Evolution and reason

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Olivier Clément

When the author of the widely-acclaimed Roots of Christian Mysticism thinks about human nature, its challenges, problems, joys and fulfillment, he does so with originality. At the same time, his thought is rooted in the experience of the early Christian centuries. The result is a book that sees humanity in fundamentally spiritual terms. Clement begins by exploring a response to the dysfunctional aspects of nature, and then looks at how we are persons made in the image of the divine and in communion with one another; in the light of what emerges, the author discovers fresh understandings of sexuality, politics, the role of humanity in the cosmos and the power of beauty; his discussion ends with facing our society's unmentionable question: death.

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Michael Ruse

Since its original publication, Taking Darwin Seriously has established itself as one of the most important works of evolutionary naturalism since Charles Darwin's Origin of Species over a century ago. Applying evolutionary biology to philosophical problems of epistemology and ethics, it definitively establishes a naturalistic approach to our understanding of life's major problems. Updated with a new preface and a final chapter that addresses the most recent developments in and popular attacks on contemporary evolution, this is an essential work for those interested in the implications of modern Darwinism - especially human sociobiology - for questions in the theory of knowledge and of moral behaviour and thought. Written in a style accessible to both the professional and the general reader, Taking Darwin Seriously is intended as a direct challenge to all who would push creationism as a credible alternative to scientific evolution in public schools, universities, and as a general theory for public consumption.

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James Duerlinger

"In this book, Vasubandhu's classic work, "Refutation of the Theory of a Self" is translated and provided with an introduction and commentary. The translation, the first into a modern Western language from the Sanskrit text, is intended for use by those who wish to begin a careful philosophical study of Indian Buddhist theories of persons. Special features of the introduction and commentary are their extensive explanations of the arguments for the theories of persons of Vasubandhu and the Pudgalavadins, the Buddhist philosophers whose theory is the central target of Vasubandhu's refutation of the theory of a self."--Jacket.

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Aaron Stalnaker

"Can people ever really change? Do they ever become more ethical, and if so, how? Overcoming Our Evil focuses on the way ethical and religious commitments are conceived and nurtured through the methodical practices that Pierre Hadot has called "spiritual exercises." These practices engage thought, imagination, and sensibility, and have a significant ethical component, yet aim for a broader transformation of the whole personality. Going beyond recent philosophical and historical work that has focused on ancient Greco-Roman philosophy, Stalnaker broadens ethical inquiry into spiritual exercises by examining East Asian as well as classical Christian sources, and taking religious and seemingly "aesthetic" practices such as prayer, ritual, and music more seriously as objects of study."--Jacket.