by Richard E. Nisbett

A professor of psychology examines the divergent ways in which eastern and western cultures view the world, offering suggestions about how today's interdependent global cultures may be bridged.

by Fritjof Capra

The Tao of Physics is a book about the relationship between physics and spirituality. The book explores the parallels between Eastern mysticism and modern physics. It discusses the similarities between the two fields, and how they can be used to help understand each other. The book also discusses the concept of the Tao, or the way, and how it relates to physics. The Tao of Physics is considered to be one of the first books to popularize the concepts of modern physics for a general audience. It has been translated into many languages and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

by Albert Camus

One of the most influential works of this century, this is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide: the question of living or not living in an absurd universe devoid of order or meaning. With lyric eloquence, Camus posits a way out of despair, reaffirming the value of personal existence, and the possibility of life lived with dignity and authenticity.--From publisher description.

by Thomas S. Kuhn

Thomas S. Kuhn's classic book is now available with a new index.

by Friedrich Nietzsche

The Birth of Tragedy (1872) was Nietzsche's first book; The Genealogy of Morals (1887) one of his last. Both are about the conflict between the moral and aesthetic approaches to life, the impact of Christianity on human values, the meaning of science, the famous contrast between the Apollonian and Dionysian spirits, and the other themes that dominated Nietzsche's life and have made him a figure of the first magnitude for contemporary thought.

by Marcus Aurelius

Nearly two thousand years after it was written, Meditations remains profoundly relevant for anyone seeking to lead a meaningful life. Few ancient works have been as influential as the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and emperor of Rome (A.D. 161–180). A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, it remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus’s insights and advice—on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others—have made the Meditations required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style. For anyone who struggles to reconcile the demands of leadership with a concern for personal integrity and spiritual well-being, the Meditations remains as relevant now as it was two thousand years ago. In Gregory Hays’s new translation—the first in thirty-five years—Marcus’s thoughts speak with a new immediacy. In fresh and unencumbered English, Hays vividly conveys the spareness and compression of the original Greek text. Never before have Marcus’s insights been so directly and powerfully presented. With an Introduction that outlines Marcus’s life and career, the essentials of Stoic doctrine, the style and construction of the Meditations, and the work’s ongoing influence, this edition makes it possible to fully rediscover the thoughts of one of the most enlightened and intelligent leaders of any era.

by Alan Watts, Anne Watts

<p>Philosopher, author, and lecturer Alan Watts (1915–1973) popularized Zen Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies for the counterculture of the 1960s. Today, new generations are finding his writings and lectures online, while faithful followers worldwide continue to be enlightened by his teachings. <i>The Collected Letters of Alan Watts </i>reveals the remarkable arc of Watts's colorful and controversial life, from his school days in England to his priesthood in the Anglican Church as chaplain of Northwestern University to his alternative lifestyle and experimentation with LSD in the heyday of the late sixties. His engaging letters cover a vast range of subject matter, with recipients ranging from High Church clergy to high priests of psychedelics, government officials, publishers, critics, family, and fans. They include C. G. Jung, Henry Miller, Gary Snyder, Aldous Huxley, Reinhold Niebuhr, Timothy Leary, Joseph Campbell, and James Hillman. Watts&amp;rsquo;s letters were curated by two of his daughters, Joan Watts and Anne Watts, who have added rich, behind-the-scenes biographical commentary.</p><p>Edited by Joan Watts &amp; Anne Watts</p>

by Alan Watts

Philosopher, author, and lecturer Alan Watts (1915–1973) popularized Zen Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies for the counterculture of the 1960s. Today, new generations are finding his writings and lectures online, while faithful followers worldwide continue to be enlightened by his teachings. The Collected Letters of Alan Watts reveals the remarkable arc of Watts’s colorful and controversial life, from his school days in England to his priesthood in the Anglican Church as chaplain of Northwestern University to his alternative lifestyle and experimentation with LSD in the heyday of the late sixties. His engaging letters cover a vast range of subject matter, with recipients ranging from High Church clergy to high priests of psychedelics, government officials, publishers, critics, family, and fans. They include C. G. Jung, Henry Miller, Gary Snyder, Aldous Huxley, Reinhold Niebuhr, Timothy Leary, Joseph Campbell, and James Hillman. Watts’s letters were curated by two of his daughters, Joan Watts and Anne Watts, who have added rich, behind-the-scenes biographical commentary. Edited by Joan Watts & Anne Watts

