In the Apology Plato quotes Socrates as saying, at his trial for impiety, ‘an unexamined life is not worth living’. For those new to philosophy, this very accessible, illustrated survey of the development and various strands of Western thought offers a guide to starting that philosophical examination of life, tackling the big questions, including Is there a God? What can we know? and How should we live?

Arguing that idleness makes us happier, kinder and more creative, Russell’s celebrated 1932 essay is all too relevant in our age of multi-tasking and digital overload. It appears here with a great modern humorist’s introduction, afterword and illustrations.

Starting with Socrates who, with his injunction to ‘know thyself’, provided a model of the philosophical life, and ending with Nietzsche, James Miller provides brief biographies of twelve philosophers. The selection includes both canonical figures such as Augustine, Descartes and Kant, and less obvious thinkers including Diogenes, Montaigne and Emerson, but every one of them has ‘struggled to live his life according to a deliberately chosen set of precepts and beliefs’. Previously in Postscript as The Philosophical Life.

A serving politician as well as liberal theorist, Mill was a passionate advocate of equality for women. In this short but powerful essay he explains his argument, against the norms of Victorian Britain, that society, not nature, dictates that women submit to men.

William J Prior introduces ancient philosophy, from the Pre-Socratics to Marcus Aurelius, through discussion of the main issues raised by Socrates, but debated before and after him: the good life, knowledge and reality, the soul, and God and the cosmos. Off-mint.

Beginning with the basic principles of logic inherited from Plato and Aristotle, and focusing on Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham, this introduction examines the problems that concerned the medieval philosophers: evil, eternity, universals, ethics and the existence of God.

René Descartes (1596–1650) was a leader of the 17th-century intellectual revolution in science and philosophy, famous above all for his rationalism and the Cogito: ‘I think, therefore I am’. Bracken’s guide provides historical background, formulates the core of Descartes’ philosophical ideas and discusses his legacy.

Existentialism was expressed through novels, plays and films as well as purely philosophical writings and this introductory study explores its central ideas – freedom, anxiety, the Absurd and authenticity – through the works of writers including Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre, de Beauvoir and Fanon.

This collection of writings by René Descartes (1596–1650) begins with the short, yet tremendously important Discourse on the Method, with the famous assertion cogito ergo sum within the discussion of knowledge, the existence of God and the distinction between mind and body. The Meditations then expand on Descartes’ metaphysical arguments, and selections from The Principles of Philosophy complete the volume.

Translated, with an introduction by the Oxford classicist Benjamin Jowett (1817–1893), Plato’s Republic is widely regarded as the finest of the Socratic dialogues, bringing together political thought and philosophy. Among the issues debated in the dialogue are the meaning of justice and the just man, immortality of the soul, the theory of Forms, and the ideal state ruled by its philosopher king.

Though often wrongly confused with hedonism, the Epicurean ideal of achieving true happiness was in reality an austere, utilitarian philosophy of kindness, equality and moderation of appetites. This edition of Epicurus’ surviving works, as recorded by Diogenes Laertius, includes introductory chapters from Robert Drew Hicks’s Stoics and Epicureans (1910).

An impassioned and persuasive argument for the American colonies’ independence from the British crown, Tom Paine’s pamphlet was published in Philadelphia in 1776. ‘Without the pen of the author of Common Sense’, wrote the founding father John Adams, ‘the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain’.

Written around the time that Aristotle (384–322 BCE) established his own school in Athens, this is a guide to what was a critical skill in ancient Greece: the art of arguing persuasively in debate and public speaking. A seminal text that has shaped theory and practice down to modern times, the book sets out the contexts and types of rhetoric, the strategies of persuasion, and the style of delivery.

This profoundly influential literary-philosophical experiment – a book of aphorisms put into the mouth of the Persian sage Zarathustra – contains the kernel of Nietzsche's thought: his famous proclamation that 'God is dead', and the much-misinterpreted theory of the rise of the Übermensch that has attained a higher, enhanced humanity. First published in four parts in 1883–85.

