l love philosophy and existentialism
352523
yes just what l'm looking for, l love philosophy and existentialism.
3243690
Need a philosophy for life? N.D. Wilson's book gives young readers a chance at nobility.

"To love is to be selfless. To be selfless is to be fearless. To be fearless is to strip your enemies of their greatest weapon. Even if they break our bodies and drain our blood, we are unvanquished. Our goal was never to live; our goal is to love. It is the goal of all truly noble men and women. Give all that can be given. Give even your life itself."
3803182
Initially resembling an old-fashioned, hard-boiled detective story, this novel by Graham Swift becomes, as the perspective widens, an investigation of love, man's need for love, and the sacrifices we are all willing to make for love. Private detective George Webb allows the reader to "tag along" during one day of his life in 1997, talking to his readers about aspects of his life as they impinge randomly on his consciousness. Description is not a big part of George's life, and it takes the reader some time to understand all his references in this lengthy interior monologue.

We don't know, at first, why Nov. 20 is a significant date to him or where he goes every other Thursday, nor do we know about his personal relationships with the women introduced at the beginning, or the reason he's buying flowers, or why he's had a woman's handbag in his possession for two years.

As George's recollections, memories, and observations expand, however, we gradually come to know him and his past, including his relationship with his father, his own broken marriage and the circumstances surrounding it, his alienated daughter, his womanizing, the scandal which has resulted in his leaving the police force, and his decision to specialize in "matrimonial work." We learn, too, that George's client, Mrs. Nash, is now in jail, the reasons for this unfolding even more gradually, as we come to know her, her husband Bob, and the privileged life they've led.

Always, however, our opinions of these characters and their relationships are colored by George's point of view, and we, as objective observers, learn as much about them from what George does not say as we do by what he does say. All of George's memories are concerned with the vulnerability of people who are in love, as Swift raises questions about whether we choose the people we love, or whether we are chosen by them. Does love just happen? What makes it last? What happens to lovers who are "unchosen"? And can we love too much?

Although a mystery story is not usually the framework for such a serious, philosophical analysis of love in all its permutations, Swift manages to make this work through his beautifully wrought character study of George, buffeted every which way by the loves in his life. In the lean, unemphatic prose style he first employed in Last Orders, Graham Swift presents a sensitive investigation of love with all its mysteries and ineffable sadness. Mary Whipple
299870
This book aligns somewhat with the Love & Logic philosophy. I enjoyed the introduction as much as the book itself.
2494236
A new take on love, knowledge of self, abandonment, and companion robots. A lonely woman purchases a companion robot, and delights as he comes into a sense of self. She comes to see his sentience, and becomes a champion of robot rights, ensuring they all have the freedom to choose their lives. Which is why it hurts to much when he chooses to leave her and their adoptive daughter.

An exploration of three kinds of love: romantic, familial, and a complete, selfless love. A full knowledge. Which must only be obtained by letting all ties go and choosing love.

The story of the woman and her robot lover is tied in with the reactions of their daughter, as she comes to terms with her "father's" disappearance. Especially heartbreaking is the mother's eventual caving to her child's insistence that she is a robot, reasoning that robots only do what makes a human happy. Something her lover proved quite false, but also something that turns their child from a young person dealing with loss in her own way, into something far less human than her robot parent.

A great story, and available as a free audio production from Escape Pod. Definitely go find that.
52570
I have to admit. I am not impartial about anything written or said by Dr. Clifford Williams. Dr. Williams my professor in my Honors Introduction to Philosophy class my freshman year at Trinity International University. He was, infact, the teacher of the first class I ever took in college. His class was wonderful. It led a friend of mine to decide he was going to major in philosophy. And it taught us all how important it was to bring together the life of the mind and the life of faith.

It is no wonder that the first book of his that I have ever gotten to read is Existential Reasons for Belief in God: A Defense of Desires and Emotions for Faith. In this fine book Williams attempts to deconstruct the dualism between Emotions and Reason, Faith and the Intellect. He specifically does this in relation to decisions of faith, arguing that there is nohting irrational or immoral about having faith decisions generated by both our intellectual and emotional lives. In fact, as responsible humans, the realities of our emotional selves and our reason-driven selves should both be factored in to making wise, true, and ethical decisions. This is especially true regarding decisions about ultimate reality.

Existential Reasons for Belief in God is very deliberate and methodical in how it makes its case. It begins by setting the scene of arguments for faith in the world of philosophy, defining terms, and familiarizing his readers with the issues that need to be addressed. Then, it makes a well-reasoned argument in favor of "existential" arguments for faith in God. Next, Dr. Williams spends several chapters addressing objections to his thesis.

In addressing objections, Dr. Williams, true to his character, does not set up straw men to knock down. Instead, he addresses intelligent and thoughtful concerns with a lot of grace and equal measure of strong reason.

Next, Existential Reasons for Belief in God  takes a few more chapters to further commend the importance of both existential and intellectual paths to a life of faith.

