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    The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments
    The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments
    The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments
    Audiobook26 hours

    The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments

    Published by Ascent Audio

    Narrated by Marguerite Gavin and Sean Pratt

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The Stone Reader provides an unparalleled overview of contemporary philosophy.

    Once solely the province of ivory-tower professors and college classrooms, contemporary philosophy was finally emancipated from its academic closet in 2010, when The Stone was launched in The New York Times. First appearing as an online series, the column quickly attracted millions of readers through its accessible examination of universal topics like the nature of science, consciousness and morality, while also probing more contemporary issues such as the morality of drones, gun control and the gender divide.

    The Stone Reader presents 133 meaningful and influential essays from the series, placing nearly the entirety of modern philosophical discourse in the listener's reach . The audiobook, divided into four broad sections-Philosophy, Science, Religion and Morals, and Society-opens with a series of questions about the scope, history and identity of philosophy: What are the practical uses of philosophy? Does the discipline, begun in the West in ancient Greece with Socrates, favor men and exclude women? Does the history and study of philosophy betray a racial bias against non-white thinkers, or geographical bias toward the West?

    These questions and others form a foundation for listeners as the audiobook moves to the second section, Science, where some of our most urgent contemporary philosophical debates are taking place. Will artificial intelligence compromise our morality? Does neuroscience undermine our free will? Is there is a legitimate place for the humanities in a world where science and technology appear to rule? Should the evidence for global warming change the way we live, or die?

    In the book's third section, Religion and Morals, we find philosophy where it is often at its best, sharpest and most disturbing-working through the arguments provoked by competing moral theories in the face of real-life issues and rigorously addressing familiar ethical dilemmas in a new light. Can we have a true moral life without belief in God? What are the dangers of moral relativism?

    In its final part, Society, The Stone Reader returns to its origins as a forum to encourage philosophers who are willing to engage closely, critically and analytically with the affairs of the day, including economic inequality, technology and racial discrimination. In directly confronting events like the September 11 attacks, the killing of Trayvon Martin, the Sandy Hook School massacre, the essays here reveal the power of philosophy to help shape our viewpoints on nearly every issue we face today.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAscent Audio
    Release dateDec 1, 2015
    ISBN9781469095370
    The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments

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    Reviews for The Stone Reader

    4/5

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    • 2/5
      A few worthwhile essays but the vast majority just read like opinionated editorials. There are a few essays arguing about the nature of philosophy itself and let me throw in my opinion as well: philosophy is thinking about the important and eternal issues. A lot of essays do not qualify with their obsession over the political and whatever was relevant that brief moment they were written in.
    • 5/5
      This is a fantastic compilation of The Stone Reader column that is published in the New York Times for the last few years.I read the columns on occasion and the level of discourse is uneven but when the article is good, it is fantastic. This compilation is a worthy collection of the varied and disarmingly charming topics that the column had elicited over the years. It is a book that does not call for being read in one sitting, it is however,a tome to be savored, dissected, and analyzed repeatedly in order to entertain one's mind. A most welcomed series for those time that we need to let our minds reach into the nether reaches of our thoughts and replenish our mental energies while getting away from the daily grind.It is, a most welcomed respite.