by Alan Watts

Philosopher, author, and lecturer Alan Watts (1915-1973) popularized Zen Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies for the counterculture of the 1960s. Today, new generations are finding his writings and lectures online, while faithful followers worldwide continue to be enlightened by his teachings. The Collected Letters of Alan Watts reveals the remarkable arc of Watts's colorful and controversial life, from his school days in England to his priesthood in the Anglican Church as chaplain of Northwestern University to his alternative lifestyle and experimentation with LSD in the heyday of the late sixties. His engaging letters cover a vast range of subject matter, with recipients ranging from High Church clergy to high priests of psychedelics, government officials, publishers, critics, family, and fans. They include C. G. Jung, Henry Miller, Gary Snyder, Aldous Huxley, Reinhold Niebuhr, Timothy Leary, Joseph Campbell, and James Hillman. Watts's letters were curated by two of his daughters, Joan Watts and Anne Watts, who have added rich, behind-the-scenes biographical commentary.<br> <br> <br> <br> Edited by Joan Watts & Anne Watts<br> <br> <br> <br>

by Alan Watts

<b>Explores language and mysticism, Buddhism and Zen, Christianity, comparative religion, psychedelics, and psychology and psychotherapy.</b><br> <br> <b>Gold Winner, 2017</b> <b><i>Foreword</i></b> <b>INDIES Book of the Year Awards in the Philosophy category</b><br> <br> To commemorate the 2015 centenary of the birth of Alan Watts (1915?1973), Peter J. Columbus and Donadrian L. Rice have assembled a much-needed collection of Watts's scholarly essays and lectures. Compiled from professional journals, monographs, scholarly books, conferences, and symposia proceedings, the volume sheds valuable light on the developmental arc of Watts's thinking about language and mysticism, Buddhism and Zen, Christianity, comparative religion, psychedelics, and psychology and psychotherapy. This definitive collection challenges Watts's reputation as a "popularizer" or "philosophical entertainer," revealing his concerns to be much more expansive and transdisciplinary than is suggested by the parochial "Zen Buddhist" label commonly affixed to his writings. The editors' authoritative introduction elucidates contemporary perspectives on Watts's life and work, and supports a bold rethinking of his contributions to psychology, philosophy, and religion.

by Alain De Botton

A wise and utterly original book of travel essays from an international bestselling author that will “give one an expansive sense of wonder” (The Baltimore Sun). Any Baedeker will tell us where we ought to travel, but only Alain de Botton will tell us how and why. With the same intelligence and insouciant charm he brought to How Proust Can Save Your Life, de Botton considers the pleasures of anticipation; the allure of the exotic, and the value of noticing everything from a seascape in Barbados to the takeoffs at Heathrow. Even as de Botton takes the reader along on his own peregrinations, he also cites such distinguished fellow-travelers as Baudelaire, Wordsworth, Van Gogh, the biologist Alexander von Humboldt, and the 18th-century eccentric Xavier de Maistre, who catalogued the wonders of his bedroom. The Art of Travel is a “refreshing and profoundly readable" book (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Don’t leave home without it.

by Aldous Huxley

<p> Half an hour after swallowing the drug I became aware of a slow dance of golden lights . . . </p> <p> Among the most profound explorations of the effects of mind-expanding drugs ever written, here are two complete classic books—<i>The Doors of Perception</i> and <i>Heaven and Hell</i>—in which Aldous Huxley, author of the bestselling <i>Brave New World</i>, reveals the mind's remote frontiers and the unmapped areas of human consciousness. This new edition also features an additional essay, "Drugs That Shape Men's Minds," which is now included for the first time. </p>

by Simone De Beauvoir

The essential masterwork that has provoked and inspired generations of men and women. “From Eve’s apple to Virginia Woolf’s room of her own, Beauvoir’s treatise remains an essential rallying point, urging self-sufficiency and offering the fruit of knowledge.” —Vogue This unabridged edition reinstates significant portions of the original French text that were cut in the first English translation. Vital and groundbreaking, Beauvoir’s pioneering and impressive text remains as pertinent today as when it was first published, and will continue to provoke and inspire generations of men and women to come.

