Philosophy and Religion

'When you attain the Way of strategy, there will not be one thing you cannot see.' -Miyamoto Musashi The Book of Five Rings is a classic Japanese text by the undefeated swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Shortly before his death in 1645, Musashi retreated to a cave to live as a hermit. There he wrote five scrolls describing the 'true principles' required for victory in the martial arts and on the bat

'An extraordinary book . . . It will shake up your most fundamental beliefs about everyday experience, and it just might change your life.' Paul Bloom ___ For the millions of people who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris's new book is a guide to meditation as a rational spiritual practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. Throughout the book, Harris argues that there are i

A fascinating investigation into the formation and transmission of the early Buddhist oral tradition. For hundreds of years after his death, the Buddha´s teachings were transmitted orally, from person to person. In this volume, acclaimed scholar-monk Bhikkhu Analayo examines the impact of such oral transmission on early Buddhist texts, be these monastic rules, verses, or prose portions of the ear

A testimony to the invaluable contributions made by the women who were direct disciples of the Buddha—and a source of inspiration to Buddhist women today. It´s a common perception that the earliest textual records don´t contain many, if any, teachings by the Buddha´s female disciples; yet, this is not the case. In fact, the earliest discourses record a range of teachings from Buddhist women

>Tao Te Ching translates very roughly as "the way of integrity". In its 81 verses it delivers a treatise on how to live in the world with goodness and integrity: an important kind of wisdom in a world where many people believe such a thing to be impossible.Taosim affirms that each human being is a reflection of the whole universe, a microcosm within the macrocosm, and that all of us live under the

The Republic is one of the earliest political treatises ever written and Plato's most remarkable work. Through a fictional dialogue with Socrates, Plato examines the nature of justice, the character of the city-state, and what it means to be a just man. Plato argued that power corrupts and the only way to protect against this was through the rule of philosopher kings. In The Republic he also gra

Meditations is a collection of personal writings and spiritual reflections by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, translated by eminent Classical scholar George Long. His thoughts on how to lead a virtuous life, the importance of tranquillity and his ideas on how to reconcile the challenges of public and private life have become one of the world's most important books. Meditations is a classic

In The Social Contract, Rousseau wrote one of the most influential studies ever made. It is as relevant today as when it was first published more than 250 years ago. Political society, Rousseau argued, required each individual to submit their personal desires to the 'general will'. At the same time, there was no 'divine right' of the monarchy to allow them to act as they pleased. Therefore, ther

In this, his most influential work, the great political and social thinker John Stuart Mill examines the relationship of the individual and the state, the ethics of utilitarianism and the essential liberties of individuals, beginning with the right to free thought and speech.

"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee." Expanding on his ideas from Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche's radical polemic Beyond Good and Evil undermines the assumptions of traditional morality and encourages us to think more critically about the world in which we live. In this famo

Fragments written in preparation of a defence of Christianity, unfinished at Pascalâ€s death in 1669 and published posthumously, Pensées has long been regarded as a literary masterpiece as well as a great work of philosophy and theology.

Church, Interrupted: Havoc & Hope: The Tender Revolt of Pope Francis is a revealing portrait of Pope Francis's hopeful yet controversial efforts to recreate the Catholic Church to become, once again, a welcoming place of empathy, love, and inclusiveness.