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In Books 3 and 4 of Leviathan , Thomas Hobbes elaborates on the political philosophy set forth in the first two books, by considering the nature of a Christian commonwealth. Book 3 begins with a wealth of biblical scholarship, directed at establishing the authority of Scripture while at the same time undermining modern claims to supernatural revelation that would subvert civil law. Hobbes concludes that we cannot be sure of anyone else's divine revelation, and that religious authority is therefore subordinate to civil power. Book 4, titled “Of the Kingdom of Darkness,” sets forth the various ways in which Scripture has been misinterpreted by the church, according to Hobbes, in mixing pagan elements with Christianity. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia by Leon Mire)...

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Philosophy, Politics, Religion

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Thomas Troward was a divisional Judge in British-administered India. His avocation was the study of comparative religion. Influences on his thinking, as well as his later writing, included the teachings of Christ, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. After his retirement from the judiciary in 1896, Troward set out to apply logic and a judicial weighing of evidence in the study of matters of cause and effect. The philosopher William James characterized Troward’s Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science as far and away the ablest statement of philosophy I have met, beautiful in its sustained clearness of thought and style, a really classic statement. According to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) archivist Nell Wing, early AA members were strongly encouraged to read Thomas Troward's Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science. In the opening of the 2006 film The Secret , introductory remarks credit Troward's philosophy with inspiring the movie and its production....

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Psychology, Philosophy

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In the heat of the failed 1905 revolution in Russia, Lenin here contrasts the precision of the Bolshevik political program and tactics with various inconsistent and servile factions within the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party. (Summary by Christian Pecaut)...

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History, Philosophy

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The writings listed here represent books about Soren Kierkegaard. A fragment of his work, On the Dedication to That Single Individual, has made it to the public domain. Who was Soren Kierkegaard? He was a Danish philosopher and religious author; b. Copenhagen May 6, 1813; d. there Nov. 11, 1855. His father, Michael, a clothing merchant, once cursed God when he was young. This one incident caused him so much distress that it affected him with a deep melancholy, which he transferred to poor Soren. Michael was an evil man. He tricked Soren into thinking that the whole world existed in his own living room by taking him for imaginary walks about the neighborhood, or anywhere Soren wanted to go, as long as it existed in his imagination only. Later in life, when Soren was on his own, he rarely left Copenhagen, but he did walk about the streets and greet passersby, discussing events of the day. After 6 years of “splendid inactivity” he obtained his degree in Theology from the University of Copenhagen with the submission of his thesis paper in 1841, On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates. Just before graduation he fell ...

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Philosophy, Religion

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De l'inégalité parmi les hommes est un essai philosophique d'une centaine de pages environ, richement annoté par l'auteur, introduit par une lettre de louanges à la République de Genève ainsi que par une préface de l'auteur datée du 12 Juin 1754. Le texte, est amené par la question de l'Académie de Dijon : Quelle est l'origine de l'inégalité parmi les hommes et si elle est autorisée par la loi naturelle ? », sur laquelle repose l'essai entier. (Résumé par Wikipédia)...

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Philosophy, Politics

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Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, commonly called Leviathan, is a book written in 1651 by Thomas Hobbes. It is titled after the biblical Leviathan. The book concerns the structure of society (as represented figuratively by the frontispiece, showing the state giant made up of individuals), as is evidenced by the full title. In the book, Thomas Hobbes argues for a social contract and rule by a sovereign. Influenced by the English Civil War, Hobbes wrote that chaos or civil war - situations identified with a state of nature and the famous motto Bellum omnium contra omnes (the war of all against all) - could only be averted by strong central government. He thus denied any right of rebellion toward the social contract. However, Hobbes did discuss the possible dissolution of the State. Since the social contract was made to institute a state that would provide for the peace and defense of the people, the contract would become void as soon as the government no longer protected its citizens. By virtue of this fact, man would automatically return to the state of nature until a new contract...

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Philosophy, Politics

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ivil Disobedience (Resistance to Civil Government) is an essay by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau that was first published in 1849. In it, Thoreau argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that they have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. Thoreau was motivated in part by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican–American War....

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Philosophy, Politics

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Walden by Henry David Thoreau is one of the best-known non-fiction books written by an American. Published in 1854, it details Thoreau’s life for two years, two months, and two days around the shores of Walden Pond. Walden is neither a novel nor a true autobiography, but a social critique of the Western World, with each chapter heralding some aspect of humanity that needed to be either renounced or praised. Along with his critique of the civilized world, Thoreau examines other issues afflicting man in society, ranging from economy and reading to solitude and higher laws. He also takes time to talk about the experience at Walden Pond itself, commenting on the animals and the way people treated him for living there, using those experiences to bring out his philosophical positions. This extended commentary on nature has often been interpreted as a strong statement to the natural religion that transcendentalists like Thoreau and Emerson were preaching. (Description amended from Wikipedia)....

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Nature, Philosophy

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The Light of Egypt will be found to be an Occult library in itself, a textbook of esoteric knowledge, setting forth the wisdom Religion of life, as taught by the Adepts of Hermetic Philosophy. It will richly repay all who are seeking the higher life to carefully study this book, as it contains in a nutshell the wisdom of the ages regarding man and his destiny, here and hereafter. The London and American first edition, also the French edition, Vol. I, met with lively criticism from Blavatsky Theosophists, because it annihilates that agreeable delusion of Karma and Reincarnation from the minds of all lovers of truth for truth's sake. The Tablets of Aeth is a great and mighty work, as it contains the very quintessence of Occult and Hermetic philosophy, as revealed by spiritual law. Penetralia is a new revelation, and invaluable to Occult students, as it is the personal experience of a developed soul. (Summary taken from the Publishers Preface)...

