{"title":"Philosophy--Social","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"against-progress","title":"Against Progress","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTo define 'progress' is to lay claim to the future. Seminal thinker Slavoj Zizek turns essayist to interrogate the competing visions which form the horizons of human possibility and ask: Can things, which have never seemed worse, get better? What would a better world be? \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnd how, when we are constantly besieged by doomers, degrowthers and disorienting relativisms can we make any headway at all in the face of unprecedented ecological, social and political crises?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn thirteen iconoclastic essays, Slavoj Zizek disrupts the death-grip that neoliberalists, Trumpian populists, toxic self-improvement industries and accelerationists alike have established on the idea of progress. Anatomizing what is lost when opponents of the future are allowed to define it, Zizek ruthlessly exposes what different visions of progress exclude or sacrifice and the dynamics of desire, denial and disavowal at work in Hollywood blockbusters, Buddhist economics, decolonization movements and other engines of vision. In a whirlwind tour that takes in everything from gentrification to the theory of relativity, Lacan to Lenin, Putin to Mary Poppins and Marine Le Pen to the end of the world, these essays never stop asking hard questions of imagined futures.\u003cbr\u003eNor does Zizek shrink from the hardest question of all: How do we free ourselves from the hypocritical, guilt-ridden dreaming in which we're enmeshed, and begin to build a better world?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 135051585X\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781350515857\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Zizek, Slavoj, N\/A, N\/A\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Bloomsbury Academic\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Jan 2025)","offer_id":45656933826757,"sku":"9781350515857","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781350515857.jpg?v=1768885711"},{"product_id":"hegel-contra-sociology","title":"Hegel Contra Sociology","description":"Gillian Rose is among the twentieth century's most important social philosophers. 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With an analysis of Hegel's mature works in light of his early radical writings, this book represents a profound step toward enacting just such a return to the Hegelian.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1844673545\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781844673544\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Rose, Gillian, N\/A, N\/A\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Verso\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Verso","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Jun 2009)","offer_id":45657233326277,"sku":"9781844673544","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781844673544.jpg?v=1768889823"},{"product_id":"the-need-for-roots-prelude-to-a-declaration-of-obligations-towards-the-human-being","title":"The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Obligations Towards the Human Being","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrench philosopher Simone Weil's best known work that promotes mindful living and instructs readers how they can once again feel rooted, in a cultural and spiritual sense, to their environment \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA Penguin Classic \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne of the foremost French philosophers of the last century, Simone Weil has been described by André Gide as \"the patron saint of all outsiders\" and by Albert Camus as \"the only great spirit of our time.\" In this, her most famous work, she diagnoses the malaise at the heart of modern life: uprootedness, from the past and from community. 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This fascinating work argues that the social world functions simultaneously as a system of power relations and as a symbolic system in which minute distinctions of taste become the basis for social judgement.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0415567882\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780415567886\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Bourdieu, Pierre, Nice, Richard, N\/A\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Routledge\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Routledge","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Mar 2010)","offer_id":45658308444357,"sku":"9780415567886","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780415567886.jpg?v=1768899528"},{"product_id":"on-disobedience-why-freedom-means-saying-no-to-power","title":"On Disobedience: Why Freedom Means Saying No to Power","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Human history began with an act of disobedience, and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act of obedience.\"--from \u003cem\u003eOn Disobedience\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne of the great psychological and social philosophers of the twentieth century, Erich Fromm expounded on the importance of disobedience and the authentic voice of the individual in modern culture. As relevant now as when it was first published, \u003cem\u003eOn Disobedience \u003c\/em\u003eis a collection of provocative essays, including the title entry, which suggests the very act of dissent--the choice to refuse to conform, to speak \"no\" to those in power--is essential to a humane society, both to ensure humankind's preservation and to allow for one person to reclaim a genuine sense of self.