Published in 1878, two years after Nietzsche broke with German Romanticism and his former friend, Richard Wagner, this is his first philosophical book written in aphoristic style. Here he describes the ‘free spirits’ that will transcend traditional Christianity, challenges the Christian notions of good and evil, and introduces the concept of the will to power.

Written down by Confucius’ pupils after his death in 479 BCE, the Analects principally concern the maintenance of good government, the self-development of the individual and the key to achieving both goals: the cultivation of moral character.

Sun Tzu's The Art of War was written in China almost 2,500 years ago and contains great wisdom not just about war itself, but about the science and skill of manoeuvre and strategy in their broadest terms.

Through a combination of quizzes, single-sentence summaries and ten-point explanations, this concise guide introduces 50 of philosophy’s most profound questions and fundamental concepts, illustrating the range of approaches taken by great thinkers down the ages.

Offering ‘a sense of what philosophy is about and an insight into the ideas which engage philosophical minds’, Jeremy Stangroom introduces 50 thinkers – including political, social and psychological theorists as well as philosophers – with succinct summaries of one or more essential arguments in their work.

Daniel E Flage argues for the value of revisiting the works of Bishop Berkeley (1685–1753) and presents a concise introduction to the philosophy of the great British Empiricist. The study provides careful readings and interpretations of Berkeley’s writings, examining his discussions of vision, his arguments for idealism, his moral philosophy, and his economic theory.

The Meditations of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121–180 CE) draw on Stoic philosophy to find ways of dealing with adversity and remaining a good person in a vain and deceitful world. This translation was made by the classical scholar George Long in 1862.

Each volume in this series uses a three-part approach to explain complex ideas. First the ‘helicopter overview’ introduces the concept, then the ‘shortcut’ gives more detail on core elements and the pithy ‘hack’ offers a memorable summary. These straightforward explanations present philosophical theories and arguments ranging from ancient religious ideas, through the work of such seminal figures as Avicenna and Descartes, to modern thought experiments including the Trolley Problem and Wittgenstein’s beetle.

The best cartoonists’ simple drawings and witty captions often engage with profound questions, as two philosophers demonstrate here. In succinct and entertaining discussions they analyse over 60 examples of cartoons that respond to issues such as identity, existentialism, the cosmological argument for the existence of God and ethical intuition.

Dealing with individual thinkers, from the Pre-Socratics and ‘the Greek heavyweights’ to modern philosophers such as Wittgenstein and Derrida, this book from the I Used to Know That series explains the development of philosophical ideas over 2,500 years. There’s a Final Philosophy Paper at the end – but no answers.

In this, his most influential work, the great political and social thinker John Stuart Mill (1806–73) examines the relationship of the individual and the state, the ethics of utilitarianism and the essential liberties of individuals, beginning with the right to free thought and speech.

Written in 1888, shortly before Nietzsche succumbed to mental illness, Ecce Homo (originally entitled Why I Am So Wise) is his last book, an intellectual autobiography tracing the development of his philosophy and explaining its concept of ‘free will’ and ‘free spirit’. Translated, with an introduction, by Gerta Valentine.

In this appeal for us to reject religion’s ‘chimeras’, the businessman and philanthropist Vitaly Malkin argues that the adoption of monotheistic doctrines slowed down the progress of human civilization and has failed to make people happier. Examining the big questions of evil, death, suffering and ‘the great battle against pleasure’, he encourages the reader to question what benefit religious practices offer and to live in the present rather than wait for life after death. Slightly off-mint.

From Plato’s cave and Occam’s razor to debates over liberty and justice, these accessible essays introduce some of the most puzzling and troubling questions that have been raised by philosophers since the era of the ancient Greeks.

In this humorous meditation on the existence of Father Christmas, The Simpsons screenwriter Eric Kaplan poses questions about the nature of reason and the human propensity to believe contradictory propositions simultaneously.

