Don Garrett

Through the Mist is a collection of personal poems and are all a simple celebration of nature, humanity and our place in the cosmos. They are valuable reminders to enjoy life's many beauties while you can; simply put - these poems are an antidote to ennui, pain and hardship.In these lines, Don Garret calls to you, the reader, to remain who you are despite setbacks and to grow in response to life's vicissitudes. And their messages are applicable to all of us.Having served in the Royal Air Force for twelve years, Don had to find his feet in civilian life. A period in the Insurance Industry was most enlightening and enjoyable, and suitable to his demeanour.Marriage came at the right time and he was blessed with two daughters. Times changed and a divorce claimed all, including his daughters.To obtain an income, Don ventured into the Security Business where, to his delight, he worked with a wonderful group of people. It was here that Don found it was time to put his feelings into words and consequently a book of poems came into being. It was Melrose Books who published his first book, A Clear Imagination.

Don Garrett's poetic writing began when he wrote little poems for Birthdays and Christmas cards for his two daughters. As a young boy he was in a hospital Isolation ward with suspected "Scarlet fever", to occupy the time he taught himself how to draw. The writing and drawing skills show that Don is naturally creative. Joining the R.A.F as a boy entrant he served for twelve enjoyable years leaving in 1973. After several jobs and moving around Don eventually settled in the new town of Milton Keynes where he became a married man, two daughters came from the union but divorce took its toll whereupon Don became a security Guard - it was whilst here that the creative skills from his younger days once again surfaced and drawing pictures of Halloween and Father Christmas became a habit. Then the poems began to flow, Don has had two books published and certainly hopes for more to follow as his poems steadily flow.Photograph by Mr Mike JK Leahy

Spinoza's guiding commitment to the thesis that nothing exists or occurs outside of the scope of nature and its necessary laws makes him one of the great seventeenth-century exemplars of both philosophical naturalism and explanatory rationalism. Nature and Necessity in Spinoza's Philosophy brings together for the first time eighteen of Don Garrett's articles on Spinoza's philosophy, ranging over the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, ethics, and political philosophy. Taken together, these influential articles provide a comprehensive interpretation of that philosophy, including Spinoza's theories of substance, thought and extension, causation, truth, knowledge, individuation, representation, consciousness, conatus, teleology, emotion, freedom, responsibility, virtue, contract, the state, and eternity-and the deep interrelations among them. Each article aims to resolve significant problems in the understanding of Spinoza's philosophy in such a way as to make evident both his reasons for his views and the enduring value of his ideas. At the same time, Garrett's articles elucidate the relations between his philosophy and those of predecessors and contemporaries like Aristotle, Hobbes, Descartes, Locke, and Leibniz. Lastly, the volume offers important and substantial replies to leading critics on four crucial topics: the necessary existence of God (Nature), substance monism, necessitarianism, and consciousness.

Beginning with an overview of Hume's life and work, Don Garrett introduces in clear and accessible style the central aspects of Hume's thought. These include Hume's lifelong exploration of the human mind; his theories of inductive inference and causation; skepticism and personal identity; moral and political philosophy; aesthetics; and philosophy of religion.The final chapter considers the influence and legacy of Hume's thought today. Throughout, Garrett draws on and explains many of Hume's central works, including his Treatise of Human Nature, Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding, and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.Hume is essential reading not only for students of philosophy, but anyone in the humanities and social sciences and beyond seeking an introduction to Hume's thought.

Beginning with an overview of Hume's life and work, Don Garrett introduces in clear and accessible style the central aspects of Hume's thought. These include Hume's lifelong exploration of the human mind; his theories of inductive inference and causation; skepticism and personal identity; moral and political philosophy; aesthetics; and philosophy of religion.The final chapter considers the influence and legacy of Hume's thought today. Throughout, Garrett draws on and explains many of Hume's central works, including his Treatise of Human Nature, Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding, and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.Hume is essential reading not only for students of philosophy, but anyone in the humanities and social sciences and beyond seeking an introduction to Hume's thought.

Norman Kemp Smith's The Philosophy of David Hume has long been regarded as a classic study by scholars in the field - a ground-breaking book that has since been unsurpassed in its comprehensive coverage of the ideas and issues of Hume's Treatise. This reissue brings this currently out-of-print and highly sought-after classic up-to-date with a new introduction by Don Garrett. Garrett's new introduction sets the book in its contemporary context and makes the case for its continuing importance in the field of Hume scholarship.

It is widely believed that Hume often wrote carelessly and contradicted himself, and that no unified, sound philosophy emerges from his writings. Don Garrett demonstrates that such criticisms of Hume are without basis. Offering fresh and trenchant solutions to longstanding problems in Hume studies, Garrett's penetrating analysis also makes clear the continuing relevance of Hume's philosophy.

Featuring more than 150 articles by more than 70 leading scholars, this is the only encyclopedia devoted to Empiricism. It is an essential source of information on particular figures, topics, and doctrines, treating the topic as a 17th- and 18th-century movement as well as a broader tendency in philosophical thought. The work demonstrates the continuity and logical development of Empiricism as an historical movement and explains the relations between the movement of the 17th and 18th centuries and the various species of empiricism that prececed and succeeded it. Of great use to scholars, students, and public library patrons are the selected bibliographies of primary and secondary sources that conclude each article.

It is widely believed that Hume often wrote carelessly and contradicted himself, and that no unified, sound philosophy emerges from his writings. Don Garrett demonstrates that such criticisms of Hume are without basis. Offering fresh and trenchant solutions to longstanding problems in Hume studies, Garrett's penetrating analysis also makes clear the continuing relevance of Hume's philosophy.