Philosophy

2009

This Seeming Brow of Justice

Samuel Moyn : Law & Justice

In their discussions of justice, Michael Sandel and Amartya Sen endorse communal good but slight collective endeavor.
End-of-Self Help

Alexander Provan

Is the task of philosophy "to learn how to die," or to teach that there is no such thing as a good death?
The First Counter-revolutionary

Corey Robin : Non-Fiction

Thomas Hobbes sensed the revolutionary impulses of early modern Europe and transformed them into a defense of the most hidebound form of rule.
Back Talk: Alva Noë

Christine Smallwood

Philosopher Alva Noë talks about the brain, consciousness and animal rights.
The Commons

Laura Hanna & Gavin Browning : Activism & Organizing

In our imperfect world, only the lucky few have access to wealth and cultural riches. There is a better way: it's called The Commons.

The Pragmatist

Christopher Hayes : Barack Obama

We get it. He's pragmatic. But what does that mean--politically and philosophically?
Obama the Philosopher

Linda Hirshman : Presidential Election 2008

Suddenly, Obama's making a pretty good case for why Americans should once again care for one another.
Walter Benjamin Forever

Noah Isenberg : Biography

Following the quirky, revolutionary life path of one of the most celebrated twentieth-century intellectuals.
The White Whale

E.L. Doctorow : George W. Bush Administration

Just as Moby-Dick was too much for Ahab, our new century may be too difficult for us to comprehend.
Good Faith

Daniel Lazare : Religion

Two authors posit very different views on the problem of religious conflict in a supposedly secular age.

Spirited Away

Thomas Laqueur

Two writers explore the perversion of our collective imagination and the ways that science and myth shape our understanding of spirituality.
The Thought Experimenter

Jackson Lears : Public Figures & Intellectuals

A new biography of William James portrays a man who made a brilliant career of asking tough questions.

A Metaphysical Materialist

Richard Wolin

Philosopher Walter Benjamin married Marxism and theology in an attempt to give hope to the hopeless.
The Prison Notebooks

Ronald Grigor Suny : Russia

Nikolai Bukharin's Philosophical Arabesques is more than a cul-de-sac on the road from Marx to Stalin; the book defines a political path still not taken.
Keeping It Real

Jackson Lears : Cultural Criticism & Analysis

In Songs of Experience, Martin Jay examines modern debates over the relationship between theory and the lived world.
In Theory

John Gray

In Frontiers of Justice, philosopher Martha Nussbaum explores our moral obligations to the disabled, to nonhuman animals and to the unresolved areas of international law.
Heidegger Made Kosher

Richard Wolin : Biography

Two new books explore the work of philosophers Emmanuel Levinas and Martin Heidegger.