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eOn Disobedience\u003c\/em\u003e, Fromm writes that the authoritarian dictatorships of the 20th century produced an \"organization man\" to follow directives blindly, no matter how abhorrent. At the same time, a kind of conformity has arisen in western democracies, only brought about by more subtle means of massive consumerism. 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Its selections offer a full range of the influential author's writings--including \"The Origin of the Work of Art,\" the introduction to \u003cem\u003eBeing and Time\u003c\/em\u003e, \"What Is Metaphysics?,\" \"Letter on Humanism,\" \"The Question Concerning Technology,\" \"The Way to Language,\" and \"The End of Philosophy.\" This essential collection provides readers with a concise introduction to the groundbreaking philosophy of this brilliant and essential thinker.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0061627011\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780061627019\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Heidegger, Martin, N\/A, N\/A\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Harper Perennial\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Nov 2008)","offer_id":45658787578053,"sku":"9780061627019","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780061627019.jpg?v=1768904643"},{"product_id":"what-we-owe-to-each-other","title":"What We Owe to Each Other","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"This magnificent book...opens up a novel, arresting position on matters that have been debated for thousands of years.\" --Times Literary Supplement \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e How do we judge whether an action is morally right or wrong? If an action is wrong, what reason does that give us not to do it? Why should we give such reasons priority over our other concerns and values? In this book, T. M. Scanlon offers new answers to these questions, as they apply to the central part of morality that concerns what we owe to each other. According to his contractualist view, thinking about right and wrong is thinking about what we do in terms that could be justified to others and that they could not reasonably reject. He shows how the special authority of conclusions about right and wrong arises from the value of being related to others in this way, and he shows how familiar moral ideas such as fairness and responsibility can be understood through their role in this process of mutual justification and criticism. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Scanlon bases his contractualism on a broader account of reasons, value, and individual well-being that challenges standard views about these crucial notions. He argues that desires do not provide us with reasons, that states of affairs are not the primary bearers of value, and that well-being is not as important for rational decision-making as it is commonly held to be. Scanlon is a pluralist about both moral and non-moral values. He argues that, taking this plurality of values into account, contractualism allows for most of the variability in moral requirements that relativists have claimed, while still accounting for the full force of our judgments of right and wrong.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 067400423X\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780674004238\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Scanlon, T. 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He is also one of its most controversial. The author of important books such as \u003ci\u003eAnimal Liberation\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePractical Ethics\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRethinking Life and Death\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Life You Can Save\u003c\/i\u003e, he helped launch the animal rights and effective altruism movements and contributed to the development of bioethics. Now, in \u003ci\u003eEthics in the Real World\u003c\/i\u003e, Singer shows that he is also a master at dissecting important current events in a few hundred words. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this book of brief essays, he applies his controversial ways of thinking to issues like climate change, extreme poverty, animals, abortion, euthanasia, human genetic selection, sports doping, the sale of kidneys, the ethics of high-priced art, and ways of increasing happiness. Singer asks whether chimpanzees are people, smoking should be outlawed, or consensual sex between adult siblings should be decriminalized, and he reiterates his case against the idea that all human life is sacred, applying his arguments to some recent cases in the news. In addition, he explores, in an easily accessible form, some of the deepest philosophical questions, such as whether anything really matters and what is the value of the pale blue dot that is our planet. The collection also includes some more personal reflections, like Singer's thoughts on one of his favorite activities, surfing, and an unusual suggestion for starting a family conversation over a holiday feast. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eProvocative and original, these essays will challenge--and possibly change--your beliefs about a wide range of real-world ethical questions.