Empty Pleasures

Empty Pleasures
Author: Carolyn Thomas de la Peña
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2010
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0807834092

"Empty Pleasures, a rich and rewarding read, makes the tools of cultural analysis available to a wide range of readers. De la Pena's argument, that artificial sweeteners provide consumers with a way to exercise `indulgent restraint,' will surely re-energi

Empty Pleasures

Empty Pleasures
Author: Carolyn de la Peña
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2010-09-27
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0807879673

Sugar substitutes have been a part of American life since saccharin was introduced at the 1893 World's Fair. In Empty Pleasures, the first history of artificial sweeteners in the United States, Carolyn de la Pena blends popular culture with business and women's history, examining the invention, production, marketing, regulation, and consumption of sugar substitutes such as saccharin, Sucaryl, NutraSweet, and Splenda. She describes how saccharin, an accidental laboratory by-product, was transformed from a perceived adulterant into a healthy ingredient. As food producers and pharmaceutical companies worked together to create diet products, savvy women's magazine writers and editors promoted artificially sweetened foods as ideal, modern weight-loss aids, and early diet-plan entrepreneurs built menus and fortunes around pleasurable dieting made possible by artificial sweeteners. NutraSweet, Splenda, and their predecessors have enjoyed enormous success by promising that Americans, especially women, can "have their cake and eat it too," but Empty Pleasures argues that these "sweet cheats" have fostered troubling and unsustainable eating habits and that the promises of artificial sweeteners are ultimately too good to be true.

Antithetical Arts

Antithetical Arts
Author: Peter Kivy
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2011-03-03
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0191615757

Antithetical Arts constitutes a defence of musical formalism against those who would put literary interpretations on the absolute music canon. In Part I, the historical origins of both the literary interpretation of absolute music and musical formalism are laid out. In Part II, specific attempts to put literary interpretations on various works of the absolute music canon are examined and criticized. Finally, in Part III, the question is raised as to what the human significance of absolute music is, if it does not lie in its representational or narrative content. The answer is that, as yet, philosophy has no answer, and that the question should be considered an important one for philosophers of art to consider, and to try to answer without appeal to representational or narrative content.

Oxford Handbook of Epicurus and Epicureanism

Oxford Handbook of Epicurus and Epicureanism
Author: Phillip Mitsis
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 848
Release: 2020-07-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0197522009

The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE), though often despised for his materialism, hedonism, and denial of the immortality of the soul during many periods of history, has at the same time been a source of inspiration to figures as diverse as Vergil, Hobbes, Thomas Jefferson, and Bentham. This volume offers authoritative discussions of all aspects of Epicurus's philosophy and then traces out some of its most important subsequent influences throughout the Western intellectual tradition. Such a detailed and comprehensive study of Epicureanism is especially timely given the tremendous current revival of interest in Epicurus and his rivals, the Stoics. The thirty-one contributions in this volume offer an unmatched resource for all those wishing to deepen their knowledge of Epicurus' powerful arguments about happiness, death, and the nature of the material world and our place in it. At the same time, his arguments are carefully placed in the context of ancient and subsequent disputes, thus offering readers the opportunity of measuring Epicurean arguments against a wide range of opponents--from Platonists, Aristotelians and Stoics, to Hegel and Nietzsche, and finally on to such important contemporary philosophers as Thomas Nagel and Bernard Williams. The volume offers separate and detailed discussions of two fascinating and ongoing sources of Epicurean arguments, the Herculaneum papyri and the inscription of Diogenes of Oenoanda. Our understanding of Epicureanism is continually being enriched by these new sources of evidence and the contributors to this volume have been able to make use of them in presenting the most current understanding of Epicurus's own views. By the same token, the second half of the volume is devoted to the extraordinary influence of Epicurean doctrines, often either neglected or misunderstood, in literature, political thinking, scientific innovation, personal conceptions of freedom and happiness, and in philosophy generally. Taken together, the contributions in this volume offer the most comprehensive and detailed account of Epicurus and Epicureanism available in English.

