ACUMEN PUBLISHING

The Problem of Free Will

A Contemporary Introduction

Matthew Iredale

März 2012 · 192 S. · Geb.· 9781844655038 · GBP £ 45,00

Do we really have freedom to act, or are we slaves to our genes, environment or culture? Regular TPM columnist Mathew Iredale gets to grips with one of the most intractable issues in philosophy

Mathew Iredale explores what it is about the free will problem that makes it so hard to resolve and argues that the only acceptable solution to the free will problem must be one that is consistent with what science tells us about the world. It is here, maintains Iredale, that too many works on free will, introductory or otherwise, fall down, by focusing only on how free will relates to determinism. Iredale shows that there are clear areas of scientific research which are directly and significantly relevant to free will in a way that does not involve determinism. Although these areas of scientific research do not allow us to solve the problem, they do allow us to separate the more plausible ideas concerning free will from the less plausible.

Mathew Iredale has a PhD in philosophy from University College London. He writes a regular column for The Philosophers’ Magazine on how the latest research in science can help to solve philosophical problems.

Art’s Emotions

Ethics, Expression and Aesthetic Experience

Damien Freeman

Dezember 2011 · 240 S. · Geb. · 9781844655120 · GBP £ 50,00

Paperbhack · 9781844655120 · GBP £ 18,99

Damien Freeman develops a new theory of emotion that is suitable for resolving key questions in aesthetics. He then reviews and evaluates three existing approaches to artistic expression, and proposes a new approach to the emotional experience of art that draws on the strengths of the existing approaches. Finally, he seeks to establish the ethical significance of this emotional experience of art for human flourishing. Freeman challenges the reader not only to consider how art engages with emotion, but how we should connect up our answers to questions concerning the nature and value of the experiences offered by works of art.

Damien Freeman has a PhD in philosophy from Cambridge and is a full-time writer and editor.

“A remarkably erudite, bold, and fascinating exploration of the nature of emotion, the distinctive emotional impact of art, and its value as a contribution to human flourishing. Highly recommended reading for anyone who ponders why art matters.” – Dominic McIver Lopes, University of British Columbia

“Freeman starts from some very powerful intuitions about human emotional life and the role of the arts in our emotional life. An important book that is very much worth reading.” – Raymond Geuss, University of Cambridge