If there is such a thing as reason, it has to be universal. Reason must reflect objective principles whose validity is independent of our point of view - principles that anyone with enough intelligence ought to be able to recognize as correct. But this universality of reason is what relativists and subjectivists deny in ever-increasing numbers. And such subjectivism is not just an inconsequential intellectual flourish or badge of theoretical chic. It is exploited to deflect argument and to belittle the pretensions of the arguments of others. The continuing spread of this relativistic way of thinking threatens to make public discourse increasingly difficult and unproductive. In The Last Word, Thomas Nagel, one of the most influential philosophers writing in English, presents a sustained defense of reason against the attacks of subjectivism, delivering systematic rebuttals of relativistic claims with respect to language, logic, science, and ethics. He shows that the last word in disputes about the objective validity of any form of thought must lie in some unqualified thoughts about how things are - thoughts that we cannot regard from outside as mere psychological dispositions. His work sets a new standard in the debate on this crucially important question and should generate intense interest both within and outside the philosophical community.

In this landmark work, Paul Kurtz examines the reasons why people accept supernatural and paranormal belief systems in spite of substantial evidence to the contrary. According to Kurtz, it is because there is within the human species a deeply rooted tendency toward magical thinking-the "transcendental temptation"-which undermines critical judgment and paves the way for willful beliefs. Kurtz explores in detail the three major monotheistic religions-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-finding striking psychological and sociological parallels between these religions, the spiritualism of the nineteenth century, and the paranormal belief systems of today. This acclaimed and controversial book includes sections on mysticism, belief in the afterlife, the existence of God, reincarnation, astrology, and ufology. Kurtz concludes by explaining and advocating rational skepticism as an antidote to belief in the transcendental.

Richard H. Popkin has already been celebrated in two Festschriften as one of the century's greatest historians of philosophy.This latest book, whose editors were among those who prepared the first two volumes, centers on Popkin's crucial role in bringing together scholars from around the world in a long series of academic conferences and learned meetings which helped transform the field from one of solitary endeavour into a 'Republic of Letters'.Publications by Richard H. Popkin: Isaac la Peyrère (1596-1676): His Life, Work and Influence, ISBN: 978 90 04 08157 4 Edited by Y. Kaplan, H. Méchoulan and R.H. Popkin, Menasseh ben Israel and his World, ISBN: 978 90 04 09114 6 Third Force in Seventeenth-Century Thought, ISBN: 978 90 04 09324 9 Martin I.J. Griffin Jr. Annotated by Richard H. Popkin. Edited by Lila Freedman, Latitudinarianism in the Seventeenth-Century Church of England, ISBN: 978 90 04 09653 0 Edited by Richard H. Popkin and Arjo Vanderjagt, Scepticism and Irreligion in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, ISBN: 978 90 04 09596 0 Edited by Martin Mulsow and Richard H. Popkin, Latitudinarianism in the Seventeenth-Century Church of England, ISBN: 978 90 04 12883 5 Edited by R.H. Popkin, Millenarianism and Messianism in English Literature and Thought 1650-1800, ISBN: 978 90 04 08513 8 (Out of print)