The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes


Book Description

Volcanoes are unquestionably one of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring features of the physical world. Our paradoxical fascination with them stems from their majestic beauty and powerful, sometimes deadly, destructiveness. Notwithstanding the tremendous advances in volcanology since ancient times, some of the mystery surrounding volcanic eruptions remains today. The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes summarizes our present knowledge of volcanoes; it provides a comprehensive source of information on the causes of volcanic eruptions and both the destructive and beneficial effects. The early chapters focus on the science of volcanism (melting of source rocks, ascent of magma, eruption processes, extraterrestrial volcanism, etc.). Later chapters discuss human interface with volcanoes, including the history of volcanology, geothermal energy resources, interaction with the oceans and atmosphere, health aspects of volcanism, mitigation of volcanic disasters, post-eruption ecology, and the impact of eruptions on organismal biodiversity. - Provides the only comprehensive reference work to cover all aspects of volcanology - Written by nearly 100 world experts in volcanology - Explores an integrated transition from the physical process of eruptions through hazards and risk, to the social face of volcanism, with an emphasis on how volcanoes have influenced and shaped society - Presents hundreds of color photographs, maps, charts and illustrations making this an aesthetically appealing reference - Glossary of 3,000 key terms with definitions of all key vocabulary items in the field is included




Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology


Book Description

"This set of books represents a detailed compendium of authoritative, research-based entries that define the contemporary state of knowledge on technology"--Provided by publisher.




One True Cause


Book Description

Starting in the 1660s, followers of the philosopher Descartes argued for what has come to be known as "occasionalism." In its most extreme form, occasionalism is the doctrine that God directly causes everything that happens in the world, and no other being is a true cause of any effect. The views of Cartesian occasionalists were once largely dismissed by English-speaking philosophers. But since the 1970s, a growing body of secondary literature has highlighted the historical significance, and philosophical interest, of their views. This study expands on recent scholarship to provide the first comprehensive account of occasionalism in the seventeenth century.




Free Will and Action Explanation


Book Description

Do we have free will and moral responsibility? Is free will compatible with determinism? Scott Sehon addresses these key questions by focusing on an underlying issue: the nature of action explanation. He proposes a non-causal account of action and agency, according to which reason explanation of human behavior is teleological rather than causal.




The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness


Book Description

The incomparable Rebecca Solnit, author of more than a dozen acclaimed, prizewinning books of nonfiction, brings the same dazzling writing to the essays in Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness. As the title suggests, the territory of Solnit’s concerns is vast, and in her signature alchemical style she combines commentary on history, justice, war and peace, and explorations of place, art, and community, all while writing with the lyricism of a poet to achieve incandescence and wisdom. Gathered here are celebrated iconic essays along with little-known pieces that create a powerful survey of the world we live in, from the jungles of the Zapatistas in Mexico to the splendors of the Arctic. This rich collection tours places as diverse as Haiti and Iceland; movements like Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring; an original take on the question of who did Henry David Thoreau’s laundry; and a searching look at what the hatred of country music really means. Solnit moves nimbly from Orwell to Elvis, to contemporary urban gardening to 1970s California macramé and punk rock, and on to searing questions about the environment, freedom, family, class, work, and friendship. It’s no wonder she’s been compared in Bookforum to Susan Sontag and Annie Dillard and in the San Francisco Chronicle to Joan Didion. The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness proves Rebecca Solnit worthy of the accolades and honors she’s received. Rarely can a reader find such penetrating critiques of our time and its failures leavened with such generous heapings of hope. Solnit looks back to history and the progress of political movements to find an antidote to despair in what many feel as lost causes. In its encyclopedic reach and its generous compassion, Solnit’s collection charts a way through the thickets of our complex social and political worlds. Her essays are a beacon for readers looking for alternative ideas in these imperiled times.




The Encyclopedia of the JFK Assassination


Book Description

In his second reference to the November 1963 events in Dallas, Texas, Benson describes people, places, and things relating to the assassination of US president John Kennedy, the wounding of Texas governor John Connally and bystander James Tague, the murder of Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit, and the murder of accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby. He includes some photographs, and diagrams of buildings and the city. The cross-referencing is extensive.




What Philosophers Should Know About Truth


Book Description

Fred Stoutland was a major figure in the philosophy of action and philosophy of language. This collection brings together essays on truth, language, action and mind and thus provides an important summary of many key themes in Stoutland’s own work, as well as offering valuable perspectives on key issues in contemporary philosophy.







The Routledge Companion to Free Will


Book Description

Questions concerning free will are intertwined with issues in almost every area of philosophy, from metaphysics to philosophy of mind to moral philosophy, and are also informed by work in different areas of science (principally physics, neuroscience and social psychology). Free will is also a perennial concern of serious thinkers in theology and in non-western traditions. Because free will can be approached from so many different perspectives and has implications for so many debates, a comprehensive survey needs to encompass an enormous range of approaches. This book is the first to draw together leading experts on every aspect of free will, from those who are central to the current philosophical debates, to non-western perspectives, to scientific contributions and to those who know the rich history of the subject. Chapter 37 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.




Encyclopaedia Britannica


Book Description

This eleventh edition was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time and it is considered to be a landmark encyclopaedia for scholarship and literary style.