{"title":"Arthur M Melzer","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the profound political philosophy of Arthur M. Melzer. His insightful works offer a deep exploration of Enlightenment thought and its complex legacies. Perfect for readers seeking intellectual stimulation.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"philosophy-between-the-lines-book-arthur-m-melzer-9780226479170","title":"Philosophy Between the Lines","description":"Philosophical esotericism the practice of communicating one's unorthodox thoughts \"between the lines\" was a common practice until the end of the eighteenth century. The famous Encyclopedie of Diderot, for instance, not only discusses this practice in over twenty different articles, but admits to employing it itself. The history of Western thought contains hundreds of such statements by major philosophers testifying to the use of esoteric writing in their own work or others'. Despite this long and well-documented history, however, esotericism is often dismissed today as a rare occurrence. But by ignoring esotericism, we risk cutting ourselves off from a full understanding of Western philosophical thought. Arthur M. Melzer serves as our deeply knowledgeable guide in this capacious and engaging history of philosophical esotericism. Walking readers through both an ancient (Plato) and a modern (Machiavelli) esoteric work, he explains what esotericism is and is not. It relies not on secret codes, but simply on a more intensive use of familiar rhetorical techniques like metaphor, irony, and insinuation. Melzer explores the various motives that led thinkers in different times and places to engage in this strange practice, while also exploring the motives that lead more recent thinkers not only to dislike and avoid this practice but to deny its very existence. In the book's final section, \"A Beginner's Guide to Esoteric Reading,\" Melzer turns to how we might once again cultivate the long-forgotten art of reading esoteric works. Philosophy Between the Lines is the first comprehensive, book-length study of the history and theoretical basis of philosophical esotericism, and it provides a crucial guide to how many major writings philosophical, but also theological, political, and literary were composed prior to the nineteenth century.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49727781699857,"sku":"NGR9780226479170","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50130355945745,"sku":"CIN022647917XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000284086545,"sku":"NIN9780226479170","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/022647917X.jpg?v=1751227710"},{"product_id":"public-intellectual-book-arthur-m-melzer-9780742508156","title":"The Public Intellectual","description":"Whether intellectuals are counter-cultural escapists corrupting the young or secular prophets leading us to prosperity, they are a fixture of modern political life. 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Offering viewpoints from a range of perspectives, this volume addresses the pros and cons of multiculturalism and explores its relationship with liberal democracy.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50360245944593,"sku":"CIN0700608826G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0700608826.jpg?v=1763226119"},{"product_id":"technology-in-western-political-tradition-book-arthur-m-melzer-9780801480065","title":"Technology in Western Political Tradition","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50361205162257,"sku":"CIN080148006XA","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50763030659345,"sku":"CIN080148006XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53103319908625,"sku":"CIN080148006XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53613846331665,"sku":"GOR014981561","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/080148006X.jpg?v=1751296562"},{"product_id":"history-and-the-idea-of-progress-book-arthur-m-melzer-9780801481826","title":"History and the Idea of Progress","description":"First Published in 1987. This is the second edition with an additional foreword. The purpose of this book--the first to recount the history of the popular musical stage on Broadway and its intersecting streets--is to tell what the various entertainments were like, how they looked and sounded, who was in them, and why they made people laugh or cry. The values employed in the book are changeable and inconsistent. Sometimes an affable smile is bestowed upon a musical comedy, burlesque, or revue that was really very bad. Sometimes a harsh verdict is brought in against an entertainment that received widespread approval and praise.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50773012250897,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50773012709649,"sku":"GOR013131046","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51729145856273,"sku":"CIN0801481821G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51889766072593,"sku":"CIN0801481821VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0801481821.jpg?v=1750785660"},{"product_id":"natural-goodness-of-man-book-arthur-m-melzer-9780226519791","title":"The Natural Goodness of Man","description":"The true key to all the perplexities of the human condition, Rousseau boldly claims, is the “natural goodness of man.” It is also the key to his own notoriously contradictory writings, which, he insists, are actually the disassembled parts of a rigorous philosophical system rooted in that fundamental principle. What if this problematic claim—so often repeated, but as often dismissed—were resolutely followed and explored?   Arthur M. Melzer adopts this approach in The Natural Goodness of Man. The first two parts of the book restore the original, revolutionary significance of this now time-worn principle and examine the arguments Rousseau offers in proof of it. The final section unfolds and explains Rousseau’s programmatic thought, especially the Social Contract, as a precise solution to the human problem as redefined by the principle of natural goodness.   The result is a systematic reconstruction of Rousseau’s philosophy that discloses with unparalleled clarity both the complex weave of his argument and the majestic unity of his vision. Melzer persuasively resolves one after another of the famous Rousseauian paradoxes–enlarging, in the process, our understanding of modern philosophy and politics. Engagingly and lucidly written, The Natural Goodness of Man will be of interest to general as well as scholarly readers.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51000313708817,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000316625169,"sku":"NIN9780226519791","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B008Y02AUQ.jpg?v=1751037702"},{"product_id":"philosophy-between-the-lines-book-arthur-m-melzer-9780226175096","title":"Philosophy Between the Lines","description":"Philosophical esotericism - the practice of communicating one's unorthodox thoughts between the lines - was a common practice until the end of the eighteenth century. 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An expert on Nietzsche and Jewish political thought, Dannhauser's abiding concern was the issue of reason, faith, and politics. Does secular rationalism, as promoted by the Enlightenment, provide an adequate basis for moral and political life? Or does the modern state ultimately require religious habits and beliefs even while tending to undermine them? Is the emergence of the religious right, then, a necessary and salutary phenomenon? Or does it pose dangers to our liberal constitution and to minority religious communities, such as Jews and Muslims? In short, is Enlightenment rationalism helpful or harmful to social life? And is Biblical religion necessary for or in tension with American liberal democracy? Questions such as these, which have concerned Dannhauser throughout a long scholarly career, have recently reemerged as front-page issues. In addressing this theme, the eleven essays comprising the present volume-by such scholars as Francis Fukuyama, Walter Berns, Jeremy Rabkin, and Ralph Lerner-range widely over Western intellectual history, from classical philosophy and ancient Israel, to the Medieval period and the Renaissance, to Nietzsche, and to contemporary neoconservative thought.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52414416453905,"sku":"NLS9780739118351","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780739118351.jpg?v=1759401596"},{"product_id":"are-markets-moral-book-arthur-m-melzer-9780812250527","title":"Are Markets Moral?","description":"Despite the remarkable achievements of free markets-their rapid spread around the world and success at generating economic growth-they tend to elicit anxiety. Creative destruction and destabilizing change provoke feelings of powerlessness in the face of circumstances that portend inevitable catastrophe. Thus, from the beginning, capitalism has been particularly stimulative for the growth of critics and doomsayers. While early analysts such as Karl Marx primarily emphasized an impending economic disaster, in recent years the economic critique of capitalism has receded in favor of moral and environmental concerns.  At the heart of this collection of original essays lies the question: does morality demand that we adopt a primarily supportive or critical stance toward capitalism? Some contributors suggest that the foundational principles of the capitalist system may be at odds with the central requirements of morality, while others wonder whether the practical workings of markets slowly erode moral character or hinder the just distribution of goods. 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