The 488 personal jottings that form Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations have significantly influenced Western thought but lack clear order and sequence. Stedall’s dialogues make these Stoic ideas more accessible, as the Roman Emperor converses with historical figures including the Greek doctor Galen and Egyptian priest Harnouphis. Slightly off-mint.

The philosopher Kurt Flasch offers a full-scale reappraisal of the life and legacy of Meister Eckhart, the medieval German theologian, philosopher and alleged mystic who was active during the 14th-century Avignon Papacy and posthumously condemned as a heretic by Pope John XXII. Flasch argues that Eckhart was an important philosopher of his time rather than a mystic, and sheds new light on this medieval figure who has attracted the attention of modern thinkers including Schopenhauer, Fromm and Derrida.

What is humanism, and what insights can be gleaned from the different contemporary varieties of this philosophy? Mark Vernon - philosopher, agnostic and former Anglican priest - introduces the history of humanistic thought, from its origins in ancient Greek philosophy, through its emergence as a movement during the Renaissance, to ten 'pressing issues', such as climate change, blasphemy and identity politics, which humanists must face in our own time.

Slightly off-mint.

This study argues that the work of French Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) should ideally be read with reference to his contemporary Maurice Blanchot (1907-2003)

This second volume of the annual periodical devoted to original philosophical work on the foundation of ethics comprises 11 essays on topics including 'wrongness and reasons', moral obligation and value and autonomy in Kantian ethics.

Sajahan Miah re-examines and evaluates the development of Russell's concept of perception and the relation of perception to our knowledge of the external world. He focuses largely on the period 1909-19, when Russell attempted a reductionist analysis of empirical knowledge. No jacket.

This collection aims to reveal the late stage of the thought of Josiah Joyce, the American philosopher of community, from 1912 when he began to make creative use of the thought of the logician Charles Sanders Peirce, up to his death in 1916. No jackets.

Ranging chronologically between John Locke (1632-1704) and Dugald Stewart (1753-1828), this dictionary covers a long 18th century and interprets 'philosophy' inclusively, with entries and bibliographies for around 600 philosophers, scientists, theologians and writers in many other disciplines. No jacket. Slip-cased.

A study of the treatment of disinterest as a philosophical topic in the works of Jacques Derrida and Emmanuel Levinas, identifying both thinkers as part of a tradition treating

Peter Gratton presents a first critique of the new movement in Continental philosophy launched by Brassier, Grant, Harman and Meillassoux, and covers topics including correlationism, the non-existence of God, objects, and time.

In the 1960s and 1970s there were remarkable encounters between the most prominent French philosophers and contemporary artists, particularly members of the Narrative Figuration movement. Passages from critical texts arising from those encounters serve as the focus in each chapter of this illustrated study, which explores, among others, the meetings of Jean-Paul Sartre and Robert Lapoujade; Louis Althusser and Lucio Fanti; and Jacques Derrida and Valerio Adami.

This Continuum Guide for the Perplexed introduces Anglo- Irish philosopher George Berkeley (1685-1753) as an idealist and man of letters famous for extravagance of Knowledge and Three Dialogues.

Ideal for students new to philosophy, each book in this series places a major philosopher in historical context, explains their key arguments and considers their legacy.

Ideal for students new to philosophy, each book in this series places a major philosopher in historical context, explains their key arguments and considers their legacy.

Written by noted experts, these lucid, alphabetically organized handbooks define and discuss the central concepts, thinkers and debates in a broad range of academic disciplines.

Every book in this series comprises around 15 essays in which the author explores a single concept in the work of one of the major philosophers.

Each GuideBook considers a key area in the work of a major philosopher by focusing on an important text and assessing its contribution to contemporary thought.

Each of these invaluable introductory guides to today's critical terminology offers an original overview by a leading literary or cultural critic.

