Introducing...

Christianity depends on the belief that the Jesus of history is identical with the Christ of faith, and that God in the person of Jesus intervened finally and decisively in human history. But is the historical Jesus the same as the Christian Saviour? And how did an obscure provincial religion based on the paradox of a crucified saviour conquer the Roman Empire and outlive it?INTRODUCING JESUS - A GRAPHIC GUIDE confronts the enigmas. It sets Jesus in the perspective of his time - within Judaism and its expectations of a Messiah, in the atmosphere of Greek philosophy and the Roman deification of emperors.It traces the development of Christianity from St. Paul and the Romanization of the Church, to modern liberation theology. This book is a lucid and exciting investigation that will appeal to all readers, whether Christian or not.

Musician, poet, novelist and botanist, but above all, a philosopher who denied being one, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was the first to ask: ?What is the value of civilization?” His answer shocked Enlightenment contemporaries and still challenges us today. Introducing Rousseau guides us through a turbulent life of lost innocence, persecution, and paranoia.

"Introducing Plato" begins by explaining how philosophers like Socrates and Pythagoras influenced Plato's thought. It provides a clear account of Plato's puzzling theory of knowledge, and explains how this theory then directed his provocative views on politics, ethics and individual liberty. It offers detailed critical commentaries on all of the key doctrines of Platonism, especially the very odd theory of Forms, and concludes by revealing how Plato's philosophy stimulated the work of important modern thinkers such as Karl Popper, Martha Nussbaum, and Jacques Derrida.

Introducing the Enlightenment is the essential guide to the giants of the Enlightenment—Adam Smith, Samuel Johnson, Immanuel Kant, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. This book provides a clear a

René Descartes is famous as the philosopher who was prepared to doubt everything- even his own physical existence. Most people know that he said 'I think, therefore I am', even if they are not always sure what he really meant by it. Introducing Descartes explains what Descartes doubted, and why he is usually called the father of modern philosophy.It is a clear and accessible guide to all the puzzling questions he asked about human beings and their place in the world. Dave Robinson and Chris Garratt give a lucid account of Descartes' contributions to modern science, mathematics, and the philosophy of mind- and also reveal why he liked to do all of his serious thinking in bed.

"Introducing Aristotle" guides the reader through an explosion of theories, from the establishment of systematic logic to the earliest rules of science. Aristotle's authority extended beyond his own lifetime to influence fundamentally Islamic philosophy and medieval scholasticism. For fifteen centuries, he remained the paradigm of knowledge itself.But can Aristotelian realism still be used to underpin our conception of the world today?

Why do Hindus revere the cow?Must Hindus be vegetarian? Hinduism is the world's oldest religion, yet the word 'Hindu' was never used before the 18th century by Hindus to describe themselves. it is defined as polytheistic, but Gandhi declared that a Hindu needn't believe in any god. it is a religion as much of myth as of history - it has no founder, no single authoritative book, even few central doctrines.Introducing Hinduism offers a guide to the key philosophical, literary, mythological and cultural traditions of the extraordinarily diverse faith. It untangles the complexities of Hinduism's gods and goddesses, its caste system and its views on sex, everyday life and asceticism. Vinay Lal and Borin Van Loon's hugely enjoyable tour through Hinduism also explores its links with and differences from Buddhism, Jainism and other religions, the resurgence of Hindu extremism, the phenomenon of Bollywood and the overseas Hindu diaspora.

Meditation, Karma, Zen, Tantric and Nirvana are some of the many Buddhist ideas Westerners hear of frequently, even if their meaning has been lost in translation. This vast and complex non-theistic religion is woven into the fabric of Asian civilisations. from India to the Himalayan regions, China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan and elsewhere.What is Buddhism really all about?Introducing Buddha describes the life and teachings of the Buddha, but it also shows that enlightenment is a matter of experiencing the truth individually, and by inspiration which is passed from teacher to student. Superbly illustrated by Borin Van Loon, the book illuminates this process through a rich legacy of stories, explains the practices of meditation, Taoism and Zen, and goes on to describe the role of Buddhism in modern Asia and its growing influence on Western thought.

