Publisher's Synopsis
Regarding Bertrand Russell (Nobel Laureate 1950) in "The Problems of Philosophy" (1912), Bibliographical Note: The student who wishes to acquire an elementary knowledge of philosophy will find it both easier and more profitable to read some of the works of the great philosophers than to attempt to derive an all-round view from handbooks. The following are specially recommended: Plato: Republic, especially Books VI and VII. Descartes: Meditations. Spinoza: Ethics. Leibniz: The Monadology. Berkeley: Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. Hume: Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. Kant: Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics.About the Series "Elementary Knowledge of Philosophy": Volume 1PLATO: THE REPUBLIC / THE MEDITATIONS OF DESCARTESAnnotated by: THE PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY by Bertrand Russell.Chapter I. APPEARANCE AND REALITY Chapter II. THE EXISTENCE OR MATTER Chapter III. THE NATURE OF MATTER Chapter IV. IDEALISM Chapter V. KNOWLEDGE BY ACQUAINTANCE AND KNOWLEDGE BY DESCRIPTION Volume 2SPINOZA: THE ETHICS / LEIBNIZ: THE MONADOLOGY. / BERKELEY: THREE DIALOGUES BETWEEN HYLAS AND PHILONOUS.Annotated by: THE PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY by Bertrand Russell.Chapter VI.ON INDUCTION Chapter VII.ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES Chapter VIII.HOW A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE IS POSSIBLE Chapter IX.THE WORLD OF UNIVERSALS Chapter X.ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF UNIVERSALS Volume. 3 HUME: ENQUIRY CONCERNING HUMAN UNDERSTANDING./ KANT: PROLEGOMENA TO ANY FUTURE METAPHYSICS. Annotated by: THE PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY by Bertrand Russell. Chapter XI.ON INTUITIVE KNOWLEDGE Chapter XII.TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD Chapter XIII.KNOWLEDGE, ERROR, AND PROBABLE OPINION Chapter XIV.THE LIMITS OF PHILOSOPHICAL KNOWLEDGE Chapter XV.THE VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY "The Republic" is a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BC, concerning justice, the order and character of the just city-state, and the just man. It is Plato's best-known work, and has proven to be one of the world's most influential works of philosophy and political theory, both intellectually and historically.In the dialogue, Socrates discusses with various Athenians and foreigners about the meaning of justice and whether the just man is happier than the unjust man. They consider the natures of existing regimes and then propose a series of different, hypothetical cities in comparison, culminating in Kallipolis, a city-state ruled by a philosopher king. They also discuss the theory of forms, the immortality of the soul, and the role of the philosopher and of poetry in society. The dialog's setting seems to be during the Peloponnesian War."Meditations on First Philosophy" in which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated is a philosophical treatise by René Descartes first published in Latin in 1641. The French translation (by the Duke of Luynes with Descartes' supervision) was published in 1647 as Méditations Métaphysiques. The book is made up of six meditations, in which Descartes first discards all belief in things that are not absolutely certain, and then tries to establish what can be known for sure. He wrote the meditations as if he had meditated for six days: each meditation refers to the last one as "yesterday." (In fact, Descartes began work on the Meditations in 1639.). One of the most influential philosophical texts ever written.
