This book situates the work of the artist Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797) within the context o... more This book situates the work of the artist Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797) within the context of his life and times. It brings to light fresh information, including evidence of the flute music that Wright played and the 'graveyard' genre of poetry that he read. The book argues that Wright is the author of 'The Final Farewell: a poem written on retiring from London' (1787). It will be of interest to all admirers of this famously retiring artist.
Peter Perez Burdett (1733-1793) was the first person to practise aquatint engraving in Britain. H... more Peter Perez Burdett (1733-1793) was the first person to practise aquatint engraving in Britain. He was also an ambitious map-maker, publishing a prize-winning map of Derbyshire and inspiring the creation of a series of inter-connected county maps from Lancashire to Warwickshire. Furthermore, after his emigration to Germany, he oversaw the mapping of Baden. He is perhaps best known as the friend and artistic advisor of Joseph Wright of Derby. It is usually assumed that his influence upon Wright ceased after his emigration to Germany in 1774. This book presents evidence that suggests that this may not have been the case.
This book discusses Collingwood's conception of the role and character of philosophical analysis.... more This book discusses Collingwood's conception of the role and character of philosophical analysis. It explores questions, such as, is there anything distinctive about the activity of philosophising? If so, what distinguishes philosophy from other forms of inquiry? What is the relation between philosophy and science and between philosophy and history? For much of the twentieth century, philosophers philosophised with little self-awareness; Collingwood was exceptional in the attention he paid to the activity of philosophising. This book will be of interest both to those who are interested in Collingwood's philosophy and, more generally, to all who are interested in the question 'what is philosophy?'
Contributors: Raymond Angelo Belliotti, Mark Bernier, Joseph S. Catalano, Arindam Chakrabarti, Br... more Contributors: Raymond Angelo Belliotti, Mark Bernier, Joseph S. Catalano, Arindam Chakrabarti, Bridget Clarke, David E. Cooper, John Cottingham, Will Desmond, Nader El-Bizri, Edward Feser, Terry F. Godlove, Pedro Blas Gonzalez, A.C. Grayling, Reza Hosseini, Samuel Imbo, Alfred L. Ivry, Monte Ransome Johnson, Richard Kim, Stephen Leach, Genevieve Lloyd, A.A. Long, William McBride, Lissa McCullough, Alan Malachowski, Thaddeus Metz, Wendell O'Brien, Joshua W. Seachris, Mark Siderits, David Skrbina, Svavar Hrafn Svavarsson, Frans Svensson, James Tartaglia, Jonathan Webber, Amy E. Wendling, Robert Wicks, and Catherine Wilson.
Consciousness and the Great Philosophers addresses the question of how the great philosophers of ... more Consciousness and the Great Philosophers addresses the question of how the great philosophers of the past might have reacted to the contemporary problem of consciousness. Each of the thirty-two chapters within this edited collection focuses on a major philosophical figure from the history of philosophy, from Anscombe to Xuanzang, and imaginatively engages with the problem from their perspective. Written by leading experts in the field, this exciting and engaging book explores the relevance of the history of philosophy to contemporary debates and therefore is essential reading for students and scholars studying the history of philosophy, contemporary philosophy of mind and consciousness, or both.
Foreword
Leo Klejn is an extraordinary individual: a polymath, an intellectual provocateur,... more Foreword
Leo Klejn is an extraordinary individual: a polymath, an intellectual provocateur, not least a survivor of the events of his own life. He is also almost certainly the only theoretical archaeologist from the Soviet Union and Russia that Anglophone audiences have ever heard of, although these days I wonder how many even that is true of. Even if they know the name they probably know next to nothing about the man and his ideas. I hope Stephen Leach’s excellent book changes that. It certainly deserves to. The subject might be thought rather forbidding, but I found the book compulsive. Part of the reason for this is Klejn’s amazing life story, but what gives the book its special power and attraction is that it is less a standard intellectual biography and much more a dialogue between the author and Klejn himself. This approach gives a powerful sense of what the man is like—brilliant, argumentative, iron-willed, never one to accept the conventional view or the easy path—and with the toughness to take the consequences of these character traits for his life in the old Soviet Union and after.
