The Imbecile’s Guide to Public Philosophy


Book Description

This book studies the role of serious philosophizing in everyday life and looks at how authoritarianism negates philosophical and public reason. It sheds light on how philosophy can go beyond its life as a discipline limited to an esoteric group of academia to manifest itself via radical discursive practices in public life which enable us to understand and resolve contemporary socio-political challenges. It studies philosophy as a discipline which deals with one's orientations based on experience, the logic of reasoning, critical thinking, and most of all radical and progressive beliefs. The book argues that the contemporary rise of capitalism in modern society, resonating Émile Durkheim’s cautions on "anomie", has favoured individualism, differentiation, marginalization, and exploitation, balanced on an eroding collective consciousness and a steady disintegration of humanity and reason. Taking this into consideration, it discusses how philosophy, both mainstream and marginal, can revive democracy in society which then is able to confront global authoritarianism led by the figure of the imbecile. Finally, it also provides a range of new perspectives on the questions of civic freedom, hegemony of language, social justice, identity, invisible paradigms, gender justice, democracy, multiculturalism, and decolonization. This book is an invigorating compilation of essays from diverse disciplines, engaging the need to create a humanistic public philosophy to transcend the state of imbecility. It will be of great interest to students, scholars and researchers of philosophy, contemporary politics, history, and sociology, as well as general readers.




India, Habermas and the Normative Structure of Public Sphere


Book Description

This book examines how the contemporary Indian situation poses a strict theoretical challenge to Habermas’s theorization of the public sphere and employs the method of samvāda to critically analyse and dissect its universalist claims. It invites the reader to consider the possibility of imagining a normative Indian public sphere that is embedded in the Indian context—in a native and not nativist sense—to get past the derivative language of philosophical and political discourses prevalent within Indian academia. The book proposes that the dynamic cooperative space between Indian political theory and contemporary Indian philosophy is effectively suited to theorize the native idea of the Indian public sphere. It underlines the normative need for a natively theorized Indian public sphere to further the multilayered democratization of public spheres within diverse communities that constitute Indian society. The book will be a key read for contemporary studies in philosophy, political theory, sociology, postcolonial theory, history and media and communication studies.




The Making of Contemporary Indian Philosophy


Book Description

This book engages in a dialogue with Krishnachandra Bhattacharyya (K.C. Bhattacharyya, KCB, 1875–1949) and opens a vista to contemporary Indian philosophy. KCB is one of the founding fathers of contemporary Indian philosophy, a distinct genre of philosophy that draws both on classical Indian philosophical sources and on Western materials, old and new. His work offers both a new and different reading of classical Indian texts, and a unique commentary of Kant and Hegel. The book (re)introduces KCB’s philosophy, identifies the novelty of his thinking, and highlights different dimensions of his oeuvre, with special emphasis on freedom as a concept and striving, extending from the metaphysical to the political or the postcolonial. Our contributors aim to decipher KCB’s distinct vocabulary (demand, feeling, alternation). They revisit his discussion of Rasa aesthetics, spotlight the place of the body in his phenomenological inquiry toward “the subject as freedom”, situate him between classics (Abhinavagupta) and thinkers inspired by his thought (Daya Krishna), and discuss his lectures on Sāṃkhya and Yoga rather than projecting KCB as usual solely as a Vedānta scholar. Finally, the contributors seek to clarify if and how KCB’s philosophical work is relevant to the discourse today, from the problem of other minds to freedoms in the social and political spheres. This book will be of interest to academics studying Indian and comparative philosophy, philosophy of language and mind, phenomenology without borders, and political and postcolonial philosophy.




World Yearbook of Education 2025


Book Description

The World Yearbook of Education 2025 analyzes teacher policies and the governance of the teaching profession in the contemporary context of major societal changes and globalizing processes. The first volume dedicated to an overview of globalized teacher policies and their implications for the status of the teaching profession across the world, this book reflects the ambition to advance the debate on the challenges and opportunities associated with the teaching profession. It recognizes that teacher policy is situated at the crossroads of three logics that have changed and become more complex due to globalization processes since the 1970s: the logic of teacher policy regulation has shifted from state-centric government toward pluriscalar global governance; the logic of employment relations has shifted to a flexibility paradigm; the logic of teacher education has shifted from the transmission of knowledge in teacher education to teachers’ lifelong learning. In line with the objective to analyze the governance of the teaching profession in the contemporary context of major societal changes and globalizing processes, this book is organized into three parts, focusing on: teacher policies as global governance and public policy; teacher labor markets, employment relations, and careers and the institutional transformations in the world of work and employment; and the reconfiguration of teachers’ work and the learning of teachers Its contributors use different methodological approaches to draw on a range of case studies and analyses of national, regional, and global patterns. A timely and important contribution to discussions of the future of the teaching profession across the world, the World Yearbook of Education 2025 is ideal reading for policymakers, the professional teaching community, researchers, graduate students, and anyone interested in education policy-related areas such as public policy, comparative education, and sociology of education.




