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These titles cover a diverse range of research interests and areas of expertise within our team, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in deepening their knowledge of philosophy.
The Temporal Asymmetry of Causation
Alison Fernandes
Cambridge University Press | 2023
Causes always seem to come prior to their effects. What might explain this asymmetry? Causation's temporal asymmetry isn't straightforwardly due to a temporal asymmetry in the laws of nature—the laws are, by and large, temporally symmetric. Nor does the asymmetry appear due to an asymmetry in time itself.
This book, in the Elements in the Philosophy of Physics series, examines recent empirical attempts to explain the temporal asymmetry of causation: statistical mechanical accounts, agency accounts and fork asymmetry accounts. None of these accounts is complete yet and a full explanation of the temporal asymmetry of causation will likely require contributions from all three programs.
Temporal Asymmetries in Philosophy and Psychology
Alison Fernandes, Christoph Hoerl and Teresa McCormack (eds)
Oxford University Press | 2022
Humans’ attitudes towards an event often vary depending on whether the event has already happened or has yet to take place. The dread felt at the thought of a forthcoming examination turns into relief once it is over. People also value past events less than future ones—offering less pay for work already carried out than for the same work to be carried out in the future, as recent research in psychology shows.
This volume brings together philosophers and psychologists with a shared interest in such psychological past/future asymmetries. It asks questions such as: What different kinds of psychological past/future asymmetries are there, and how are they related? Under what conditions do humans exhibit them? To what extent do they reflect features of time itself, or particular beliefs people have about time? Are they rational, or at least rationally permissible, or should we aspire to being temporally neutral? What exactly does temporal neutrality consist in?
Plato’s Essentialism. Reinterpreting the Theory of Forms
Vasilis Politis
Cambridge University Press | 2021
In this book, Vasilis Politis argues that Plato's Forms are essences, not merely things that have an essence. Politis shows that understanding Plato's theory of Forms as a theory of essence presents a serious challenge to contemporary philosophers who regard essentialism as little more than an optional item on the philosophical menu.
This approach, he suggests, also constitutes a sharp critique of those who view Aristotelian essentialism as the only sensible position: Plato's essentialism, Politis demonstrates, is a well-argued, rigorous, and coherent theory, and a viable competitor to that of Aristotle. This book will appeal to students and scholars with an interest in the intersection between philosophy and the history of philosophy.
Tradition in Ancient Philosophy
George Karamanolis and Vasilis Politis (eds)
Cambridge University Press | 2018
Ancient philosophers from an otherwise diverse range of traditions were connected by their shared use of aporia - translated as puzzlement rooted in conflicts of reasons - as a core tool in philosophical enquiry.
The essays in this volume provide the first comprehensive study of aporetic methodology among numerous major figures and influential schools, including the Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Alexander of Aphrodisias, Academic sceptics, Pyrrhonian sceptics, Plotinus and Damascius.
The Structure of Enquiry in Plato`s Early Dialogues
Vasilis Politis
Cambridge University Press | 2015
This book proposes and defends a radically new account of Plato`s method of argument and enquiry in his early dialogues.
Vasilis Politis challenges the traditional account according to which these dialogues are basically about the demand for definitions, and questions the equally traditional view that what lies behind Plato`s method of argument is a peculiar theory of knowledge.
Aquinas`s Philosophy of Religion
Paul O`Grady
Palgrave Macmillan | 2014
This is an exploration and analysis of Aquinas`s contribution to the philosophy of religion. It examines Aquinas`s contexts, his views on philosophy and theology, as well as faith and reason. His arguments for God`s existence, responses to objections against God`s existence and his characterization of the nature of God are examined.
The Consolations of Philosophy: Reflections in an Economic Downturn
Paul O`Grady (ed)
Columba | 2011
In light of the tumultuous past three decades in Ireland, this book gathers eleven different philosophical approaches to facing misfortunes and coping with the vicissitudes of life.
The thoughts of Plato and Kant are explored and schools such as Stoicism, Epicureanism, Pragmatism, and Existentialism are presented. Buddhism, Quietism, the benefits of craft, and the question of whether philosophy can indeed console are discussed.
Aristotle and the Metaphysics
Vasilis Politis
Routledge | 2004
Aristotle's `Metaphysics` is one of the most important texts in Ancient Philosophy. This Guide Book looks at Metaphysics thematically and takes the student through the main arguments found in the text.
The book introduces and assesses Aristotle`s life and the background to Metaphysics, the ideas and text of Metaphysics and Aristotle`s philosophical legacy.
Plato's Theory of Ideas: An Introduction to Idealism
Paul Natorp (Author), Vasilis Politis (Editor)
Academia | 2004
First English translation of Paul Natorp`s "Platos Ideenlehre" from 1903/1921.
The World Unclaimed; A Challenge to Heidegger`s Critique of Husserl
Lilian Alweiss
Ohio University Press | 2003
The World Unclaimed argues that Heidegger’s critique of modern epistemology in Being and Time is seriously flawed. Heidegger believes he has done away with epistemological problems concerning the external world by showing that the world is an existential structure of Dasein.
However, the author argues that Heidegger fails to make good his claim that he has “rescued” the phenomenon of the world, which he believes the tradition of philosophy has bypassed.
Possible Worlds
John Divers
Routledge | 2002
Possible Worlds presents the first up-to-date and comprehensive examination of one of the most important topics in metaphysics.
John Divers considers the prevalent philosophical positions, including realism, antirealism and the work of important writers on possible worlds such as David Lewis, evaluating them in detail.
Relativism
Paul O`Grady
Acumen | 2002
The issue of relativism looms large in many contemporary discussions of knowledge, reality, society, religion, culture and gender.
Is truth relative? To what extent is knowledge dependent on context? Are there different logics? Do different cultures and societies see the world differently? And is reality itself something that is constructed? This book offers a path through these debates.
Kant`s Critique of Pure Reason
Vasilis Politis
J.M. Dent | 2002
A revised and expanded translation based on Meiklejohn. Part of the "Everyman" series which has been re-set with wide margins for notes and easy-to-read type.
Each title includes a themed introduction by leading authorities on the subject, life-and-times chronology of the author, text summaries, annotated reading lists and selected criticism and notes.