But in presenting Klejn’s ideas in their context the book is also a window on a very different intellectual world, an archaeological tradition that has developed almost entirely independently of the Anglo-American one and is largely unknown to most of us. It is not just about archaeology though. We are told that Klejn has said that ‘in his life he had but one legal wife, archaeology, but many mistresses—anthropology, history, philology, and folklore studies’. His wide-ranging intellectual curiosity and remarkable productivity means he has made book-length contributions to all of these, and Leach gives each of them its due. In the end, though, like Klejn, it is the archaeology we return to and in particular to his views about the relationship between archaeology and history. Here and elsewhere I’m sure most readers from the Anglo-American tradition will find much that provokes them to debate and disagreement, but before embarking on this debate they should certainly read and ponder this book’s indispensable appendix of archaeological and academic ‘commandments’ that were on the walls for Klejn’s student seminars.
We should all be very grateful to Stephen Leach for writing this hugely engaging introduction to an extraordinary man and his ideas.
Stephen Shennan
R G Collingwood is an important twentieth century historian, archaeologist and philosopher whose ... more R G Collingwood is an important twentieth century historian, archaeologist and philosopher whose works are the subject of continued interest, analysis and study. There is an unquestionable need to support this research activity with the provision of a reference guide which is fully up-to-date, informed and authoritative. The Companion will therefore list all primary and secondary material relevant to the study of Collingwood in all his fields of expertise - historical theory, philosophy and archaeology. It will also provide a guide to archive material relevant to his life, together with sources and locations. The resulting volume will provide an essential companion to the understanding of the life and thought of R G Collingwood.
The author investigates the origins of the heroes of the Iliad, to establish if they were real hi... more The author investigates the origins of the heroes of the Iliad, to establish if they were real historical figures or purely artistic creations. His conclusion is that neither of these ideas is correct: the prototypes of the heroes existed previously in Greek cults. They originated as local cult heroes, protectors of certain spheres of life, in the manner of later Christian saints - and had nothing to do with the Trojan war. Via an analysis of the standard formulas within the Iliad the author investigates the sequence in which these heroes entered the epic. He argues that the main plot of the Trojan cycle originated from the ancient story of the abduction of the beautiful wife of a king followed by the raid of the king, and his brother, aiming to recapture her. Just Such a plot can be found in an Egyptian tale even older than the Iliad. Agamemnon was a later inclusion - becoming a Mycenaean king, though earlier he had been a Spartan hero, like his brother Menelaus. Achilles joined the story later yet.
This book tells the story of the conservation of Hadrian's Wall, from the construction of General... more This book tells the story of the conservation of Hadrian's Wall, from the construction of General Wade's Military Road in the eighteenth century to the designation of the Wall as a World Heritage Site in 1987. It is hoped that the book will be of interest not just to scholars of the Wall, but also to anyone interested in the history of conservation.
This book provides an exposition and critical examination of Collingwood's philosophy of history,... more This book provides an exposition and critical examination of Collingwood's philosophy of history, in which Collingwood's views are read in the light of his metaphilosophy. Collingwood's philosophy of history is also located in relation to recent and current philosophy. Although the author argues that Collingwood's conception of the subject matter of history may require some revision, he is generally sympathetic to the aims and methods of Collingwood's project. Indeed, the author hopes to demonstrate that these aims and methods are still of great value.
The problem that Tallis attempts to address in Freedom: An Impossible Reality (2021) is that scie... more The problem that Tallis attempts to address in Freedom: An Impossible Reality (2021) is that science appears to describe the entire world deterministically and that this seems to leave no room for free will. In the face of this threat, Tallis defends the existence of free will by arguing that science does not explain our intentional awareness of the world; and it is our intentional awareness that makes both science and free will possible. Against Tallis, it is here argued that his argument is vulnerable to two criticisms. Firstly, his characterisation of science as apparently deterministic is inaccurate. Secondly, he has not solved the problem he has set himself but rather recast it, so that his conclusion leaves us having to account for free will, not in a deterministic universe, but either as a product of chance or as a miracle. It is here suggested that when we set aside the illusory threat of scientific determinism, we also set aside the temptation of free will (as its spurious answer). That done, we may better focus upon agent's freedom of action-as discussed by philosophers such as Hobbes, Locke and Hume-the rational capability of an agent to act upon their wishes, given the constraints under which they find themselves.
