EASTERN PHILOSOPHY FOR BEGINNERS

The spiritual rewards and intellectual challenges of Eastern philosophy are revealed in this visually stunning book, illustrated by Joe Lee and with 19th-century engravings.

Eastern philosophy is not only an intellectual pursuit, but one that involves one’s entire being.  Much of it is so deeply entwined with the non-intellectual art of meditation that the two are impossible to separate. 

In this survey of the major philosophies of India, China, Tibet and Japan, Jim Powell draws upon his knowledge of Sanskrit and Chinese, as well as decades of meditation.  Whether tackling Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Dogen, the Dalai Lama or Patanjal—Powell’s insights are deeply illuminating.  All the major philosophies of India, China, Tibet and Japan are explained and everyone, from beginner to expert, will find Eastern Philosophy For Beginners an insightful overview.

FOUCAULT FOR BEGINNERS

Michel Foucault’s work has profoundly affected the teaching of such diverse disciplines as literary criticism, criminology, and gender studies.  Arguing that definitions of abnormal behavior are culturally constructed, Foucault explored the unfair divisions between those who meet and those who deviate from social norms. 

In Foucault For Beginners, the reader will discover Foucault’s deeply visual sense of scenes such as ritual public executions. 

HEIDEGGER FOR BEGINNERS

The ideas of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger have been described as an intellectual time bomb, as some of the most revolutionary thought in western history.  Despite the enormous amount of secondary scholarship available on Heidegger, it is—due to the complexity of his thought and the density of his writing—difficult for the curious beginner to gain an insight into Heidegger’s philosophy.  Heidegger For Beginners serves as an entry into the ideas of one of the 20th century’s most important thinkers, situating Heidegger’s thought within its philosophical and historical context—alongside such thinkers as Plato, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, Husserl and Sartre. 

Heidegger For Beginners explicates many of Heidegger’s central ideas, including the Nothing, average everydayness, care, existence, be-in-the-world, the One, the critique of technology, anxiety, and most importantly, Being—a notion which may offer us the key to understanding the very mystery of our own existence.

ISLAM FOR BEGINNERS

Five times a day, close to a billion people turn to the Ka’aba in submission to Allah/God.  In the seventeenth century the religion of Islam was revealed to the Prophet Mohammad through the Holy Koran.  Since then, Islam has spread to every corner of the world.  Starting with the life of Prophet Mohammad, Islam For Beginners details the historic beginnings of Islam and its spread throughout the Middle East and Africa on to the European and American continents.

Islam For Beginners describes the major achievements of the Muslim community worldwide and examines the influence Islam has had on other cultures.  In keeping with Islamic tradition, the illustrations in the book are rendered in two-dimensional silhouettes and shadows and include the repetitive, extendible patterns representative of Islamic expression.

KIERKEGAARD FOR BEGINNERS

Philosophically, Søren Kierkegaard was the “bridge” that led from Hegel to Existentialism.  Kierkegaard abhorred Hegel’s abstract, know-it-all idealism that tried to capture reality in a few words.  Kierkegaard’s attack on social and religious complacency and his single-handed assault on traditional Western philosophy generated a crisis that produced a radically new way of philosophizing and made him the founder of the school that would later be called Existentialism.  To Kierkegaard, reality was personal, subjective—it began and ended with the individual—and philosophy was not something one merely talked about, it was the way you lived. 

MALCOLM X FOR BEGINNERS

In Malcolm X For Beginners, Bernard Doctor, reveals the teacher, the leader, and the revolutionary voice of change that Malcolm X was, and continues to be.  Powerful narrative and graphics tell the story of Malcolm X’s life, his journey of self-discovery, his far-reaching ideas, his martyrdom and his impact on an era.

Embraced as a righteous prophet of Black power and pride, damned as the voice of violence, Malcolm X merges as a complex, brave and brilliant figure with much to teach about the struggle for dignity.  Though it is no longer unusual to find youth adorning Malcolm X hats, t-shirts, necklaces, buttons and the like, for many, who Malcolm X was, and why his contributions were so significant in changing the way we think about one another is seldom understood.

Malcolm X For Beginners brings to surface little known facts about Malcolm’s life and the evolution of his ideologies and philosophies.

The unorthodox life and ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche come alive in this documentary history.  Nietzsche For Beginners presents a clear picture of the time in which this revolutionary philosopher lived and worked.

We meet the luminaries of the age: Richard Wagner, Bismark, Freud and Darwin.  We learn of Nietzsche’s famous love affairs, his theories of the Superman, the Antichrist and nihilism, as well as his impact on Twentieth Century thinking.  And we see how the Nazi’s annexed and deformed Nietzsche’s thought to serve their purposes.

Nietzsche For Beginners is an important introduction to modern philosophy.  Plato, Kant, Hegel and Schopenhaur are all evaluated in light of their influence on Nietzsche’s work.  Discover why this great thinker defiantly declared, “God is Dead.”

Why does philosophy give some people a headache, others a real buzz, and yet others a feeling that it is subversive and dangerous?  Why do a lot of people think philosophy is totally irrelevant?  What is philosophy anyway?

The ABCs of philosophy–easy to understand but never simplistic.  Beginning with basic questions posed by the ancient Greeks - What is knowledge? What is good and evil? – Philosophy For Beginners traces the answers given by western philosophy over the last 2,500 years.