First set forth in lectures given at the University of Berlin in the 1820s, Hegel's «Philosophy of History» fully explores his ideas on many of the major and minor philosophers who preceded him on the subject of world history. Essentially, Hegel wished to demonstrate that history follows reason, and hence the direction and meaning of history could possibly be discovered. Hegel traced a progression of understanding from Eastern pantheism to ...
Contained within this volume are two discourses by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In «A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality» Rousseau examines the causes of the inequalities that exist among men concluding that it is the natural result of the formation of any civilization. In «A Discourse on Political Economy» Rousseau examines the nature of politics and their effect on people. These two works lay a solid foundation for the political philosophy of Rou ...
The Roman poet known to the English speaking world as Ovid is best known for his work Metamorphoses, a mythological epic which chronicles the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar. Widely considered as one of the most important authors of Latin literature, Ovid produced an extensive body of work. Some of these works have been lost to history and in the case of the works of this volume have a doubtful attribut ...
Aristotle's «Poetics» is the world's first treatise on literature. Written in the fourth century B.C. Poetics is a detailed analysis of drama and poetry with its greatest emphasis on tragedy. Aristotle outlines the elements of good drama drawing upon specific examples from the great literature of ancient Greece. An essential read for any student of classical literature, Aristotle's «Poetics» will also provide great insight for the ...
Plato's «Phaedrus» is a dialogue between Phaedrus and the great Greek philosopher Socrates. Phaedrus has been spending the morning with Lysias, the celebrated rhetorician, and is going to refresh himself by taking a walk outside the wall, when he is met by Socrates, who professes that he will not leave him until he has delivered up the speech with which Lysias has regaled him, and which he is carrying about in his mind, or more probably in ...
"The Case of Wagner" is a critique of German composer Richard Wagner in which Friedrich Nietzsche makes a very public split with the musician. Nietzsche found himself at odds with Wagner's increasing involvement in the Volkisch movement and anti-Semitism. The critique of Wagner is something that is seen throughout Nietzsche's work, beginning with «The Birth of Tragedy», wherein he praised Wagner as fulfilling a need in music to go ...
Balthasar Gracian y Morales (1601-1658) assumed his final vows of the Jesuits in 1635, having been raised by his uncle, a priest, and studying theology in Zaragoza, Spain. Gracian became quite famous as a preacher, and wrote a number of literary works concerning politics, practical advice for life, and philosophy. Today he is known as the most representative writer of the Spanish baroque style called Conceptismo (Conceptism), a literary style ch ...
Contained here are two of the most important philosophy works ever written, Descartes' «Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking for Truth in the Sciences» and «Meditations on First Philosophy.» Descartes, who is considered to be one of the founding fathers of modern philosophy, lays forth the basics of his philosophy and expounds upon such monumental issues as the nature of knowledge and existence itself in thes ...
First published in 1739 to an unenthusiastic British public, Hume's «Treatise» has since been referred to as one of the most significant books in the history of philosophy. Hume, a Scottish philosopher, claimed that he was attempting to discuss moral issues with a methodical reasoning, and proceeded to do so in this foundational text. Divided into three large sections, Hume begins his work with a discussion of human understanding, from the ...
