Robert Arp

Drawing on a wide spectrum of topics-including politics, cosmology, the arts, philosophy and religious beliefs, 1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think traces the exponential growth of human knowledge across the centuries. Ranging from the ancient wisdom of Confucius and Plato to the cutting-edge theories taking shape in the twenty-first century, this book offers a wealth of stimulation and amusement for any reader with a lively and curious mind. This richly informative and entertaining book provides a wide variety of answers to those eternal questions: How was the universe created and what is the place of humans within it? How should a person live? And how can we build a just society? But 1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think also includes a host of speculations that are remarkable for their sheer weirdness-from the concept of the transmigration of souls to parallel universes and the paradoxes of time travel (what happens if you travel back in time and kill your own grandfather?). Readers will discover how the Greek philosopher Zeno 'proved' a flying arrow never moves and the mathematical proof of the existence of life in other galaxies. The inspiring ideas explored range from Gandhi's theory of civil disobedience to Mary Wollstonecraft's groundbreaking advocacy of women's rights. A wide variety of cultural movements are also covered, including Neoclassicism, Surrealism and Postmodernism.

From the bestselling 1001 series, comes a collection of 1001 quotations from numerous brilliant minds of the Ancient World through to the present day. With quotes from everyone including Marcus Aurelius, Sun Tzu, Shakespeare and Nietzsche through to Ellen DeGeneres, Nelson Mandela, Mark Zuckerberg and Monty Python's Flying Circus, there is an immense range of ideas, witticisms and musings to ponder. The quotations cover a wide range of topics, including art and literature, culture, philosophy, politics, psychology and religion, made accessible and brought to life by being placed in their historical contexts and accompanied by a wealth of illustrations.

1001 Ideas That Changed The Way We Think is a comprehensive guide to the most interesting and imaginative thoughts from the finest minds of the past 3,000 years. Ranging from the ancient wisdom of Confucius and Plato to today's cutting-edge thinkers, it offers a wealth of stimulation and amusement for everyone with a curious mind. Within the pages of this book you will find a wide variety of answers to the great, eternal questions: how was the universe created and what is the place of humans within it? How should a person live? And how can we build a just society? 1001 Ideas That Changed The Way We Think also includes a host of hypotheses that are remarkable for their sheer weirdness - from the concept of the transmigration of souls to parallel universes and the theoretical paradoxes of time travel (what happens if you travel back in time and kill your own grandfather?). Discover how the Greek philosopher Zeno 'proved' a flying arrow never moves; how modern science has shown that a butterfly's wing can stir up an Atlantic storm; and the mathematical proof of the existence of life in other galaxies. The inspirational ideas explored here range from Gandhi's theory of civil disobedience to Henry Thoreau's praise of the simple life and Mary Wollstonecraft's groundbreaking advocacy of women's rights. The book also covers a wide variety of lifestyle concepts, such as 'rational dress' and naturism, and cultural movements including Neoclassicism, Surrealism and Postmodernism. Supported by a wealth of striking illustrations and illuminating quotations, 1001 Ideas That Changed The Way We Think is both an in-depth history of ideas and a delightfully browsable source of entertainment.

1001 Quotations To Inspire You Before You Die is full of smart remarks - not just sassy one-liners (although there are plenty of those), but also more considered, philosophical epigrams that make us pause and reflect on a range of profound topics. Each quotation is accompanied by an insightful account of its meaning and the historical context in which it was first uttered or written. Some famous quotations are straightforward, but many need contextualising - it's often not exactly what was said, but who said it, and in what context, that is more important. Many oft-quoted remarks open up whole new worlds of thought and interpretation. What, for example, did Voltaire mean when he wrote 'If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him'? - was he hinting at his own atheism (unlikely, given the age in which he lived) or making a more subtle point about the difficulty of apprehending the Almighty? This book looks into these and a host of other such questions, and takes the reader from the source material into illuminating discussions of its wider significance. We all love quotations - we use them to make our points, to plead our cases and to justify our opinions, as well as to honour, glorify, motivate, incite, besmirch, bewitch and beguile. 1001 Quotations To Inspire You Before You Die will help you do all that and more.