The result is a wonderful resource, and a treasured book to be kept on my shelf for many years.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I would not commend it to everyone, as it is pretty heavy reading for the average person. But, to those who love the world of ideas, and love doing a lot of in-depth reading, I would recommend this book heartily. Happy Reading.
1692943
Love is a verb!! This book inspired a desire to believe for wonderful things and to look for the stories of love in my own life. Filled my heart with joy again and again. The work he does is inspiring and amazing.
3516694
Albert Camus instills his philosophical teachings and beliefs in his indifferent main character. This quick read was part novel and part exercise in philosophy. Regardless of your beliefs, this book will force you to think about your own purpose, your life and maybe the meaning of your existence in this world and in relation to those surrounding you.

The story was quick, the ideas were big and the characters were an interesting bunch that reminded me of a mix between Hemingway's Lost Generation and Kerouac's Beats. This is a book I would recommend everyone to read. Take a day or a weekend and delve into the mind of Albert Camus. Camus writes in another of his books, The Myth of Sisyphus, "There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide." Once we decide whether or not to live, then all of the other questions that philosophy poses can come into play. The Stranger, through Meursault, takes a look at life and asks one simple questions: Why?
2979287
I have recently finished reading book one of A. J. Bueno's trilogy. It reflects the author's truly astounding knowledge of philosophy and philosophers - and of language - while it sets the stage for what I expect to be conclusions he reaches in volumes two and three. I am looking forward to reading these and surmise that he will seek to arrive at a fixed point amid the shifting sands of current relativism.
William V. Cox
3942098
The companion piece to the British television series is a joy. The author knows a great deal of pleasure in explaining philosophy with delightful biographies of each philosopher. And each section has sage advice on differing aspects of life. His enthusiam for Nietzsche may put some people off, but then we often confuse the impact of a philospher with his actual writing.
4460152
It's hard to believe that at one time philosophy was in vogue in the United States and the particular brand of philosophy was existentialism.  During the fifties and sixties if one did not speak the prose of existentialism one could not consider oneself 'hip' - in an academic way that is.  As a result scads of books were published concerning existentialism; these were either translations of European writers or commentaries on the work created by these writers.  Scan any philosophy section at your local used bookstore and you will likely find some of these books repleat with funky cover art and publishing dates that most likely range from 1955 - 1970.  This is precisely how I came across this book.
Marjorie Grene, once a seminal figure in the study of continental philosophy, has accomplished in this book exactly what its title suggests - an introduction to existentialism. (Actually its original title was something like Condemned Freedom)  Useful for the Existential initiate this introduction is short and concise.  However, compared with many other introductions of similar topic, Grene's is relatively narrow in scope, focusing primarily on Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre.  This is certainly made up for by the content of what is included.  The Kierkegaard section is a fairly thourough but general explication yet the Heidegger and Sartre Sections justifies the purchase of the book.  It offers the reader a solid explication of both of these thinkers plus a comparative component that allows one to trace the development of existentialism from Heidegger to Sartre and back again.
Granted, with all the books written then and recently covering existentialism this little book is perhaps more valuable for its history then content.  However, a used copy will undoubtedly be inexpensive and, for my purposes, it was well worth the two bucks that I paid.
4132608
Here is a science fiction with philosophical undertones. Is there God after all? Is it a waste of time worshiping IT when there are serious human conditions that needs to be dealt with: issues such as poverty, pollution, sickness and so on. In exploring such thought provoking questions, the writer has opened up controversial issues that have disturbed free thinkers throughout ages. At the end of the day, who do we rely upon for our lifes solutions, is the crucial paradox of our existence.

