Quiddity

  Energy: A Beginner's Guide  By Vaclav Smil    Preview  Our continuous need for energy has the potential to bankrupt the planet and threaten our very existence. Vaclav Smil helps us discover what Energy is, and how it shapes us and everything around us.  About the Author  Vaclav Smil is a Czech-Canadian academic and a Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is considered to be one of the foremost minds on the issue of energy and its implication in public policy. He has written several books including Energy and Civilization: A History, and Natural Gas: Fuel for the 21st Century.   The Big Idea: Discover the science behind Energy, and learn why we must reduce our reliance on conventional energy sources to save our planet  The Greek philosopher Aristotle coined the term Energeia in his philosophical work: Metaphysics. While the word Energeia was adopted by the English-speaking world and modified to "Energy," the true meaning of it was not worked on for nearly

  The Quid on   Capital In The 21 st  Century   Book Author: Thomas Piketty     Preview  The rich are getting richer while the poor are slipping further into poverty. Thomas Piketty, in his book Capital in the 21st Century, which focuses on the inequality in the developed world, tries to provide an integrated explanation for this phenomenon, through a unified theory of inequality. It contains empirical data to prove that inequality has been steadily rising, and will continue to do so.    About the Author  Thomas Piketty is a French economist who teaches at the Paris School of Economics. His work focuses on wealth and income inequality. In a recent research paper that he co-authored with a colleague at the Paris School of Economics, he indicated that the inequality in India, too, is at the highest level ever with the top 1% population pocketing 22% of national income.  What to expect? The growing evil of inequality  While income (here referring to aggregate income) is equal to the total

A Brief History of Thought by Luc Ferry Preview   Human beings are the only species aware of their mortality and therefore haunted by  paralysing  fears about the irreversibility of the past and the inevitability of death. The question of how to live this ephemeral life well, with a crippling awareness of mortality, is at the heart of philosophy. By relying on the natural human capacity to reason, philosophy replaces the other-worldly and transcendental salvation offered by Christianity and other monotheistic religions, thereby leading to a clear-sighted understanding of the world.    About the Author   Luc Ferry is a French philosopher and has been a professor of political science and political philosophy. He held office in the French government as the Minister of Education from the year 2002 to 2004.  He is a notable proponent of the ideals of secular humanism.   What to expect?  Learn about the role that philosophy plays in shaping and explaining human life   Luc Ferry provides a co