Stan Baronett – författare

The overriding rationale behind this book is the desire to enrich the lives of college students by introducing them to philosophical thinking in an accessible and engaging manner. The classic selections were chosen to provide personal moments of reflection as students embark upon a journey into philosophy.

The opening section, "The Role of Philosophy," provides a general introduction to philosophy. It uses real-life examples to illustrate how philosophical thinking touches all aspects of our lives, and how it is connected to other academic disciplines. Thereafter, each philosophical area, such as the nature of reality, knowledge, God, free will, and morality, has its own introduction offering further framework and context. These features allow students to connect with the content in an intuitive, natural manner. The surrounding narrative is designed to be conversational and comprehensible. The intent is to furnish a clear path through the material that enables readers to get started in understanding each philosopher''s ideas and arguments. The table of contents presents each instructor with the opportunity to choose a set of readings that matches the individual needs of each class.

The goal of any introduction to philosophy anthology should be a selection of readings that stimulate us. Since there are thousands of possible readings that one can choose from, every anthology must make choices. The editing process for this anthology was driven by the need to include material that is challenging, yet accessible. The emphasis on classical readings reveals the rich and varied history of philosophy, and it provides a foundation for understanding modern philosophers'' ideas and writings. The readings are long enough to develop important philosophical issues, yet short enough to concentrate on a few topics. The readings are meant to stimulate immediate reflection and offer a platform for discussion.

Zen and Western Philosophy takes a novel approach to philosophy. The book''s goal is to capture the body of thought called "Western philosophy" with an Eastern net-Zen as embodied in haiku. The book offers profiles of 139 Western philosophers by using a traditional three-line haiku format of 5-7-5 syllables in order to capture each philosopher''s ideas in a manner that is both concise and playful. 

Simply put, the book''s purpose, design, and structure is    

A parallax view

of Western philosophy

through an Eastern lens.

It''s a difficult task to capture a philosopher''s ideas in a mere 17 syllables.  While the 139 haikus will reinforce, for the reader, the ideas of famous philosophers, perhaps also readers will be inspired create their own creative, philosophical haiku.

Since Socrates never wrote anything, Plato and Xenophon created their own versions of Socrates''s conversations. Although their accounts may be close to what actually occurred, nevertheless, this allowed them to create their own interpretations of what Socrates said and meant. It has been said that Plato showed us the philosophical Socrates, and Xenophon showed us the practical Socrates. Both writers created extensive dialogues, often using the same setting, in which Socrates poses or answers questions.

    The intent of the new book, The Hemlock Dialogues, is to rework some of Plato''s and Xenophon''s dialogues in order to have Socrates meet in the middle; to have the philosophical and practical Socrates mesh into the simple life of an honest man.

   All the passages in this book are the result of rewriting some of Benjamin Jowett''s translations of Plato''s works, and some of Henry Graham Dakyns''s translations of Xenophon''s works. For example, a passage may include part of Plato''s account of a particular dialogue and part of Xenophon''s account.

   Plato and Xenophon drew on their memories of encounters with Socrates as they reconstructed their dialogues. It is normal to experience memories flashing through our minds, often darting from one thing to another with no apparent connection. And, we are told, our memories are not perfect copies of what occurred. In fact, each time we recall a memory it gets changed, perhaps not by much, but even a minor change affects the content of the memory. Given this, we can expect Plato''s and Xenophon''s reconstructions of Socrates''s conversations, especially long discussions, to be subject to, at the very least, innocent changes.

   The Hemlock Dialogues offers a reinterpretation of some of Socrates''s conversations. Charting a new path through Plato''s and Xenophon''s dialogues creates a new landscape in which to explore some of Socrates''s most important conversations. It seems likely that when Socrates reminisced about his past, he also drew on memories that had changed over time. We can imagine Socrates''s final reveries blazing through his mind, flitting from one setting to another as he neared death.

Gambling with Philosophy weaves together philosophy and gambling to illustrate how chance is intimately involved in every part of our lives. It does this by crafting a story where a career in philosophy and an interest in gambling both come about through chance occurrences. The emphasis on chance as a natural random part of the world is contrasted with the common reference to "luck" as a metaphysical force that for some unknown mystical reason rewards the "lucky" few, and hurts the "unlucky" majority of humans. A series of conversations reveals how games of chance and the chance occurrences that occur throughout life present us with gambles involving uncertainties, the outcomes of which determine the course of our lives.