TOK - Theory of Knowledge: Personal and shared knowledge

This book provides an in-depth, problem-oriented introduction to philosophical analysis using an extremely clear, readable approach.

The author of the highly popular book Think, which Time magazine hailed as "the one book every smart person should read to understand, and even enjoy, the key questions of philosophy," Simon Blackburn is that rara avis - an eminent thinker who is able to explain philosophy to the general reader. Now Blackburn offers a tour de force exploration of what he calls "the most exciting and engaging issue in the whole of philosophy" - the age-old war over truth. The front lines of this war arewell defined. On one side are those who believe in plain, unvarnished facts, rock-solid truths that can be found through reason and objectivity - that science leads to truth, for instance. Their opponents mock this idea. They see the dark forces of language, culture, power, gender, class, ideology and desire - all subverting our perceptions of the world, and clouding our judgement with false notions of absolute truth. Beginning with an early skirmish in the war - when Socrates confronted the sophists in ancient Athens - Blackburn offers a penetrating look at the longstanding battle these two groups have waged, examining the philosophical battles fought by Plato, Protagoras, William James, David Hume, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Richard Rorty, and many others, with a particularly fascinating look at Nietzsche. Among the questions Blackburn considers are: is science mere opinion, can historians understand another historical period, and indeed can one culture ever truly understand another. Blackburn concludes that both sides have merit, and that neither has exclusive ownership of truth. What is important is that, whichever side we embrace, we should know where we stand and what is to be said for our opponents.

"We need a history of truth to illuminate the unique predicament of our times and - Felipe Fernandez-Armesto argues - help us escape from it. He shows how - at different times, in different societies - people have tried to tell the difference between truth and falsehood. And he exposes the concepts of truth which have underpinned those techniques." "This is a book of unusual audacity: short, clear, readable, opinionated - but uncompromising in raising big issues, using rich language and embracing a vast range. Its coverage touches every period and kind of human experience, from the truth-telling technologies of primitive societies to the private mental worlds of great philosophers; from the building of the pyramids to cubist art; from spiritualism to science and from New York to New Guinea. Its subjects include humankind's earliest thoughts, abiding anxieties and hopes for the future."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner has been acclaimed as the most influential educational theorist since John Dewey. His ideas about intelligence and creativity - explicated in such bestselling books as Frames of Mind and Multiple Intelligences (over 200,000 copies in print combined) - have revolutionized our thinking.In his groundbreaking 1983 book Frames of Mind, Howard Gardner first introduced the theory of multiple intelligences, which posits that intelligence is more than a single property of the human mind. That theory has become widely accepted as one of the seminal ideas of the twentieth century and continues to attract attention all over the world.Now in Intelligence Reframed, Gardner provides a much-needed report on the theory, its evolution and revisions. He offers practical guidance on the educational uses of the theory and responds to the critiques leveled against him. He also introduces two new intelligences (existential intelligence and naturalist intelligence) and argues that the concept of intelligence should be broadened, but not so absurdly that it includes every human virtue and value. Ultimately, argues Gardner, possessing a basic set of seven or eight intelligences is not only a unique trademark of the human species, but also perhaps even a working definition of the species. Gardner also offers provocative ideas about creativity, leadership, and moral excellence, and speculates about the relationship between multiple intelligences and the world of work in the future.

Can Asians think? Is Western civilisation universal? Does the West promote human rights for altruistic reasons? These are some questions Kishore Mahbuybani has sought to answer in this volume of essays written over the past decade. Contrary to the prevailing view in the West that the 500-year dominance of Western civilisation points to it being the only universal civilisations, this book argues that other civilisations may yet make equal contributions to the development and growth of mankind. Hailed as 'an Asian Toynbee', and 'the Max Weber of the new Confucian ethic', Mahbubani continues to illuminate his central arguments with new essays in this third edition.

The acclaimed bestseller about visual problem solving-now bigger and better "There is no more powerful way to prove that we know something well than to draw a simple picture of it. And there is no more powerful way to see hidden solutions than to pick up a pen and draw out the pieces of our problem." So writes Dan Roam in The Back of the Napkin, the international bestseller that proves that a simple drawing on a humble napkin can be more powerful than the slickest PowerPoint presentation. Drawing on twenty years of experience and the latest discoveries in vision science, Roam teaches readers how to clarify any problem or sell any idea using a simple set of tools. He reveals that everyone is born with a talent for visual thinking, even those who swear they can't draw. And he shows how thinking with pictures can help you discover and develop new ideas, solve problems in unexpected ways, and dramatically improve your ability to share your insights. Take Herb Kelleher and Rollin King, who figured out how to beat the traditional hub-and-spoke airlines with a bar napkin and a pen. Three dots to represent Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Three arrows to show direct flights. Problem solved, and the picture made it easy to sell Southwest Airlines to investors and customers. Now with more color, bigger pictures, and additional content, this new edition does an even better job of helping you literally see the world in a new way. Join the teachers, project managers, doctors, engineers, assembly-line workers, pilots, football coaches, marine drill instructors, financial analysts, students, parents, and lawyers who have discovered the power of solving problems with pictures.

