These propositions may seem mild, yet, if accepted, they would absolutely revolutionize human life.' With these words Bertrand Russell introduces what is indeed a revolutionary book. Taking as his starting-point the irrationality of the world, he offers by contrast something 'wildly paradoxical and subversive' - a belief that reason should determine human actions. Today, besieged as we are by the numbing onslaught of twenty-first-century capitalism, Russell's defence of scepticism and independence of mind is as timely as ever. In clear, engaging prose, he guides us through the key philosophical issues that affect our daily lives - freedom, happiness, emotions, ethics and beliefs - and offers no-nonsense advice.
How do we know what we "know"? How did we ?as individuals and as a society ? come to accept certain knowledge as fact? In Human Knowledge, Bertrand Russell questions the reliability of our assumptions on knowledge. This brilliant and controversial work investigates the relationship between ?individual? and ?scientific? knowledge. First published in 1948, this provocative work contributed significantly to an explosive intellectual discourse that continues to this day.
While its tone is playful and frivolous, this book poses tough questions over the nature of religion and belief. Religion provides comfortable responses to the questions that have always beset humankind - why are we here, what is the point of being alive, how ought we to behave? Russell snatches that comfort away, leaving us instead with other, more troublesome alternatives: responsibility, autonomy, self-awareness. He tells us that the time to live is now, the place to live is here, and the way to be happy is to ensure others are happy.
Bertrand de Jouvenel (1903-1987) was known in the United States primarily as a political scientist. His best-known works--On Power, Sovereignty, and The Pure Theory of Politics--all made distinctive contributions to our understanding of the modern state, and to the creation of a political science capable of civilizing that state. His work in the field of economics is relatively unknown in the United States, but like many writers in the contemporary field of political economy, de Jouvenel is not interested in expanding the claims of economy at the expense of polity. On the contrary, his thinking is governed by the oldest and most fundamental of political concerns, the definition of the good life.The good life is not a product of the marketplace, but of deliberate and collective decision--that is, a task for thoughtful citizens and statesmen, and not simply the sum of millions of separate and amoral "consumer preferences." De Jouvenel is well known for his opposition to the distended state, but he was no anarchist. His eloquent warnings to keep the state in its proper sphere were accompanied by a richly sophisticated discussion of what the proper sphere is--an aspect of his work that comes through very clearly in this volume.Written between 1952 and 1980, the essays range from a discussion of technology to reflections on such fundamental economic concepts as "amenity" and "welfare." They include the deeply theoretical as well as the practical and the concrete. All are informed by de Jouvenel's insistence that a science which seeks to understand the production and distribution of "goods" must be concerned in the first place with the good itself. Economics and the Good Life is a companion volume to The Nature of Politics: Selected Essays of Bertrand de Jouvenel. Like the earlier volume, this collection is accompanied by an editor's introduction that places the essays in the wider context of de Jouvenel's work. This work is essential to the libraries of economists, political theorists, historians, and sociologists.
Commissions of experts regularly meet to reply to questions such as: What will be the population of the country, or even of our planet, in ten, fifteen or twenty-five years? In what proportion will production have increased, what modifications will its composition and utilizations have undergone? The attraction of efforts to forecast the future continues. That is a fact. How does it proceed? That is a problem, one on which de Jouvenel focuses on in this book.The Art of Conjecture clearly explains what the "study of the future" can mean. De Jouvenel emphasizes the logical and political problems of forecasting and discusses methods in economics, sociology, and political science by which the future can be studied. More importantly, he discusses the fallacies to which the "study of the future" is peculiarly likely to give rise. The author argues that it is natural and necessary for the population to have visions of the future. Without this, he states, we would only be able to set one opinion of the future against another. If the origins and meanings of these predictions remained obscure, only the event could decide among the opinions.If any man can be said to have created the serious "study of the future" in our time, it is Bertrand de Jouvenel. Futuribles, a periodical he created, continues to represent a major turning point in contemporary social science. Jouvenel aimed to show how "the art of conjecture" could inform prudential judgment and allow citizens and statesmen to detect troubles before they arise.
