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Oxford's
"Very Short Introduction"
Series and Open Court's
"Popular Culture and Philosophy" Series
May 27,
2007. It is
difficult to exaggerate the excellence of the "Very Short
Introduction" Series by Oxford University Press.
Each small and
short volume introduces some field of study with accuracy and style.
The points of view of the authors are evident; however, they do not
overwhelm the material. In this respect the series is like The
Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy by Samuel Blackburn.
Oxford intends
to publish a "Very Short Introduction" to every academic
specialty from art to zoology. So far it has published 161 titles.
Each is perfect for use in college class rooms and adult discussion
groups. Some advanced secondary school students will enjoy them as
well.
I have been reading the introductions to freedom and determinism and
philosophy of science. This is just the beginning!
For more
information about this series and other Oxford University Press
publications, please visit www.oup.com.
June 3, 2007. This
is Sunday evening. Last Friday afternoon one of my friends from
first grade in Hawaii, whose name is Jay, gave me Bullshit and
Philosophy: Guaranteed to Get Perfect Results Every Time which
is edited by Gary L. Hardcastle and George A. Reisch (Open Court,
2006). I am very happy to receive it because I learned some
important things about human communication from the little book by
Princeton's Harry G. Frankfurt that prompted this anthology. More on
that later. Meanwhile,
what a discovery! On the inside cover of the book Jay gave me I see
that it is Volume 24 in a Series on "Philosophy and Popular
Culture" by Open Court. Twenty-five volumes have been published
so far, each one about 275 pages long. Two more volumes are
forthcoming. Here are
some of the titles: Baseball
and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box (Volume 6) Star
Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine (Volume
12) The Atkins
Diet and Philosophy: Chewing the Fat with Kant and Nietzsche (Volume
14) Hip Hop and
Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason (Volume 16) Bob
Dylan and Philosophy: It's Alright Ma [I'm Only Thinking] (Volume
17) If the book
Jay gave me is any indication, each volume focuses intense philosophical
light on some aspect of life today in places like where I live. We
need to keep doing what we can to make it possible for others to enjoy
reading such things too. For more information please visit www.opencourtbooks.com. Each
series, one by Oxford and another by Open Court, may be well known to
everyone already. But they are new to me and I am glad to learn
about them. My commission? None. |