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0691237867\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780691237862\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Singer, Peter\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Apr 2023)","offer_id":46079809323205,"sku":"9780691237862","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780691237862.jpg?v=1776031954"},{"product_id":"neuroqueer-heresies-notes-on-the-neurodiversity-paradigm-autistic-empowerment-and-postnormal-possibilities","title":"Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe work of queer autistic scholar Nick Walker has played a key role in the evolving discourse on human neurodiversity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNeuroqueer Heresies\u003c\/em\u003e collects a decade's worth of Dr. Walker's most influential writings, along with new commentary by the author and new material on her radical conceptualization of Neuroqueer Theory.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the foundations, terminology, implications, and leading edges of the emerging neurodiversity paradigm. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1945955260\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781945955266\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Walker, Nick\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Autonomous Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Autonomous Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Dec 2021)","offer_id":46079949766853,"sku":"9781945955266","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781945955266.jpg?v=1776033219"},{"product_id":"the-trouble-with-being-born","title":"The Trouble with Being Born","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"A love of Cioran creates an urge to press his writing into someone's hand, and is followed by an equal urge to pull it away as poison.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this volume, which reaffirms the uncompromising brilliance of his mind, Cioran strips the human condition down to its most basic components, birth and death, suggesting that disaster lies not in the prospect of death but in the fact of birth, \"that laughable accident.\" In the lucid, aphoristic style that characterizes his work, Cioran writes of time and death, God and religion, suicide and suffering, and the temptation to silence. Through sharp observation and patient contemplation, Cioran cuts to the heart of the human experience. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In the company of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard.\"--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"No modern writer twists the knife with Cioran's dexterity. . . . His writing . . . is informed with the bitterness of genuine compassion.\"--\u003ci\u003eBoston Phoenix\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1611457408\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781611457407\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Cioran, E. M., Howard, Richard, Thacker, Eugene\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Arcade Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arcade Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Feb 2013)","offer_id":46080446333125,"sku":"9781611457407","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781611457407.jpg?v=1776037133"},{"product_id":"how-to-be-a-stoic-using-ancient-philosophy-to-live-a-modern-life","title":"How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life","description":"\u003cb\u003eA philosopher asks how ancient Stoicism can help us flourish today\u003c\/b\u003e Whenever we worry about what to eat, how to love, or simply how to be happy, we are worrying about how to lead a good life. No goal is more elusive. In \u003ci\u003eHow to Be a Stoic\u003c\/i\u003e, philosopher Massimo Pigliucci offers Stoicism, the ancient philosophy that inspired the great emperor Marcus Aurelius, as the best way to attain it. Stoicism is a pragmatic philosophy that focuses our attention on what is possible and gives us perspective on what is unimportant. By understanding Stoicism, we can learn to answer crucial questions: Should we get married or divorced? How should we handle our money in a world nearly destroyed by a financial crisis? How can we survive great personal tragedy? Whoever we are, Stoicism has something for us--and\u003ci\u003e How to Be a Stoic\u003c\/i\u003e is the essential guide.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1541644530\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781541644533\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Pigliucci, Massimo\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Basic Books\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Basic Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (May 2018)","offer_id":46080476086469,"sku":"9781541644533","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781541644533.jpg?v=1776037756"},{"product_id":"what-to-expect-when-youre-dead-an-ancient-tour-of-death-and-the-afterlife","title":"What to Expect When You're Dead: An Ancient Tour of Death and the Afterlife","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn entertaining and enlightening book about how ancient peoples dealt with death--and what we might learn from them\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA lively story of death, \u003ci\u003eWhat to Expect When You're Dead\u003c\/i\u003e explores the fascinating death-related beliefs and practices of a wide range of ancient cultures and traditions--Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Hindu, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Etruscan, Greek, Roman, Early Christian, and Islamic. By drawing on the latest scholarship on ancient archaeology, art, literature, and funerary inscriptions, Robert Garland invites readers to put themselves in the sandals of ancient peoples and to imagine their mental state moment by moment as they sought--in ways that turn out to be remarkably similar to ours--to assist the dead on their journey to the next world and to understand life's greatest mystery. