Bloomsbury Philosophy News

Upcoming event - Why Philosophy Matters, Rd. 3

Why Philosophy Matters is a series of events at the Ashmolean Museum, organised by the Royal Institute of Philosophy branch at Oxford Brookes University, and in association with Bloomsbury Publishing.

Keep up to date with events by liking the Why Philosophy Matters Facebook page

THIRD EVENT: Why a Philosophy of Punishment Matters, with Professor. Martin McQuillan (Kingston University)

Ashmolean Museum Education Centre (nearest entrance from St Giles), Oxford. Wednesday April 2 2014, 18.00 (drinks and nibbles from 17.45). All Welcome – Free Admission – No Registration Required!

In Association with the Royal Institute of Philosophy, Oxford Brookes University & Bloomsbury Publishing.

This will be our last event until the autumn term!

Abstract: Why the Philosophy of Punishment matters? The question of punishment runs like a red thread through the philosophical canon from the dialogue between Socrates and Polus in the Gorgias to the imprisonment of Boethius, from Foucault's work on prison reform to Derrida's seminar on the death sentence, from Gramsci's prison diaries to the autobiographies of Angela Davis and Bernard Steigler. This lecture will examine why the idea of punishment remains such an issue in philosophy and what philosophy might have to say to our present regimes of incarceration and capital punishment.

Professor Martin McQuillan is Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences at Kingston University where he is also Professor of Literary Theory and Cultural Analysis. He has written monographs on Roland Barthes, Paul de Man, and Deconstruction and is the editor of numerous books in critical theory and continental philosophy.

World Book Day Wishlist 10 Winners

Last week we asked you what your top Bloomsbury academic book was, to celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 6th March. Chosen randomly from across our academic subject areas, the Bloomsbury Philosophy blog is proud to present:

WORLD BOOK DAY 2014 - THE WISHLIST WINNERS
And why they chose what they did

  

Critical Theory and Film: Rethinking Ideology Through Film Noir
By Fabio Vighi
“I enjoyed Critical Theory and Film for its original systhesis of Frankfurt School theory with Film Noir.” - Niall Flynn

Kurt Vonnegut and the American Novel: A Postmodern Iconography
By Robert Tally
“I selected this partly as a matter of shameless self-promotion! As the author, I do feel that it is perhaps the most important book on Vonnegut in many years.” – Rob Tally

    

The Fundamentals of Creative Photography
By David Präkel
“I chose The Fundamentals of Creative Photography because I want to do more with my photography and develop a portfolio and this book sounded like it would be helpful in that aspect.” - Emma Jones

Fashion Forecasting
By Evelyn L. Brannon
“Istituto Marangoni library relies a lot on Bloomsbury books for its stock development and reading lists, so it was really hard for me to give one preference, in the end I choose Fashion Forecasting by Evelyn Brannon because it’s one of the best books on the subject and it is highly recommended by our lecturers in Fashion Business.” - Lietta Missaggia

  

American Visual Culture
By Mark Rawlinson
“I chose it mostly because I have lived in the United States for about 10 years before moving to Belgium, and during my time there I was interested in Americana but never really developed much understanding of it beyond going to flea markets or perusing eBay, etc. So I would like to know more about it. Also the cover is appealing to me, I think the typeface is reminiscent of the one used by Campbell's Soup (and Andy Warhol obviously)." - Noëllie Roussel

Let’s Talk About Love: Why Other People Have Such Bad Taste
By Carl Wilson
“Many 33 1/3 authors reference this book as an significant influence to their work with the series, and it deserves every bit of praise. Not only does Wilson incorporate a number of arguments as to why Celine Dione is a strong, independent woman who uses her voice as a cannon to inspire but also turns the gun on our taste. Too many music listeners neglect certain artists or bands based on what others think, even though a majority of people may not feel that way. While Americans criticize Dione for being "the Titanic lady", other countries love her for her use of "schmaltz" music that isn't specific to one group of people. Every culture has a different connection to it, allowing her to be a world-renowned star. Realizing this reveals our tastes' close-minded tendencies. Music can be an enlightening and challenging experience, if you allow it to be, and can surface numerous rewards, and Wilson proves that in his analysis.”  - Sam Willett

  