Small Pleasures

Small Pleasures
Author: Clare Chambers
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2021-10-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0063091003

In the best tradition of Tessa Hadley, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Ann Patchett—an astonishing, keenly observed period piece about an ordinary British woman in the 1950s whose dutiful life takes a sudden turn into a pitched battle between propriety and unexpected passion. "With wit and dry humor...quietly affecting in unexpected ways. Chambers' language is beautiful, achieving what only the most skilled writers can: big pleasure wrought from small details."--The New York Times LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 1957: Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper in the southeast suburbs of London. Clever but with limited career opportunities and on the brink of forty, Jean lives a dreary existence that includes caring for her demanding widowed mother, who rarely leaves the house. It’s a small life with little joy and no likelihood of escape. That all changes when a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth. Jean seizes onto the bizarre story and sets out to discover whether Gretchen is a miracle or a fraud. But the more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys, including Gretchen’s gentle and thoughtful husband Howard, who mostly believes his wife, and their quirky and charming daughter Margaret, who becomes a sort of surrogate child for Jean. Gretchen, too, becomes a much-needed friend in an otherwise empty social life. Jean cannot bring herself to discard what seems like her one chance at happiness, even as the story that she is researching starts to send dark ripples across all their lives…with unimaginable consequences. Both a mystery and a love story, Small Pleasures is a literary tour-de-force in the style of The Remains of the Day, about conflict between personal fulfillment and duty; a novel that celebrates the beauty and potential for joy in all things plain and unfashionable.

Daily Strength

Daily Strength
Author: Sam Storms
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 513
Release: 2022-04-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433573431

A 365-Day Devotional for Men, Perfect for Gift-Giving and Daily Reading Daily Strength, a year-long devotional, walks Christian men through Scripture passages that speak to their most pressing issues. Featuring content from the ESV Men's Devotional Bible, each single-page daily reading features a short summary of a Bible passage with a thought-provoking message from one of more than forty contributors. Arranged canonically from Genesis to Revelation with short introductions to each Bible book, Daily Strength encourages and enlightens men throughout the year while equipping them for moral and spiritual transformation. 365 Devotionals: Topics include resting in God's word, wisdom, forgiveness, prayer, God's purposes, living a life of integrity, salvation, confessing Christ, forgiveness, discipleship, and maturity Covers the Bible from Genesis to Revelation: Includes at least one devotion for every book of the Bible Great Gift Idea for Dads, Sons, and Students: Perfect for Father's Day, Christmas, or birthdays! Written by Pastors and Counselors: Edited by Sam Storms—contributors include Greg Gilbert, David Powlison, Drew Hunter, and more

Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma Full Colour Edition

Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma Full Colour Edition
Author: Richard van de Lagemaat
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2011-05-26
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1107669960

This title has been written to support students taking the IB Diploma, and follows the Theory of Knowledge programme closely.

How to Think Like a Roman Emperor

How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
Author: Donald J. Robertson
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2019-04-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1250196639

"This book is a wonderful introduction to one of history's greatest figures: Marcus Aurelius. His life and this book are a clear guide for those facing adversity, seeking tranquility and pursuing excellence." —Ryan Holiday, bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way and The Daily Stoic The life-changing principles of Stoicism taught through the story of its most famous proponent. Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius was the last famous Stoic philosopher of the ancient world. The Meditations, his personal journal, survives to this day as one of the most loved self-help and spiritual classics of all time. In How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, cognitive psychotherapist Donald Robertson weaves the life and philosophy of Marcus Aurelius together seamlessly to provide a compelling modern-day guide to the Stoic wisdom followed by countless individuals throughout the centuries as a path to achieving greater fulfillment and emotional resilience. How to Think Like a Roman Emperor takes readers on a transformative journey along with Marcus, following his progress from a young noble at the court of Hadrian—taken under the wing of some of the finest philosophers of his day—through to his reign as emperor of Rome at the height of its power. Robertson shows how Marcus used philosophical doctrines and therapeutic practices to build emotional resilience and endure tremendous adversity, and guides readers through applying the same methods to their own lives. Combining remarkable stories from Marcus’s life with insights from modern psychology and the enduring wisdom of his philosophy, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor puts a human face on Stoicism and offers a timeless and essential guide to handling the ethical and psychological challenges we face today.