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat to Expect When You're Dead\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles the ways ancient peoples answered questions such as: How to achieve a good death and afterlife? What's the best way to dispose of a body? Do the dead face a postmortem judgement--and where do they end up? Do the dead have bodies in the afterlife--and can they eat, drink, and have sex? And what can the living do to stay on good terms with the nonliving? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFilled with intriguing stories and frequent humor, \u003ci\u003eWhat to Expect When You're Dead\u003c\/i\u003e will be a morbidly delicious treat for every reader alive.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0691266174\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780691266176\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Garland, Robert\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Apr 2025)","offer_id":46080489816261,"sku":"9780691266176","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780691266176.jpg?v=1776037844"},{"product_id":"a-philosophy-of-shame-a-revolutionary-emotion","title":"A Philosophy of Shame: A Revolutionary Emotion","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn original reflection on shame as the central feeling of our age -- the expression of an anger that is the necessary condition for new struggles\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCan shame become a source of political strength? Faced with injustice, growing inequality and systemic violence, we cry out in shame. We feel ashamed of obscene wealth amid wider deprivation. We feel ashamed of humanity for its ruthless and relentless exploitation of the earth. We feel ashamed of the racism and sexism that permeate society and our everyday lives. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis difficult emotion is not just sadness or a withdrawal into oneself, nor is it a paralysing sense of inadequacy. As Frédéric Gros argues in \u003ci\u003eA Philosophy of Shame\u003c\/i\u003e, it arises when our perception of reality rejects passivity and resignation and instead embraces imagination. Shame thus becomes the expression of an anger that is a powerful, transformative force --one that assumes a radical character. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn dialogue with authors such as Primo Levi, Annie Ernaux, Virginie Despentes and James Baldwin, Gros explores a concept that is still little understood in its anthropological, moral, psychological and political depths. Shame is a revolu­tionary sentiment because it lies at the foundation of any path of subjective recognition, transformation and struggle.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1804294152\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781804294154\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Gros, Frédéric, Bliss, Andrew James\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Verso\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Verso","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Jun 2025)","offer_id":46080776470725,"sku":"9781804294154","price":23.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781804294154.jpg?v=1776040227"},{"product_id":"death-in-a-shallow-pond-a-philosopher-a-drowning-child-and-strangers-in-need","title":"Death in a Shallow Pond: A Philosopher, a Drowning Child, and Strangers in Need","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the bestselling coauthor of \u003ci\u003eWittgenstein's Poker\u003c\/i\u003e, a fascinating account of Peter Singer's controversial \"drowning child\" thought experiment--and how it changed the way people think about charitable giving\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eImagine this: You're walking past a shallow pond and spot a toddler thrashing around in the water, in obvious danger of drowning. You look around for her parents, but nobody is there. You're the only person who can save her and you must act immediately. But as you approach the pond you remember that you're wearing your most expensive shoes. Wading into the water will ruin them--and might make you late for a meeting. Should you let the child drown? The philosopher Peter Singer published this thought experiment in 1972, arguing that allowing people in the developing world to die, when we could easily help them by giving money to charity, is as morally reprehensible as saving our shoes instead of the drowning child. Can this possibly be true? In \u003ci\u003eDeath in a Shallow Pond\u003c\/i\u003e, David Edmonds tells the remarkable story of Singer and his controversial idea, tracing how it radically changed the way many think about poverty--but also how it has provoked scathing criticisms. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eDeath in a Shallow Pond\u003c\/i\u003e describes the experiences and world events that led Singer to make his radical case and how it moved some young philosophers to establish the Effective Altruism movement, which tries to optimize philanthropy. The book also explores the reactions of critics who argue that the Shallow Pond and Effective Altruism are unrealistic, misguided, and counterproductive, neglecting the causes of--and therefore perpetuating--poverty. Ultimately, however, Edmonds argues that the Shallow Pond retains the power to shape how we live in a world in which terrible and unnecessary suffering persists.