{"title":"Justin Smith-Ruiu","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the curated collection of works by the distinguished author, Justin Smith-Ruiu. Known for his profound insights and thought-provoking ideas, Smith-Ruiu delves deeply into the realms of philosophy and psychology. His writing invites readers to contemplate the complexities of modern life and challenges conventional thinking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eExplore \u003cem\u003eIrrationality\u003c\/em\u003e, a compelling inquiry into the nature of human thought, questioning our understanding of logic and reason. In his follow-up book, also titled \u003cem\u003eIrrationality\u003c\/em\u003e, Smith-Ruiu extends this exploration, providing new perspectives on cognitive biases and decision-making.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith \u003cem\u003eOn Drugs\u003c\/em\u003e, he examines the cultural and psychological dimensions of drug use, offering a nuanced perspective on a topic that often elicits polarized views. This work is essential for anyone seeking to understand the intricate relationship between humans and substances.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Internet Is Not What You Think It Is\u003c\/em\u003e challenges our perceptions of the digital world, presenting a critical analysis of how the internet shapes our reality and influences our psychology. Smith-Ruiu's insights encourage readers to reassess their interaction with technology.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, \u003cem\u003eThe Philosopher\u003c\/em\u003e is a profound reflection on the role of philosophy in contemporary society. This book provides a refreshing perspective on how philosophical inquiry can remain relevant and transformative in today's fast-paced world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether you are a seasoned philosopher or a curious thinker, Justin Smith-Ruiu's works promise to expand your mind and inspire meaningful reflection on the intricacies of human experience.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"on-drugs-by-justin-smith-ruiu-9781324094975","title":"On Drugs","description":null,"brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46792386740460,"sku":"9781324094975","price":52.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/a0331a2f32896d7427109f4cbb72a5a2.jpg?v=1757060539"},{"product_id":"irrationality-by-justin-smith-ruiu-9780691210513","title":"Irrationality","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom sex and music to religion and politics, a history of irrationality and the ways in which it has always been with us - and always will be.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this sweeping account of irrationality from antiquity to the rise of Twitter mobs and the election of Donald Trump, Justin Smith argues that irrationality makes up the greater part of human life and history. Ranging across philosophy, politics, and current events, he shows that, throughout history, every triumph of reason has been temporary and reversible, and that rational schemes often result in their polar opposite. Illuminating unreason at a moment when the world appears to have gone mad again, \u003ci\u003eIrrationality\u003c\/i\u003e is timely, provocative, and fascinating.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Stippled with fascinating meditations and vignettes.' - Kwame Anthony Appiah, \u003ci\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrrationality\u003c\/i\u003e is unique among recent paeans to Enlightenment and liberalism in marrying a resolute defence of reason with a recognition of how futile such defences tend to be.' - William Davies, \u003ci\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'No philosopher alive today writes with as much wit, voice, and erudition as Justin Smith. \u003ci\u003eIrrationality\u003c\/i\u003e is a masterpiece: an urgent warning that no grand design of perfect rationality can provide the solution to the depravity of this political moment.' - Yascha Mounk, author of \u003ci\u003eThe People vs. Democracy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'A learned, ludic, and often profound meditation on how the perverse dialectic of reason and unreason has played out over history.' - Jim Holt, author of \u003ci\u003eWhy Does the World Exist?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000654250220,"sku":"9780691210513","price":64.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2092273482434.jpg?v=1763294093"},{"product_id":"irrationality-by-justin-smith-ruiu-9780691178677","title":"Irrationality","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA fascinating history that reveals the ways in which the pursuit of rationality often leads to an explosion of irrationality. It's a story we can't stop telling ourselves. Once, humans were benighted by superstition and irrationality, but then the Greeks invented reason. Later, the Enlightenment enshrined rationality as the supreme value. Discovering that reason is the defining feature of our species, we named ourselves the \u003cem\u003erational animal\u003c\/em\u003e. But is this flattering story itself rational?