An accessible introduction to philosophy, this book narrows the gap between the general reader and intellectual inquiry. Its points are illustrated with concrete examples which should call the reader to a higher level of critical thinking and self-perception.

Here at last is a coherent, unintimidating introduction to the challenging and fascinating landscape of Western philosophy. Written expressly for "anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to approach them," Think provides a sound framework for exploring the most basic themes of philosophy, and for understanding how major philosophers have tackled the questions that have pressed themselves most forcefully on human consciousness. Each chapter explains a major issue, and gives the reader a self-contained guide through the problems that the philosophers have studied.

What is epistemology or 'the theory of knowledge'? What is it really about? Why does it matter? What makes theorising about knowledge 'philosophical'? Why do some philosophers argue that epistemology - perhaps even philosophy itself - is dead? In this exciting and original introduction, Michael Williams shows how epistemological theorizing is sensitive to a range of questions about the nature, limits, methods, and value of knowing. He pays special attention to the challenge of philosophical scepticism: does our 'knowledge' rest on brute assumptions? Does the rational outlook undermine itself? Williams explains and criticises all the main contemporary philosophical perspectives on human knowledge, such as foundationalism, the coherence theory, and 'naturalistic' theories.

Explore the gray areas in your gray matter?philosophical brainteasers from the bestselling author of The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten Is your brain ready for a thorough philosophical health check? The author of the international bestseller The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten and his fellow founding editor of The Philosopher?s Magazine have some thought-provoking questions about your thinking: Is what you believe coherent and consistent?or a jumble of contradictions? If you could design a God, what would He, She, or It be like? And how will you fare on the tricky terrain of ethics when your taboos are under the spotlight?

This book compels readers to ask themselves Great Questions that will recreate their lives as they know them. With the help of fourteen leading quantum physicists, scientists and spiritual thinkers, this book guides readers on a course from the scientific to the spiritual, and from the universal to the deeply personal. Along the way, it asks such questions as : Are we seeing the world as it really is? What are thoughts made of? What is the relationship between our thoughts and our world? Are we biologically addicted to certain emotions? How can I create my day every day? What the Bleep answers this question and others through an innovative, new approach to self-help and spirituality that's far different--and more exciting--than anything else on bookshelves. More than twenty short, focused, interactive chapters take readers on a journey that will integrate the answers to these Great Questions into every aspect of their lives. (This book followed on a successful movie of the same name.)

The skills of Critical Thinking are important whatever subject you are studying. They enable you to assess what's been said or written by asking the right questions: 'What does this mean?' 'What else could it mean?' 'What other evidence do I need?' With your answers, you can suggest other explanations or scenarios: 'Perhaps it's this rather than that'. As a creative, enquiring thinker, you can then move on to produce well-argued material of your own.

Why do people dodge responsibility when things fall apart? Why the parade of public figures unable to own up when they make mistakes? Why the endless marital quarrels over who is right? Why can we see hypocrisy in others but not in ourselves? Are we all liars? Or do we really believe the stories we tell? Renowned social psychologists Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson take a compelling look into how the brain is wired for self-justification. When we make mistakes, we must calm the cognitive dissonance that jars our feelings of self-worth. And so we create fictions that absolve us of responsibility, restoring our belief that we are smart, moral, and right - a belief that often keeps us on a course that is dumb, immoral, and wrong. Backed by years of research and delivered in lively, energetic prose, Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) offers a fascinating explanation of self-deception - how it works, the harm it can cause, and how we can overcome it.

In this short and powerful book, celebrated philosopher Martha Nussbaum makes a passionate case for the importance of the liberal arts at all levels of education. Historically, the humanities have been central to education because they have rightly been seen as essential for creating competent democratic citizens. But recently, Nussbaum argues, thinking about the aims of education has gone disturbingly awry both in the United States and abroad. Anxiously focused on national economic growth, we increasingly treat education as though its primary goal were to teach students to be economically productive rather than to think critically and become knowledgeable and empathetic citizens. This shortsighted focus on profitable skills has eroded our ability to criticize authority, reduced our sympathy with the marginalized and different, and damaged our competence to deal with complex global problems. And the loss of these basic capacities jeopardizes the health of democracies and the hope of a decent world. In response to this dire situation, Nussbaum argues that we must resist efforts to reduce education to a tool of the gross national product. Rather, we must work to reconnect education to the humanities in order to give students the capacity to be true democratic citizens of their countries and the world. Drawing on the stories of troubling--and hopeful--educational developments from around the world, Nussbaum offers a manifesto that should be a rallying cry for anyone who cares about the deepest purposes of education. (Note by UWC Librarian: chapter 4 looks at argument.)