The Journal of Autoethnography 3 (4): 475-92, 2022
Rousseau left us three examples of life-writing: The Confessions, The Reveries of the Solitary Wa... more Rousseau left us three examples of life-writing: The Confessions, The Reveries of the Solitary Walker and the Dialogues (also known as Rousseau: Juge de Jean-Jacques). It is here argued that The Confessions is an example of autobiography and The Reveries is an example of memoirs. In contrast to these two works, in form and style the Dialogues have hitherto been thought of as one of a kind, an unparalleled anomaly. In this essay, it will be argued that the Dialogues are an early example of autoethnography. It will be shown how the concept of autoethnography may help us to better appreciate and contextualise this neglected and original work. Furthermore, armed with this knowledge, we might avoid repeating some of Rousseau's mistakes.
George Perry (1771-1823) was an artist, architect and sculptor, with a deep interest in natural h... more George Perry (1771-1823) was an artist, architect and sculptor, with a deep interest in natural history and malacology. (His father, George Perry (c.1718-1771), was a pioneering industrialist, with a particular interest in geology and also the history of Liverpool.) He was the co-author (with John Corry) of The History of Liverpool (1807). He gave lectures on natural history and mineralogy and earned a living as an architect and sculptor. After bankruptcy in Liverpool in 1807, Perry re-established himself in London. There he published two books-A descriptive catalogue of the pictures in the collection of the Marquis of Stafford in London (1807) and Conchology, or the natural history of shells (1811). He also published the serial publication entitled Arcana, or, the Museum of Natural History (1810-1811). After this, he disappeared from the public record until his death in Chelsea in 1823. His life and his contributions to natural history are summarized here. KEYWORDS: Arcana, or, the Museum of Natural History-Conchology, or the natural history of shellsmalacologyshellstestaceous animals. The study of shells or testaceous animals, is a branch of natural history which, although not greatly useful to the mechanical arts, or the human economy, is, nevertheless, by the beauty of the subjects it comprises, most admirably adapted to recreate the senses, to improve the taste or invention of the Artist, and finally and insensibly, to lead to the contemplation of the great excellence and wisdom of the Divinity in their formation. George Perry, Conchology, or the natural history of shells (1811: 1)
George Perry (c.1718-1771) is known for his involvement in the development of the iron and engine... more George Perry (c.1718-1771) is known for his involvement in the development of the iron and engineering industries of Coalbrookdale, Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire and Liverpool, and also for his ambition to publish a history together with new maps of Liverpool. In 1758, Perry's best known work, A description of Coalbrookdale in the County of Salop, with two perspective views thereof was published. The aforementioned views, produced in collaboration with Thomas Smith of Derby (1720-1767), are two of the earliest examples of industrial landscapes. Perry also pursued interests in geology and natural history. He maintained a correspondence and exchanged specimens of fossils with, among others, Emanuel Mendes da Costa (1717-1791), Thomas Pennant (1726-1798) and Gustavus Brander (c.1719-1787). His work on the history of Liverpool was absorbed into An essay towards the history of Leverpool drawn up from papers left by the late Mr. George Perry, and from other materials since collected by William Enfield (1773). His son, George Perry (1771-1823), was the author of Conchology, or the natural history of shells (1811). We record Perry's busy life and career and attempt to give due weight to his several different interests.
This book situates the work of the artist Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797) within the context o... more This book situates the work of the artist Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797) within the context of his life and times. It brings to light fresh information, including evidence of the flute music that Wright played and the 'graveyard' genre of poetry that he read. The book argues that Wright is the author of 'The Final Farewell: a poem written on retiring from London' (1787). It will be of interest to all admirers of this famously retiring artist.