The book concludes with the protagonists notion of universal love. Life's rewards lie in transforming the lives of people in grief and distress. A noble intent indeed.
4103977
I loved this book.  I did not agree with its final conclusions, but I loved the book.  It was written with clarity about a topic that I find endlessly fascinating.  The Free Market Existentialist was approachable, without the oblique and specialized vocabulary that has accompanied much of the philosophy or classical economics that I have tried to read.  This book proposes that existentialism by its requirement of radical free-will and self-responsibility has similarities to libertarianism.  The main link between existentialism and libertarianism is individualism. The individual is primary and the individual is responsible. (Kindle Location 247)
 Professor Irwin summarized existentialism like this: Existentialism is a philosophy that reacts to an apparently absurd or meaningless world by urging the individual to overcome alienation, oppression, and despair through freedom and self-creation in order to become a genuine person. (Kindle Locations 450-451) He went on to discuss alienation, oppression, despair, freedom and self-creation.  I was hooked on the clarity and moved by affinity, as he described anguish felt by a person for whom religious belief is no longer an option.
  However, I did disagree with the book in the following three ways.  William Irwin's description of "moral fictionalism" appears to be a contradiction of authenticity, a requisite to existentialism.  While he addresses that objection, I found it unconvincing.  Secondly, the professor's position requires that what is good for the individual is good for the group in aggregate.  John Maynard Keyne's "paradox of thrift" would appear to contradict this assertion.  Finally, the book appears to attribute far less societal impact on economic elites attempting to affect their ability to accumulate future resources, not through value creation but rather by rigging the game against other non-elites.  I find the professor to be unpersuasive, in spite of his use of the three generations from long-sleeves to short sleeves statistic.  I say these things as a compliment.  While I did not agree with the doctor's points in all cases, I was completely engaged and delighted in the intellectual arguments.
 I greatly enjoyed the book and found it to be clear and encouraging title.  It reminded me of things I had forgotten and facilitated my thinking about many things of which my knowledge was fuzzy, incomplete or in error.  In spite of my gratitude and respect for the title, I cannot move past the fact that the conclusions do not necessarily follow from the suppositions.  Specifically, I found free will fictionalism to be a hurdle that I could not overcome in being willing to be led to the conclusions of the author.  Still, I am very glad I read it, and have since ordered another book by the same author.
648535
This is a great way to introduce someone to existentialism.  I always thought Camus to be much more accessible to say, Jean Paul Sartre.  If you know anyone who wants to know more about existentialism, tell them to read this book.  It's a great introduction to what existentialism is about.  It also makes sense of Camus' most famous book, The Stranger.
367948
Advertised as a "catalog of worldviews", this truly exceptional book follows the evolution of philosophical thought from the theism of the 1700 to 20th century existentialism and New Age schools, including Eastern thought.
 The author has done an exceptionally good job in presenting complex material in a readable way.  This book may change the way you look at the life in a fundamental way; it did for me.
4306290
Lipovetsky is one of those French philosophers whove rebuilt their intellectual tradition after the wreckage of Foucault, Derrida, and the postmodernist gang. This slim book packs a punch, dismissing catastrophe claims of others in trajectory of civilization circles. Lipovetsky sees ills of Western civilization more as transitional. Ancients saw history as cyclical. Decline written into the spokes of the wheel of fortuneits arrival as necessary, notes the author. In the Christian world, Fall and Judgement are two beacons connected by a transitory present which really doesnt matter much. Promise comes when its over. But the first modernity, meaning 17th  18th century Enlightenment, was a break. Happy times of a mythic past were now promised for the future as aspiration, and the present was one of endless progress. Reason would rule the worldwith peace, equality, and justice. Two world wars put an end to that. Reason was demoted to calculations and bureaucratic domination. The second modernity, or hypermodernity, commenced around 1950, says Lipovetsky, when advances in production met post war and Depression cravings for gratification. Both past and future were dismissed, making our perpetual present of positive experience the priority. Consumption was no longer the private purview of the privileged class in a society imbued with the logic of seduction, providing a sense of eternity in a world in thrall to the transience of things. For Lipovetsky, thats not so bad, a turn of the wheel, which may not be round, as we figure out the future as we go. The old rules are lost, but new ways evolve. People are no longer forbidden to smoke by legislative decree: instead, they're made awareof health consequences and life expectancy.

Lipovetsky has much to say about fashion as a perspective (not of clothing alone), representative of individual autonomy. Not just from parents, hence traditions; not just as a way to renew the thrill of desire and satisfaction through consumerism, repeating our exercise of choice; but with consequent rejection of regulative social principlesemptied of transcendent substance. Lipovetsky doesnt acknowledge that fashion also represents tribal affiliation. Not so autonomous as he claims.

The double edged sword is Lipovetskys frequent refrain. Hypermodernity is a paradox, Every increase in autonomy occurs at the expense of a new dependencyThe great socializing structures have lost their authority, the great ideologies are no longer productive,the age of emptiness has dawned, but without tragedy or apocalypse. Hypermodern individuals are better informed and more destructured, more adult and more unstable,...more open and more easy to influence, more critical and more superficial, more skeptical and less profound. And yet, Anxieties about the future are replacing the mystique of progressthe present increasingly lived out in a sense of insecurity. Abandoned to himself, deprived of any frameworks, the individual finds himself deprived of the social structures that endowed him with an inner strength that enabled him to live up to lifes trials and tribulationsEverything worries and alarms himHowever frenzied he consumes spirituality [and all things are now merely consumed] he appears not the least more serene We have embarked on an interminable process of desacralization and desubstantiation of meaningthis is how the gods die: not in a [much predicted] nihilist demoralization of the West and anguish over the loss of values, but in small jolts of meaning.

Doesnt sound so good to me. Despite Lipovetskys repeated attempt to polish that silver lining in a dark cloud, one cant help but come away with a sense that modern man is just killing time.
2148932
A passionate, soul searching book on the existential meaning of life and death.  The author casts a wide net into the conscious stream of thought, using eastern philosophy in conjunction with judeo-christian beliefs in attempts to  make sense of the tragic and senseless death of his teenaged daughter.  The depth of his soul searching captivates the anguish, the despair, and sorrow of people world wide who have been victims of gun violence, leaving a lifetime of sorrow in its wake.