Britain and France in Two World Wars: Truth, Myth and Memory
Edited by Robert Tombs and Emile Chabal
“I'm really looking forward to reading this title. I was aware of many of the contributors and had read other pieces of their work. It also seemed like an original and timely piece that considered important issues in a novel way. In particular, I am interested in Franco-British comparisons and what they differing perceptions tell us about the respective nations.” - Andrew Smith

Key Writings
By Henri Bergson
Edited by Keith Ansell Pearson and John Mullarkey
"I’m a graduate student whose work on philosophy of nature, the body and disability leans on Merleau-Ponty and Deleuze, each of whom in turn is indebted to the significant contributions to thinking about nature and especially time made by Bergson. Whether agreeing with or contesting his understanding, Bergson remains a key figure for anyone concerned with temporality." - Jonathan Mitchell

  

Scripture: A Guide for the Perplexed
By William R. S. Lamb
“This one caught my eye, not so much for its potential for aiding my work, but as a model for addressing this subject in a way that is helpful for a wider readership.”  - Taido Chino

The Unity of Content and Form in Philosophical Writing: The Perils of Conformity
By Jon Stewart
“Stewart's book is an important contribution to the ongoing debates about what 'counts' as philosophy, and given the recent worries about climate within philosophy programs, those debates are more important than ever."  - Karl Aho

 

NEW RELEASE - BLOOMSBURY COMPANION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPORT

Philosophy and sport might not appear immediately to be obvious bedfellows, but sport has often captured both the intellectual and personal imagination of innumerable philosophers throughout the ages. From Albert Camus’ love of football, and time playing as goalkeeper for Racing Universitaire d'Alger (spawning the famous declaration that: “after many years during which I saw many things, what I know most surely about morality and the duty of man I owe to sport and learned it in the RUA”) to Jacques Derrida’s notoriously perplexing and gnomic formulation “there is nothing beyond the touchline” (neither certainty nor truth, just le terrain and le foot)—philosophy and sport have often been entangled in an intersectional and productive relationship.

The Bloomsbury Companion to the Philosophy of Sport features specially commissioned essays from a team of leading international scholars. The book, by providing an overview of the advances in the philosophical understanding of sport (and related practices), serves as a measure of the development of the philosophy of sport, but it also constitutes an expression of the discipline’s state of the art status. The book includes a critical analysis of the historical development of philosophic ideas about sport, three essays on the research methods typically used by sport philosophers, twelve essays that address vital issues at the forefront of key research areas, as well as four essays on topics of future disciplinary concern. The book also includes a glossary of key terms and concepts, an essay on resources available to researchers and practitioners, an essay on careers opportunities in the discipline, and an extensive annotated bibliography of key literature.

'Drawing on the very best scholars, this volume provides the intellectual foundations for a philosophy of sport from four major intellectual philosophical traditions - the Analytic, the Continental, the Eastern and Pragmatism. This volume is essential reading for anyone desiring a comprehensive philosophical understanding of the phenomenon that plays such a major part of our lives.' Norman E. Bowie, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, USA.

'This excellent collection of specially written articles is organized in a n innovative way, combining a comprehensive account of the history and the research methodology of the philosophy of sport with the critical reflections on current theoretical issues and future developments in the area.' Claudio M. Tamburrini, Senior researcher, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Upcoming event - Why Philosophy Matters, Rd. 2

Why Philosophy Matters is back for 2014, and better than ever!

Why Philosophy Matters is a series of events at the Ashmolean Museum, organised by the Royal Institute of Philosophy branch at Oxford Brookes University, and in association with Bloomsbury Publishing.

Keep up to date with events by liking the Why Philosophy Matters Facebook page

SECOND EVENT: Why Philosophy Matters, with Dr. James Garvey (Royal Institute of Philosophy)

Ashmolean Museum Education Centre (nearest entrance from St Giles), Oxford.

Wednesday March 12 2014, 18.00 (drinks and nibbles from 17.45)

In Association with the Royal Institute of Philosophy, Oxford Brookes University & Bloomsbury Publishing

All Welcome – Free Admission – No Registration Required!

Abstract: Philosophy has had a hard time in the press lately. It's said that philosophy is dead, that is is without content, that it has made no progress in nearly two and a half thousand years. Philosophy departments have been closed by those who say it's an unjustifiable expense. Philosophers, memorably, have been called the gym teachers of academia. Philosophical chestnuts like the problem of free will are said to have scientific solutions, not philosophical ones. Is this criticism justified? Does philosophy still matter?

