for now - final post from us in a series that has seen us introduce a wide range of blogs that our authors run or contribute to.

This week's blog, The Notes Taken, is dedicated to one of our favourite things - book reviews!  They review books across philosophy, history, politics, art and fiction with the hope of encouraging debate and discussion in these fields.  Occasionally, you'll find posts on other topics too  - I spotted a recent one on a documentary about North Korea, as well as a post by our author Devin Zane Shaw (who is one of the main contributors to the website), which I notice is somewhat sneakily about his new book, Freedom and Nature in Schelling's Philosophy of Art (December 2010).

The blog is updated frequently with posts by a wide range of people - including guests, with the reviews going into a great deal of depth to make for some thought-provoking reading.

Carly

Author blogs #7: Talking Philosophy (TPM)

I'm sure a lot of you will already be aware of Talking Philosophy, The Philosopher's Magazine blog - but for those of you that don't, here's a little bit about it for our blog post series.  I know I've mentioned it before, but it certainly deserves its own entry here!  And yes, I know, not strictly an 'author blog', but several of our authors do write for it..!

This popular and blog is updated with new posts on practically a daily basis, with its contributors discussing philosophy in a readable and enjoyable format.  Entries can be on virtually anything, from the more serious topics, such as the abortion debate, to more playful articles such as one titled 'Eating too much cake'  What you can be sure of wtih all of the posts to this blog is that they will provoke healthy debates in their comment sections!

I've mentioned before that James Garvey contributes to this blog, but it's also worth mentioning that another of our authors, Jeremy Stangroom also frequently writes; his recent posts have included entries on consensual sex and religious belief.  Jeremy also runs his own blog independently of Talking Philosophy.  Jeremy is co-editor with Julian Baggini, who also contributes to Talking Philosophy, of Great Thinkers A-Z (2004), What Philosophers Think (2005) and What More Philosophers Think (2007).  He also co-wrote the more recent Does God Hate Women? with Ophelia Benson that published last year, which I've mentioned before on this blog as it now has a preview on our website.

Happy reading!

Carly

Author blogs #6: OLP & Literary Studies Online

OLP & Literary Studies Online is a philosophy-literary studies blog written by, and for, academics who work across ordinary language philosophy (OLP) and literary studies. It provides news on relevant publications - particularly noting forthcoming/newly released titles and book reviews - as well as events and more. Recent posts have included notice of our new book Iris Murdoch: Philosophical Novelist - they were even so kind as to post up the content from our own guest blog post by Edward Mooney back last month! Of course, these are my favourite posts but I'm biased - you can find a full index of what they've been posting about here.

Bernie Rhie is technical editor of the website and co-editor of Stanley Cavell and Literary Studies (coming out late 2011 - you'll be able to see more information about this book on our website next year). Cavell is a particular favourite on the OLP blog and they've compiled a helpful bibliography of secondary writings about him, which I'm sure Bernie's book will be joining soon!

Carly

Marketing Executive

Latest Title in the Think Now Series - The Ethics of Metropolitan Growth

For anyone seeking some stimulating weekend reading - and following on nicely from Carly's post yesterday highlighting the blog of series co-editor James Garvey - I can highly recommend the latest title to publish in our Think Now series: The Ethics of Metropolitan Growth - The Future of Our Built Environment.

In this book, Robert Kirkman, Associate Professor of Philosophy in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology, explores the thinking that shapes our built environment, from the decisions of individual homeowners to the planned actions of governments at local and national level. As populations grow and migrate to urban areas and as we begin to face-up to the impacts of our decisions on a changing climate, this is obviously a subject that touches on some huge issues, as well as issues that affect us in our daily lives. So, I think this book is an important contribution to the debate about the future of our environment and I know from having read it that it's a hugely stimulating one as well. You can find more information about the book, including a free preview, here .

In addition, those interested in the subject should keep an eye on Robert Kirkman's blog, where he continues many of the discussions raised in the book. It's definitely worth keeping an eye on and you can find it here.

Author blogs #5: James Garvey's blog and more!

This week, I'm bringing you James Garvey's blogging world - which includes his own website, the Talking Philosophy blog and his recent articles in The Guardian! James is Secretary for the Royal Institute of Philosophy.

James is one of the series editors for our Think Now series and has also written one of our bestselling books of this series; The Ethics of Climate Change (2008).  James's website provides more information about this book and the series, as well as links to further resources on climate change. 

