Noddings discusses ways that teachers can help students learn why what they believe is important, and often can do this effectively while teaching math or science or other subjects. She sees religion as dealing with critical issues of life and reality. Much of the book then discusses a broad range of what people believe. And she closes by discussing how her suggested approach can actually work in public schools. I think she makes a good case, and that her summary of beliefs is knowledgeable and carefully thought out.

Jay Martin has accomplished a monumental task in his efforts to uncover the true natures of John Dewey and his colorful life. My interest is in educational psychology and pedagogy. I admit a bit of disappointment in that Dewey's theories - - philosophical, psychological, and pedagogical - - were not explored as much as I had hoped. Nonetheless, I feel that Martin's book is a good primer for anyone who is interested in not only Dewey but, also, names such as Parker, and Tyler. The biography's deep historical basis allows readers of this and closely related materials to have a better contextual grasp how U.S. philosophical, psychological, and pedagogical theories were formulated in the late 18th and early 20th Centuries.

"_The Illusion of Immortality_ is the only book I know of which details the often ignored scientific evidence against life after death (though a few articles can be found on the subject), but with its first edition published in 1935, the evidence cited is a bit dated. Lamont first outlines different historical views of immortality, from the ancient Greek belief that everyone enters a faded and deteroriating existence in Hades when they die, through the early Hebrew belief that death ends with the annihilation of consciousness, to modern astral body views. Lamont should be credited for pointing out that the notion of immortality does not presuppose that an existence after death will necessarily be a worthwhile immortality--an idea often not considered those who believe in an afterlife--as the ancient Greek notion of Hades illustrates. In addition to addressing different kinds of survival of bodily death and the evidence against it, Lamont considers the problem of what an afterlife environment could possibly be like and arguments that immortality must be guaranteed by the benevolence of God. There is some confusion in Lamont's argument for a kind of reductionist materialism, for in arguing that the mind is a function of the brain, he proposes the existence of "nonphysical ideas"--so it appears that he is actually arguing that the mind is a product of the brain (epiphenomenalism) as opposed to arguing that the mind is identical to the brain (reductionist materialism). Lamont concludes by considering the motivations for belief in life after death and coping with living a finite existence. As a whole, _The Illusion of Immortality_ is a very good introduction to the some of the philosophical issues and scientific evidence against life after death."

I really enjoyed this book. It reveals a side of Dewey we haven't seen before, and uncovers the truth about Yezierska's mysterious affair with a powerful American.

No, not "The Matrix" Hollywood brought us, but the cultural matrix: where traditional logic and abstract thought have a tendency to breakdown. Life is like that. As James would remind us, this is not a "block universe" (what non-philosopher/non-scientist ever thought it was?) and so our ideas often end up bursting under the pressure of more and more experience. How is logic to cope with this? Dewey is not a magician, but in this book he sets out (in rather abstruce, brier-patch prose) to give us a radical new tool kit. If you enjoy seriously thinking about thinking, this book is for you. Bring your coffee, though. Dewey's writing style is rather soporific; and weighing in at over 500 pages, this tome can even knockout the most experienced philosophical heavyweight. That said, I encourage you to shuck your gloves and take a swing!

This fourth volume in the "Later Works" collection consists exclusively of Dewey's book, "The Quest for Certainty." It is a shame that the book has gone out of print under its own title, but this reprint usefully fills the gap. Included are an introduction by Stephen Toulmin, an outline syllabus of the lectures upon which the text is based, and a pagination guide to convert this pagination to that of the original edition (very useful for scholars who cannot acquire the older edition).

As you can see, this book is out of print BUT GET IT ANYWAY! Dewey's solution to the to the intrinsic/extrinsic dillemea in the philosophy of knowledge is fascinating and worth thinking about.

He sees this problem as built around a misdefinition of knowledge- that is, knowledge as grasping the 'nature' of an external internally. Dewey replies, it can't be done. Knowledge, instead of drawing a hard line between the knower and the known, is experimental. When we know things, we do not know them in themselves. Rather we know our interaction with them. I can not grasp a tables nature; only traits revealed when I knock on it, set things on it, and perform other 'experiments.' Knowledge both in itself (Plato) and as gained only through passive empiricism (Locke, Hume) is a myth. While 'objectivists' might condemn this as denying the possibility of knowledge all-together, Dewey urges us against that interpretation. The objective world still exists under Dewey's remonstration. Instead of intrinsic knowledge (under Dewey, a paradox) we can only grasp it extrinsically.

This leads Dewey to theories of action. Action and knowledge (if I may paraphrase) are a loop with no clear division. We act (rather interact) with reality to gain new knowledge and control of it. Similarly, knowledge has no purpose but as a tool to further interaction with reality. Even the most abstract knowledge must serve as a symbol for some action in the 'external' world. Conversely, every action is an attempt to gain some knowledge of or control over the external world.

The reason for the subtracted star is that Dewey..let me see if I can put this nicely...is a horrible writer. When I say horrible, this is really dry. Couple that with ultra-abstract discussion and you'll be rereading sentences on an average of 2 per page. Trust me though, it is really worth it. Dewey, even if he doesn't change the way you look at epistemology, will give you ideas to challenge yourself with!

Any library with John Dewey on the stacks should consider this contemporary introspection into this Philosopher, Educator and aesthetition of incredible prolifity. A post-modern generation is precisely the audience addressed here, and would be frustrated by earlier works seeking to offer guiding light to the unique creative mind of John Dewey, who is no easy read. Though this collection is highly academic, I doubt anyone would go there without such an inclination to begin with.

I am using this text for a graduate level class I am teaching about reading in the content area. It seems to be a very large overview of all of the issues facing secondary content area teachers.

Talent Law is a supplement for the Rolemaster Standard System game that is designed to replace the "background options" section of the original rulebooks.

Through a point-based system, players can now choose the Talents, Special Skills, Abilities and Flaws they want, rather than being completely random as is standard in the regular rules.

The book provides a greater breadth of options, and that's a good thing, because when your players can create a character much closer to what they envision, that improves the game for all.

Note: some of the talents vs. flaws may feel a bit unbalanced to some, so GM's should carefully consider the impact it will have on their games. But you can always disallow anything you feel is out of hand.

Overall, this is a great choice if you favor design of your heroes over pure, random design (although the Talents and Flaws all have random charts available should you choose to go that route.)