Peter Perez Burdett (1733-1793) was the first person to practise aquatint engraving in Britain. H... more Peter Perez Burdett (1733-1793) was the first person to practise aquatint engraving in Britain. He was also an ambitious map-maker, publishing a prize-winning map of Derbyshire and inspiring the creation of a series of inter-connected county maps from Lancashire to Warwickshire. Furthermore, after his emigration to Germany, he oversaw the mapping of Baden. He is perhaps best known as the friend and artistic advisor of Joseph Wright of Derby. It is usually assumed that his influence upon Wright ceased after his emigration to Germany in 1774. This book presents evidence that suggests that this may not have been the case.
This book discusses Collingwood's conception of the role and character of philosophical analysis.... more This book discusses Collingwood's conception of the role and character of philosophical analysis. It explores questions, such as, is there anything distinctive about the activity of philosophising? If so, what distinguishes philosophy from other forms of inquiry? What is the relation between philosophy and science and between philosophy and history? For much of the twentieth century, philosophers philosophised with little self-awareness; Collingwood was exceptional in the attention he paid to the activity of philosophising. This book will be of interest both to those who are interested in Collingwood's philosophy and, more generally, to all who are interested in the question 'what is philosophy?'
Contributors: Raymond Angelo Belliotti, Mark Bernier, Joseph S. Catalano, Arindam Chakrabarti, Br... more Contributors: Raymond Angelo Belliotti, Mark Bernier, Joseph S. Catalano, Arindam Chakrabarti, Bridget Clarke, David E. Cooper, John Cottingham, Will Desmond, Nader El-Bizri, Edward Feser, Terry F. Godlove, Pedro Blas Gonzalez, A.C. Grayling, Reza Hosseini, Samuel Imbo, Alfred L. Ivry, Monte Ransome Johnson, Richard Kim, Stephen Leach, Genevieve Lloyd, A.A. Long, William McBride, Lissa McCullough, Alan Malachowski, Thaddeus Metz, Wendell O'Brien, Joshua W. Seachris, Mark Siderits, David Skrbina, Svavar Hrafn Svavarsson, Frans Svensson, James Tartaglia, Jonathan Webber, Amy E. Wendling, Robert Wicks, and Catherine Wilson.
Consciousness and the Great Philosophers addresses the question of how the great philosophers of ... more Consciousness and the Great Philosophers addresses the question of how the great philosophers of the past might have reacted to the contemporary problem of consciousness. Each of the thirty-two chapters within this edited collection focuses on a major philosophical figure from the history of philosophy, from Anscombe to Xuanzang, and imaginatively engages with the problem from their perspective. Written by leading experts in the field, this exciting and engaging book explores the relevance of the history of philosophy to contemporary debates and therefore is essential reading for students and scholars studying the history of philosophy, contemporary philosophy of mind and consciousness, or both.
Foreword
Leo Klejn is an extraordinary individual: a polymath, an intellectual provocateur,... more Foreword
Leo Klejn is an extraordinary individual: a polymath, an intellectual provocateur, not least a survivor of the events of his own life. He is also almost certainly the only theoretical archaeologist from the Soviet Union and Russia that Anglophone audiences have ever heard of, although these days I wonder how many even that is true of. Even if they know the name they probably know next to nothing about the man and his ideas. I hope Stephen Leach’s excellent book changes that. It certainly deserves to. The subject might be thought rather forbidding, but I found the book compulsive. Part of the reason for this is Klejn’s amazing life story, but what gives the book its special power and attraction is that it is less a standard intellectual biography and much more a dialogue between the author and Klejn himself. This approach gives a powerful sense of what the man is like—brilliant, argumentative, iron-willed, never one to accept the conventional view or the easy path—and with the toughness to take the consequences of these character traits for his life in the old Soviet Union and after.