Why did countries engage in a nuclear arms race? How do we make decisions when we don’t have all the information? What makes international environmental cooperation possible? Game theory is the study of how we make a decision when the outcome of our moves depends on the decisions of someone else. But it’s not just about predicting your opponent’s next play in a game of chess; conflict and cooperation lie at the heart of game theory, which is useful for understanding behaviour in everything from our social lives to business, global politics to evolutionary theory.In Introducing Game Theory, economists Ivan and Tuvana Pastine explore this fascinating area, which looks beneath the surface of human behaviour ? calling upon psychology, evolutionary biology, political science and sociology to explain why, when faced with a decision, we sometimes cooperate, sometimes clash, and sometimes act in a way that seems completely random.Stylishly brought to life by regular Guardian illustrator Tom Hu

Epigenetics is the most exciting field in biology today, developing our understanding of disease, hereditary traits, and evolution.In a striking comic-book style, Introducing Epigenetics pulls apart t

An Introducing Practical Guide to speaking – whether one-to-one or two a large audience – with confidence.

This is Richard Appignanesi's erudite investigation of Existentialism, the philosophical and cultural movement that prioritizes individual experience.Richard Appignanesi is a novelist, editor, publish

The philosopher Soren Kierkegaard is regarded as the founder of Existentialism and a forerunner of postmodernism. Philosophy, in Kierkegaard's radical view, was of no use unless it permanently changed

This brand new graphic guide provides a comprehensive introduction to the schools of thought and key figures in continental philosophy. Christopher Kul-Want is the course director for the MA in Fine A

How can being more assertive help you? This book will teach you to overcome passive behavior and take ownership of your own thoughts and feelings without becoming aggressive. Experienced life coach Da

Emotional intelligence is the innate potential to feel, use, communicate, recognize, remember, describe, learn from, manage, understand, and explain emotions.Introducing Emotional Intelligence teaches

What is psychotherapy? How can we choose wisely from so much on offer?This book provides a valuable summary of the main therapies: the "talking cures" of psychoanalysis, behavioral and cognitive techniques, somatic solutions, humanist gestalt and existential approaches, and individual and group therapies.

What do scientists actually do? Is science ?value-free”? How has science evolved through history? Where is science leading us? Introducing Philosophy of Science is a clear and incisively illustrated m

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a branch of therapy widely regarded as effective in curing or alleviating numerous disorders, from anorexia to post-traumatic stress disorder. Introducing Cogniti

Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) is an approach to psychotherapy and organizational change popular among people keen to live fuller, more successful, and more rewarding lives. Whether you’re a salesp

Child psychology explains how children's brains work and develop on matters such as language, environment, and parental autonomy. This Practical Guide helps you to easily understand why your child dev

What is it about entrepreneurs or medal-winning athletes that makes them successful? What secrets about their brains could the rest of us benefit from knowing to improve our own careers? This accessib

Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince remains controversial in its electrifying frankness as a practical guide to power. Is it a how-to manual for dictators, or a subtle analysis of successful government? Introducing Machiavelli traces the colorful life of this paradoxical realist whose clear-sighted patriotism made him the first truly modern political scientist.

How do psychoanalysts conceptualize the mind? Why was Sigmund Freud so interested in sex? How does analysis work? Introducing Psychoanalysis offers insights into the nature of psychoanalytic theory an

Immanuel Kant laid the foundations of modern Western thought with his attempts to delimit human reason as an object of philosophical inquiry. The book centers on his seminal critiques of pure reason,

Between the end of World War II in 1945 and his death in 1980, Jean-Paul Sartre was the most famous French writer, as well as one of the best-known living philosophers. Introducing Sartre explains the

Introducing Political Philosophy explains the subject’s central concepts and presents the major political theorists from Plato to Michel Foucault. How did governments get started? Why should they be o

Every day we talk about the aesthetics of a piece of art or design. More than a simple response, aesthetics is a philosophy in which perceptions, feelings, and emotions combine to form the whole natu

Introducing Consciousness starts with the problem of the philosophical relation between mind and matter, explains the historical origins of this problem, and traces different scientific attempts to e

Heidegger announced the end of philosophy and was vocal supporter of Nazism. Was he offering a deeply conservative mythology or a crucial deconstruction of philosophy as we have known it? Introducing

Was Marx himself a 'Marxist'? Was his visionary promise of socialism betrayed by Marxist dictatorship? Is Marxism inevitably totalitarian? What did Marx really say? This book provides a fundamental ac

Introducing Body Language will help to improve your nonverbal intelligence and your ability to communicate with others. Learn the simple nonverbal signals that instantly establish trust; how to decode

This book will show how philosophy can help to improve your thinking about everyday life. And by improving the quality of your thinking, you can improve the quality of your life. It will make you more

This Practical Guide will help you achieve healthier ways of relating by understanding some of the underlying psychological drivers that permeate relationships, work on these unconscious motivating fa