Modern philosophy: since c 1800

'At the Existentialist Cafe' is the story of existentialism as a story of meetings - of people and of ideas. It is a warm, witty and engaging biography of a philosophy about life that also changed lives, and one that tackled the biggest questions of all: what we are and how we are to live.

Dating from 1909 to 1923, Franz Kafka's 'Diaries' contains a broad array of writing, including accounts of daily events, assorted reflections and observations, literary sketches, drafts of letters, records of dreams, and unrevised texts of stories. This volume makes available for the first time i...

In a short period - from the early 1640s to the eve of the French Revolution - Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz and Hume all made their mark on Western thought. 'The Dream of Enlightenment' tells their story and that of the birth of modern philosophy. What does the advance of science en...

Daniel C. Dennett, philosopher and cognitive scientist, has spent his career considering consciousness. 'I've Been Thinking' traces the development of Dennett's own intellect and instructs us how we too can become good thinkers.Dennett's restless curiosity leads him from his childhood in Beirut t...

What is freedom? What is real? What is human goodness? It belongs to our nature to ask these questions. We are metaphysical animals. And the answers we give shape what we will become. Written with expertise and flair, 'Metaphysical Animals' is a vivid blend of philosophy and recovered history - b...

John Rawls was one of the most influential political philosophers of the 20th century. His writing on the nature of justice transformed philosophical and political thought. Starting with a brief biography and charting the influences on Rawls' thinking, this book introduces and assesses the main t...

This is a collection of short stories from the legendary German-Jewish critic and philosopher Walter Benjamin (1892-1940). As well as highlighting the themes that run throughout his work, the collection demonstrates that his singular style could create extraordinary imaginative worlds that will d...

The year is 1933. Hannah Arendt escapes Berlin, seeking refuge among the stateless gathering in Paris. Simone de Beauvoir reimagines the dance between consciousness and the world outside in a Rouen cafe. Ayn Rand labours in Hollywood exile on the novel she believes destined to reignite the flame ...

An exceptional, essential collection drawn from the poet's experience of the Baddawi refugee camp in Lebanon. The poetry moves beyond the observational into a philosophical meditation on the existential nature of place. Qasmiyeh asks "Where is time?", crossing footprints of Derrida, "To experienc...