But in presenting Klejn’s ideas in their context the book is also a window on a very different intellectual world, an archaeological tradition that has developed almost entirely independently of the Anglo-American one and is largely unknown to most of us. It is not just about archaeology though. We are told that Klejn has said that ‘in his life he had but one legal wife, archaeology, but many mistresses—anthropology, history, philology, and folklore studies’. His wide-ranging intellectual curiosity and remarkable productivity means he has made book-length contributions to all of these, and Leach gives each of them its due. In the end, though, like Klejn, it is the archaeology we return to and in particular to his views about the relationship between archaeology and history. Here and elsewhere I’m sure most readers from the Anglo-American tradition will find much that provokes them to debate and disagreement, but before embarking on this debate they should certainly read and ponder this book’s indispensable appendix of archaeological and academic ‘commandments’ that were on the walls for Klejn’s student seminars.
We should all be very grateful to Stephen Leach for writing this hugely engaging introduction to an extraordinary man and his ideas.
Stephen Shennan
R G Collingwood is an important twentieth century historian, archaeologist and philosopher whose ... more R G Collingwood is an important twentieth century historian, archaeologist and philosopher whose works are the subject of continued interest, analysis and study. There is an unquestionable need to support this research activity with the provision of a reference guide which is fully up-to-date, informed and authoritative. The Companion will therefore list all primary and secondary material relevant to the study of Collingwood in all his fields of expertise - historical theory, philosophy and archaeology. It will also provide a guide to archive material relevant to his life, together with sources and locations. The resulting volume will provide an essential companion to the understanding of the life and thought of R G Collingwood.
The author investigates the origins of the heroes of the Iliad, to establish if they were real hi... more The author investigates the origins of the heroes of the Iliad, to establish if they were real historical figures or purely artistic creations. His conclusion is that neither of these ideas is correct: the prototypes of the heroes existed previously in Greek cults. They originated as local cult heroes, protectors of certain spheres of life, in the manner of later Christian saints - and had nothing to do with the Trojan war. Via an analysis of the standard formulas within the Iliad the author investigates the sequence in which these heroes entered the epic. He argues that the main plot of the Trojan cycle originated from the ancient story of the abduction of the beautiful wife of a king followed by the raid of the king, and his brother, aiming to recapture her. Just Such a plot can be found in an Egyptian tale even older than the Iliad. Agamemnon was a later inclusion - becoming a Mycenaean king, though earlier he had been a Spartan hero, like his brother Menelaus. Achilles joined the story later yet.
This book tells the story of the conservation of Hadrian's Wall, from the construction of General... more This book tells the story of the conservation of Hadrian's Wall, from the construction of General Wade's Military Road in the eighteenth century to the designation of the Wall as a World Heritage Site in 1987. It is hoped that the book will be of interest not just to scholars of the Wall, but also to anyone interested in the history of conservation.
This book provides an exposition and critical examination of Collingwood's philosophy of history,... more This book provides an exposition and critical examination of Collingwood's philosophy of history, in which Collingwood's views are read in the light of his metaphilosophy. Collingwood's philosophy of history is also located in relation to recent and current philosophy. Although the author argues that Collingwood's conception of the subject matter of history may require some revision, he is generally sympathetic to the aims and methods of Collingwood's project. Indeed, the author hopes to demonstrate that these aims and methods are still of great value.
The problem that Tallis attempts to address in Freedom: An Impossible Reality (2021) is that scie... more The problem that Tallis attempts to address in Freedom: An Impossible Reality (2021) is that science appears to describe the entire world deterministically and that this seems to leave no room for free will. In the face of this threat, Tallis defends the existence of free will by arguing that science does not explain our intentional awareness of the world; and it is our intentional awareness that makes both science and free will possible. Against Tallis, it is here argued that his argument is vulnerable to two criticisms. Firstly, his characterisation of science as apparently deterministic is inaccurate. Secondly, he has not solved the problem he has set himself but rather recast it, so that his conclusion leaves us having to account for free will, not in a deterministic universe, but either as a product of chance or as a miracle. It is here suggested that when we set aside the illusory threat of scientific determinism, we also set aside the temptation of free will (as its spurious answer). That done, we may better focus upon agent's freedom of action-as discussed by philosophers such as Hobbes, Locke and Hume-the rational capability of an agent to act upon their wishes, given the constraints under which they find themselves.
