The humanities, considered by many as irrelevant for modern careers and hopelessly devoid of funding, seem to be in a perpetual state of crisis, at the mercy of modernizing and technological forces that are driving universities towards academic pursuits that pull in grant money and direct students to lucrative careers. But as Paul Reitter and Chad Wellmon show, this crisis isn’t new—in fact, it’s as old as the humanities themselves. Today’s humanities scholars experience and react to basic pressures in ways that are strikingly similar to their nineteenth-century German counterparts. The humanities came into their own as scholars framed their work as a unique resource for resolving crises of meaning and value that threatened other cultural or social goods. The self-understanding of the modern humanities didn’t merely take shape in response to a perceived crisis; it also made crisis a core part of its project. Through this critical, historical perspective, Permanent Crisis can take scholars and anyone who cares about the humanities beyond the usual scolding, exhorting, and hand-wringing into clearer, more effective thinking about the fate of the humanities. Building on ideas from Max Weber and Friedrich Nietzsche to Helen Small and Danielle Allen, Reitter and Wellmon dig into the very idea of the humanities as a way to find meaning and coherence in the world.

The most famous challenge to the aims of cognitive science and artificial intelligence is the philosopher John Searle's 1980 'Chinese Room' argument. Nineteen essays by leading scientists and philosophers assess, renew, and respond to this crucial challenge--fascinating reading for anyone interested in minds and computers.

A broad resource that offers tools for how to conduct problem-solving sociology in order to deepen and reformulate our understanding of society. Most students arrive in graduate sociology programs eager to engage with the pressing social and political issues of the day. Yet that initial enthusiasm does not always survive the professional socialization of graduate school. In Problem-Solving Sociology , Monica Prasad shows graduate students and early career sociologists how to conduct research that uses sociological theory to help solve real-world problems, and how to use problem-solving to improve sociological theory. Prasad discusses how to be objective when examining issues of injustice and oppression, and provides methodological strategies and plenty of exercises for research aimed at creating change. She gives examples throughout of problem-solving research conducted at all levels, from undergraduate theses to the major figures of the discipline. She also considers how to respond to some common objections; where problem-solving fits into the landscape of sociological practice; and how to build a life in problem-solving.

本書是弗雷勒最為著名的一本書，已被翻譯成好幾十國語言，雖然已出版超過三十年，還一直在世界上被廣泛閱讀，單單在美國已銷售超過７５萬冊。這是他在台灣第一本被翻譯出來的書，同時，本書也是台灣教育社會學會與巨流圖書公司合作出版的「教育社會學叢書」系列的第一本。 在本書中，弗雷勒轉換了教育學的關注焦點，教育的重心從壓迫者轉至受壓迫者身上，而且這種教育學不只是「為了」受壓迫者的教育學，它更是「和」受壓迫者一同進行的教育學。他還比較了囤積式教育與提問式教育之間的不同。在討論提問式教育的同時，他也提到了在這樣的教學中，教師與學生的角色發生了轉變，教師不僅是教師，在教學的過程中，他同時也成了學生；學生不僅是學生，在教學的過程中，他同時也成了老師。 弗雷勒將教育重心的轉移賦予攻治與社會的意涵，這使得他的教育目標也發生了轉變。在弗雷勒的看法中，民眾的識讀能力與批判意識的形成有著密切的關係，教學行動因而是一種政治性的文化行動。弗雷勒在《受壓迫者教育學》中探討的當然遠遠超過前面所提及的，而某些更深入的分析與敘述還有待讀者去發掘。 目錄 第一章　受壓迫者教育學辨正；壓迫者與受壓迫者間的矛盾，以及這種矛盾是如何克服的；壓迫與壓迫者；壓迫與受壓迫者；解放：不是一種恩賜，也不是自我的成就，而是一種共同相互的過程 第二章　作為壓迫工具的教育「囤積」概念──它的預設──一個批判；作為解放工具的教育「提問」概念──它的預設；「囤積」概念與師生矛盾；「提問」概念與師生矛盾的超越；教育：一個相互的過程，是以世界為其媒介；人們即未完成的存在，他們覺察到本身的不完美，而試圖變得更為完整與人性化。 第三章　對話學──教育的本質即自由的實踐；對話學與對話；對話與計畫內容的尋索；人與世界的關係，「衍生課題」，與教育計畫的內容即自由之實踐；「衍生課題」的探索及其方法；藉由「衍生課題」達到批判意識的甦醒；探究的不同階段。 第四章　反對話學與對話學構成了文化行動理論中的對立理論：前者即壓迫的工具，後者即解放的工具；反對話行動理論及其特徵：征服、分而治之、操控與文化侵略；對話行動理論及其特徵：合作、聯合、組織與文化統合