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0691254028\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780691254029\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Edmonds, David\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Sep 2025)","offer_id":46080880378053,"sku":"9780691254029","price":27.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780691254029.jpg?v=1776041398"},{"product_id":"attensity-a-manifesto-of-the-attention-liberation-movement","title":"Attensity!: A Manifesto of the Attention Liberation Movement","description":"\u003cb\u003eA rallying cry to fight the commodification of human attention, with the tools we need to reclaim our humanity, by a group of writers, artists, and activists in the vanguard of the movement \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A stirring battle cry on behalf of our shared humanity against the forces that seek to diminish and degrade it. Downright invigorating. Just what the moment calls for.\"--Chris Hayes, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Sirens' Call\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWe all feel it: something is seriously wrong. Our attention--that essential ability to give our minds and senses to the world--is being trapped, gutted, and sold out from under us by an industry of immense technological and financial power. The heedless exploitation of this vital capacity by a handful of tech companies is harming us all, reducing our very selfhood to that which can be quantified, bought, and sold--and shaking the foundations of our democracy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTo push back against this \"human fracking,\" we need more than individual willpower or isolated efforts. We need a \u003ci\u003emovement\u003c\/i\u003e of collective resistance. Such a movement is beginning to bloom, and in this radical, first-of-its-kind guide, The Friends of Attention show us how to join the fight. We meet welders, nurses, poets, and surfers, all of whom are engaged in attentional practices. We learn to seek out sanctuaries--theaters and museums, houses of worship, dance parties--where together we can take refuge from the frackers. Attention Activism takes our apocalyptic present, turns it on its head, and reveals new vistas of human flourishing. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on a rich legacy of critical intellectuals and the creative wisdom of diverse traditions, \u003ci\u003eAttensity!\u003c\/i\u003e calls on us to come together to defeat the greedy dehumanizing forces of brute instrumentalization--and re-enchant the world.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-13: 9798217086153\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: The Friends of Attention\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group (NY)","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Jan 2026)","offer_id":46080918847685,"sku":"9798217086153","price":28.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9798217086153.jpg?v=1776041673"},{"product_id":"somebody-should-do-something-how-anyone-can-help-create-social-change","title":"Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change","description":"\u003cb\u003eA novel and scientific approach to creating transformative social change--and the surprising ways that each of us can help make a real difference.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eChanging the world is difficult. One reason is that the most important problems, like climate change, racism, and poverty, are \u003ci\u003estructural\u003c\/i\u003e. They emerge from our collective practices: laws, economies, history, culture, norms, and built environments. The dilemma is that there is no way to make structural change without individual people making different--more \u003ci\u003estructure-facing\u003c\/i\u003e--decisions. In \u003ci\u003eSomebody Should Do Something\u003c\/i\u003e, Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva, and Daniel Kelly show us how we can connect our personal choices to structural change and why individual choices matter, though not in the way people usually think. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe authors paint a new picture of how social change happens, arguing that our most powerful personal choices are those that springboard us into working together with others--warehouse worker Chris Smalls's unionization at Amazon is one powerful example. Taking inspiration from the writer Bill McKibben, they stress how one \"important thing an individual can do is be somewhat \u003ci\u003eless \u003c\/i\u003eof an individual.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOrganized into three main parts, the book first diagnoses the problem of \"either\/or\" thinking about social change, which stems from the false choice of making better personal choices or changing the system. Then it offers a different way to think about social change, anchored in a new picture of human nature emerging across the social sciences. Finally, the authors explore ways of putting this picture into practice. Neither a how-to manual nor an activist's guide, \u003ci\u003eSomebody Should Do Something\u003c\/i\u003e pairs stories with science (plus some jokes) to help readers recognize their own power, turning resignation about climate change and racial injustice into actions that transform the world.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0262049783\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780262049788\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Brownstein, Michael, Madva, Alex, Kelly, Daniel\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Sep 2025)","offer_id":46080935461061,"sku":"9780262049788","price":32.