The Journal of Autoethnography 3 (4): 475-92, 2022
Rousseau left us three examples of life-writing: The Confessions, The Reveries of the Solitary Wa... more Rousseau left us three examples of life-writing: The Confessions, The Reveries of the Solitary Walker and the Dialogues (also known as Rousseau: Juge de Jean-Jacques). It is here argued that The Confessions is an example of autobiography and The Reveries is an example of memoirs. In contrast to these two works, in form and style the Dialogues have hitherto been thought of as one of a kind, an unparalleled anomaly. In this essay, it will be argued that the Dialogues are an early example of autoethnography. It will be shown how the concept of autoethnography may help us to better appreciate and contextualise this neglected and original work. Furthermore, armed with this knowledge, we might avoid repeating some of Rousseau's mistakes.
George Perry (1771-1823) was an artist, architect and sculptor, with a deep interest in natural h... more George Perry (1771-1823) was an artist, architect and sculptor, with a deep interest in natural history and malacology. (His father, George Perry (c.1718-1771), was a pioneering industrialist, with a particular interest in geology and also the history of Liverpool.) He was the co-author (with John Corry) of The History of Liverpool (1807). He gave lectures on natural history and mineralogy and earned a living as an architect and sculptor. After bankruptcy in Liverpool in 1807, Perry re-established himself in London. There he published two books-A descriptive catalogue of the pictures in the collection of the Marquis of Stafford in London (1807) and Conchology, or the natural history of shells (1811). He also published the serial publication entitled Arcana, or, the Museum of Natural History (1810-1811). After this, he disappeared from the public record until his death in Chelsea in 1823. His life and his contributions to natural history are summarized here. KEYWORDS: Arcana, or, the Museum of Natural History-Conchology, or the natural history of shellsmalacologyshellstestaceous animals. The study of shells or testaceous animals, is a branch of natural history which, although not greatly useful to the mechanical arts, or the human economy, is, nevertheless, by the beauty of the subjects it comprises, most admirably adapted to recreate the senses, to improve the taste or invention of the Artist, and finally and insensibly, to lead to the contemplation of the great excellence and wisdom of the Divinity in their formation. George Perry, Conchology, or the natural history of shells (1811: 1)
George Perry (c.1718-1771) is known for his involvement in the development of the iron and engine... more George Perry (c.1718-1771) is known for his involvement in the development of the iron and engineering industries of Coalbrookdale, Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire and Liverpool, and also for his ambition to publish a history together with new maps of Liverpool. In 1758, Perry's best known work, A description of Coalbrookdale in the County of Salop, with two perspective views thereof was published. The aforementioned views, produced in collaboration with Thomas Smith of Derby (1720-1767), are two of the earliest examples of industrial landscapes. Perry also pursued interests in geology and natural history. He maintained a correspondence and exchanged specimens of fossils with, among others, Emanuel Mendes da Costa (1717-1791), Thomas Pennant (1726-1798) and Gustavus Brander (c.1719-1787). His work on the history of Liverpool was absorbed into An essay towards the history of Leverpool drawn up from papers left by the late Mr. George Perry, and from other materials since collected by William Enfield (1773). His son, George Perry (1771-1823), was the author of Conchology, or the natural history of shells (1811). We record Perry's busy life and career and attempt to give due weight to his several different interests.
In writing about one of the most urgent problems of our time, Bertrand Russell declined to be cal... more In writing about one of the most urgent problems of our time, Bertrand Russell declined to be called a philosopher. He refused to draw any connection between his campaigning journalism against nuclear weapons and philosophy. I shall argue that this was a mistake.
Radical scepticism has a good claim to be both the longest lasting tradition in philosophy and th... more Radical scepticism has a good claim to be both the longest lasting tradition in philosophy and the consistently least popular. There's a lot to be said for it.
