Jung’s landmark seminar on the symbolism of yoga and its applications to dream analysis
In the summer of 1933, C. G. Jung conducted a seminar in Berlin attended by a large audience of some 150 people, including several Jewish Jungians who would soon leave Germany. Hitler had begun consolidating his position as dictator and these students were distressed at Jung’s recent decision to accept the presidency of a German professional psychotherapy society that was rapidly becoming Nazified and purged of Jews. On Dreams and the East makes these seminar sessions widely available for the first time, offering tantalizing insights into Jung’s evolving understanding of yoga and the realization of the self.
The seminar commences with a presentation on the psychology of yoga by noted Indologist and linguist Heinrich Zimmer, whose collaboration in these talks reflects Jung’s growing engagement with the Hindu tradition, particularly Tantric yoga. Jung analyzes a series of dreams of a middle-aged male patient, focusing on mandalas and the centering process. He reflects on related motifs in alchemical symbolism, Navaho healing drawings, Mithraism, baptism symbolism, the foundation of Rome, ecclesiastic dances, and labyrinths, drawing connections with the symbolism of yoga and Tantra.
Featuring a richly documented introduction by Giovanni Sorge, On Dreams and the East opens a window on Jung’s deepening exploration of Eastern thought and the comparative study of the individuation process at a critical juncture in his life and work.
A history of philosophy from the origins of reason in Ancient Greece to the most influential philosophers working today, this long-awaited single volume companion to Frederick Copleston's historic 11-volume series is a must-have for any aspiring philosopher.
Frederick Copleston’s 11-volume A History of Philosophy has been the go-to reference for philosophers and students for decades. It is universally recognized as a classic and sits on the shelf of countless leading thinkers today. This companion to Copleston’s landmark work contains clear and succinct analyses of the major events and texts in philosophy, exploring the foundational principles and ideals that drove the development of Western thought. It grapples with the sometimes complex views and teachings of the greatest minds in philosophy, explaining their work with clarity and elegance.
An accessible journey through this epic and deeply human history, Carroll succinctly condenses Copleston’s thought while expanding on contemporary and world philosophy. From the early teachings of Socrates to the medieval philosophies of Christian Europe, the Enlightenment and the radical arguments of the Existentialists, Carroll adeptly explores the common threads and themes that have united all rational enquiries into the fundamental nature of reality.
THE NO.1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
A TIMES, FT, ECONOMIST AND INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE YEAR
‘Boundlessly wise . . . important and engrossing’ The New York Times
‘One of the most important books I’ve read . . . It’s absolutely brilliant’ Dr Rangan Chatterjee
'Urgent and essential' Guardian
Acclaimed psychologist Jonathan Haidt reveals how the decline of free-play in childhood and the rise of smartphone use among adolescents is changing our world
From 2010, as teens traded in their flip phones for smartphones packed with social media apps, unsupervised time online soared while face-to-face conversations with friends and family plummeted, and so did mental health. This profound shift took place against a backdrop of diminishing childhood freedom and over-supervision in the real world, depriving children of the experiences they most need to become strong and self-governing adults.
The Anxious Generation delves into the latest research to show how this shift from free-play to smartphones disrupts development – from sleep deprivation to addiction – and lays the foundations of isolation and fear that define society today. Grounded in ancient wisdom and packed full of cutting-edge science and practical advice, this eye-opening book is a life-raft for anyone who wants to understand how the most rapid rewiring of human relationships and consciousness in human history has made it harder for all of us to think, focus, forget ourselves enough to care about others and build close relationships.
A lively and provocative account of Bernard Mandeville and the work that scandalized and appalled his contemporaries—and made him one of the most influential thinkers of the eighteenth century
In 1714, doctor, philosopher and writer Bernard Mandeville published The Fable of the Bees, a humorous tale in which a prosperous hive full of greedy and licentious bees trade their vices for virtues and immediately fall into economic and societal collapse. Outrage among the reading public followed; philosophers took up their pens to refute what they saw as the fable’s central assertion. How could it be that an immoral community thrived but the introduction of morality caused it to crash and burn? In Man-Devil, John Callanan examines Mandeville and his famous fable, showing how its contentious claim—that vice was essential to the economic flourishing of any society—formed part of Mandeville’s overall theory of human nature. Mandeville, Callanan argues, was perfectly suited to analyze and satirize the emerging phenomenon of modern society—and reveal the gap between its self-image and its reality.