Dr. James Garvey works for the Royal Institute of Philosophy and is editor of The Philosophers’ Magazine. He is the author of The Great Philosophers and The Story of Philosophy: A History of Western Thought (both with Jeremy Stangroom), The Twenty Greatest Philosophy Books, The Ethics of Climate Change, and is currently writing book on Why Philosophy Matters for our new Bloomsbury series. James is also editor of The Continuum Companion to the Philosophy of Mind and co-editor of the Think Now series of books on social and political philosophy. See http://jamesgarveyactually.wordpress.com/ for more information.

Happy World Book Day!

Thursday 6th March, 2014. A special day for books, for reading, for learning: all around the globe children are dressing up, reading aloud, receiving book tokens, celebrating their favourite stories. Well we couldn’t let them have all the fun! We’d like to know what your favourite Bloomsbury academic book is – what’s top of your World Book Day wish list?

Tell us here and not only will ten of the entries be featured in a special academic wish list blog, but ten lucky (randomly selected) entrants will win a paperback of their choice!

NEW SERIES ANNOUNCEMENT - ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY

Empirical and experimental philosophy is generating tremendous excitement, producing unexpected results by drawing on scientific methodologies, practices and resources that are challenging traditional philosophical fields. Advances in Experimental Philosophy responds to this trend, bringing together some of the most exciting voices in this emerging field to understand the approach and measure its impact in contemporary philosophy.The result is a series that captures past and present developments, and anticipates future research directions.

For further details, and to keep up to date with the most cutting edge research in the field of experimental philosophy, make sure to check out the Experimental Philosophy Blog at: http://philosophycommons.typepad.com/xphi/

On the 27th of March, 2014, Bloomsbury Philosophy is publishing three titles in the Advances in Experimental Philosophy series, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled, and watch this space!

Advances in Experimental Epistemology –

Experimental epistemology uses experimental methods of the cognitive sciences to shed light on debates within epistemology, the philosophical study of knowledge and rational belief. In this first critical collection on this exciting new subfield, leading researchers tackle key questions pertaining to knowledge, evidence, and rationally justified belief. Advances in Experimental Epistemology addresses central epistemological issues such as whether subjects in high stakes situations need to possess stronger evidence in order to have knowledge; whether and in what respects knowing that p depends upon what actions one undertakes in light of p; how philosophers should respond to deep and pervasive disagreement about particular cases of knowledge and belief and the methodological challenges to epistemology that are presented by disagreement in epistemic intuitions. As well as moving research in epistemology forward, this cutting-edge volume helps define the future course of research in experimental philosophy.

Advances in Experimental Moral Psychology –

Advances in Experimental Moral Psychology brings together leading scholars in the field to provide fresh theoretical perspectives on research in philosophy and psychology. Reflecting a diverse and active field of study, contributors are drawn from across both subjects to pursue central questions concerning moral psychology. Covering a wide-ranging selection of arguments, issues and debates, topics includes the role of emotion in moral judgment (both at a general theoretical level and with regards to specific topics); the moral psychology behind political orientation; the nature and content of moral character and more higher-order questions concerning the status of morality itself. For philosophers and researchers in the social and behavioral science, this exciting new volume reveals the beneficial results of integrating these two disciplines and illustrates the promise of this experimental approach to moral psychology.

Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Mind –

The past decade has witnessed an exciting (and controversial) new approach to philosophy: Experimental philosophers aim to supplement, and perhaps to supplant, traditional philosophical approaches by employing empirical methods from the social sciences. In Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Mind, leading experimental philosophers apply these methods to questions about the nature of the mind, the self, consciousness, moral judgment, and concepts. By bringing empirical methods to bear on key issues, Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Mind pushes the debates forward, casting new insight on perennial problems. This is an essential resource for professors, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates interested in either philosophy of mind or the burgeoning field of experimental philosophy.

Editorial Board:

Joshua Knobe, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science (Yale University, USA).

Edouard Machery, Associate Professor of Philosophy (University of Pittsburgh USA).

Thomas Nadelhoffer, Assistant Professor of Philosophy (College of Charleston, UK).

Eddy Nahmias, Associate Professor in Philosophy (Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State University, USA).

Jennifer Nagel, Associate Professor of Philosophy (University of Toronto, Canada) Joshua Alexander, Assistant Professor in Philosophy (Siena College, USA).

Forthcoming, April 2015:

Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Language, edited by Jussi Haukioja.