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780262049788.jpg?v=1776041789"},{"product_id":"12-rules-for-life-an-antidote-to-chaos","title":"12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eOVER TEN MILLION COPIES SOLD\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat are the most valuable things that everyone should know?\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Acclaimed clinical psychologist Jordan B Peterson has influenced the modern understanding of personality, and now he has become one of the world's most popular public thinkers, with his lectures on topics from the Bible to romantic relationships to mythology drawing tens of millions of viewers. In an era of unprecedented change and polarizing politics, his frank and refreshing message about the value of individual responsibility and ancient wisdom has resonated around the world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this book, he provides twelve profound and practical principles for how to live a meaningful life, from setting your house in order before criticising others to comparing yourself to who you were yesterday, not someone else today. Happiness is a pointless goal, he shows us. Instead we must search for meaning, not for its own sake, but as a defence against the suffering that is intrinsic to our existence. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Drawing on vivid examples from the author's clinical practice and personal life, cutting-edge psychology and philosophy, and lessons from humanity's oldest myths and stories, \u003ci\u003e12 Rules for Life\u003c\/i\u003e offers a deeply rewarding antidote to the chaos in our lives: eternal truths applied to our modern problems.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0345816021\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780345816023\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Peterson, Jordan B.\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Random House Canada\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Random House Canada","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Jan 2018)","offer_id":46081164705989,"sku":"9780345816023","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780345816023.jpg?v=1776043666"},{"product_id":"the-agony-of-eros","title":"The Agony of Eros","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn argument that love requires the courage to accept self-negation for the sake of discovering the Other.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eByung-Chul Han is one of the most widely read philosophers in Europe today, a member of the new generation of German thinkers that includes Markus Gabriel and Armen Avanessian. In \u003ci\u003eThe Agony of Eros, \u003c\/i\u003e a bestseller in Germany, Han considers the threat to love and desire in today's society. For Han, love requires the courage to accept self-negation for the sake of discovering the Other. In a world of fetishized individualism and technologically mediated social interaction, it is the Other that is eradicated, not the self. In today's increasingly narcissistic society, we have come to look for love and desire within the \"inferno of the same.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHan offers a survey of the threats to Eros, drawing on a wide range of sources--Lars von Trier's film \u003ci\u003eMelancholia, \u003c\/i\u003e Wagner's \u003ci\u003eTristan und Isolde, \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eFifty Shades of Grey\u003c\/i\u003e, Michel Foucault (providing a scathing critique of Foucault's valorization of power), Martin Buber, Hegel, Baudrillard, Flaubert, Barthes, Plato, and others. Han considers the \"pornographication\" of society, and shows how pornography profanes eros; addresses capitalism's leveling of essential differences; and discusses the politics of eros in today's \"burnout society.\" To be dead to love, Han argues, is to be dead to thought itself. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConcise in its expression but unsparing in its insight, \u003ci\u003eThe Agony of Eros\u003c\/i\u003e is an important and provocative entry in Han's ongoing analysis of contemporary society.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable essay, an intellectual experience of the first order, affords one of the best ways to gain full awareness of and join in one of the most pressing struggles of the day: the defense, that is to say--as Rimbaud desired it--the \"reinvention\" of love.\u003cbr\u003e--from the foreword by Alain Badiou\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0262533375\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780262533379\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Han, Byung-Chul, Badiou, Alain\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Apr 2017)","offer_id":46081306230981,"sku":"9780262533379","price":14.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780262533379.jpg?v=1776044865"},{"product_id":"how-to-be-free-an-ancient-guide-to-the-stoic-life","title":"How to Be Free: An Ancient Guide to the Stoic Life","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA superb new edition of Epictetus's famed handbook on Stoicism--translated by one of the world's leading authorities on Stoic philosophy\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBorn a slave, the Roman Stoic philosopher Epictetus (c. 55-135 AD) taught that mental freedom is supreme, since it can liberate one anywhere, even in a prison. In \u003ci\u003eHow to Be Free\u003c\/i\u003e, A. A. Long--one of the world's leading authorities on Stoicism and a pioneer in its remarkable contemporary revival--provides a superb new edition of Epictetus's celebrated guide to the Stoic philosophy of life (the \u003ci\u003eEncheiridion\u003c\/i\u003e) along with a selection of related reflections in his \u003ci\u003eDiscourses\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFreedom, for Epictetus, is not a human right or a political prerogative but a psychological and ethical achievement, a gift that we alone can bestow on ourselves. We can all be free, but only if we learn to assign paramount value to what we can control (our motivations and reactions), treat what we cannot control with equanimity, and view our circumstances as opportunities to do well and be well, no matter what happens to us through misfortune or the actions of other people. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow to Be Free\u003c\/i\u003e features splendid new translations and the original Greek on facing pages, a compelling introduction that sets Epictetus in context and describes the importance of Stoic freedom today, and an invaluable glossary of key words and concepts. The result is an unmatched introduction to this powerful method of managing emotions and handling life's situations, from the most ordinary to the most demanding.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0691177716\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780691177717\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Epictetus, Long, Anthony, Long, Anthony\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Oct 2018)","offer_id":46081385201861,"sku":"9780691177717","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780691177717.jpg?v=1776045351"},{"product_id":"finite-and-infinite-games","title":"Finite and Infinite Games","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"There are at least two kinds of games,\" states James P. Carse as he begins this extraordinary book. \"One could be called finite; the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.\"\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFinite games are the familiar contests of everyday life; they are played in order to be won, which is when they end. But infinite games are more mysterious. Their object is not winning, but ensuring the continuation of play. The rules may change, the boundaries may change, even the participants may change--as long as the game is never allowed to come to an end. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e What are infinite games? How do they affect the ways we play our finite games? What are we doing when we play--finitely or infinitely? And how can infinite games affect the ways in which we live our lives? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Carse explores these questions with stunning elegance, teasing out of his distinctions a universe of observation and insight, noting where and why and how we play, finitely and infinitely. He surveys our world--from the finite games of the playing field and playing board to the infinite games found in culture and religion--leaving all we think we know illuminated and transformed. Along the way, Carse finds new ways of understanding everything, from how an actress portrays a role to how we engage in sex, from the nature of evil to the nature of science. Finite games, he shows, may offer wealth and status, power and glory, but infinite games offer something far more subtle and far grander. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Carse has written a book rich in insight and aphorism. Already an international literary event, \u003ci\u003eFinite and Infinite Games \u003c\/i\u003eis certain to be argued about and celebrated for years to come. Reading it is the first step in learning to play the infinite game.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1476731713\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781476731711\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Carse, James\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Free Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Free Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Jan 2013)","offer_id":46081395196101,"sku":"9781476731711","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781476731711.jpg?v=1776045430"},{"product_id":"how-to-win-an-argument-an-ancient-guide-to-the-art-of-persuasion","title":"How to Win an Argument: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Persuasion","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTimeless techniques of effective public speaking from ancient Rome's greatest orator\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAll of us are faced countless times with the challenge of persuading others, whether we're trying to win a trivial argument with a friend or convince our coworkers about an important decision. Instead of relying on untrained instinct--and often floundering or failing as a result--we'd win more arguments if we learned the timeless art of verbal persuasion, rhetoric. \u003ci\u003eHow to Win an Argument \u003c\/i\u003egathers the rhetorical wisdom of Cicero, ancient Rome's greatest orator, from across his works and combines it with passages from his legal and political speeches to show his powerful techniques in action. The result is an enlightening and entertaining practical introduction to the secrets of persuasive speaking and writing--including strategies that are just as effective in today's offices, schools, courts, and political debates as they were in the Roman forum. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow to Win an Argument\u003c\/i\u003e addresses proof based on rational argumentation, character, and emotion; the parts of a speech; the plain, middle, and grand styles; how to persuade no matter what audience or circumstances you face; and more. 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