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this sweeping account of irrationality from antiquity to today—from the fifth-century BC murder of Hippasus for revealing the existence of irrational numbers to the rise of Twitter mobs and the election of Donald Trump—Justin Smith says the evidence suggests the opposite. From sex and music to religion and war, irrationality makes up the greater part of human life and history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRich and ambitious, \u003cem\u003eIrrationality\u003c\/em\u003e ranges across philosophy, politics, and current events. Challenging conventional thinking about logic, natural reason, dreams, art and science, pseudoscience, the Enlightenment, the internet, jokes and lies, and death, the book shows how history reveals that any triumph of reason is temporary and reversible. Rational schemes, notably including many from Silicon Valley, often result in their polar opposite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe problem is that the rational gives birth to the irrational and vice versa in an endless cycle, and any effort to permanently set things in order sooner or later ends in an explosion of unreason. Because of this, it is irrational to try to eliminate irrationality. For better or worse, it is an ineradicable feature of life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIlluminating unreason at a moment when the world appears to have gone mad again, \u003cem\u003eIrrationality\u003c\/em\u003e is fascinating, provocative, and timely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000654282988,"sku":"9780691178677","price":74.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1773913482434.jpg?v=1763294096"},{"product_id":"the-internet-is-not-what-you-think-it-is-by-justin-smith-ruiu-9780691241104","title":"The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn original deep history of the internet that tells the story of the centuries-old utopian dreams behind it - and explains why they have died today.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMany think of the internet as an unprecedented and overwhelmingly positive achievement of modern human technology. But is it? In \u003ci\u003eThe Internet Is Not What You Think It Is\u003c\/i\u003e, Justin Smith offers an original deep history of the internet, from the ancient to the modern world - uncovering its surprising origins in nature and centuries-old dreams of radically improving human life by outsourcing thinking to machines and communicating across vast distances. Yet, despite the internet's continuing potential, Smith argues, the utopian hopes behind it have finally died today, killed by the harsh realities of social media, the global information economy, and the attention-destroying nature of networked technology.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRanging over centuries of the history and philosophy of science and technology, Smith shows how the 'internet' has been with us much longer than we usually think. He draws fascinating connections between internet user experience, artificial intelligence, the invention of the printing press, communication between trees, and the origins of computing in the machine-driven looms of the silk industry. At the same time, he reveals how the internet's organic structure and development root it in the natural world in unexpected ways that challenge efforts to draw an easy line between technology and nature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCombining the sweep of intellectual history with the incisiveness of philosophy, \u003ci\u003eThe Internet Is Not What You Think It Is\u003c\/i\u003e cuts through our daily digital lives to give a clear-sighted picture of what the internet is, where it came from, and where it might be taking us in the coming decades.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000788762860,"sku":"9780691241104","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2398183482434.jpg?v=1763304971"},{"product_id":"the-philosopher-by-justin-smith-ruiu-9780691178462","title":"The Philosopher","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat would the global history of philosophy look like if it were told not as a story of ideas but as a series of job descriptions—ones that might have been used to fill the position of philosopher at different times and places over the past 2,500 years?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Philosopher\u003c\/em\u003e does just that, providing a new way of looking at the history of philosophy by bringing to life six kinds of figures who have occupied the role of philosopher in a wide range of societies around the world over the millennia: the Natural Philosopher, the Sage, the Gadfly, the Ascetic, the Mandarin, and the Courtier.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe result is at once an unconventional introduction to the global history of philosophy and an original exploration of what philosophy has been—and perhaps could be again. By uncovering forgotten or neglected philosophical job descriptions, the book reveals that philosophy is a universal activity, much broader—and more gender inclusive—than we normally think today. In doing so, \u003cem\u003eThe Philosopher\u003c\/em\u003e challenges us to reconsider our idea of what philosophers can do and what counts as philosophy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000804917484,"sku":"9780691178462","price":49.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1771763482434.jpg?v=1763306261"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/justin-smith-ruiu.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}