James is also a frequent contributor to Talking Philosophy (blog of The Philosopher's Magazine), where he posts on all kinds of philosophical topics; some recent pieces have been on temptation and being opinionated.  James posts usually get good debates going in the comment sections!  If you haven't checked out Talking Philosophy yet, I do advise it.

It's also worth noting that James often writes articles for The Guardian on matters related to global warming.

James is also the author of The Twenty Greatest Philosophy Books and edits the exciting new reference work Continuum Companion to Philosophy of Mind - coming early next year. He's clearly a busy man!

Carly

Marketing Executive

Author blogs #4: The Immanent Frame: Religion, secularism and the public sphere

The Immanent Frame: Religion, secularism and the public sphere

This is an American interdisciplinary academic blog that boasts contributions from Jurgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, Robert Bellah and more.  Frequently updated, recent posts have included an intriguing discussion of digital media's power to reshape religious practice - with contributions from a team of academic thinkers - it may well be of interest to anyone who often reads blogs!

Patrick Lee Miller, author of the forthcoming Becoming God: Pure Reason in Early Greek Philosophy, also contributes and you can find his profile here.  Patrick tells me that his entries on Heraclitean Spirituality were early versions of what became the second chapter of his book, on Heraclitus (you'll find them if you look at his page).  Becoming God will publish November UK and January 2011 in the US. 

Carly

Marketing Executive

Author blogs #3: Butterflies and Wheels

Hi All,

This week in our author blog series, we've got a website run by two of our authors.

Butterflies and Wheels: Fighting Fashionable Nonsense
This website covers a range of topics, primarily relating to critical thinking and scepticism. It includes news and articles, recommended reads and book reviews, and links to further resources. Other features worth taking a look at include The Woolly-Thinker's Guide to Rhetoric, an amusing collection of tips for 'besting your enemies' and winning philosopical arguments, and the Notes and Comments section, which contains commentaries and observations on recent news.

Contributors include Ophelia Benson (editor of the website) and Jeremy Stangroom, co-authors of Why Truth Matters (2007) and Does God Hate Women? The latter title published last year and explores the role that religion and culture play in the oppression of women and how these issues play out in the community and the political arena. There is an accompanying website you can view here, and a preview is now available here.  

Jenny Collins

Sales & Marketing Intern

Author blogs #2: Brain Hammer (and a preview of the author's new book)

Hi All,

Following on from last week's introduction to our author blog series,  here's this week's featured blog.

Brain Hammer: Pete Mandik's Intermittently Neurophilosophical Weblog
Pete Mandik is the author of Key Terms in Philosophy of Mind (publishing this month!) and his blog covers issues relating to philosophy and cognitive science. It regularly features news and developments in the philosophy community and recent posts have covered the Mind Network, a new UK group being set up to foster a community of researchers in philosophy of mind and cognitive science, and Consciousness Online, a two-week online conference that is currently underway and will be finishing on 5th March. Perhaps it's noteworthy to mention here that Pete has commented that reading his blog 'may be very much like getting hit with a hammer. On the brain', so readers beware!  

There's also a new preview up for Pete's book, Key Terms in Philosophy of Mind. The book is part of our Key Terms series and as such is a reference tool that assumes no prior knowledge of the field.  An introductory chapter provides context and background, while the following chapters offer detailed definitions of key terms and concepts, introductions to the work of key thinkers, summaries of key texts and advice on further reading.  For our US readers, the book will be available in May.

Jenny Collins

Sales & Marketing Intern

Author blogs #1: An und fur sich

Hi All,

As a change from us telling you all about our authors and books, we thought it might be a nice idea to let you see for yourselves what our authors are saying on their own blogs and websites. Over the next few weeks we're going to be featuring different blogs and to kick things off I'd like to start by mentioning one that two of our authors contribute to.

An und für sich
This is an academic group blog dedicated to discussing philosophy, theology, politics and their intersections, and book reviews are often posted. Recent posts have covered topics such as models of theological discourse and the ontological status of stereotypes, both of which include some interesting discussions in the readers' comments. Contributors include Anthony Paul Smith, translator of Future Christ (November 2010), and Adam Kotsko, author of Zizek and Philosophy (2008) and The Politics of Redemption (October 2010).

We hope you'll enjoy taking a look at the websites we feature, and that, as well as learning more about our authors and their interests, you can find some useful philosophy resources in the process (all links are listed at the bottom right of our blog too).

Jenny Collins

Sales & Marketing Intern