To save content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about saving content to .
To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
This Element explores the conceptual complexity of time reversal in the philosophy of physics. It aims to show that time reversal, as a symmetry transformation, should not be regarded as a mere mathematical artifice applied to physical equations. It is rather a conceptually rich and multifaceted notion, one whose meaning and implementation are shaped by a combination of metaphysical commitments and heuristic-methodological strategies. Far from being a neutral tool, the way we define and apply time reversal encodes assumptions about the nature of time itself, its relation to motion, about the role of symmetries in physical theories, and about the relation between mathematical symmetries and the world they purport to describe. Such conceptual complexity also has implication for related debates, such as that of the direction of time.
Physiognomics is the theory according to which there is a relationship between certain signs on the body and certain characteristics of the soul, and furthermore that it is possible to exploit this relationship to transition from what is visible to what is invisible: to read the body in order to gain access to the soul. This Cambridge Element showcases the philosophical relevance of physiognomics during the Renaissance, combining in-depth analysis of physiognomics' subtle, and sometimes lesser-known theoretical details, with awareness of the role of physiognomics in the main philosophical debates of the time, including on the human-animal border and on the difference between men and women. This Element presents the Renaissance revival of physiognomics as a scientific endeavour that required philosophers to organise medical, anatomical, physiological, and astrological knowledge, under the aegis of an ethical programme for the improvement of oneself and society.
Consciousness is often treated as unitary phenomenon. We challenge this and propose a framework that parses it into two functionally distinct representational media. Reviewing dominant theories, as well as studies of perceptual failures, neural activity, visual search and attention – we argue that phenomenal experience arises early as a detailed, analogue, and relatively generic representation of the physical world. Awareness, a later and more idiosyncratic representation of the world, results from enriching phenomenal experience via relevance-filtered semantic knowledge. This Multi-Representational Media (MRM) account unifies perception, memory, and cognition, reconciles rich and sparse consciousness views, and reframes concepts in unconscious cognition research.
There are worldwide concerns about the quality of elections and democracy. There is also an ambiguity in academia, the international community and popular discourse about how to define and measure good elections. This Element develops an original concept of electoral integrity based on human empowerment. Elections serve a purpose: They should give citizens a voice, empower the everyday citizen against the powerful and act as mechanisms for political equality. Secondly, it argues that there have been major societal 'megatrends,' meaning that the holding of elections has moved from the modern era to an age of complexity. This describes an era of demographic, technological, legal, economic and political complexity and fluidity. The greater connection between nodes of activities in the electoral process means that elections held in one part of the world can be very quickly affected by actors and developments elsewhere. Thirdly, it provides new measurement tools to assess election quality.
This Element investigates how selected postcolonial African writers have adapted or rather reshaped historical sources for dramatic compositions. The writers and works the author focuses on are: Wole Soyinka (Death and the King's Horseman, 1975), Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o with Micere Githae Mugo (The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, 1976), Ebrahim Hussein (Kinjeketile, 1970), and Effiong Johnson (Not Without Bones, 2000.) Their reading of the plays emphasizes their status as postcolonial texts and not just works of African literature. In doing so, the Element is mindful of the fact that postcolonialism has inevitably involved the conceptualization of non-Western modes of thought as a means of challenging the West. The author's central argument is that the selected postcolonial African authors use artistic licence to rewrite colonial history from below, transforming historical trauma into counter‑narratives that restore agency, dignity, and futurity to the oppressed.
East Asian voices have long been marginalised in Western literature, though recent global waves of East Asian popular culture have begun to shift the landscape. Among the newest entrants to this global phenomenon are children's picture books - an emerging yet potent force with unparalleled potential for long-term impact. Despite their limited visibility in publishing, picture books are central to early education and childhood wellbeing, shaping future generations. As such, East Asian picture books represent a doubly marginalised field that has been largely overlooked. This timely and essential Element addresses that gap. Drawing on a comprehensive dataset independent of publisher self-reporting, it offers both a historical overview of East Asian representation spanning more than a century and in-depth case studies, providing a ground-breaking account of this overlooked but increasingly influential domain.
Joseph Whitaker is best remembered today as the originator of Whitaker's Almanack, but he was also one of the most important publishers of the nineteenth century. As editor of The Bookseller, he had a panoramic view of the book trade and studied the commercial and structural forces that shaped its activities. His journal helped readers seize the opportunities and manage the risks of the increasingly competitive business culture and tried to foster a sense of pride within the community by encouraging booksellers and publishers to work together for their collective benefit. The publication of The Reference Catalogue of Current Literature in 1874, the most comprehensive collection of books in print and available for sale, was an indispensable guide for booksellers and, together with The Bookseller, created an indispensable communication and information service that remains at the heart of the book trade today.
