An Eye for An I
eBook - ePub

An Eye for An I

Philosophies of Personal Power

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

An Eye for An I

Philosophies of Personal Power

About this book

How can we gain insight into and mastery of ourselves? Entering the world of the great philosophers and engaging with them, we become aware of what we are capable of becoming. They speak to us of themselves and the good life and thereby offer the possibility for self-development.

While this sounds like psychology, it is what the ancient Greeks called moral philosophy and its main precept is 'know oneself'. To know oneself is to embrace one's personal power.

From Socrates to Sartre, from Plato to postmodernism, philosophers have important things to say about the personal power that underpins human existence. This book discusses ten philosophical perspectives, or worldviews, which present original ideas capable of evoking in us values that are guidelines for personal conduct. Harmonising knowledge, values and conduct maximises our personal power and thereby enables us to solve the practical and psychological problems of human existence, or overcome those that cannot be solved.

The philosophers discussed in this book embody ideas of considerable fascination and force which can change our lives by penetrating the illusions of appearance and the delusions of common sense. As philosophy is thinking critically about thinking, it is a liberating activity because philosophers confront us with our prejudices and arouse our curiosity without satisfying it.

They show us what they were and how philosophy inspired them to live productive lives. They did not seek disciples but encouraged others to philosophise with them.

We cannot escape from philosophy because we philosophise when we reflect critically on how well we are living.

Philosophy is, therefore, a meditation on who we are and what we can become: it is an eye for an I.

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Yes, you can access An Eye for An I by Robert Spillane in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Ethics & Moral Philosophy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Acknowledgements
  6. Prologue
  7. 1 Homeric Heroes: Power and Tragedy
  8. 2 Greek Rationalists: Arguing for Argument
  9. 3 Cynics: The Hounds of Heaven
  10. 4 Stoics: Taming the Passions
  11. 5 Machiavellians: Princes and Politicians
  12. 6 Mind Matters: The Myth of Mental Illness
  13. 7 British Empiricists: Scientists and Sceptics
  14. 8 German Romantics: Triumph of the Will
  15. 9 Vitalists: Romantic Evolutionists
  16. 10 French Existentialists: Personal Power as Freedom
  17. Epilogue
  18. About the Author
  19. Books Cited in the Text
  20. Index of Names