Philosophy
Barthes: A Graphic Guide
What do language, clothes, gestures, hairstyles and visual images have in common? They’re all signs – and their study is called semiotics.
Roland Barthes’ work on structuralism during the 1960s expanded the field of semiotics into the analysis of popular culture, clothes and fashion. Introducing Barthes brilliantly elucidates his earlier work which studied language as a series of signs. Philip Thody and Piero then describe how his later insistence on pleasure, the delights of sexual non-conformity, and the freedom of the reader to interpret literary texts in the light of ideologies such as existentialism,...
Hegel: A Graphic Guide
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is one of the greatest thinkers of all time. No other philosopher has had such a profound impact on the ideas and political events of the 20th century.
Hegel's influential writings on philosophy, politics, history and art are parts of a larger systematic whole. They are also among the most difficult in the entire literature of philosophy. Introducing Hegel guides us through a spectacular system of thought which aimed to make sense of history.
The book also provides new perspectives on contemporary postmodern debates about 'metanarratives' (Lyotard) and the 'end...
Machiavelli: A Graphic Guide
'Machiavellian' is a popular byword for treachery and opportunism.
Machiavelli's classic book on statecraft, The Prince, published over 400 years ago, remains controversial to this day because of its electrifying frankness as a practical guide to power. Is it a how-to manual for dictators, a cynical philosophy of 'the end justifies the means', or a more complex and subtle analysis of successful government?
Machiavelli was a loyal servant of the Florentine republic. His opposition to Medici despotism led him...
Political Philosophy: A Graphic Guide
What is society? Why should citizens obey the law? Is democracy the best form of government?
Introducing Political Philosophy expains the central concepts of political thinking through history and presents contexts in which their ideas attracted disciples, controversy and sometimes revolution.
How did governments get started? Could we live without them? How much power should they have? What do anarchism, totalitarianism, libertarianism or fascism really mean? In the turmoil of the early 21st century our need for a better grasp of political ideas is greater than ever - Dave Robinson and Judy Groves' concise, enjoyable...