George Easton
1) 2024
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It is 2024, and Keith Richards is about to be sworn in as the next president of the United States. President-Elect Richards, a member of the new Republican Tea Party, is intent on spreading a new message of hope between the warring parties now in power. The public is thrilled. His party is irate. Just as he takes his oath and America begins to celebrate, shots ring out. Seconds later, the new president is dead, and the vice president elect is now...
2) Gorgias
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One of the middle or transitional dialogues of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, "Gorgias" depicts a dinner gathering attended by Socrates and a group of sophists. Gorgias, a foreigner, has been drawn to Athens by its cultural and intellectual sophistication. In this dialogue Plato contrasts Gorgias, the rhetorician, with Socrates, the philosopher, whose differing specialties are persuasion and refutation, respectively. As Plato delves into arguments...
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German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche was one the most controversial figures of the 19th century. His evocative writings on religion, morality, culture, philosophy, and science were often polemic attacks against the established views of his time. First published in 1887, "The Genealogy of Morals," is a work, which follows and expands upon the principles of his previous works, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" and "Beyond Good and Evil." In a preface and...
4) Protagoras
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Plato's "Protagoras" is a series of debates or arguments between Socrates and the elderly Protagoras, who was a well-known Sophist. Socrates was deeply critical of the Sophists, who were teachers or wise men who charged money for educating students and dispensing wisdom. He believed them to be corrupt and dangerous men, who could lead their pupils astray. In Plato's dialogue, Socrates challenges Protagoras and his beliefs in front of an audience of...
5) Timaeus
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Of all the writings of Plato the Timaeus is the most obscure and repulsive to the modern reader, and has nevertheless had the greatest influence over the ancient and mediaeval world. The obscurity arises in the infancy of physical science, out of the confusion of theological, mathematical, and physiological notions, out of the desire to conceive the whole of nature without any adequate knowledge of the parts, and from a greater perception of similarities...
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Preeminent American philosopher and educator John Dewey (1859-1952) rejected Hegelian idealism for the pragmatism of William James. In this collection of informal originally published between 1897 and 1909, Dewey articulates his now classic philosophical concepts of knowledge and truth and the nature of reality. Here Dewey introduces his scientific method and uses critical intelligence to reject the traditional ways of viewing philosophical discourse....
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This book has grown out of an attempt to harmonize two different tendencies, one in psychology, the other in physics, with both of which I find myself in sympathy, although at first sight they might seem inconsistent. On the one hand, many psychologists, especially those of the behaviorist school, tend to adopt what is essentially a materialistic position, as a matter of method if not of metaphysics. They make psychology increasingly dependent on...
8) Utopia
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Utopia, a term coined by Thomas More from the Greek meaning "nowhere," envisions an imaginary island where a perfect society flourishes. This groundbreaking work of socio-political satire, divided into two books, offers a detailed account of the customs, governance, and daily life within this ideal community.
In Book One, More crafts a narrative through correspondence with real-life acquaintances he met across Europe, lending credibility to his fictional...
9) How We Think
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"How We Think" by John Dewey is a groundbreaking exploration of the process of thinking and its role in education and problem-solving. In this influential work, Dewey delves into the nature of intelligence, inquiry, and reflective thought, offering valuable insights into how individuals can enhance their thinking abilities and engage in meaningful learning experiences. The book begins by challenging traditional notions of thinking as a passive, linear...
10) Pragmatism
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William James, who has been called the "father of American psychology", was one of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century. Along with Charles Sanders Peirce, William James established the school of thought known as "Pragmatism", a philosophy which rejected the idea that language and thought exists simply to represent nature, but rather it must be useful in transacting with nature, in predicting outcomes, and solving problems. First published...
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Ancient accounts of Aristotle credit him with 170 Constitutions of various states; it is widely assumed that these were research for the Politics, and that many of them were written or drafted by his students. Athens, however, was a particularly important state, and where Aristotle was living at the time; it is plausible that, even if students did the others, Aristotle did that one himself, and possible that it was intended as a model for the rest....
12) On the Heavens
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THE science which has to do with nature clearly concerns itself for the most part with bodies and magnitudes and their properties and movements, but also with the principles of this sort of substance, as many as they may be. For of things constituted by nature, some are bodies and magnitudes, some possess body and magnitude, and some are principles of things which possess these. Now a continuum is that which is divisible into parts always capable...
13) Phaedrus
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Plato's "Phaedrus" is a dialogue between Phaedrus and the great Greek philosopher Socrates. Phaedrus has been spending the morning with Lysias, the celebrated rhetorician, and is going to refresh himself by taking a walk outside the wall, when he is met by Socrates, who professes that he will not leave him until he has delivered up the speech with which Lysias has regaled him, and which he is carrying about in his mind, or more probably in a book...
14) Cratylus
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The Cratylus, Plato's sole dialogue devoted to the relation between language and reality, is acknowledged to be one of his masterpieces. But owing to its often enigmatic content no more than a handful of passages from it have played a part in the global evaluation of Plato's philosophy. This new English translation by C D C Reeve is the first since 1926, and incomparably the most helpful and accessible now available. It opens up the Cratylus to all...
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OUR next task is to study coming-to-be and passing-away. We are to distinguish the causes, and to state the definitions, of these processes considered in general, as changes predicable uniformly of all the things that come-to-be and pass-away by nature. Further, we are to study growth and 'alteration'. We must inquire what each of them is; and whether 'alteration' is to be, identified with coming-to-be, or whether to these different names there correspond...
16) Sophist
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The "Sophist" is a Platonic dialogue from the philosopher's late period, most likely written in 360 BC. Its main theme is to identify what a sophist is and how a sophist differs from a philosopher and statesman. Because each seems distinguished by a particular form of knowledge, the dialogue continues some of the lines of inquiry pursued in the epistemological dialogue, Theaetetus, which is said to have taken place the day before. Because the Sophist...
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Dive deep into the realms of moral philosophy with the timeless classic, "The Critique of Practical Reason" by Immanuel Kant, now available as a convenient ebook. This seminal work, first published in 1788, continues to influence philosophical thought and ethical discourse to this day. In this compelling treatise, Kant explores the foundations of morality, the concept of free will, and the role of autonomy in crafting a meaningful life.
Through his...
18) What Is Art?
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While Tolstoy may be best remembered as the talented Russian author of such monumentally great works as "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina", he also wrote prolifically in essay format on various subjects. In this volume Tolstoy turns his attention to the study of aesthetics and art in all its forms. Based on fifteen years of research, "What is Art?" is Tolstoy's intellectual exposition into answering the titular question. Rich with criticism for his...
19) Statesman
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In Plato's Statesman, the dialogue delves into the nature of political power and the true essence of leadership. Through a conversation between Socrates, his students, and a mysterious philosopher known as the "visitor" from Elea, the text explores the specialized knowledge required to govern justly and effectively.
By examining the social divisions necessary for proper governance, Statesman offers profound insights into the complexities...
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"Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic" is French philosopher Henri Bergson's treatise on laughter and the timeless role of comedy in human society. Originally published in three parts in French in 1900 and translated into English in 1924, Bergson makes three essential observations about laughter and comedy. First, that comedy is a necessary human behavior and acts as a sort of caricature or parody of essential human activities and behaviors....