A sound philosophy of mathematical physics balances a philosophy of mathematics with a philosophy of physics, sharpening the general applicability problem of mathematics by also taking care of: (i) the early modern `mathematization of the world picture'; (ii) the theory-laden character of the targets of mathematical models of modern physics; and (iii): Wigner's `unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences'. Guided by a historical survey, I propose that theories of mathematical physics are meaning-constitutive a priori constructions, conventional but far from arbitrary and best described as hypothetical. Their models subsequently mediate between theory and nature, that is, between the a priori and the a posteriori. Models mediate by playing the role of Wittgensteinian ian yardsticks or objects of comparison to be held against nature as represented by data models, where the comparison is made via surrogative inference. This balancing act compromises realism.
How do voters form left–right images of political parties? This Element applies the theoretical framework of ecologically rational heuristic inference to synthesize insights from the extensive literature on the meaning of left and right in politics. It proposes several hypotheses about cues that voters with varying levels of political sophistication use to infer parties' left–right positions. These expectations are tested through seven conjoint and factorial survey experiments in Germany, Denmark, Canada, and the UK. Findings show that many voters develop sensible left–right perceptions of parties by relying on small sets of highly predictive cues. However, voters differ in how they interpret these cues. Less politically sophisticated voters tend to infer party positions mainly from partisan signals, whereas more sophisticated voters rely on a broader range of indicators, including party policies, ideological values, and social group support. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Western academic analyses of the notion of answered prayer fail repeatedly to be attentive to claims that, within a specifically Christian theology, should be normative. The author proposes a theological construction, centred on the thesis that human beings are created to pray. Given this, the prayers of Jesus are paradigmatic for understanding human prayer. The author examines the ministry of Jesus under the rubric of the munus triplex, the threefold office, and on this basis, an exegetical account of the relationship of prayer and sacrifice is proposed, in which the transforming redemptive power of the sacrifice of Jesus makes possible the answering of prayer, even misdirected prayer. On this basis, a new account of how we should understand prayer being answered is offered, and this is developed into some modest reflections on the proper practice of prayer within Christian communities, paying specific attention to early English Baptist debates.
In Central and Eastern Europe, disinformation threatens democratic stability, inflames ideological divides, and weakens Western geopolitical commitments. Drawing on cross-national analyses, as well as in-depth studies of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, this Element analyzes: the relationship between ideological polarization and disinformation supply; the challenges of building anti-disinformation efforts; individual-level demand for disinformation; and the effects of disinformation on public opinion. Ideological polarization over sociocultural issues predicts disinformation supply, and sociocultural conservatives with anti-Western views constitute a disinformation-susceptible audience that struggles to distinguish between false and true narratives. Elite-level divisions over the threat posed by disinformation exacerbate these dynamics, hampering efforts to build disinformation resilience. However, disinformation largely fails to persuade. Amongst most individuals, attitudinal backlash is more common. Disinformation does not win over hearts and minds; rather, its appeal reflects the salience of contentious issues that have emerged as a result of wider political realignments.
The Parisian Musical Avant-Garde during the Great War brings music in the city to life during and immediately after the conflict. It tells the extraordinary story of singer, Jane Bathori, who became temporary director of an avant-garde theatre in Paris, the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier. Drawing on a wide inter-artistic network, Bathori collaborated with writers, set designers, choreographers, performers and composers to create highly original programmes by commissioning new works, reviving early music, staging chamber opera, mixing high art music with folk, popular and patriotic songs, and incorporating literary events. Bathori is remembered for her advocacy of composers such as Ravel, Satie, Poulenc and Milhaud, but was systematically written out of theatre history. Drawing on a rich range of archival materials, I show that her war-time artistic action sparked inter-artistic collaborations and shaped interwar musical taste, alongside figures such as Serge Diaghilev and Jean Cocteau.
The mathematical method and the nature of mathematical knowledge were subjects of intense philosophical discussion in the 17th and 18th centuries. In particular, there was a debate over whether metaphysical truths admit of distinct proof as geometrical truths do, and whether they may be known with the same degree of certainty. This comparison between geometry and philosophy required a proper understanding of how Euclidean demonstration secured certainty. This element examines attempts by Descartes, Locke, Leibniz, Wolff, Lambert, Mendelssohn and Kant to address this question. The emphasis is on metaphysical and epistemological questions about geometrical demonstration in the 17th- and 18th-centuries.
