What happens when something happens? In Thinking the Event, senior continental philosophy scholar François Raffoul undertakes a philosophical inquiry into what constitutes an event as event, its very eventfulness: not what happens or why it happens, but that it happens, and what "happening" means. If, as Leibniz posited, it is true that nothing happens without a reason, does this principle of reason have a reason? For Raffoul, the event always breaks the demands of rational thought. Bringing together philosophical insights from Heidegger, Derrida, Nancy, and Marion, Raffoul shows how the event, in its disruptive unpredictability, always exceeds causality, subjectivity, and reason. It is that "pure event," each time happening outside or without reason, which remains to be thought, and which is the focus of this work. In the final movement of the book, Raffoul takes on questions about the inappropriability of the event and the implications this carries for ethical and political considerations when thinking the event. In the wake of the exhaustion of traditional metaphysics, the notion of the event comes to the fore in an unprecedented way, with key implications for philosophy, ontology, ethics, and theories of selfhood.

This is NOT your typical devotional book! This book will point your mind in new directions. You will see familiar Bible passages in entirely new ways. You might have heard the Christmas story dozens of times but I promise you that you have not thought about these things. This book will not make you feel better about yourself (or worse!). But it will get you to think more about the Lord. If the world seems to have lost its mind, what better way to reclaim your Christmas than to get your thoughts aligned. Like Moses when he paused to look at the burning bush, what would you see if you took the time to rediscover your destiny? Christmas can be a hectic time with lots of distractions. So why not carve a few minutes out of your day to focus your thoughts on the manger? Did Mary and Joseph really stay in an inn? What exactly did the magi see in the sky that prompted them to make a five-hundred-mile journey across the desert? What are the backstories for the characters we often place in our nativity displays? In this book, we will take a journey together to Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem, pausing just long enough to recognize ourselves along the way. Instead of peace on earth, we’ll see a picture of family drama, chaos, and jealousy. The birth was messy. The child was in danger. Doubt and fear stalked the hearts and minds of those who dared to believe the Messiah had come. Two thousand years have passed, but the world is still demanding an answer to a question: Is the manger a myth or a miracle? Take a month to strip away the commercialism and distractions to build your faith as you think about the real meaning of Christmas.

How can educators bridge the gap between "big" ideas about teaching students to think and educational practice? This book addresses this question by a unique combination of theory, field experience and elaborate educational research. Its basic idea is to look at science instruction with regard to two sets of explicit goals: one set refers to teaching science concepts and the second set refers to teaching higher order thinking. This book tells about how thinking can be taught not only in the rare and unique conditions that are so typical of affluent experimental educational projects but also in the less privileged but much more common conditions of educational practice that most schools have to endure. It provides empirical evidence showing that students from all academic levels actually improve their thinking and their scientific knowledge following the thinking curricula, and discusses specific means for teaching higher order thinking to students with low academic achievements. The second part of the book addresses issues that pertain to teachers' professional development and to their knowledge and beliefs regarding the teaching of higher order thinking. This book is intended for a very large audience: researchers (including graduate students), curricular designers, practicing and pre-service teachers, college students, teacher educators and those interested in educational reform. Although the book is primarily about the development of thinking in science classrooms, most of it chapters may be of interest to educators from all disciplines.

This volume brings together some of the most well-known and highly respected commentators on the work of Jacques Derrida from Britain and America in a series of essays written to commemorate the life and come to terms with the death of one of the most important intellectual presences of our time. Derrida’s thought reached into nearly every corner of contemporary intellectual culture and the difference he has made is incalculable. He was indeed controversial but the astonishing originality of his work, always marked by the care, precision and respect with which he read the work of others, leaves us with a philosophical, ethical and political legacy that will be both lasting and decisive. The sometimes personal, always insightful essays reflect on the multiple ways in which Derrida’s work has marked intellectual culture in general and the literary and philosophical culture of Britain and America in particular. The outstanding contributors offer an interdisciplinary view, investigating areas such as deconstruction, ethics, time, irony, technology, location and truth. This book provides a rich and faithful context for thinking about the significance of Derrida’s own work as an event that arrived and perhaps still remains to arrive in our time. Contributors: Derek Attridge, Thomas Baldwin, Geoffrey Bennington, Rachel Bowlby, Alex Callinicos, David E. Cooper, Simon Critchley, Robert Eaglestone, Simon Glendinning, Marian Hobson, Christopher Johnson, Peggy Kamuf, Michael Naas, Nicholas Royle

Can training in the martial arts help you in everyday life? In Pragmatic Karate Mark Jennings argues that it certainly can. Provided you have a thorough grounding in the principles of this ancient fighting art and take the right approach, both physically and mentally, the karate moves you learn in the dojo can prove invaluable in a confrontation, or threatened confrontation, in ways more subtle that most people realise. Your karate training can even change the way you look at the safety of your family and your home. This is a detailed, authoritative work from a karate practitioner with 35 years’ experience who is also a long-serving police officer.

Probability theory is one branch of mathematics that is simultaneously deep and immediately applicable in diverse areas of human endeavor. It is as fundamental as calculus. Calculus explains the external world, and probability theory helps predict a lot of it. In addition, problems in probability theory have an innate appeal, and the answers are often structured and strikingly beautiful. A solid background in probability theory and probability models will become increasingly more useful in the twenty-?rst century, as dif?cult new problems emerge, that will require more sophisticated models and analysis. Thisisa text onthe fundamentalsof thetheoryofprobabilityat anundergraduate or ?rst-year graduate level for students in science, engineering,and economics. The only mathematical background required is knowledge of univariate and multiva- ate calculus and basic linear algebra. The book covers all of the standard topics in basic probability, such as combinatorial probability, discrete and continuous distributions, moment generating functions, fundamental probability inequalities, the central limit theorem, and joint and conditional distributions of discrete and continuous random variables. But it also has some unique features and a forwa- looking feel.