Where should God be in thinking about society, or society in thinking about God? This book shows how philosophy can help non-philosophers with these questions. It shows that intelligence is the product, not the source, of society and language, and the rationality of individuals is inevitably conditioned by the distinctive customs and beliefs of their societies. Addressing the idea that religion can impede the smooth running of society, it argues that the Western concept of religion is taken from Christianity and cannot usefully be extended to non-European cultures. But any society will be threatened by a sub-society with customs conflicting with those of the whole in which it exists, and Jews, Christians and Muslims have sometimes formed such sub-societies. Charlton proceeds to consider how our dependence upon society fits with traditional beliefs about creation, salvation and life after death, and offers a synthesis that is new without being unorthodox. He indicates where Christian customs concerning birth, death, sex and education conflict with those of secular liberalism and considers which culture, Christian or secular liberal, has the better chance of prevailing in a globalised world.

Society and God: Culture and Creed from a Philosophical Standpoint

Charlton, William

Religion & Spirituality

James Clarke

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

The problem of acting against one's better judgement is known as weak-willed or irrational behaviour. It perplexed Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and has been the subject of keen debate by recent philosophers - partly as a result of work by Hare, Anscombe and Davidson. This book is intended as a comprehensive introduction to both ancient and modern discussions. Two chapters cover the work of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. A further four central chapters deal with modern ideas about volition, trying and intention, with modern analyses of what it is to think something good, and with the debates provoked by R.M. Hare and Donald Davidson. Two further chapters examine selected explanations of weak-willed behaviour in the light of recent work in psychology. Among different explanations of weak-willed behaviour William Charlton considers compulsive desires, unconscious motivations and various kinds of intellectual failure. He discusses proposals by Plato, Freud and Davidson for partitioning the psyche and offers his own teleological view of human conduct as explainable in terms of reasons and purposes. In conclusion he compares the different approaches to the topic by the philosopher, psychologist and the economic theorist. This work is aimed at students of philosophy in the second year and above.

Weakness of Will

Blackwell*publishers

Blackwell Pub.

This book explains in down-to-earth language what analytical philosophy is, and presupposes no previous knowledge of the subject. In discussing several central philosophical problems, William Charlton aims to show why they are problems for philosophy rather than for any other discipline and thereby illustrate and confirm a general theory of the nature and scope of philosophical enquiry. "The Analytic Ambition" also answers recent relativist attacks on analytic philosophy and argues that its methods can still provide fresh insight into the traditional problems of philosophy. It contains a new theory of the nature of philosophical enquiry and challenges current orthodoxy on such central topics as meaning, time, causation and thought.

The Analytic Ambition: An Introduction to Philosophy

This book explains in down--to--earth language what analytical philosophy is, and presupposes no previous knowledge of the subject. Analytical philosophers aim at obtaining insight into the traditional topics of philosophy by logical, conceptual and linguistic analysis. In this book William Charlton answers relativist attacks on this ambition and argues that its methods can still provide fresh insight into the traditional problems of philosophy. Taking such central philosophical problems as meaning, time, causation and thought, the author shows why they are problems for philosophy rather than for any other discipline, and thereby illustrates and supports a new general theory of the nature and scope of philosophical enquiry. The Analytic Ambition is both an introduction to readers fresh to philosophy and a challenge to professional thinking that has become set in its ways.

Analytic Ambition

John Wiley&Sons

Draw on Christian and Neoplatonic traditions in presenting Aristotle's views on the immortality of the soul, the character of sense perception and the presence within the soul of universals. Translation of text with commentary and notes.

Philoponus: On Aristotle on the Intellect

History

Ancient Civilizations

Gerald Duckworth Co Ltd

This brand new translation of Martin Heidgger's Mindfulness (Besinnung) makes available in English for the first time Heidegger's second major being-historical treatise. Here Heidegger returns to and elaborates in detail many of the individual dimensions of the historically self-showing and transforming allotments of be-ing. In addition to the main text, this volume also includes two further important texts, A Retrospective Look at the Pathway (1937/8) and 'The Wish and the Will (On Preserving What is Attempted)' (1937/8), in which Heidegger surveys his unpublished works, gives instructions for their eventual publication, talks about his relationship to Catholic and Protestant Christianity, and reflects on his life's path. This is a major new translation of a key text from one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. This volume is translated by Parvis Emad, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University, Chicago, and Thomas Kalary, Professor of Philosophy at Suvidya College, Bangalore.

The Physical, The Natural and The Supernatural

Reference

Sheed & Ward (UK)

When we start to discuss religion we run into controversial questions about history and anthropology, about the scope of scientific explanation, and about free will, good and evil. This book explains how to find our way through these disputes and shows how we can be freed from assumptions and prejudices which make progress impossible by deeper philosophical insight into the concepts involved. Books about religion usually concentrate on a few central Judaeo-Christian doctrines and either attack them or defend them with tenacious conservatism, yielding nothing. This book has a broader scope, and instead of trying to prove that religion, or any particular religion, is reasonable or unreasonable, it seeks to persuade people to be reasonable about religion.

Being Reasonable About Religion

Religious Studies

Routledge

When we start to discuss religion we run into controversial questions about history and anthropology, about the scope of scientific explanation, and about free will, good and evil. This book explains how to find our way through these disputes and shows how we can be freed from assumptions and prejudices which make progress impossible by deeper philosophical insight into the concepts involved. Books about religion usually concentrate on a few central Judaeo-Christian doctrines and either attack them or defend them with tenacious conservatism, yielding nothing. This book has a broader scope, and instead of trying to prove that religion, or any particular religion, is reasonable or unreasonable, it seeks to persuade people to be reasonable about religion.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Charlton, William. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Charlton, William

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Charlton, William. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Society and God: Culture and Creed from a Philosophical Standpoint

Society and God: Culture and Creed from a Philosophical Standpoint

Weakness of Will

Weakness of Will

The Analytic Ambition: An Introduction to Philosophy

Analytic Ambition

Philoponus: On Aristotle on the Intellect

The Physical, The Natural and The Supernatural

Being Reasonable About Religion

Being Reasonable About Religion