Many of the revolutionary effects of science and technology are obvious enough. Bertrand Russell saw in the 1950s that there are also many negative aspects of scientific innovation. Insightful and controversial in equal measure, Russell argues that science offers the world greater well-being than it has ever known, on the condition that prosperity is dispersed; power is diffused by means of a single, world government; birth rates do not become too high; and war is abolished. Russell acknowledges that is a tall order, but remains essentially optimistic. He imagines mankind in a 'race between human skill as to means and human folly as to ends', but believes human society will ultimately choose the path of reason.This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Preface by Tim Sluckin.
The Grub Street Journal was perhaps the most widely-read weekly journal in England of its period. The first four years are reprinted here, representing the journal in its prime in terms of quality and popularity. This edition is enhanced with a general introduction and comprehensive annotation.
The Grub Street Journal was perhaps the most widely-read weekly journal in England of its period. The first four years are reprinted here, representing the journal in its prime in terms of quality and popularity. This edition is enhanced with a general introduction and comprehensive annotation.
The Grub Street Journal was perhaps the most widely-read weekly journal in England of its period. The first four years are reprinted here, representing the journal in its prime in terms of quality and popularity. This edition is enhanced with a general introduction and comprehensive annotation.
The Grub Street Journal was perhaps the most widely-read weekly journal in England of its period. The first four years are reprinted here, representing the journal in its prime in terms of quality and popularity. This edition is enhanced with a general introduction and comprehensive annotation.
Written by a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2003–4), this book has been fully updated for a second edition and continues to provide a much needed, short and accessible introduction to the foundational human rights ideas of our times and shows that every government is under international obligation to respect and uphold universal human rights.Updates include: Discussion of the recent intellectual challenges to the international human rights movement Examination of the establishment and functioning of the Human Rights Council and the Universal Review Process Evaluation of the developments in the area of the Responsibility to Protect and continued efforts to implement the right to development Inclusion of issues such as the push for compensation for slavery, experiments with democracy in a number of countries and the decisions of international judicial and human rights organs on conceptual and protection issuesThis book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Global Institutions, International Law and Human Rights.
Written by a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2003–4), this book has been fully updated for a second edition and continues to provide a much needed, short and accessible introduction to the foundational human rights ideas of our times and shows that every government is under international obligation to respect and uphold universal human rights.Updates include: Discussion of the recent intellectual challenges to the international human rights movement Examination of the establishment and functioning of the Human Rights Council and the Universal Review Process Evaluation of the developments in the area of the Responsibility to Protect and continued efforts to implement the right to development Inclusion of issues such as the push for compensation for slavery, experiments with democracy in a number of countries and the decisions of international judicial and human rights organs on conceptual and protection issuesThis book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Global Institutions, International Law and Human Rights.
First published in 1925, Bertrand Russell’s ABC of Relativity was considered a masterwork of its time, contributing significantly to the mass popularisation of science. Authoritative and accessible, it provides a remarkable introductory guide to Einstein’s theory of Relativity for a general readership. One of the most definitive reference guides of its kind, and written by one of the twentieth century’s most influential philosophers, ABC of Relativity continues to be as relevant today as it was on first publication.
Title: Histoire et Panorama d'un beau pays, ou St Malo, St Servan, Dinan, Dol et environs ... Nouvelle e dition, illustre e par M. V. Doutreleau ... et augmente e de l'histoire de la Re volution en Bretagne, etc.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The HISTORY OF EUROPE collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. This collection includes works chronicling the development of Western civilisation to the modern age. Highlights include the development of language, political and educational systems, philosophy, science, and the arts. The selection documents periods of civil war, migration, shifts in power, Muslim expansion into Central Europe, complex feudal loyalties, the aristocracy of new nations, and European expansion into the New World. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Robidou, Bertrand; Doutreleau, Valentin; 1861. 4 . 10173.f.9.
Title: A Few Facts concerning the Parish of Pewsey in the County of Wilts.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The HISTORY OF BRITAIN & IRELAND collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. As well as historical works, this collection includes geographies, travelogues, and titles covering periods of competition and cooperation among the people of Great Britain and Ireland. Works also explore the countries' relations with France, Germany, the Low Countries, Denmark, and Scandinavia. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Bouverie, Bertrand Pleydell; 1890. 66 p.; 8 . 10352.aaa.58.
