Is there any real truth? How can we know? Can we know? Philosopher William James offered a famous answer: truth is what works, what comes to be good, useful or satisfactory for human beings as they li
We Americans have always thought of ourselves as a young country -- brash, innovative, full of vigor. However, the uncomfortable truth is that America is getting older. The nation's median age was twe
How meaning works―from monkey calls to human language, from spoken language to sign language, from gestures to music―and how meaning is connected to truth.We communicate through language, connecting what we mean to the words we say. But humans convey meaning in other ways as well, with facial expressions, hand gestures, and other methods. Animals, too, can get their meanings across without words. In What It All Means, linguist Philippe Schlenker explains how meaning works, from monkey calls to human language, from spoken language to sign language, from gestures to music. He shows that these extraordinarily diverse types of meaning can be studied and compared within a unified approach―one in which the notion of truth plays a central role. “It’s just semantics” is often said dismissively. But Schlenker shows that semantics―the study of meaning―is an unsung success of modern linguistics, a way to investigate some of the deepest questions about human nature using tools from the empirical a
The Essence of Truth must count as one of Heidegger's most important works, for nowhere else does he give a comparably thorough explanation of what is arguably the most fundamental and abiding theme o
While many pastoral ministry books focus on the practical duties of the pastor, few works actually consider how theological truth defines the pastor’s role and responsibilities. These pragmatic minist
Unamuno's long essay on Christianity as a state of agony is followed by nine essays including "Nicodemus the Pharisee," "Faith," and "What is Truth?"Originally published
Unamuno's long essay on Christianity as a state of agony is followed by nine essays including "Nicodemus the Pharisee," "Faith," and "What is Truth?"Originally published
Between 1878 and 1882, Nietzsche published what he called 'the free spirit works': Human, All Too Human; Assorted Opinions and Maxims; The Wanderer and His Shadow; Daybreak; and The Gay Science. Often approached as a mere assemblage of loosely connected aphorisms, these works are here re-interpreted as a coherent narrative of the steps Nietzsche takes in educating himself toward freedom that executes a dialectic between scientific truth-seeking and artistic life-affirmation. Matthew Meyer's new reading of these works not only provides a more convincing explanation of their content but also makes better sense of the relationship between them and Nietzsche's larger oeuvre. His argument shows how these texts can and should be read as a unified project even while they present multiple, in some cases conflicting, images of the free spirit. The book will appeal to anyone who is interested in Nietzsche's philosophy and especially to those puzzled about how to understand the peculiarities of t
A gifted critic offers a spirited, polemical perspective on key works of Holocaust literature What is the difference between writing a novel about the Holocaust and fabricating a memoir? Do narrative
FROM THE WINNERS OF THE 2019 NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS'Refreshingly original, wonderfully insightful . . .an entirely new perspective' GuardianWhy would a man in Morocco who doesn't have enough to eat buy a television?Why do the poorest people in India spend 7 percent of their food budget on sugar?Does having lots of children actually make you poorer?This eye-opening book overturns the myths about what it is like to live on very little, revealing the unexpected decisions that millions of people make every day. Looking at some of the most paradoxical aspects of life below the poverty line - why the poor need to borrow in order to save, why incentives that seem effective to us may not be for them, and why, despite being more risk-taking than high financiers, they start businesses but rarely grow them - Banerjee and Duflo offer a new understanding of the surprising way the world really works. Winner of the FT Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award 2011
Darcy Flynn, a former police officer in East Quay, works as a night guard and a private investigator. Framed for a bad shooting while on the force, she is set on finding out the truth about what happe
Why do critics feel impelled to unmask and demystify the works that they read? What is the rationale for their conviction that language is always withholding some important truth, that the critic’s ta
Nanotechnology is a buzz word many of us have heard but are uncertain what it really means. This book works to dispel the myths and unravel the truth about this branch of science and technology that h
A magnificently reported and soulfully crafted exploration of the human immune system–the key to health and wellness, life and death. An epic, first-of-its-kind book, entwining leading-edge scientific discovery with the intimate stories of four individual lives, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist.“An Elegant Defense by Matt Richtel is one of those rare nonfiction books that transcends the genre. On one level it is a fascinating and engrossing account of the latest, and quite astonishing, discoveries involving the human immune system and how it works. But it is also a story about people facing mortality, about the passion of scientists searching for truth, and a meditation on death and how all of us struggle with the ultimate mystery. Heartfelt and moving, full of compassion, love, and the human drama, this is the work of a writer of high ethical character who is grappling with big issues and deep humanistic problems. What an inspiring and wonderful read. I highly r
It is perhaps the greatest story never told: the truth behind the most-enduring works of literature in the English language, perhaps in any language. Who was the man behind Hamlet? What passion inspi
There is a growing crisis in scientific research characterized by failures to reproduce experimental results, fraud, lack of innovation, and burn-out. In Science and Christian Ethics, Paul Scherz traces these problems to the drive by governments and business to make scientists into competitive entrepreneurs who use their research results to stimulate economic growth. The result is a competitive environment aimed at commodifying the world. In order to confront this problem of character, Scherz examines the alternative Aristotelian and Stoic models of reforming character, found in the works of Alasdair MacIntyre and Michel Foucault. Against many prominent virtue ethicists, he argues that what individual scientists need is a regime of spiritual exercises, such as those found in Stoicism as it was adopted by Christianity, in order to refocus on the good of truth in the face of institutional pressure. His book illuminates pressing issues in research ethics, moral education, and anthropology
"Will it come like a change in the weather? Will its greeting be courteous or rough? Will it alter my life altogether? O tell me the truth about love."( W.H. Auden). Many of the most popular works in the English language celebrate love in all its forms: that heady first flush, the agony of heartbreak, joyful reunions, the love of a parent for a child...And what better way to share these beautiful pieces than to read them aloud, to someone you love? Research has shown that being read to makes us healthier and happier, it enriches our hearts and minds.Put together by The Reader Organisation, whose read-aloud book groups help thousands all across the UK each week, this anthology gathers together favourite poems and prose as well as some surprises. Read 'Our places by the fire place' to a parent, 'My love is come to me' to a partner, 'Most near, most dear' to a child, or even 'A need to reach out sometimes' to a friend. Discover Haruki Murakami's quirky take on love at first sight and, alo