The rapid integration of generative AI (GenAI) tools into higher education (HE) presents both transformative opportunities and pressing challenges, particularly in English-medium education (EME) classrooms. While GenAI tools offer innovative possibilities for enhancing instruction, assessment, and learner autonomy, they also raise concerns about the erosion of meaningful language and content learning experiences through over-automation and excessive reliance on algorithmic output without involving students' thinking process. This Element offers a timely, practitioner-focused exploration of how GenAI tools can be thoughtfully integrated into both language and content-subject teaching while addressing key threats GenAI poses within EME contexts. The Element does not seek to promote the uncritical adoption of GenAI into HE but instead offers a pragmatic way forward that recognises the essential role of agentic teachers in supporting student content and language learning.
This element describes an emerging and intriguing topic: computational indeterminacy. Indeterminacy occurs when a fixed physical system potentially computes several different functions, and there is no fact of the matter which of these is actually being computed by the system. The phenomenon of computational indeterminacy has potential significance for a number of fields, including neuroscience and cognitive science, artificial intelligence (AI), the theory of algorithms, and circuit design. Here we address foundational and philosophical issues. We also explain how the indeterminacy phenomenon impacts on current thinking about the nature of physical computation. Computational indeterminacy is the subject of a growing number of articles in specialist journals, and The Indeterminacy of Computation introduces the topic to a wider audience. The style is clear and informal, with many helpful diagrams. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
The rise of political extremism is often attributed to citizens' economic and cultural grievances. Less is known about how the state itself may facilitate extremism in contemporary democracies, despite frequent claims that elected leaders fail to contain it. How valid is this critique? Analyzing thousands of documents on the behavior of political parties, intelligence agencies, and the police in Germany across decades and states, the authors show that blind spots in combating extremism are widespread and deeply partisan. In parliamentary debates and election manifestos, right-wing parties devote less attention to right-wing extremist crimes than their prevalence warrants, while left-wing parties often downplay left-wing extremism. Similar divisions appear within ostensibly neutral intelligence agencies and the police. Across institutions, partisanship and ideology shape how state actors address extremist threats, raising concerns about the state's capacity to safeguard public safety and democracy. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Hegel referred to Geist as 'self-conscious life' as a being which exists within a 'web' of sense it spins for itself both collectively and individually. As Geist collectively develops itself in history and in theory, it ties 'knots' in various parts of its web which then form the settled basis for further progress. John Dewey spoke of the fundamental 'deposits' laid down in history in the same way Hegel spoke of 'knots.' Both Hegel and Dewey thought that the kinds of obligations necessary in modern political life could only be actualized in terms of a larger conception of the good life individually and collectively led. However, Dewey argued that given the fact of democracy as a 'way of life' and not merely a form of government was the necessary replacement for Hegel's concept of Sittlichkeit (ethical life) as the living good in which the watchword is freedom.
The analysis of newly or recently emerged grammatical and lexical forms in Colloquial Singapore English is the main objective of this Element. Using corpus, survey, and interview data from different age groups, we shed light on the spread of language change across generations and ethnicities. Existing descriptions of CSE as a high-contact L1 variety of English in the late stages of endonormative stabilisation do not fully capture Singapore's continued multilingual ecology: source languages remain in active use alongside CSE, enabling ongoing cross-linguistic influence. Innovative uses resulting from contact can be observed in apparent and real time. In this volume, we use a range of sources to look at recent changes in the lexicon and grammar of CSE, pointing to a dynamic variety that is difficult to fully capture with existing models of variation. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Absence in official records can have profound implications for social memory, civil rights, restorative and transitional justice, citizenship, social welfare, and redress for historical abuse. Scholars of archivistics and early modern New World imperial contexts have uncovered the epistemological problems that archival silences pose for historical research, and I contend that absence deserves separate conceptual treatment. Archival absences, both permanent and temporary, have particular resonances for post-colonial countries, and is an ongoing threat under totalitarian regimes. Using Britain and Ireland as primary examples, this Element traces how absence took root in the domestic and subsequently the colonial archive, and how through legal mechanisms it became an accepted part of archival praxis. The aim of this Element is to raise awareness of archival absence in order to prevent more losses, particularly in the abundance of the digital age. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.