Philosophy and Religion

For thousands of years, many have wondered at the tales of the mysterious force called the serpent power or the kundalini, yet the method to attain this power has been hidden, misunderstood or sometimes, intentionally sabotaged. Now, like a refreshing spring breeze, Samael Aun Weor wipes away the dust and reveals the sacred mysteries of our most ancient and holy science. With a firm foundation in

In this basic and practical introduction to the fundamental basis of Gnosis, Samael Aun Weor offers a breadth of exercises for the reader to establish stability and understanding in their daily life. The sincere person who implements the guidance given in this profound book will discover a wealth of insight from their efforts. Gnosis is, after all, "knowledge" (Greek) and each seeker is enjoined t

Five times a day, close to a billion people turn to the Ka’aba in submission to Allah/God. In the seventeenth century the religion of Islam was revealed to the Prophet Mohammad through the Holy Koran. Since then, Islam has spread to every corner of the world. Starting with the life of Prophet Mohammad, Islam For Beginners details the historic beginnings of Islam and its spread throughout the

In "Malcolm X For Beginners," Bernard Doctor, reveals the teacher, the leader, and the revolutionary voice of change that Malcolm X was, and continues to be. Powerful narrative and graphics tell the story of Malcolm X's life, his journey of self-discovery, his far-reaching ideas, his martyrdom and his impact on an era. Embraced as a righteous prophet of Black power and pride, damned as the voice o

Not only does NIETZSCHE FOR BEGINNERS delve into the scandalous life and considerable works of Friedrich Nietzsche, it also give a clear picture of the puzzling time in which he lived. We meet the luminaries of the day – Richard Wagner, Bismarck, Freud, and Darwin – and see their influences on his work. We also receive introductions to some of the great minds that preceded and shaped his writing.

All philosophy is a footnote to Plato. No other person so shaped the Western world and the way we think about it.Plato's questions remain as real for us today as they were 2500 years ago, and as human beings, we can not avoid their presence nor shirk our responsibility to attempt to answer them:What is Justice?What is Truth?What is Beauty?What kind of society should we build?How do we know what we

The spiritual rewards and intellectual challenges of Eastern Philosophy are revealed in this visually stunning book, illustrated by Joe Lee and with 19th Century engravings.Eastern Philosophy is not an intellectual pursuit, but one that involves one's entire being. Much of it is so deeply entwined with the non-intellectual art of meditation, that the two are impossible to separate. In this accessi

Postmodernism For Beginners features the thoughts of Foucault on power and knowledge, Jameson on mapping the postmodern, Baudrillard on the media, Harvey on time-space compression, Derrida on deconstruction and Deleuze and Guattari on rhizomes. The book also discusses postmodern artifacts such as Madonna, cyberpunk sci-fi, Buddhist ecology and teledildonics. If you are like most people, yo

“What is Structuralism? How is it possible? And once the structures of Structuralism have been discovered, how is Poststructuralism possible?”Thus begins Don Palmer's STRUCTURALISM AND POSTSTRUCTURALISM FOR BEGINNERS. If Nobel or Pulitzer ever made a prize for making the most difficult philosophers and ideas accessible to the greatest number of people, one of the leading candidates would certainly

Michel Foucault's work has profoundly affected the teaching of such diverse disciplines as literary criticism, criminology, and gender studies. Arguing that definitions of abnormal behavior are culturally constructed, Foucault explored the unfair division between those who meet and those who deviate from social norms.Foucault's deeply visual sense of scenes such as ritual public executions, lends

The ideas of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger have been described as an intellectual time bomb, as some of the most revolutionary thought in Western history. Despite the enormous amount of secondary scholarships available on Heidegger, it is – due to the complexity of his thought and the density of his writing – difficult for the curious beginner to gain an insight into Heidegger's philosop

Derrida is one of those annoying geniuses you can take a class on, read half-a-dozen books by and still have no idea what he’s talking about. Derrida’s ‘writing’ is definitely confusing (it’s like he’s pulling the rug out from under the rug that he pulled out from under philosophy). But beneath the confusion, like the heartbeat of a bird in your hand, you can fe

SARTRE FOR BEGINNERS is an accessible yet sophisticated introduction to the life and works of the famous French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre. Sartre was a member of the French underground during WWII, a novelist, a playwright, and a major influence in French political and intellectual life.The book opens with a biographical section, introducing the significant events in the life of the man who co

The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard was one of the most original thinkers of the 19th Century – and one of the most enigmatic men who ever walked the Earth.Philosophically, Kierkegaard was the “bridge” that led from Hegel to Existentialism.Kierkegaard abhorred Hegel's abstract, Know-it-all idealism that tried to capture reality in a few words. Kierkegaard's attack on social and religious comp

Deconstruction is so labyrinthine (and rumored to be fatal) that it's become the monster that murdered philosophy. When Jacques Derrida, the father of deconstruction, uses buzz-words such as “phallogocentrism” and “transcendental signified,” humanities students and aspiring philosophers may get weak in the knees.Following up on the success of DERRIDA FOR BEGINNERS, Jim  Powell's DERRIDA FOR BEGINN

EXISTENTIALISM FOR BEGINNERS is an entertaining romp through the history of a philosophical movement that has had a broad and enduring influence on Western culture. From the middle of the Nineteenth Century through the late Twentieth Century, existentialism informed our politics and art, and still exerts its influence today. Tracing the movement's beginnings with close-up views of seminal figures

Jacques Lacan is probably the most influential psychoanalyst since Freud (of the roughly 20,000 psychoanalysts in the world, about half are 'Lacanians') yet most people know nothing about him. The 10,000 analysts who use Lacan's ideas work mostly in France, Spain, Italy, and South America. To the rest of the world, including England and America, Lacan is a genius-in-waiting, due to be 'discovered'

From Egyptian mythology to Jewish mysticism, Rome and Greece to the druids and the gnostics, Tim Wallace-Murphy exposes a fascinating lineage of hidden mysteries and secret societies, continuing through the Templars, Rosicrucians, and Freemasons to our modern visionaries. This hidden stream of spirituality and that of sacred knowledge are inseparably entwined to form the single most important cont

Based on four retreats that Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh led specifically for people of color, this book is for people of all colors, backgrounds, and experiences who have ever felt excluded or alienated, or anyone concerned with issues of social justice. Although Together We Are One is based on teachings given to Buddhist practitioners of color, readers of all backgrounds and walks of life will fin

The Diamond Sutra, a mainstay of the Mahayana tradition, has fascinated Buddhists for centuries because of its insights into dualism and illusion: the "diamond" can cut through any obstacle on the road to enlightenment.