Callanan shows that Mandeville’s thinking was informed by his medical training and his innovative approach to the treatment of illness with both physiological and psychological components. Through incisive and controversial analyses of sexual mores, gender inequality, economic structures, and political ideology, Mandeville sought to provide a naturalistic account of human behavior—one that put humans in close continuity with animals. Aware that his fellow human beings might find this offensive, he cloaked his theories in fables, poems, anecdotes, and humorous stories. Mandeville mastered irony precisely for the purpose of making us aware of uncomfortable aspects of our deepest natures—aspects that we still struggle to acknowledge today.
A bold exploration of the life and work of one of the world’s most influential – and controversial – thinkers, which brings Arendt’s ideas into urgent dialogue with our troubled present.
‘A rare gem’ SHAMI CHAKRABARTI
'An absorbing new biography... Admirable' ECONOMIST
'Invigorating and insightful' FINANCIAL TIMES
‘Exhilarating, brilliant and utterly original’ PHILIPPE SANDS
Hannah Arendt wrote about power and terror, exile and love, and above all about freedom. In place of the forces of darkness and tyranny, she pitched a politics of plurality, spontaneity and defiance. Loving the world, Arendt taught, meant finding the courage to protect it.
Written with passion and authority, We Are Free to Change the World calls on each of us to think our way, as Arendt did – unflinchingly, lovingly, and defiantly – through our own unpredictable times.
Esther Perel meets Nigella Lawson in this eye-opening, fascinating and accessible deep dive into understanding how what you eat reveals how you love, and how you've been loved. Your relationship with food is written on your plate, and will never feel the same again.
'Professor of philosophy and a public intellectual for the internet age, Callard shows how Socrates can inform the way we live our lives – from romance to politics' Guardian, Books to Look Forward to in 2025
A new and vibrant understanding of Socrates, his work, and his unique approach to learning
Socrates has been hiding in plain sight. We call him the father of Western philosophy, but what exactly are his philosophical views? He is famous for his humility, but readers often find him arrogant and condescending. We parrot his claim that 'the unexamined life is not worth living,' yet take no steps to live examined ones. We know that he was tried, convicted, and executed for 'corrupting the youth,' but freely assign Socratic dialogues to today’s youths, to introduce them to philosophy. We’ve lost sight of what made him so dangerous. In Open Socrates, acclaimed philosopher Agnes Callard recovers the radical energy at the centre of Socrates’ thought and shows why it is still the way to a good life.
Callard draws our attention to Socrates’ startling discovery that we don’t know how to ask ourselves the most important questions— about how we should live, and how we might change. Before a person even has a chance to reflect, their bodily desires or the forces of social conformity have already answered on their behalf. To ask the most important questions, we need help. Callard argues that the true ambition of the famous “Socratic method” is to reveal what one human being can be to another. You can use another person in many ways—for survival, for pleasure, for comfort— but you are engaging them to the fullest when you call on them to help answer your questions and challenge your answers.
Here Callard shows that Socrates’ method allows us to make progress in thinking about how to manage romantic love, how to confront one’s own death, and how to approach politics. In the process, she gives us nothing less than a new ethics to live by.
A fresh, graceful translation of one of the most important and timeless classics—the foundational work of Daoism—by award-winning novelist Ken Liu, who contextualizes and demystifies this famously enigmatic text.
'A generous book written by a figure who has made a significant impact on philosophy ... Anyone interested in philosophy should read it' Nigel Warburton, Times Literary Supplement
'One of today's most readable, intellectually nimble and scientifically literate philosophers' Nature
'Who would have guessed that a philosopher's life could be so full of adventures?'
Daniel C. Dennett, philosopher and cognitive scientist, has spent his career considering consciousness. I've Been Thinking traces the development of Dennett's own intellect and instructs us how we too can become good thinkers.
Dennett's restless curiosity leads him from his childhood in Beirut to Harvard, and from Parisian jazz clubs to 'tillosophy' on his tractor in Maine. Along the way, he encounters and debates with a host of legendary thinkers, and reveals the breakthroughs and misjudgments that shaped his paradigm-shifting philosophies. Thinking, Dennett argues, is hard, and risky. In fact, all good philosophical thinking is inevitably accompanied by bafflement, frustration and self-doubt. It is only in getting it wrong that we, very occasionally, find a way to get it right.
This memoir by one of the greatest philosophers of our time will speak to anyone who seeks a life of the mind with adventure and creativity.
A biography of the polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz told through seven critical days spanning his life and revealing his contributions to our modern world.