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Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Science

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The Subjection of Women is the title of an essay written by John Stuart Mill in 1869, possibly jointly with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill, stating an argument in favor of equality between the sexes. It offers both detailed argumentation and passionate eloquence in opposition to the social and legal inequalities commonly imposed upon women by a patriarchal culture. Just as in On Liberty, Mill defends the emancipation of women on utilitarian grounds, convinced that the moral and intellectual advancement of women would result in greater happiness for everybody. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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Philosophy, Politics

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Colonel William Crosbie Hunter was a businessman and self-help writer who was moderately popular in the early 20th century. His books set forth his personal philosophy on health, happiness, human relations, and success in the business world. Pep, billed as A book of how's not why's for physical and mental efficiency, was published in 1914 and went through several editions. (Introduction by Pleonic)...

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Instruction, Philosophy

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The Book of Tea was written by Okakura Kakuzo in the early 20th century. It was first published in 1906, and has since been republished many times. - In the book, Kakuzo introduces the term Teaism and how Tea has affected nearly every aspect of Japanese culture, thought, and life. The book is noted to be accessibile to Western audiences because though Kakuzo was born and raised Japanese, he was trained from a young age to speak English; and would speak it all his life, becoming proficient at communicating his thoughts in the Western Mind. In his book he elucidates such topics as Zen and Taoism, but also the secular aspects of Tea and Japanese life. The book emphasises how Teaism taught the Japanese many things; most importantly, simplicity. Kakuzo argues that this tea-induced simplicity affected art and architecture, and he was a long-time student of the visual arts. He ends the book with a chapter on Tea Masters, and spends some time talking about Sen no Rikyu and his contribution to the Japanese Tea Ceremony. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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Philosophy, History

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Dole briefly sketches the history of life, and shows how it has a definite direction - toward the survival of the kind and gentle people. It's a challenging, and quite persuasive argument, and also a much needed one in light of the dog-eat-dog theories out there. Dole shows that in our evolving society, our traditional understanding of survival of the fittest needs to be updated. A book that was way ahead of its time, yet so suited to it. Some may argue that - since he was writing The Coming People before the first two world wars - that he was obviously wrong. However, his argument remains valid given current scientific evidence cited in such books as Evolution and Empathy, and The Age of Empathy, and it's noteworthy that he wrote another book after World War I (see, A Religion for the New Day, 1920, where he states that while society is still quite barbaric, he retains his powerful conviction that it is improving and improvable. ). Also, Dole points to the many flaws of his time (and ours too), and stresses the need to fix them in a peaceful, intelligent manner. Many of the issues he grappled with remain just as strong today, and h...

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Advice, Philosophy, Politics, Religion

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This work describes and analyzes several cases of pathological behavior. The interest comes not only from the cases themselves, but also from the of-its-time analysis which is mired in what we now know to be wrong thinking about mental illness, sexuality, gender, and race. - written by Mary Schneider...

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Psychology, Philosophy

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Capital, Volume I is the first of three volumes in Karl Marx’s monumental work, Das Kapital, and the only volume to be published during his lifetime, in 1867. Marx’s aim in Capital, Volume I is to uncover and explain the laws specific to the capitalist mode of production and of the class struggles rooted in these capitalist social relations of production. Marx said himself that his aim was “to bring a science [i.e. political economy] by criticism to the point where it can be dialectically represented”, and in this way to “reveal the law of motion of modern society”. By showing how capitalist development was the precursor of a new, socialist mode of production, he aimed to provide a scientific foundation for the modern labour movement. In preparation for his book, he studied the economic literature available in his time for a period of twelve years, mainly in the British Museum in London.(Summary by Wikipedia)...

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Philosophy, Politics, Economics/Political Economy

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The introduction to Hegel's lectures on the philosophy of world history is often used to introduce students to Hegel's philosophy, in part because Hegel's sometimes difficult style is muted in the lectures, and he discourses on accessible themes such as world events in order to explain his philosophy. Much of the work is spent defining and characterizing Geist or spirit. Geist is similar to the culture of people, and is constantly reworking itself to keep up with the changes of society, while at the same time working to produce those changes through what Hegel called the cunning of reason. Another important theme of the text is the focus on world history, rather than regional or state history. The obscure writings of Jakob Böhme had a strong effect on Hegel. Böhme had written that the Fall of Man was a necessary stage in the evolution of the universe. This evolution was, itself, the result of God's desire for complete self-awareness. Hegel was fascinated by the works of Spinoza, Kant, Rousseau, and Goethe, and by the French Revolution. Modern philosophy, culture, and society seemed to Hegel fraught with contradictions and tensions, ...

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Philosophy, History

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Lysander Spooner (1808 – 1887) was an American individualist anarchist, entrepreneur, political philosopher, abolitionist, supporter of the labour movement, and legal theorist of the nineteenth century. Here he gives his views on the role of Governments in the private lives of their citizens (Summary by Annise)...

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Philosophy, Economics/Political Economy

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This is Mill’s first work on economics. It foreshadows his _Political Economy_ which was the standard Anglo-American Economics textbook of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mill’s economic theory moved from free market capitalism, to government intervention within the precepts of Utilitarianism, and finally to Socialism. [Summary written by the reader]...

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Philosophy, Economics/Political Economy