Every book in this series comprises around 15 essays in which the author explores a single concept in the work of one of the major philosophers.

Each GuideBook considers a key area in the work of a major philosopher by focusing on an important text and assessing its contribution to contemporary thought.

Each GuideBook considers a key area in the work of a major philosopher by focusing on an important text and assessing its contribution to contemporary thought.

Each GuideBook considers a key area in the work of a major philosopher by focusing on an important text and assessing its contribution to contemporary thought.

This series introduces the texts that have helped shape Western civilization, every volume providing a detailed examination of the central ideas and arguments of a seminal text and discussion of its lasting significance.

Every book in this series comprises around 15 essays in which the author explores a single concept in the work of one of the major philosophers.

Each GuideBook considers a key area in the work of a major philosopher by focusing on an important text and assessing its contribution to contemporary thought.

Each GuideBook considers a key area in the work of a major philosopher by focusing on an important text and assessing its contribution to contemporary thought.

Each GuideBook considers a key area in the work of a major philosopher by focusing on an important text and assessing its contribution to contemporary thought.

Each GuideBook considers a key area in the work of a major philosopher by focusing on an important text and assessing its contribution to contemporary thought.

Each GuideBook considers a key area in the work of a major philosopher by focusing on an important text and assessing its contribution to contemporary thought.

Fragments written in preparation for a defence of Christianity, unfinished at Pascal’s death in 1669 and published posthumously in 1669, Pensées has since been regarded as a masterpiece of French prose as well as a great work of philosophy and theology. Among the ‘Thoughts’ is the famous ‘wager’ argument for the rationality of believing in God that draws on another of Pascal’s works of genius, the theory of probability. Pensées is read, unabridged and in English, by Peter Wickham.

Written in 1791 as a response to Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France, Thomas Paine's Rights of Man is a seminal work on human freedom and equality, arguing that governments must respect the welfare rights of all citizens.

This is an expanded English version of Pradeau's Platon et la cite (1997). Lucid and non-technical, the book is both a study of the city - or political community - in Plato's work and an introduction to his political thought as a whole, with translations of key extracts. It offers English-speaking readers access to a more unifying continental European reading of Plato than is common in British and North American scholarship. Translated by Janet Lloyd, with a foreword by Christopher Gill.

Taking its title from the sea monster who rules over the prideful in the Book of Job, Hobbes’s controversial masterpiece of moral and political philosophy proposes a state with absolute power, and describes the relation of the state to religion. Read by Peter Wickham. Unabridged.

‘Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains’, so begins one of the most profoundly influential works of Western political philosophy. Written in 1762, The Social Contract puts forward Rousseau’s theory of the general will and the sovereignty of the whole citizen body – ideas that were taken up by the French revolutionaries and political thinkers as far-flung as Jefferson in America and Tolstoy in Russia.

Drawing on classical theories as well as modern approaches, this book shows how philosophical debates impact our lives, from shaping our social structures to making personal decisions such as whether to eat meat. Part of the Crash Course series, the book contains 52 concise articles, each one offering an overview of a main concept and a closer look at a particular aspect of it. Also included are timelines of major events and biographies of leading figures in the field.

In 2007, the prominent atheists Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens met in the latter’s Washington home to discuss religion, the human need for it, and why they considered it harmful. The two-hour recording of their conversation has since had millions of views on YouTube. This is the full transcript, along with essays by the three surviving participants and an introduction by Stephen Fry. Slightly off-mint and felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

Described by the Guardian critic as mixing ‘the loquaciousness of the barfly with the fluency of the literary artist’, Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) was a brilliant essayist and polemicist, famous for his unshakable atheism. Our four volumes feature some of his most celebrated writing, including Mortality, written after Hitchens, diagnosed with terminal cancer, was taken 'from the country of the well across the stark frontier that marks off the land of malady'. Titles included are Mortality, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, And Yet...: Essays and Arguably: Essays.