Contents
Ibo van de Poel
Three Philosophical Perspectives on the Relation between Technology and... more Contents Ibo van de Poel Three Philosophical Perspectives on the Relation between Technology and Society, and how they affect the current debate on artificial intelligence Barry Allen Living Data Stephen Leach Russell on Technology and Common Sense Kieran Brayford Myth and Technology: Finding Philosophy’s Role in Technological Change Juliano Bonamigo Ferreira de Souza Form, Technique and Liberation: Schiller’s Influence on Marcuse’s Philosophy of Technology Joseph C. Pitt Influencing Technological Change Matthew Dennis Technologies of Self-Cultivation: how to improve Stoic self-care apps Katherine Dormandy Digital Whiplash: the case of digital surveillance Alkim Erol Freedom and Control in the Digital Age Justin Cruickshank Solidarity, Critique and Techno-science: evaluating Rorty’s pragmatism, Freire’s critical pedagogy and Vattimo’s philosophical hermeneutics Elena Popa Artificial Life and ‘Nature’s Purposes’: the question of behavioral autonomy Luis de Miranda Artificial Intelligence and Philosophical Creativity: from analytics to crealectics Ashley Shew From a Figment of Your Imagination: disabled marginal cases and underthought experiments Tomáš Michalek From Commodification to the Common Good [review]
The chin is a feature unique to homo sapiens but there is as yet no agreement as to its evolution... more The chin is a feature unique to homo sapiens but there is as yet no agreement as to its evolutionary origins. It is here suggested that the chin granted homo sapiens an advantage in drinking. When we drink with two hands cupped together, we bring our hands up to our face and our chin plugs the gap at the 'heel' of our hands. By plugging the gap at the heel of our hands we are able to drink whilst maintaining an almost unimpaired view of our surroundings.
The roots of Rorty's mature philosophy are explored in a discussion of his early papers and revie... more The roots of Rorty's mature philosophy are explored in a discussion of his early papers and reviews. His lifelong interest in metaphilosophy is traced to the influence of Richard McKeon. The crucial influence of Sellars, Wittgenstein, Heidegger and Kuhn are also explored, as is his long-standing interest in pragmatism. It is explained how Rorty took something from all of these influences so as, cautiously, to arrive at an entirely new metaphilosophical position of his own.
in Collingwood on Philosophical Methodology edited by Karim Dharamsi, Giuseppina D'Oro and Stephe... more in Collingwood on Philosophical Methodology edited by Karim Dharamsi, Giuseppina D'Oro and Stephen Leach (Palgrave Macmillan)
in Consciousness and the Great Philosophers, edited by Stephen Leach and James Tartaglia, Routled... more in Consciousness and the Great Philosophers, edited by Stephen Leach and James Tartaglia, Routledge, 2016.
(with Malcolm Crook) ‘Rousseau in Wootton’, a translation of pp.35-72 of Le Sejour de Jean-Jacque... more (with Malcolm Crook) ‘Rousseau in Wootton’, a translation of pp.35-72 of Le Sejour de Jean-Jacques Rousseau en Angleterre by L.-J. Courtois. Illustrated.
It is argued that the experiment taking place in the large glass vessel on the table involves the... more It is argued that the experiment taking place in the large glass vessel on the table involves the immersion of bone in sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol), resulting in bubbles of carbon dioxide. Wright depicts a scene from cutting edge natural philosophy but he also alludes to the alchemical acronym of V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (know thyself).
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Books by Stephen Leach
For much of the twentieth century, philosophers philosophised with little self-awareness; Collingwood was exceptional in the attention he paid to the activity of philosophising. This book will be of interest both to those who are interested in Collingwood's philosophy and, more generally, to all who are interested in the question 'what is philosophy?'
Written by leading experts in the field, this exciting and engaging book explores the relevance of the history of philosophy to contemporary debates and therefore is essential reading for students and scholars studying the history of philosophy, contemporary philosophy of mind and consciousness, or both.
