'Foucault leaves no reader untouched or unchanged' Edward SaidAesthetics, the second volume of the complete collection of Michel Foucault's courses, articles and interviews, focuses on the philosophy, literature and art which informed his engagement with ethics and power, including brilliant commentaries on the work of de Sade, Rousseau, Marx, Magritte, Nietzsche, Freud and Wagner.
'Who since Weber, or perhaps even Hobbes, has done as much to show why power is such a profound, elusive and treacherous presence throughout our experience?
'Bristles with provocative insights into the tangled liaisons of sex and self' Times Higher EducationIn the third volume of his acclaimed examination of sexuality in modern Western society, Foucault investigates the Golden Age of Rome to reveal a decisive break from the classical Greek version of sexual pleasure.
'No brief survey can do justice to the richness, complexity and detail of Foucault's discussion' New York Review of BooksThe second volume of Michel Foucault's pioneering analysis of the changing nature of desire explores how sexuality was perceived in classical Greek culture.
'A brilliant display of fireworks, attacking the widespread and banal notion that "e;in the beginning"e; sexual activity was guilt-free and delicious, being repressed and blighted only by the gloom of Victorianism' Spectator We talk about sex more and more, but are we more liberated?
'Imaginative, illuminating and innovative' The New York Times Book ReviewThe grisly spectacle of public executions and torture of centuries ago has been replaced by the penal system in western society - but has anything really changed?
'Drunk or sober, king or soldier, none will be excluded'Sensual, profound, delighted, wise, Hafez's poems have enchanted their readers for more than 600 years.
TLS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2016'Gray must be one of the best read of contemporary philosophers, trawling insouciantly through high-, middle- and low-brow literature with the sharp-eyed eclecticism of a magpie of genius' John Banville, Guardian'Like Isaiah Berlin with a thing for sci-fi' Tibor Fischer, SpectatorEveryone thinks they want to be free - or do they?
Perhaps the most widely read thinker of all time, Confucius transformed Chinese philosophy with his belief that the greatest goal in life was pursuit of 'The Way': a search for virtue not as a means to rewards in this world or the next, but as the pinnacle of human existence.
This book takes a dramatically original approach to the history of humanity, using objects which previous civilisations have left behind them, often accidentally, as prisms through which we can explore past worlds and the lives of the men and women who lived in them.
A wonderfully enjoyable storehouse of ancient Chinese history and legends, which also has an important role in understanding 21st-century China'And remember: Heaven's blessing will cease forever if there's despair and poverty in your lands'The Most Venerable Book (also known as The Book of History) is one of the Five Classics, a key work of Chinese literature which preserves some of the most ancient and dramatic chronicles of the history, both real and mythological, of the Chinese state.
Euthyphro/Apology/Crito/Phaedo'Nothing can harm a good man either in life or after death'The trial and condemnation of Socrates on charges of heresy and corrupting young minds is a defining moment in the history of classical Athens.
Die »Chronik der philosophischen Werke« ist ein Lexikon von ganz besonderer Art: Sie gibt annotierte Übersicht über die zeitliche Nähe (oder auch Ferne) der Erstveröffentlichungen bedeutender philosophischer Schriften und Werke seit Gutenbergohne eine vorlaufende Einordnung und Sortierungder einzelnen Titel nach Schulen, Richtungen oder anderenKriterien.
Amongst the most famous and influential of all political polemics, Cicero's scathing speeches against the dictatorial ambitions of Mark Antony are the passionate last testament of the greatest statesman of his age; a final attempt to restore his beloved Republic that was to cost him his life.
Elegant, insightful and startlingly modern, the philosophy of Lucretius deeply influenced the course of European thought; here, he provides one of the first accounts of atomic theory, argues that there can be no life of the soul after death, and explores the sickness that we call love.
A major new interpretation of how one of the great figures of Christian history came to write the greatest of all autobiographiesAugustine is the person from the ancient world about whom we know most.
Timeless advice on the art of living well, from the celebrated Penguin Great Ideas seriesThe writings of the ancient Roman philosopher Seneca offer powerful insights into stoicism, morality and the importance of reason, and continue to provide profound guidance to many through their eloquence, lucidity and wisdom.
The Father of Existentialism, Kierkegaard transformed philosophy with his conviction that we must all create our own nature; in this great work of religious anxiety, he argues that a true understanding of God can only be attained by making a personal 'leap of faith'.
From an intimate and moving letter to his grieving wife on the death of their daughter, to elegant writings on morality, happiness and the avoidance of anger, Plutarch s powerful words of consolation and inspiration still offer timeless wisdom and guidance today.
One of the most important thinkers ever to write in English, the Empiricist David Hume liberated philosophy from the superstitious constraints of religion; here, he argues that all are free to choose between life and death, considers the nature of personal taste and succinctly criticises common philosophies of the time.
Created by the seventeenth-century philosopher and mathematician Pascal, the essays contained in Human Happiness are a curiously optimistic look at whether humans can ever find satisfaction and real joy in life or whether a belief in God is a wise gamble at best.
Set immediately prior to the trial and execution of Socrates in 399 BC, Theaetetus shows the great philosopher considering the nature of knowledge itself, in a debate with the geometrician Theodorus and his young follower Theaetetus.
This is one of the few records published by Gurdjieff in which he offers guidance to his 'community of seekers', the pupils from many countries who joined him in Paris and New York.
Immanuel Kant was one of the most influential philosophers in the whole of Europe, who changed Western thought with his examinations of reason and the nature of reality.
A prodigiously brilliant thinker who sharply challenged the beliefs of his age, the political and social radical John Stuart Mill was the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century.
'This is a blast of fresh air' Jonathan Clark, TLS'Thank goodness for Gottlieb' Daily Telegraph'A joy to read' EconomistThe author of the celebrated The Dream of Reason vividly explains the rise of modern thought from Descartes to RousseauIn a short period - from the early 1640s to the eve of the French Revolution - Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, and Hume all made their mark on Western thought.
Widely regarded as the father of modern Western philosophy, Descartes sought to look beyond established ideas and create a thought system based on reason.
