Bøker av David E. Cooper

David Cooper explores and defends the view that a reality independent of human perspectives is necessarily indescribable, a 'mystery'. Other views are shown to be incompatible with our human condition. Cooper restores to philosophy a proper appreciation of mystery - that is what provides a measure of our beliefs and conduct.

Why do gardens matter so much and mean so much to people? Seeking an answer to this question, this book identifies garden appreciation as a special human phenomenon distinct from both the appreciation of art and the appreciation of nature. It discusses the contribution of gardening and other garden-related pursuits to 'the good life'.

This popular text has now been revised to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the growing number of people interested in all the main philosophical traditions of the world. Introduces all the main philosophical systems of the world, from ancient times to the present day.

aeo The second edition includes new sections on existentialist discussions of religion, politics, and art, and an appendix on the relationship between the philosophies of Heidegger and Sartre. aeo Includes a new preface and expanded bibliography taking note of works by and on existentialist writers that have appeared over the last decade.

Meaning is one of our most central and most ubiquitous concepts. Anything at all may, in suitable contexts, have meaning ascribed to it. This book discusses how works of art, ceremony, social action, bodily gesture, and the purpose of life can all be meaningful.

This book discusses both the philosophy of language and linguistic philosophy.

Buddhism, one increasingly hears, is an ''eco-friendly'' religion. It is often said that this is because it promotes an ''ecological'' view of things, one stressing the essential unity of human beings and the natural world. Buddhism, Virtue and Environment presents a different view. While agreeing that Buddhism is, in many important respects, in tune with environmental concerns, Cooper and James argue that what makes it ''green'' is its view of human life. The true connection between the religion and environmental thought is to be found in Buddhist accounts of the virtues - those traits, such as compassion, equanimity and humility, that characterise the life of a spiritually enlightened individual. Central chapters of this book examine these virtues and their implications for environmental attitudes and practice. Buddhism, Virtue and Environment will be of interest not only to students and teachers of Buddhism and environmental ethics, but to those more generally engaged with moral philosophy. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book presents an original conception of Buddhist environmental thought. The authors also contribute to the wider debate on the place of ethics in Buddhist teachings and practices, and to debates within ''virtue ethics'' on the relations between human well-being and environmental concern.