Edinburgh Philosophical Guides
The essential toolkit for anyone reading this seminal Derrida text for the first time
Published in 1967, Voice and Phenomenon marked a crucial turning point in Derrida’s thinking: the culmination of a 15-year-long engagement with the phenomenological tradition. It also introduced the concepts and themes that would become deconstruction.
Voice and Phenomenon is a short book, but it can be an overwhelming text, particularly for inexperienced readers of Derrida’s work. This is the first guide to clearly explain the structure of his argument, step by step.
Key Features
- Introduces you to Derrida's historical context, with special attention to the importance of Husserl’s thought
- Provides careful, critical commentary of his text from start to finish, explaining the key arguments and problems as you go
- Shows how the concepts used in Voice and Phenomenon paved the way for Derrida’s future works
- Includes a glossary, further reading and descriptions of some of Derrida’s ethical and political concepts from his later writings
The essential toolkit for anyone approaching Deleuze for the first time
When students read Difference and Repetition for the first time, they face two main hurdles: the wide range of sources that Deleuze draws upon and his dense writing style. This Edinburgh Philosophical Guide helps students to negotiate these hurdles, taking them through the text paragraphy by paragraph. It situates Deleuze within Continental philosophy more broadly and explains why he develops his philosophy in his unique way.
If you're a seasoned Deleuzian, there's something here for you too: you won't want to miss Henry Somers-Hall’s novel interpretation of Difference and Repetition.
"A step-by-step guide to Kant's first work on moral philosophy
Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is considered a standard text in the history of moral philosophy as well as a classic work of moral philosophy in its own right. This guide provides a paragraph-by-paragraph account of the main themes of Kant's moral philosophy and a clear statement of his overall philosophical aims and arguments.
Key Features:
- Written to be read alongside Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals
- Works through the text in the same way that students do, addressing potential problems and confusions as they arise
- Study Aids section helps students to understand the text and write their essays, including a glossary, example exam questions, common assessment criteria and tips for writing about Kant
- Identifies what is distinctive about Kantian ethics, compared to other ethical theories
A step-by-step guide to Foucault's History of Sexuality Volume I, The Will to Knowledge
In the first volume of his History of Sexuality, The Will to Knowledge, Foucault weaves together the most influential theoretical account of sexuality since Freud. Mark Kelly systematically unpacks the intricacies of Foucault's dense and sometimes confusing exposition, in a straightforward way, putting it in its historical and theoretical context.
This is both a guide for the reader new to the text and one that offers new insights to those already familiar with Foucault's work.
Key Features
- The first guide to one of Foucault’s most important works, for which there is no other secondary literature
- A new interpretation of The Will to Knowledge, its structure and its philosophical significance
- Revises several key mistranslations in the only available English translation
Descartes' Meditations is one of the most commonly studied texts in introductory philosophy courses. Rather than simply telling the reader what to think, Meditations invites them to undertake a philosophical journey for themselves. This book is designed to accompany readers on that journey; it prepares them for its demands, helps them to engage with each stage of the text, and suggests ways through the more difficult passages. Brandhorst offers students a fresh approach by bringing to life the path of self-discovery encapsulated in the work and maintaining the focus on metaphysics. Readers are guided through the text step-by-step, which encourages careful reading and presents them with the opportunity to learn to philosophise for themselves. This book engages with what the text says, rather than what is said about the text, in order to help readers discover - or rediscover - for themselves what Meditations has to say.
Key Features
- Provides a summary of the text and its key ideas
- Summarises the historical context of Descartes's seminal work
- Includes a guide to further reading and study
A step-by-step guide to Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra is one of Nietzsche's greatest books, a cross-over text that combines philosophical innovation with literary experimentation. With Zarathustra Nietzsche has attempted a redefinition of the form-content correlation in philosophical writing and as such the text is considered an experiment in philosophical style. It therefore represents a large hurdle for undergraduate students.
This projected commentary works on the assumption that access to the philosophical core of the text can only be gained through taking its literary ambitions seriously and that, moreover, these literary ambitions can only be understood as an attempt to realise philosophical ideas. This is a book that is designed to be read alongside Nietzsche and will therefore make the reading and appreciation of the primary material achievable. This approach will be welcomed by students and lecturers alike.
A step-by-step guide to Spinoza's Ethics.
The Ethics presents a complete metaphysical, epistemological and ethical world-view that is immensely inspiring. However, it is also an extremely difficult text to read. This book takes readers through the text, stopping at the most perplexing passages to explain key terms, unfold arguments, offer concrete examples and raise questions for further thought. It is designed to be read alongside the Ethics, enabling students to think critically about Spinoza's views and build an understanding of his complex system.
Everything you need to know about Plato's Republic in one volume.
This book will introduce students to Plato's Republic and facilitate the reader's own dialogue with it, without providing an interpretation or a response on the reader's behalf. Alongside a passage-by-passage commentary on the text, D.J. Sheppard highlights many of the central interpretative challenges faced by the reader and surveys a range of possible responses to them. Designed to be read alongside Plato's text, this approach will be helpful for students and lecturers alike.
Everything you need to know about Derrida's Of Grammatology in one volume.Jacques Derrida was one of the most famous and influential philosophers of the later twentieth century. First published in 1967, Of Grammatology is his best known text, introducing many fundamental concepts relating to linguistics and writing which he would develop in his later work. This book provides a commentary on Of Grammatology that can be read alongside - rather than instead of - the text itself by students encountering Derrida for the first time.
"Everything you need to know about Heidegger's Being and Time in one volume.
Being and Time is one of the most important publications in phenomenology of the twentieth century which has had a direct influence on not only many different philosophers, but also artists, writers and film makers. This book appeals to first-time readers of Heidegger and will be free of technical jargon. Readers will be taken through Being and Time section by section, meaning it can be read alongside the main text.
"Everything you need to know about Kant's Critique of Pure Reason in one volume.
The Critique is one of the most written-about texts in the history of philosophy, however, it is also notoriously difficult to read. Burnham and Young unravel Kant's text passage-by-passage, making the reading and appreciation of the primary work achievable. Designed to be read alongside Kant, this approach will be helpful for students and lecturers alike.
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