The Magical Lantern


Book Description

The book The Magical Lantern is a collection of essays on Marxist philosophy. It is based on the philosophical reflection on Marx’s idea of phantasmagoria as the 'magical lantern' that creates eerie images, an idea that is central to Marx’s theory of modern capitalist societies. It talks of the importance of Marx’s philosophy and its application in concrete politics, especially in creating socialist humanist philosophy of human emancipation where global societies can be emancipated from the phantasmagorias that haunt them, thus able to transcend global capitalism which is in terminal and permanent crisis. It then critiques the rise of authoritarian regimes emerging all over the world and seeks to explain the rise of global totalitarianism. But it claims that the answer to authoritarianism is not liberalism since liberalism is part of the late imperialism in permanent crisis as well as it involves what Slavoj Žižek calls the Denkverbot ('the prohibition against thinking') and thus involves the return of the eerie phantasmagoria that does not allow critical thinking. However, the critique of liberalism does not relapse into orthodox Marxism, since this book argues that in the genre of orthodox Marxism the ghosts of Stalin and Mao with their own authoritarianism haunt philosophies of human emancipation. While Stalin is portrayed as a brutal counter-revolutionary who destroyed Marxism by evoking Marxism itself, Mao is presented as the alchemist of the revolution and a peculiar form of Stalinism in rebellion against Stalinism itself! The chapters in this book were originally published in Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory.




The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eastern Philosophy


Book Description

You're no idiot, of course. You know Eastern philosophy encompasses many countries and concepts, but when it comes to breaking down the basics—to discuss with others or for your own enlightenment—you can't tell Confucius from Krishna. Don't nix nirvana just yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Eastern Philosophy is an extensive, reader-friendly guide that maps out the terrain along the various paths of knowledge. In this Complete Idiot's Guide®, you get:




The Complete Idiot's Guide to Public Speaking: 2nd Edition


Book Description

You're no idiot, of course. You can hold your own in water cooler conversation, are the life of the party at get-togethers, and have no problem firing a quick comeback at your smart-alecky friends. But when it comes to standing onstage in front of a group of people, you feel like you're the one in your underwear, not the audience. Don't hide behind the lectern just yet. The 'Complete Idiot's Guide to Public Speaking, Second Edition' helps you feel confident and build the skills you need to deliver winning speeches and presentations. In this completely revised and updated Complete Idiot's Guide, you'll find: -Professional guidance on identifying your audience and adapting to the situation. -Expert advice on effective wardrobe and body language. -Useful pointers on how to tell jokes. -Valuable tips on handling hecklers and negative audiences. -Cutting edge information on using Powerpoint and other visual aids.




The Complete Idiot's Guide to Public Speaking


Book Description

Stresses the value of being able to speak in public and offers advice on speech writing, handling specific types of speeches, preparing and rehearsing, overcoming stage fright, and delivering an effective speech




The Complete Idiot's Guide to String Theory


Book Description

We’re living in the midst of a scientific revolution that’s captured the general public’s attention and imagination. The aim of this new revolution is to develop a “theory of everything”—a set of laws of physics that will explain all that can be explained, ranging from the tiniest subatomic particle to the universe as a whole. Here, readers will learn the ideas behind the theories, and their effects upon our world, our civilization, and ourselves. The Complete Idiot’s Guide® String Theory explains how this exciting idea holds up against competing theories. In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get: • Clear explanation of quantum mechanics, Einstein’s theories of relativity, and how string theory unites them. • A quick, easy-to-understand overview of competing theories and how they might be tested. • Fast facts about black holes, what’s inside them, how they’re made, and why they’re so paradoxical. • Simple, smart tips to help you visualize extra dimensions.




The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Intelligent Design


Book Description

An objective overview of the biggest controversy in American education. Intelligent Design is one of the hottest issues facing parents and educators to day, but it can be hard to separate the facts from the heated rhetoric. This expert and objective guide gets to the bottom of the questions: What is Intelligent Design? Should it replace or complement traditional science? What's all the fuss about? * Explains the terms, the controversy, and the involvement of the American courts * Indispensable guide for concerned educators and parents * Written by an expert in the field