Challenges and explores the key ideas of postmodernists, and their engagement with theory, literature, the visual arts, film, architecture, and music. This book treats artists, intellectuals, critics, and social scientists as if they were all members of a loosely constituted and quarrelsome political party.

Starting with a visit to the British Museum, the authors prompt us to consider the significance of Classics as a means of discovery and enquiry, its value in terms of literature, philosophy, and culture, and its importance as a source of imagery.

What is Literary Theory? Is there a relationship between literature and culture? Addressing such questions, this book offers insights into theories about the nature of language and meaning, and outlines the ideas behind a number of different schools: deconstruction, semiotics, postcolonial theory, and structuralism amongst them.

Aims to disentangle the 'real' Marquis de Sade from his mythical and demonic reputation. This book examines Sade's life and work: his libertine novels, his championing of atheism, and his uniqueness in bringing the body and sex back into philosophy.

Why do we measure time in the way that we do? At what point did minutes and seconds come into being? This book explores time measurement and the organisation of time into hours, days, months and years using a range of examples, from Ancient Rome and Julius Caesar's Leap Year, to the 1920s' project for a fixed Easter.

Photographs are an integral part of our daily lives - from snapshots and tabloid newspapers to art photography in galleries and exhibitions. This book combines a sense of the historical development of photography with an insightful analysis of its purpose and meaning within a wider cultural context.

A look at architecture that helps us to understand the cultural significance of the buildings that surround us. This book uses the approach that gives an idea of what it is about buildings that moves us, and what it is that makes them important artistically and culturally.

Focuses on the many potential catastrophes facing our planet, from global warming, and New Ice Ages, to asteroid impact, super volcanoes, and mega-tsunami. This book presents a look at both the science behind these events and our chances of survival. It explains both the mechanisms and the risks of global catastrophes.

Highlights Foucault's life and thought, showing his impact on society. Beginning with a brief biography to set the social and political stage, this VSI then tackles Foucault's thoughts on literature, in particular the avant-garde scene; his philosophical and historical work; and his treatment of knowledge and power in modern society.

Issues in medical ethics is an area of ethics that has particular interest for the general public as well as the medical practitioner. This introduction deals with moral questions, such as euthanasia and the morality of killing, and also explores political questions such as: how should health care resources be distributed fairly?

Traces the history of paleoanthropology from its beginnings in the eighteenth century to the various fossil finds. Concentrating on the fossil evidence for human evolution, this work also covers the various genetic evidence about regional variations in the modern human genome that relate to our evolutionary history.

Provides an overview of the works of Jurgen Habermas, an influential German philosopher. This book analyses the theoretical underpinnings of Habermas's social theory, and its applications in ethics, politics, and law. It examines how his social and political theory informs his writing on contemporary, political, and social problems.

Shows that Continental philosophy encompasses a distinct set of philosophical traditions and practices. This book discusses the ideas and approaches of various philosophers, and introduces key concepts such as existentialism, nihilism, and phenomenology, by explaining their place in the Continental tradition.

Provides an overview of the main themes of contemporary philosophy of science. Beginning with a short history of science, this book goes on to investigate the nature of scientific reasoning, scientific explanation, revolutions in science, and theories, such as realism and anti-realism. It also looks at philosophical issues in particular sciences.

Presenting an introduction to music, this book draws on many examples ranging from Beethoven to the Spice Girls to Chinese zither music. It also prompts us to call on our personal musical experiences in order to think critically about the roles of the performer and the listener, and about music as a commodity and an experience.

An introduction to modern formal logic, this book explores the philosophical roots of the subject, explaining how it deals with issues ranging from the existence of God and the reality of time, to paradoxes of probability and decision theory. Each chapter takes some philosophical problem, and explains how it may be handled in modern logic.

Identifies the vision that unifies Marx's thought, enabling us to grasp Marx's views. This book sees him as a philosopher, rather than as an economist or a social scientist. It explains alienation, historical materialism, the economic theory of Capital, and Marx's ideas of communism, and concludes with an assessment of Marx's legacy.

By the time the First World War ended in 1918, eight million people had died in what had been perhaps the most apocalyptic episode the world had known. This book provides a concise history of 'the Great War', focusing on why it happened, how it was fought, and why it had the consequences it did. It also describes how peace was ultimately made.

Intended for those interested in the African continent and the diversity of human history, this work looks at Africa's past and reflects on the changing ways it has been imagined and represented. It illustrates key themes in modern thinking about Africa's history with a range of historical examples.

How can a physical brain create our experience of the world? What creates our identity? Do we really have free will? Could consciousness itself be an illusion? This book attempts to clarify the potentially confusing arguments, and the major theories using illustrations, cartoons, and experiments.