William Sweet

Jonathan Lavery

Louis Groarke

Since Aristotle’s famous declaration that the speculative sciences originated with the emergence of a leisure class, it has been accepted as a truism that intellectual activity requires political stability and leisure in order to flourish. Paradoxically, however, some of the most powerful and influential contributions to Western intellectual culture have been produced in conditions that were adverse–indeed hostile–to intellectual activity. Examples include Socrates' stirring defense of the examined life before a hostile Athenian jury, Boethius writing The Consolation of Philosophy under the specter of impending torture and execution, Galileo devising key notions for modern mechanics while under house arrest, and Jean-Paul Sartre drafting portions of Being and Nothingness in his war diaries, to name only a few of the most famous incidents–all extraordinary achievements spawned, developed or completed in adversity. In cases such as these, a philosopher or scientist must manage somehow to remain intellectually creative and focused despite living in conditions that are adverse or hostile to thought. In brief, they are working on ideas under fire. This book is a survey of several momentous cases of philosophers and scientists working under fire. Each chapter of Ideas Under Fire explores a particular case or set of related cases. For each case contributors consider two questions: How did the individual at the center of a particular moment of discovery overcome such formidable obstacles to leisure and conceptually abstract thought? And how did adversity shape their thinking under fire? Each chapter has been written by a specialist on its respective subject, and the book covers every period of Western history. All the chapters are written in an accessible style that is intended to appeal to both specialists and generalists.

Historical Studies of Philosophy and Science in Adversity

Ideas Under Fire

The philosophy of history is an area of interest not only to philosophers, but to historians and to social scientists. It has been of central importance in continental European philosophy since the late 18th century, and for the past half-century has had a significant place in Anglo-American philosophy. Interest in the philosophy of history continues to grow. This volume offers both an introduction to contemporary discussion in the philosophy of history, and a 'reassessment' of some of the major movements in the philosophy of history since the beginning of the 20th century. Including the work of leading international scholars in the field, the book presents a wide range of perspectives from different schools in philosophy, and in political and social theory, history, and the history of ideas. Traditional questions raised in the philosophy of history are explored with fresh insight - the nature of history; historical understanding; historical objectivity; the nature of the past; the psychological factors in historical explanation; the human significance of history - alongside issues which are less frequently examined including: the role of science and mathematics in history, history as a social science, and history as an art form. As history itself remains disputed ground, it is important to consider what clues history can provide for our response to issues of contemporary concern such as political realignments and economic globalisation; this volume offers important insights from leading scholars in the philosophy of history.

The Philosophy of History: A Re-examination

Given the challenge of anti-realism, anti-foundationalism, and post-modernism, is rational argument concerning religious belief still possible? This collection provides a broad range of perspective on the contemporary discussion of the place of argument in philosophical discussion on God and, more generally on religious belief. Bilingual edition.

God and Argument

Global Perspective

The Dialogue of Cultural Traditions

Presses de l'Université d'Ottawa

The last 100 years can be described as pivotal in our appreciation of human rights. From the Déclaration des droits internationaux de l'homme of 1929 to the more recent discussion of the establishment of an International Court of Justice, the notions of 'rights' and 'international human rights' have extended beyond rarefied philosophical discourse to become part of our basic vocabulary. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948 is a key document that is central to contemporary dialogues about human rights. The UDHR and its subsequent protocols and conventions enumerate a lengthy list of rights that many recognize as fundamental in ensuring human dignity. Philosophical Theory and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights examines the relations and interrelations among theoretical and practical analyses of human rights. Edited by William Sweet, this extensive volume draws on the work of philosophers, political theorists, and those involved in the implementation of human rights. Although diverse in subject and approach, the essays collectively argue that the language of rights and the corresponding legal and political instruments have an important place in contemporary social and political philosophy.

Philosophical Theory and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

There can be little dispute that culture influences philosophy: we see this in the way that classical Greek culture influenced Greek philosophy, that Christianity influenced mediaeval western philosophy, that French culture influenced a range of philosophies in France from Cartesianism to post-modernism, and so on. Yet many philosophical texts and traditions have also been introduced into very different cultures and philosophical traditions than their cultures of origin – through war and colonialization, but also through religion and art, and through commercial relations and globalization. And this raises questions such as: What is it to do French philosophy in Africa, or Analytic philosophy in India, or Buddhist philosophy in North America? This volume examines the phenomenon of the ‘migration’ of philosophical texts and traditions into other cultures, identifies places where it may have succeeded, but also where it has not, and discusses what is presupposed in introducing a text or a tradition into another intellectual culture.

Migrating Texts and Traditions

The essential primer for understanding climate diplomacy, describing both the major players and the path to progress, from the 1992 Rio Summit to the 2015 Paris Climate Conference Climate Diplomacy from Rio to Paris is the first accessible overview of climate diplomacy in its first quarter century. The author, who has reported on energy and climate for two decades, provides readers with a nuanced account of the major players and their interests—from the United States, the European Union, and China to environmental organizations, the United Nations, and the Vatican—and analyzes the outcomes of the major climate conferences at Rio, Kyoto, Copenhagen, and Paris.

The Effort to Contain Global Warming

Climate Diplomacy from Rio to Paris

Richard Feist

Husserl and Stein

Examining the phenomenon of the ‘migration’ of philosophical texts and traditions between cultures.

William Sweet

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