This engaging survey of important works from late antiquity to the beginning of the Renaissance reveals the depth of thought and the diversity of expression that characterized the Middle Ages. Michael Kellogg demonstrates that medieval thought owes far more to ancient philosophy than is generally supposed; that poets of this era were as sophisticated and nuanced as their ancient counterparts; and that writers of this time anticipated most of the lines of inquiry that gave rise to the Renai...

The philosopher Alfred North Whitehead once said that all of Western philosophy was "but a series of footnotes to Plato." By the same token, one could argue that all of Western civilization is but an extension of the ancient Greek cultural legacy. The Greeks invented tragedy, comedy, lyric poetry, history, philosophy, and democracy. They also made remarkable advances in science, medicine, and mathematics. In the author's view, what ties this wide-ranging intellectual ferment together is a ...

The Roman "philosophy of life" as mirrored in the literature of ten outstanding representative authors Though Rome conquered much of the world and established an empire that lasted more than a millennium, its citizens sometimes expressed a sense of inferiority to the intellectual accomplishments of ancient Greece. The notion that Roman philosophers, thinkers, and writers were just pale imitations of Greek originals has persisted to this day. Even the great Roman poet Horace wrote, "Captive...

An overview and appreciation of Renaissance literature for lay readers that takes account of major intellectual trends, various genres, and key historical figures of the period.This engaging survey of important works spanning the lives of Petrarch (1304-1374) to Shakespeare (1564-1616) reveals the depth of thought and the diversity of expression that characterized the Renaissance. The author examines poetry, philosophical treatises, essays, letters, novels, comedies, and dramas, do...

This excellent introduction to the essential issues that have preoccupied philosophers throughout the centuries provides fresh and engaging portraits of the greatest thinkers on three perennial questions:What can I know? What may I hope? What ought I to do? The author summarizes the thoughts ofPlato and Wittgenstein on the possibility of philosophical knowledge; Kant and Nietzsche on the existence of God; Aristotle and Heidegger on human virtue. The first member of the pair is a builder, t...

A Familys Gift is a collection of poems that they both created throughout the years. It is their hope that this collection can be an aid for the masses. . .

Raven Whisper encompasses four coming of age stories of young people in different times - even different eras. Though the stories are fiction, there are enough facts thrown in to arouse the interest of the discerning reader, just as these facts intrigued and fascinated the author. One of stories might be controversial to some as to some as it delves into the theory of cannibalism in the southwest of ancient times. There are anthropologists and archaeologists who study and support this theo...

Explore the transformative power of Romanticism—where emotion, imagination, and contradiction collide—through the eyes of its greatest thinkers and artists.The post-Enlightenment movement known as Romanticism is a messy period; so messy, in fact, that many scholars eschew any attempt to define it. In reaction to the overreliance placed on reason by Enlightenment thinkers, Romantics emphasized individual freedom, emotional intensity, introspection, sincerity, and he...

Enlightenment—Aufklärung in German, Lumières in French—is more an idea than a period. But it is an idea that took hold in a particular historical context of revolutionary scientific advances, increasing economic and social freedom, rising literacy and prosperity, and a greater willingness to challenge the authoritarianism of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In The Wisdom of the Enlightenment, author Michael K. Kellogg points to 1637, the year that gave us Rene Descartes’ landmark ...

Why do representatives of different religious traditions find the transhumanist vision of the future not only theologically compatible but even inspiring? Transhumanism is a global movement seeking radical human enhancement. The trans in transhumanism marks the transition from the present stage in human evolution into the future, namely, post-human existence. Containing chapters written by adherents to a variety of religious traditions, Religious Transhumanism and Its Critics prov...