Random House New Releases - Philosophy - Humanism - Between May 22, 2012 and June 21, 2013.

Hating Perfection (Revised Edition) by John F. Williams

2013-05-14T00:30:00-05:00

Hating Perfection (Revised Edition) A Subtle Search for the Best Possible World
Written by John F. Williams

eBook, 396 pages | Humanity Books | Philosophy - Humanism | $11.99 | May 14, 2013 | 978-1-61614-876-8 (1-61614-876-4)

The best heaven and the worst hell are the same place. Travel with author John F. Williams into the jungles of Laos and into a new understanding of existence.

In lively short stories, Hating Perfection shows the everyday world as uncanny, equally strange as the imaginary worlds of Borges or Kafka. This engrossing, strikingly original book invites you to experience your life in a new way.

Hating Perfection weaves its stories together with an elegant logic. Our hateful world—painful, unjust, ruthless, fatal—stands revealed as the best of all possible worlds, flooded everywhere by a perfection both alien and addicting. What we want is different from what we get. But the reason why has a divine splendor.

In this revised edition, Mr. Williams has added a postscript that addresses the well-known philosopher’s paradox of the Chinese room. The author explains for the first time how we know that such a room as usually described would not have consciousness.

Stand beside Mr. Williams for a time, and look in the direction he is looking. Your troubles may still be your troubles, but the world will be more than it was.

Hating Perfection (Revised Edition) by John F. Williams

2013-05-14T00:30:00-05:00

Hating Perfection (Revised Edition) A Subtle Search for the Best Possible World
Written by John F. Williams

Trade Paperback, 396 pages | Humanity Books | Philosophy - Humanism | $19.99 | May 14, 2013 | 978-1-61614-875-1 (1-61614-875-6)

The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain De Botton

2013-01-23T00:30:00-05:00

The Consolations of Philosophy
Written by Alain De Botton

From the author of How Proust Can Change Your Life, a delightful, truly consoling work that proves that philosophy can be a supreme source of help for our most painful everyday problems.

Perhaps only Alain de Botton could uncover practical wisdom in the writings of some of the greatest thinkers of all time. But uncover he does, and the result is an unexpected book of both solace and humor. Dividing his work into six sections -- each highlighting a different psychic ailment and the appropriate philosopher -- de Botton offers consolation for unpopularity from Socrates, for not having enough money from Epicurus, for frustration from Seneca, for inadequacy from Montaigne, and for a broken heart from Schopenhauer (the darkest of thinkers and yet, paradoxically, the most cheering). Consolation for envy -- and, of course, the final word on consolation -- comes from Nietzsche: "Not everything which makes us feel better is good for us."

This wonderfully engaging book will, however, make us feel better in a good way, with equal measures of wit and wisdom.

The Happy Life by David Malouf

2013-01-08T00:30:00-05:00

The Happy Life The Search for Contentment in the Modern World
Written by David Malouf

By Australia’s greatest contemporary author, an elegant, succinct meditation on what makes for a happy life. ;-)

“Happiness surely is among the simplest of human emotions and the most spontaneous,” says David Malouf. But what exactly are we looking for when we chase happiness? At this particular moment in history, privileged, industrialized nations have lessened much of what makes us unhappy: widespread poverty, illness, famine. Yet we are still unfulfilled, turning increasingly to yoga, church, Match.com, drugs, clinical therapy and retail therapy. What is at the root of our collective stress, and how can we find our way to contentment?

Drawing on mythology, philosophy, art and literature, Malouf traces our conception of happiness throughout history, distilling centuries of thought into a lucid narrative. He discusses the creation myths of ancient Greece and the philosophical schools of Athens, analyzes Thomas Jefferson’s revolutionary declaration that “the pursuit of happiness” is a right, explores the celebration of sensual delight in Rembrandt and Rubens and offers a perceptive take on a modern society growing larger and more impersonal.

With wisdom and insight, Malouf investigates that simplest, most spontaneous of feelings and urges us to do the same.

The Happy Life by David Malouf

2013-01-08T00:30:00-05:00

The Happy Life The Search for Contentment in the Modern World
Written by David Malouf

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age by Nathan Bupp

2012-06-26T00:30:00-05:00

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age Why Eupraxsophy Matters - The Writings of Paul Kurtz
Edited by Nathan Bupp

The secular age has confronted human beings with a fundamental challenge. While the naturalistic worldview rooted in science has persuasively shown that traditional religious conceptions of the universe are unsustainable, it has so far offered no compelling secular narratives to replace the religious narratives so entrenched in civilization. In the absence of religion, how do thoughtful contemporary individuals find meaning in a secular world? This book argues for a new approach called eupraxsophy, a term first coined in 1988 to characterize a secular orientation to life that stands in contrast to religion. Derived from three ancient Greek roots, eupraxsophy literally means "good practice and wisdom." Drawing upon philosophy, science, and ethics, eupraxsophy provides a thoroughly secular moral vision, which respects the place of human values in the context of the natural world and presents an empirically responsible yet hopeful picture of the human situation and the cosmos in which we abide. For the first time, Paul Kurtz's key writings about the theory and practice of eupraxsophy are together in one volume. Written with eloquence and scope, these incisive essays show how Kurtz's brand of humanism moves above and beyond the current "new atheism." Eupraxsophy successfully bridges the cultural divide between science and value and provides a genuine and constructive alternative to religion. With an informative introduction, this book places the concept of eupraxsophy in historical perspective and shows why it is critically important, and relevant, today.

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age by Paul Kurtz

2012-06-26T00:30:00-05:00

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age Why Eupraxsophy Matters - The Writings of Paul Kurtz
Written by Paul Kurtz
Edited by Nathan Bupp

Random House New Releases - Philosophy - Humanism - Between May 22, 2012 and June 21, 2013.

Hating Perfection (Revised Edition) by John F. Williams

Hating Perfection (Revised Edition) A Subtle Search for the Best Possible WorldWritten by John F. Williams

Hating Perfection (Revised Edition) by John F. Williams

Hating Perfection (Revised Edition) A Subtle Search for the Best Possible WorldWritten by John F. Williams

The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain De Botton

The Consolations of Philosophy Written by Alain De Botton

The Happy Life by David Malouf

The Happy Life The Search for Contentment in the Modern WorldWritten by David Malouf

The Happy Life by David Malouf

The Happy Life The Search for Contentment in the Modern WorldWritten by David Malouf

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age by Nathan Bupp

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age Why Eupraxsophy Matters - The Writings of Paul KurtzEdited by Nathan Bupp

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age by Paul Kurtz

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age Why Eupraxsophy Matters - The Writings of Paul KurtzWritten by Paul Kurtz Edited by Nathan Bupp

Hating Perfection (Revised Edition) A Subtle Search for the Best Possible World
Written by John F. Williams

Hating Perfection (Revised Edition) A Subtle Search for the Best Possible World
Written by John F. Williams

The Consolations of Philosophy
Written by Alain De Botton

The Happy Life The Search for Contentment in the Modern World
Written by David Malouf

The Happy Life The Search for Contentment in the Modern World
Written by David Malouf

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age Why Eupraxsophy Matters - The Writings of Paul Kurtz
Edited by Nathan Bupp

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age Why Eupraxsophy Matters - The Writings of Paul Kurtz
Written by Paul Kurtz
Edited by Nathan Bupp