The first in-depth look at Stael's political life and writingsGermaine de Stael (1766-1817) is perhaps best known today as a novelist, literary critic, and outspoken and independent thinker.
Timeless wisdom on growing old gracefully from one of ancient Rome's greatest philosophersWorried that old age will inevitably mean losing your libido, your health, and possibly your marbles too?
The second and final volume of the most authoritative English-language edition of Spinoza's writingsThe Collected Works of Spinoza provides, for the first time in English, a truly satisfactory edition of all of Spinoza's writings, with accurate and readable translations, based on the best critical editions of the original-language texts, done by a scholar who has published extensively on the philosopher's work.
From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On Bullshit, the case for worrying less about the rich and more about the poorEconomic inequality is one of the most divisive issues of our time.
In this collection of remarkable biographical portraits, the great essayist and intellectual historian Isaiah Berlin brings to life a wide range of prominent twentieth-century thinkers, politicians, and writers.
Compelling essays from one of today's most esteemed cultural criticsSpanning many historical and literary contexts, Moral Imagination brings together a dozen recent essays by one of America's premier cultural critics.
How the Radical Enlightenment inspired and shaped the French RevolutionHistorians of the French Revolution used to take for granted what was also obvious to its contemporary observers-that the Revolution was shaped by the radical ideas of the Enlightenment.
A new model for the relationship between science and democracy that spans policymaking, the funding and conduct of research, and our approach to new technologiesOur ability to act on some of the most pressing issues of our time, from pandemics and climate change to artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons, depends on knowledge provided by scientists and other experts.
In this pathbreaking study of the works of Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mill, Susan Moller Okin turns to the tradition of political philosophy that pervades Western culture and its institutions to understand why the gap between formal and real gender equality persists.
A major intellectual biography of Toqueville that restores democracy in America to its essential contextMany American readers like to regard Alexis de Tocqueville as an honorary American and democrat-as the young French aristocrat who came to early America and, enthralled by what he saw, proceeded to write an American book explaining democratic America to itself.
A brilliant brief account of romanticism and its influence from one of the most important philosophers and intellectual historians of the twentieth centuryIn The Roots of Romanticism, one of the twentieth century's most influential philosophers dissects and assesses a movement that changed the course of history.
The quotable Ai WeiweiThis collection of quotes demonstrates the elegant simplicity of Ai Weiwei's thoughts on key aspects of his art, politics, and life.
Michael Ignatieff draws on his extensive experience as a writer and commentator on world affairs to present a penetrating account of the successes, failures, and prospects of the human rights revolution.
A primer on campaigning in ancient Rome that reads like a strategy memo from a modern political consultantHow to Win an Election is an ancient Roman guide for campaigning that is as up-to-date as tomorrow's headlines.
A provocative reflection on the dilemmas of modern loveThe sexual revolution is justly celebrated for the freedoms it brought-birth control, the decriminalization of abortion, the liberalization of divorce, greater equality between the sexes, women's massive entry into the workforce, and more tolerance of homosexuality.
Al transformar radicalmente la vida personal y colectiva de millones de personas alrededor del mundo, la pandemia de coronavirus sacudió las estructuras más básicas de las formas políticas establecidas y despertó, con ello, la necesidad de volver observar y pensar para orientarnos en un terreno renovado.
The English philosopher Michael Oakeshott (1901-1990) is known as a conservative who rejected philosophically ambitious rationalism and the grand political ideologies of the twentieth century on the grounds that no human ideas have ultimately reliable foundations.
A powerful new argument for reviving the ideal of racial integrationMore than forty years have passed since Congress, in response to the Civil Rights Movement, enacted sweeping antidiscrimination laws in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
How the Ottomans refashioned and legitimated their rule through mystical imageries of authorityThe medieval theory of the caliphate, epitomized by the Abbasids (750-1258), was the construct of jurists who conceived it as a contractual leadership of the Muslim community in succession to the Prophet Muhammed's political authority.
A pathbreaking history of Sufism, from the earliest centuries of Islam to the presentAfter centuries as the most important ascetic-mystical strand of Islam, Sufism saw a sharp decline in the twentieth century, only to experience a stunning revival in recent decades.
How happiness became mandatory-and why we should reject the demand to "e;be happy"e;Happiness today is not just a possibility or an option but a requirement and a duty.
Many contemporary political thinkers are gripped by the belief that their task is to develop an ideal theory of rights or justice for guiding and judging political actions.
The Jewish Social Contract begins by asking how a traditional Jew can participate politically and socially and in good faith in a modern democratic society, and ends by proposing a broad, inclusive notion of secularity.
In recent years, most political theorists have agreed that shame shouldn't play any role in democratic politics because it threatens the mutual respect necessary for participation and deliberation.
The story of a Princeton professor's role as the unofficial philosophical adviser to the Spanish governmentThis book examines an unlikely development in modern political philosophy: the adoption by a major national government of the ideas of a living political theorist.
How Machiavelli's Christianity shaped his political thoughtTo many readers of The Prince, Machiavelli appears to be deeply un-Christian or even anti-Christian, a cynic who thinks rulers should use religion only to keep their subjects in check.
Civil Society and Government brings together an unprecedented array of political, ethical, and religious perspectives to shed light on the complex and much-debated relationship between civil society and the state.
From sex and music to religion and politics, a history of irrationality and the ways in which it has always been with us-and always will beIn this sweeping account of irrationality from antiquity to the rise of Twitter mobs and the election of Donald Trump, Justin Smith argues that irrationality makes up the greater part of human life and history.
A landmark history that traces the creation, management, and sharing of information through six centuriesThanks to modern technological advances, we now enjoy seemingly unlimited access to information.
The life and times of a uniquely American testamentIn his retirement, Thomas Jefferson edited the New Testament with a penknife and glue, removing all mention of miracles and other supernatural events.
A groundbreaking biography of Milton's formative years that provides a new account of the poet's political radicalizationJohn Milton (1608-1674) has a unique claim on literary and intellectual history as the author of both Paradise Lost, the greatest narrative poem in English, and prose defences of the execution of Charles I that influenced the French and American revolutions.
A bold new approach to combatting the inherent corruption of representative democracyThis provocative book reveals how the majority of modern liberal democracies have become increasingly oligarchic, suffering from a form of structural political decay first conceptualized by ancient philosophers.
How transatlantic thinkers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries promoted the unification of Britain and the United StatesBetween the late nineteenth century and the First World War an ocean-spanning network of prominent individuals advocated the unification of Britain and the United States.
A landmark work from one of our leading political theoristsA sympathetic critique that attempts to free Left politics from its own snares, States of Injury explores how woundedness became a basis for contemporary political identity.
A moral philosopher's meditations on some of life's most important questionsWe've all had to puzzle over such profound matters as birth, death, regret, free will, agency, and love.
