Top products from r/HistoryofIdeas

From the book's Amazon description:

> In the first detailed, chapter-by-chapter reading of the Prince in any language, Erica Benner shows that the book is a masterpiece of ironic writing. Machiavelli's style is deliberately ambiguous: he often seems to say one thing, but gives readers clues that point toward a very different message. Beyond its 'Machiavellian' surface, the Prince has a surprisingly moral purpose. It teaches readers how to recognize hidden dangers in political conduct that merely appears great or praiseworthy - and to mistrust promises of easy solutions to political problems.

> This highly engaging new interpretation helps readers to see beyond the Prince's deceptive first appearances. Benner sets out Machiavelli's main ironic techniques at the outset, especially his coded use of words to signal praise or blame. Once readers become familiar with these codes, they will find it easier to grasp the Prince's surreptitiously pro-republican message - and its powerful critique of charismatic one-man rule and imperial politics.

More posts about Machiavelli.

Hello!

My book is free from January 17th – Jan 21st, 2015
Thank you and please enjoy!

10 Lost Inventions: That Might Have Changed The World As We Know It

http://www.amazon.com/10-Lost-Inventions-Changed-Bizarre-ebook/dp/B00ROGMS7G

http://www.amazon.co.uk/10-Lost-Inventions-Changed-Bizarre-ebook/dp/B00ROGMS7G


Why do great inventions sometimes pop into existence only to pop out again? Consider if you will …

… an ancient Greek computer that disappeared into the sea …

… an ancient Mesopotamian electric battery that might have been used to literally SHOCK people into religious belief …

… the horrors of napalm wielded by the Byzantine empire …

… a steam-powered Victorian computer that hinted at the possibility of Artificial Intelligence well over a century ago …

… and an 18th-century genius’s plans for voice synthesizers, copying machines, air conditioning, airborne drones, non-polluting internal combustion engines, liquid fuel rockets, and even space travel -- and did he REALLY bring spaghetti to life?

This book tells a dizzying story of inventions lost to time. What would our world have been like if they hadn’t disappeared? You decide!

If you care about building a better society it's important to understand why people have the moral intuitions they do, so you can work with people of varying moral intuitions to create a society that more closely matches our shared values.

For decent intros to the field, see Haidt's The Righteous Mind and Greene's Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them(especially the first half, the second part where he proposes a one size fits all meta-morality is, well, less convincing).

For an example of a practical application, see Haidt's Asteroids Club. I have trouble drawing lines between moral psychology and behavioral economics, so I'll include J.D. Trout's Why Empathy Matters: The Science and Psychology of Better Judgment as the policy side practical application as well, even though it leans on behavioral economic research at least as heavily as moral psychology. The only thing I don't like about the book is the fact that the title highlights empathy, while that's not really a key theme of the book, thankfully. There have been way too many people overplaying empathy lately IMHO.

If you like/can stand religious language, Richard Beck's "Unclean" and "Slavery of Death" are great too, based on both his own and other's research in moral psychology and terror management theory (which I'd put in the same umbrella).

I encourage you to start out with “The Portable Jung”, which is edited by Joseph Campbell.

The Portable Jung (Portable Library) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140150706/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_aPU4CbVD7J8S3

Which one: Pathfinders (2010) or House of Wisdom (2012)? Can you recommend a review? This is something I've wanted to read more about since listening to the History of Philosophy without any gaps, but haven't had a chance to, yet.

> How about "Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud"

There is also a "sequel" of sorts, The Modern Mind: An Intellectual History of the 20th Century that is worth considering.

[](/a06 "What? No mention of the Peterson Projection??") Longitude by Dava Sobel is also a fun little read.

Who needs a newly translated one. Here's one you can pick up on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Epic-Gilgamesh-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140449191/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394091321&sr=1-1&keywords=epic+of+gilgamesh

Peter Winn: Weavers of Revolution: The Yarur Workers and Chile's Road to Socialism

How about "Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud" ( http://www.amazon.com/Ideas-Peter-Watson-ebook/dp/B000FCKC5G/ ) or "A Very Short History of Western Thought " ( http://www.amazon.com/Very-Short-History-Western-Thought-ebook/dp/B00KK6BAY4/ )