When a tortoise challenges a great Greek hero to use his logic in order to decipher a simple philosophical argument, slight chaos ensues. ‘What the Tortoise Said to Achilles’ is an endless cycle of suppositions and deductions. A refined piece of philosophical writing, Caroll’s discussion was one of the first steps towards paradoxically explaining logical truth. His clever prose makes this novel an essential read for budding philosophers and logic aficionados. Lewis Caroll (1832-1898) was a British author. He was famed for his novel ‘Alice in Wonderland' and its sequel ‘Through the Looking-Glass’. Both of which have been successfully adapted to film and stage. Aside from this, he was also a mathematician, professional photographer, and clergyman. His colorful plotlines, powerful imagery, and endless imagination earned him the title of one of the most notable authors of the nineteenth century. Among his other notable works are the poetic collection "Phantasmagoria and Other Poems", the poem "The Hunting of the Snark", and the fairy novel "Sylvie and Bruno".

In critiquing Twain's humor in his fiction, Griffith (English, U. of Oregon) contends that he essentially told the same "sick" joke repeatedly without resolution-- like Achilles who could not overtake the tortoise in Zeno's Paradox. He concludes with Mark Twain and Melville: An Essay on the Metaphysics of Twinship. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

'This sentence is false'. Is it? If a hotel with an infinite number of rooms is fully occupied, can it still accommodate a new guest? How can we have emotional responses to fiction, when we know that the objects of our emotions do not exist?

From the author of The Latest Answers to the Oldest Questions, a philosophical guide that’s “great for sounding cleverer than you really are” (Men’s Health). For those who don’t know the difference between Lucretius’s spear and Hume’s fork, Zeno and the Tortoise explains not just who each philosopher was and what he thought, but exactly how he came to think in the way he did. In a witty and engaging style that incorporates everything from Sting to cell phones to Bill Gates, Fearn demystifies the ways of thought that have shaped and inspired humanity—among many others, the Socratic method, Descartes’s use of doubt, Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism, Rousseau’s social contract, and, of course, the concept of common sense. Along the way, there are fascinating biographical snippets about the philosophers themselves: the story of Thales falling down a well while studying the stars, and of Socrates being told by a face-reader that his was the face of a monster who was capable of any crime. Written in twenty-five short chapters, each readable during the journey to work, Zeno and the Tortoise is the ideal course in intellectual self-defense. Acute, often irreverent, but always authoritative, this is a unique introduction to the ideas that have shaped us all. “A large, crafty bag of brilliant tools . . . an academic arsenal of philosophical weapons that are keen for slicing and stabbing through the slippery profoundities of day-to-day decision-making and right into the middle of dinner-party conversations of which you would have otherwise been left out.” —Philosophy Now

In this collection of wise, witty and fascinating essays, Borges discusses the existence (or non-existence) of Hell, the flaws in English literary detectives, the philosophy of contradictions, and the many translators of 1001 Nights. Varied and enthralling, these pieces examine the very nature of our lives, from cinema and books to history and religion. GREAT IDEAS. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

"Cutnell and Johnson's 9th edition of Physics continues to offer material to help the development of conceptual understanding, and show the relevance of physics to readers lives and future careers"--

Simon Blackburn presents a selection of his philosophical essays from 1995 to 2010. He offers engaging and illuminating discussions of a wide range of topics, including moral philosophy, the theory of meaning, pragmatism, and the theory of reason and reasoning.