MBR: The Philosophy Shelf
Midwest Book Review
Crossover Queries
Edith Wyschogrod
Fordham University Press
2546 Belmont Avenue, University Box L, Bronx, NY 10458-5172
0823226077 $30.00 1-800-247-6553
Crossover Queries: Dwelling With Negatives, Embodying Philosophy's
Others collects essays by Professor of Philosophy and Religious Thought
Edith Wyschogrod. Exploring a vast range from the question of the name
of God, to the phenomenology of the body and recent biological
research, to insights on twentieth-century European philosophy and
traditional Jewish thought, Crossover Queries finds common threads and
askance viewpoints in scattered amid centuries of human perspective. A
scholarly and serious-minded omnibus of critical evaluation, pedegogy,
and comparative philosophical perspectives.
The Greek Praise Of Poverty
William D. Desmond
University of Notre Dame Press
310 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu
0268025827 $25.00 1-800-621-2736
The Greek Praise Of Poverty: Origins Of Ancient Cynicism challenges
common evaluations of the ancient Cynics of Greece in the fifth and
fourth centuries B.C., presenting them not as cultural outcasts or
marginal voices, but rather a profound movement with lasting roots
entwined in what author William D. Desmond (lecturer, Dept. of Classics
at Trinity College, Dublin) calls "the Greek praise of poverty."
Describing at length classical attitudes that esteemed virtues thought
to be inspired by poverty, such as industry, honesty, frugality, and
temperance, and condemned flaws associated with wealth, such as
idleness, injustice, arrogance, The Greek Praise Of Poverty casts new
light on ancient perspectives. An excellent, in-depth, college-level
academic study of classical views, reasoning, and thought processes,
and their impact on culture from ancient times to the modern day.
Insurmountable Simplicities
Roberto Casati & Achille Varzi
Columbia University Press
61 West 62nd Street, NY, NY 10023-7015
www.columbiaedu/cu/cup
0231137222 $24.95 1-800-944-8648
Insurmountable Simplicities: Thirty-Nine Philosophical Conundrums
presents a veritable smorgasbord of philosophical brain-teasers to be
pondered at length by novice and veteran thinkers alike. Why do mirrors
appear to invert left and right but not up and down? How do we know
whether strawberries taste the same for everyone? Where is it written
that we must observe the law, and if it is not written, why should we
observe it? Each riddle for contemplation is presented not through
tedious narration, but rather in the unusual and lively form of a
hypothetical dialogue. An excellent and mentally stimulating
introduction to a wide variety of difficult and deep questions.
Unfinished Dialogue
Isaiah Berlin, Beata Polanowska-Sygulska
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228
www.prometheusbooks.com
1591023769 $28.00 1-800-421-0351
Unfinished Dialogue is a published record of correspondence between
Oxford University Professor of Social and Political Theory Isaiah
Berlin, and Dr. Beata Polanowska-Sygulska, as conducted as conducted
from 1983 to 1997. Selections from their exchange of letters, published
for the first time, form the first of four sections; the next three are
comprised of two interviews Berlin gave in 1991 for Polish periodicals,
edited transcripts of conversations recorded between 1986 and 1995, and
an allotment of articles by Polanowska-Sygulska on Berlin's thought, as
derived from her years of immersion in his work. Berlin's philosophical
ideas, and his affinity for the Eastern-European perspective of
Polanowska-Sygulska, show through in this serious-minded, respectful,
and extensively detailed analysis of the interplay between two great
minds. At times fairly technical, Unfinished Dialogue is recommended
for intermediate to advanced philosophy students.
Kristeller Reconsidered
John Monfasani, editor
Italica Press
595 Main St., Suite 605, NY, NY 10044
0934977577 $40.00 ItalicaPress.com
The late Paul Oskar Kristeller (1905-1999) revolutionized Renaissance
Studies and significantly influenced three generations of students,
scholars, and non-specialist general readers through his teaching,
lecturing, research, scholarship, and writings. The author of numerous
articles and such primary resource and scholarly works as "Renaissance
Thought"; "Eight Philosophers of the Italian Renaissance", and "The
Philosophy of Marsilio Ficino", Professor Kristeller is justifiably
credited with reinterpreting Renaissance humanism and its relation to
intellectual and cultural life. His work in manuscript research defined
the foundational approach to the textual sources of the renaissance
era. Compiled and edited by John Monfasani, Kristeller Reconsidered:
Essays On His Life And Scholarship presents informed and informative
essays by sixteen scholars on the relationship between Paul Kristeller
and the historical and philosophical movement that he defined. A body
of impeccable and seminal scholarship, this specialized anthology on
the life and work of Paul Kristeller is recommended reading for
students of the humanist tradition and its influence on contemporary
American culture and philosophy.
For The Love Of Beauty
Arthur Pontynen
Transaction Books
390 Campus Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873
0765803011 $49.95 transactionpub.com
For The Love Of Beauty: Art, History, And The Moral Foundations Of
Aesthetic Judgment by Arthur Pontynen (Professor of Art History,
University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh) is a challenging and scholarly view
of Western art history through the touchstone of a prerequisite search,
even a quest for "the good, the true, and the beautiful." Professor
Pontynen questions the value of art in a world framed by the assumption
of dogmatic aesthetics, instead of validating the search for truth,
beauty, and goodness. Professor Pontynen applies this thesis or
critical reference to Western art and art history from Classicism to
Postmodernism. Further, he grounds his observations with examples from
history, philosophy, aesthetics, and specific works of art. There are
forty black and white photo reproductions of art works incorporated
into the text. For The Love Of Beauty is a seminal, 364-page work of
critical thought intended to challenge the reader to explore further
those assumptions upon which all notions of beauty, truth, and goodness
are based. It is a great scholarly text of particular interest to
philosophers, art historians, as well as students and non-specialist
general readers with an interest in ethics, aesthetics, and
intellectual history.
Unfinished Dialogue
Isaiah Berlin & Beata Polanowska-Sygulska
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
1591023769 $28.00 www.prometheusbooks.com
Nearly fifteen years of discussion both in person and by letter between
the famous British philosopher Isaiah Berlin and Dr. Beata
Polanowska-Sygulska of Poland lends to a college-level read which
gathers their correspondence from 1983-97 and blends in interviews
Berlin gave in 1991 with transcripts of recorded conversations from
1986 and 1995. The blend of autobiographical insights with
philosophical reflection makes for a fine survey of the minds of this
century's finest thinkers.
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