The Oxford Handbook of Epistemology

Epistemology, the theory of knowledge, is at the center of mainstream philosophical efforts.
The Oxford Handbook of Epistemology contains nineteen previously unpublished chapters on the theory of knowledge by today's leading figures in the field. These chapters function not only as a survey of key areas but also as original and interesting scholarship on vital topics currently of great interest.

Written accessibly for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professional philosophers, the Handbook explains the main ideas and problems of contemporary epistemology while avoiding overly technical detail.

The Encyclopedie

This week we explore the mammoth undertaking that was the Encyclopédie – one of its editors, D’Alembert, described its mission as giving an overview of knowledge, as if gazing down on a vast labyrinth of all the branches of human knowledge, observing where they separate or unite and even catching sight of the secret routes between them. It was a project that attracted some of the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment - Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot - striving to bring together all that was known of the world in one comprehensive encyclopedia. No subject was too great or too small, so while Voltaire wrote of “fantasie” and “elegance”, Diderot rolled up his sleeves and got to grips with trades and crafts, even jam-making.

The resulting Encyclopédie was a bestseller - running to 28 volumes over more than 20 years, amidst censorship, bans, betrayals and reprieves. It even got them excited on this side of the Channel, with subscribers including Oliver Goldsmith, Samuel Johnson and Charles Burney.

So what drove these men to such lengths that they were prepared to risk ridicule, prison, even exile? How did the Encyclopédie embody the values of the Enlightenment? And what was its legacy – did it really fuel the French Revolution?

Biology Demistified

This book is for people who want to get acquainted with the concepts of basic biology without taking a formal course. It can serve as a supplemental text in a classroom, tutored, or home-schooling environment. It should also be useful for career changers who need to refresh their knowledge of the subject.

This introductory work also contains a pronunciation guide and an abundance of practice quiz, test, and exam questions.

Complexity & Chaos
By Roger White
Narrated By Edwin Newman
Roger White's discourse exists so far on the fringe of common knowledge that perhaps only a dozen people might understand it--and 11 of them could be lying. It talks of a conceptual revolution having its roots in four separate domains: fractals, chaos, self-organization, and emergent computation. Edwin Newman's calm narration handles the complex jargon with ease, and he sounds like he understands difficult concepts like the laws of thermodynamics.
Newtonian physics described a regular, clock-like world of forces and reaction; randomness was equated with incomplete knowledge. But scientists in the late twentieth century have found patterns in things formerly thought to be “chaotic”; their theories help explain the unstable, irregular, yet highly structured features of everyday experience. It now seems likely that randomness and chaos play an essential role in the evolution of the living world—and in intelligence itself.
The Science and Discovery series recreates one of history's most successful journeys—four thousand years of scientific efforts to better understand and control the physical world. Science has often challenged and upset conventional wisdom or accepted practices; this is a story of vested interests and independent thinkers, experiments and theories, change and progress. Aristotle, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Einstein, and many others are featured.

Для философов, физиков, математиков.