Leo Klejn is an extraordinary individual: a polymath, an intellectual provocateur, not least a survivor of the events of his own life. He is also almost certainly the only theoretical archaeologist from the Soviet Union and Russia that Anglophone audiences have ever heard of, although these days I wonder how many even that is true of. Even if they know the name they probably know next to nothing about the man and his ideas. I hope Stephen Leach’s excellent book changes that. It certainly deserves to. The subject might be thought rather forbidding, but I found the book compulsive. Part of the reason for this is Klejn’s amazing life story, but what gives the book its special power and attraction is that it is less a standard intellectual biography and much more a dialogue between the author and Klejn himself. This approach gives a powerful sense of what the man is like—brilliant, argumentative, iron-willed, never one to accept the conventional view or the easy path—and with the toughness to take the consequences of these character traits for his life in the old Soviet Union and after.
But in presenting Klejn’s ideas in their context the book is also a window on a very different intellectual world, an archaeological tradition that has developed almost entirely independently of the Anglo-American one and is largely unknown to most of us. It is not just about archaeology though. We are told that Klejn has said that ‘in his life he had but one legal wife, archaeology, but many mistresses—anthropology, history, philology, and folklore studies’. His wide-ranging intellectual curiosity and remarkable productivity means he has made book-length contributions to all of these, and Leach gives each of them its due. In the end, though, like Klejn, it is the archaeology we return to and in particular to his views about the relationship between archaeology and history. Here and elsewhere I’m sure most readers from the Anglo-American tradition will find much that provokes them to debate and disagreement, but before embarking on this debate they should certainly read and ponder this book’s indispensable appendix of archaeological and academic ‘commandments’ that were on the walls for Klejn’s student seminars.
We should all be very grateful to Stephen Leach for writing this hugely engaging introduction to an extraordinary man and his ideas.
Stephen Shennan
Papers by Stephen Leach
For much of the twentieth century, philosophers philosophised with little self-awareness; Collingwood was exceptional in the attention he paid to the activity of philosophising. This book will be of interest both to those who are interested in Collingwood's philosophy and, more generally, to all who are interested in the question 'what is philosophy?'
Written by leading experts in the field, this exciting and engaging book explores the relevance of the history of philosophy to contemporary debates and therefore is essential reading for students and scholars studying the history of philosophy, contemporary philosophy of mind and consciousness, or both.
Leo Klejn is an extraordinary individual: a polymath, an intellectual provocateur, not least a survivor of the events of his own life. He is also almost certainly the only theoretical archaeologist from the Soviet Union and Russia that Anglophone audiences have ever heard of, although these days I wonder how many even that is true of. Even if they know the name they probably know next to nothing about the man and his ideas. I hope Stephen Leach’s excellent book changes that. It certainly deserves to. The subject might be thought rather forbidding, but I found the book compulsive. Part of the reason for this is Klejn’s amazing life story, but what gives the book its special power and attraction is that it is less a standard intellectual biography and much more a dialogue between the author and Klejn himself. This approach gives a powerful sense of what the man is like—brilliant, argumentative, iron-willed, never one to accept the conventional view or the easy path—and with the toughness to take the consequences of these character traits for his life in the old Soviet Union and after.
But in presenting Klejn’s ideas in their context the book is also a window on a very different intellectual world, an archaeological tradition that has developed almost entirely independently of the Anglo-American one and is largely unknown to most of us. It is not just about archaeology though. We are told that Klejn has said that ‘in his life he had but one legal wife, archaeology, but many mistresses—anthropology, history, philology, and folklore studies’. His wide-ranging intellectual curiosity and remarkable productivity means he has made book-length contributions to all of these, and Leach gives each of them its due. In the end, though, like Klejn, it is the archaeology we return to and in particular to his views about the relationship between archaeology and history. Here and elsewhere I’m sure most readers from the Anglo-American tradition will find much that provokes them to debate and disagreement, but before embarking on this debate they should certainly read and ponder this book’s indispensable appendix of archaeological and academic ‘commandments’ that were on the walls for Klejn’s student seminars.
We should all be very grateful to Stephen Leach for writing this hugely engaging introduction to an extraordinary man and his ideas.
Stephen Shennan
Ibo van de Poel
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