<p>The Philosopher at the End of the Universe allows anyone to understand basic philosophical concepts from the comfort of their armchair, through the plots and characters of spectacular blockbusting science-fiction movies. Learn about: The Nature of Reality from The Matrix; Good and Evil from Star Wars; Morality from Aliens; Personal Identity from Total Recall; The Mind-Body Dilemma from Terminator; Free Will from Minority Report; Death and the Meaning of Life from Blade Runner; Cultural Relativism from Lord of the Rings; and much more. As someone once said, things must be said and knowledge known, and the cast list assembled to tell us does not disappoint: Tom Cruise, Plato, Harrison Ford, Immanuel Kant, Sigourney Weaver, Friedrich Nietzsche, Keanu Reeves and Rene Descartes. From characters in the biggest films (with lots of explosions and bad language) to Ludwig Wittgenstein (no explosions and too much language in general), hear all the arguments. I think, therefore...I'll be back!</p>

The Philosopher At The End Of The Universe: Philosophy Explained Through Science Fiction Films

Mark Rowlands

History

Ebury

Memory and the Self : Phenomenology, Science and Autobiography

Oxford University Press, Incorporated

"Most of the serious thinking I have done over the past 20 years has been done while running," says philosophy professor Rowlands, who has run for most of his life. And for him, running and philosophizing are inextricably connected. In Running with the Pack, he reveals the most significant runs of his life―from the entire day he spent running as a boy in Wales, to the runs along French beaches and up Irish mountains with his beloved wolf, Brenin, and through Florida swamps with his dog, Nina. Intertwined with this honest, passionate, and witty memoir are the fascinating meditations that those runs triggered, including mortality, midlife, and the meaning of life. A highly original and moving book that will make the philosophically inclined want to run, and make those who love running become intoxicated by the beauty of philosophy.

Running with the Pack

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Pets & Animal Care

Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio

From eye-witness accounts of elephants apparently mourning the death of family members to an experiment that showed that hungry rhesus monkeys would not take food if doing so gave another monkey an electric shock, there is much evidence of animals displaying what seem to be moral feelings. But despite such suggestive evidence, philosophers steadfastly deny that animals can act morally, and for reasons that virtually everyone has found convincing. In Can Animals be Moral?, philosopher Mark Rowlands examines the reasoning of philosophers and scientists on this question―ranging from Aristotle and Kant to Hume and Darwin―and reveals that their arguments fall far short of compelling. The basic argument against moral behavior in animals is that humans have capabilities that animals lack. We can reflect on our motivations, formulate abstract principles that allow that allow us to judge right from wrong. For an actor to be moral, he or she must be able scrutinize their motivations and actions. No animal can do these things―no animal is moral. Rowland naturally agrees that humans possess a moral consciousness that no animal can rival, but he argues that it is not necessary for an individual to have the ability to reflect on his or her motives to be moral. Animals can't do all that we can do, but they can act on the basis of some moral reasons―basic moral reasons involving concern for others. And when they do this, they are doing just what we do when we act on the basis of these reasons: They are acting morally.

Can Animals Be Moral?

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

This fascinating book charts the relationship between Mark Rowlands, a rootless philosopher, and Brenin, his extraordinarily well-travelled wolf. More than just an exotic pet, Brenin exerted an immense influence on Rowlands as both a person and, strangely enough, as a philosopher, leading him to reevaluate his attitude toward love, happiness, nature, and death. By turns funny (what do you do when your wolf eats your air-conditioning unit?) and poignant, this life-affirming book will make you reappraise what it means to be human.

Philosopher and the Wolf, The

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

The Happiness of Dogs: Why the Unexamined Life Is Most Worth Living

Granta Books

The Happiness Of Dogs (paperback)

Granta Books, London

'Most of the serious thinking I have done over the past twenty years has been done while running.'Mark Rowlands has run for most of his life. He has also been a professional philosopher. And for him the two - running and philosophising - are inextricably connected. In Running with the Pack he tells us about the most significant runs of his life: from the entire day he spent running as a boy in Wales, to the runs along French beaches and up Irish mountains with his beloved wolf Brenin, and through Florida swamps more recently with his dog Nina. Woven throughout the book are profound meditations on mortality, middle age and the meaning of life. This is a highly original and moving book that will make the philosophically inclined want to run, and those who love running become intoxicated by philosophical ideas.

Running with the Pack: Thoughts From the Road on Meaning and Mortality

Running with the Pack: Thoughts from the Road on Meaning and Mortality (Chinese Edition)

Renmin University of China Press

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Books by Mark Rowlands