书的主题是智力教育。我从多个角度阐述了贯穿各章的一个核心观念，这个观念可以简要地表述为：学生是充满活力的，教育的目的在于促进和引导学生的自我发展。而这必然意味着，教师们也应该永葆活跃的思维。由此，全书对死板的知识或者说僵化的思想进行了抨击。除第9章之外，其余各章都是怀特海在各种教育机构和科学团体的会议上做过的演讲。它们来源于实践经验，反思了教育现状，并对所涉及的那些话题的意义提出了一些批判性的见解。

怀特海，英国数学家、哲学家，过程哲学创始人。怀特海的过程哲学可以说是起因于牛顿物理学的崩解。怀特海的哲学对思想史具有独特的解读，对科学和数学在西方文明兴盛过程中的角色有重要的研究。怀特海的哲学与柏格森的直觉主义有重要的关联。怀特海是独树一帜的思想大师。随着时间的推移，人们越来越发现怀特海的学术价值。学术界认为，怀特海属于20世纪最杰出的哲学家之一。怀特海的思想精微深邃，他的影响在他生前已超出了哲学领域而广泛波及到生态学、管理学、宗教学等多门学科，包括爱因斯坦在内的不少大科学家都对他的思想都很重视。教育思想是怀特海的过程思想的重要组成部分。怀特海对学校中教育专门化的趋势进行了批评。他认为，现代知识专门化的结果使得某些专家的思想局限在一个角落里，这种专家思想上的偏于一隅对社会发展是不利的，它对个人发展也是有害的。怀特海认为，应当建立普通教育与专业教育它们之间的有机联系。怀特海对儿童心理发展的研究也独树一帜。近年来，怀特海在中国哲学界学术界的影响越来越大。截止到2010年，包括北京师范大学在内的20多所高等学校建立了专门的过程思想研究机构，对怀特海的思想展开认真的学术研究，每年都有专门的硕士和博士学位论文问世。本书《教育的目的》是怀特海的代表作之一。

We spend a lot of time arguing about how schools might be improved. But we rarely take a step back to ask what we as a society should be looking for from education—what exactly should those who make decisions be trying to achieve? In Educational Goods, two philosophers and two social scientists address this very question. They begin by broadening the language for talking about educational policy: “educational goods” are the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that children develop for their own benefit and that of others; “childhood goods” are the valuable experiences and freedoms that make childhood a distinct phase of life. Balancing those, and understanding that not all of them can be measured through traditional methods, is a key first step. From there, they show how to think clearly about how those goods are distributed and propose a method for combining values and evidence to reach decisions. They conclude by showing the method in action, offering detailed accounts of how it might be applied in school finance, accountability, and choice. The result is a reimagining of our decision making about schools, one that will sharpen our thinking on familiar debates and push us toward better outcomes.

怀特海 （A l f r e d N o r t h W h i t e h e a d ，1 8 6 1 — 1 9 4 7），英国数学家、哲学家、教育家。他与罗素合著的《数学原理》标志着人类逻辑思维的空前进步，被称为永久性的伟大学术著作之一；他创立了庞大的形而上学体系，《过程与实在》、《观念的历险》等是其哲学代表作；而他深刻的教育思想也得到了广泛承认。 本书是作者有关教育的演讲论文集，比较全面地反映了他的教育观念。他主张教育应该充满生气与活力，反对向学生灌输知识，而应引导他们自我发展；他强调古典文学艺术在学生智力发展和人格培养中的重要性，倡导使受教育者在科学和人文方面全面发展；他还重视审美在道德教育中的意义，认为受教育者“ 如果不能经常目睹伟大崇高，道德教育便无从谈起” 。