This book offers the first English translation of the essential writings of Christophe Munzihirwa, SJ. Munzihirwa was a Congolese Jesuit priest and archbishop who was assassinated for his outspoken advocacy for refugees during the volatile period between the Rwandan genocide and the First Congo War. Gathering his major articles, homilies, letters, and other reflections, this collection introduces readers to Munzihirwa's moral, political, and theological outlook, as well as the Jesuit, Cath...

Hannah Arendt is regarded as one of the most important political philosophers of the twentieth century. Famous for her account of the banality of evil, her wide-ranging work explored such themes as totalitarianism, the Holocaust, statelessness and human rights, revolutions and democratic movements, and the various challenges of modern technological society. Recent years have seen a growing appreciation of her complex relationship to theological sources, especially Augustine, the subject of...

This volume brings into dialogue the ancient wisdom of Augustine of Hippo, a bishop of the early Christian Church of the fourth and fifth centuries, with contemporary theologians and ethicists on the topic of social justice. Each essay mines the major themes present in Augustine's extensive corpus of writings—from his Confessions to the City of God— with an eye to the following question: how can this early church father so foundational to Christian doctrine and teaching inform our twenty-f...

To Have Or to Be? is one of the seminal books of the second half of the 20th century. Nothing less than a manifesto for a new social and psychological revolution to save our threatened planet, this book is a summary of the penetrating thought of Eric Fromm. His thesis is that two modes of existence struggle for the spirit of humankind: the having mode, which concentrates on material possessions, power, and aggression, and is the basis of the universal evils of greed, envy, and violence; an...

Encyclopedia of PhilosophyTABLE OF CONTENTS: I. Introduction II. Branches of Philosophy III. Schools of Thoughts IV. Political Philosophy V. Ancient Philosophy VI. Medieval Philosophy VII. Modern Philosophy List of Philosophers Glossary I. IntroductionIntroduction: Western philosophy Philosophical doctrines Ethics and political philosophy in the West Applied philosophy Eastern philosophy African philosophyEastern and Western Philosophy: Eastern WesternHistory of Western Philosophy: Ancient...

A challenging new look at the great thinkers whose ides have shaped our civilizationFrom Socrates to Sartre presents a rousing and readable introduction to the lives, and times of the great philosophers. This thought-provoking book takes us from the inception of Western society in Plato’s Athens to today when the commanding power of Marxism has captured one third of the world. T. Z. Lavine, Elton Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University, makes philos...

Many people regard Hegel's work as obscure and extremely difficult, yet his importance and influence are universally acknowledged. Professor Singer eliminates any excuse for remaining ignorant of the outlines of Hegel's philosophy by providing a broad discussion of his ideas and an account of his major works. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect w...

“A skilled exploration” of why 6 notable 20th-century philosophers—from Martin Heidegger to Michel Foucault—succumbed to “a narcissistic embrace of totalitarian politics” (The Washington Post).European history of the past century is full of examples of philosophers, writers, and scholars who supported or excused the worst tyrannies of the age. How was this possible? How could intellectuals whose work depends on freedom defend those who would deny it? Here,...

The late Leszek Kolakowski was one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century. A prominent anticommunist writer, Kolakowski was also a deeply humanistic thinker, and his meditations on society, religion, morality, and culture stand alongside his political writings as commentaries on intellectual-and everyday-life in the twentieth century.Kolakowski’s extraordinary empathy, humor, and erudition are on full display in Is God Happy?, the first collection of...

Influential scholar Peter L. Berger reveals five signs that point to the supernatural and its place in a modern secular societyAcclaimed scholar and sociologist Peter L. Berger examines religion in twentieth-century Western society, exploring the social nature of knowledge and its effect on religious belief. Using five signs evident in ordinary life—order, play, hope, damnation, and humor—Berger calls for a rediscovery of the supernatural as a crucial, rich dimensi...

Science, Politics and Gnosticism comprises two essays by Eric Voegelin (1901-85), arguably one of the most provocative and influential political philosophers of the last century. In these essays, Voegelin contends that certain modern movements, including positivism, Hegelianism, Marxism, and the "God is dead" school, are variants of the gnostic tradition he identified in his classic work The New Science of Politics. Voegelin attempts to resolve the intellectual confusion ...

Nietzsche remains one of the most influential philosophers of our time and this book is the definite guide to his philosophy. Whether you're a philosophy student struggling with phrases like 'the superman' and 'the will to power', or whether you simply want to understand more about the life and work of this fascinating man, this easy-to-navigate guide will help you to demystify Nietzsche's influential ideas and discover his legacy to modern thought.NOT GOT MUCH TIME?One, fi...