by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a dystopian vision of the future society called*Soma*for stability, efficiency and superficial pleasure through genetic manipulation, psychological conditioning, and a joyous-induction drug. In this strictly controlled world state, personality, deep emotions and personal freedom have been sacrificed for conformity and consumerism. The story follows Bernard Marx, which is dissatisfied with an outsider system, and John, "Savage", which was raised outside the world state and struggles to cover its natural human emotions with its sterile, joy-brown culture. Through his experiences, Huxley criticized the dangers of inhumanization, loss of personality and comfort and order for real humanity business for order.

by Marie Kondo

<b>#1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES </i>BESTSELLER • The book that sparked a revolution and inspired the hit Netflix series <i>Tidying Up with Marie Kondo</i>: the original guide to decluttering your home once and for all.</b><br><br><b>ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE—CNN</b><br> <br>Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?<br><br>Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list). <br><br>With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy” (and which don’t), this international bestseller will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund

<p>INSTANT <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLER<br><br><b>“One of the most important books I’ve ever read—an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates<br><br>“Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But <i>Factfulness</i> does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” <i>—</i>Melinda Gates<br><br></b><b>"<i>Factfulness</i> by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases." - Former U.S. President Barack Obama</b><b><i><br><br>Factfulnes</i>s: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. </b><br><br>When asked simple questions about global trends—<i>what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school</i>—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.<br><br>In <i>Factfulness</i>, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers <b>a radical new explanation of why this happens</b>. They reveal <b>the ten instincts that distort our perspective</b>—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of <i>us</i> and <i>them</i>) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). <br><br>Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases.<br><br><b>It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think.</b> That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. <br><br>Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, <b><i>Factfulness </i>is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future. </b><br><br>---<br><br>“This book is my last battle in my life-long mission to fight devastating ignorance...Previously I armed myself with huge data sets, eye-opening software, an energetic learning style and a Swedish bayonet for sword-swallowing. It wasn’t enough. But I hope this book will be.” Hans Rosling, February 2017.</p>

by Daniel Kahneman

<p><b>*Major <i>New York Times</i> Bestseller</b><br><b>*More than 2.6 million copies sold<br>*One of <i>The</i> <i>New York Times Book Review's</i> ten best books of the year<br>*Selected by <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> as one of the best nonfiction books of the year<br>*Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient<br>*Daniel Kahneman's work with Amos Tversky is the subject of Michael Lewis's best-selling <i>The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds</i></b><br><br><b>In his mega bestseller, <i>Thinking, Fast and Slow</i>, Daniel Kahneman, world-famous psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think.</b><br><br>System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. The impact of overconfidence on corporate strategies, the difficulties of predicting what will make us happy in the future, the profound effect of cognitive biases on everything from playing the stock market to planning our next vacation—each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems shape our judgments and decisions.<br><br>Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives—and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble. Topping bestseller lists for almost ten years, <i>Thinking, Fast and Slow </i>is a contemporary classic, an essential book that has changed the lives of millions of readers.</p>

by Steven Pinker

"A brilliant, witty, and altogether satisfying book." — New York Times Book Review The classic work on the development of human language by the world’s leading expert on language and the mind In The Language Instinct, the world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of linguistics and cognitive science into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution.  The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America. This edition includes an update on advances in the science of language since The Language Instinct was first published. Pinker's revolutionary book challenges our most basic assumptions about what language is and where it comes from: Language Acquisition: Discover why every three-year-old is a grammatical genius who learns their native tongue not through teaching, but through a powerful instinct. The Rules of Language: An accessible explanation of how grammar works, revealing the elegant, tree-like structures that allow us to generate infinite sentences from a finite set of words. Language and the Brain: A tour of the cognitive science and neurolinguistics behind our abilities, exploring the brain regions that compute language and what happens when they go wrong. The Evolution of Language: A compelling argument for why language is not a cultural invention but a biological adaptation, a human instinct honed by natural selection over millennia.