The Paradox Box guidebook explores the philosophical bases behind the concepts introduced in the novel and includes excerpts of original works by such philosophers, logicians, and writers as Sigmund Freud, Bertrand Russell, Arthur Schopenhauer, David Hume, John Maynard Keynes, Gottlob Frege, Otto Weininger, William James, G.E. Moore, and even Virginia Woolf. There are also two selections from Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, which became the foundation of the philosophical movement known as logical positivism. The readings will offer meaningful perspectives on various topics ranging from reality to economics, philosophy to religion, genius to homosexuality and sexual attraction, all of which were hotly debated in the first decades of the twentieth century.

This guidebook can be used by instructors, but it is meant to be a companion book to the novel that enables students to understand the philosophical, political, and social issues that surrounded Wittgenstein as he worked to clarify his ideas about the philosophy of logic and language. It provides for each set of three or four novel chapters a summary of the plot developments, an original reading by a major philosopher or writer, and discussion questions to promote a deep examination of the philosophical concepts and ideas in both the reading and the novel.

Companion Product:

The Paradox Box 

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Ludwig Wittgenstein was a brilliant, intense, complex man, and this novel, a work of historical fiction but based on fact, explores his early thinking, which led him to publish one of the most important works of logic ever written. The story is told by David Pinsent, a student in mathematics who meets Wittgenstein at Trinity College in Cambridge, England, just before World War I. Despite Wittgenstein’s odd mannerisms and difficult personality, David is attracted to him, recognizing his genius immediately and forming a friendship that is as volatile as it is rewarding. Wittgenstein, under the tutelage of the eminent mathematician and philosopher Bernard Russell, has developed a picture theory of meaning to explain human language through the lens of logic, and he is tormented by the idea that he will die before he is able to put it into book form and present it to the world.

Both David and Ludwig are welcomed into the elite intellectual circles at Cambridge, which consist of some of the most notable philosophers, mathematicians, and logicians of the day, including not just Russell but also men like John Maynard Keynes and G.E. Moore, as well as the famous Bloomsbury Set. However, David is troubled by the mysteries that surround Wittgenstein. Ludwig, he learns, has developed an innovative propeller that can be used on a flying bomber, and David finds himself caught up in international intrigue as both England and Germany vie for the design to give them an advantage in the impending war.

But David and Ludwig have become both emotionally and physically intimate, and as war looms, David is forced to confront the role that their forbidden relationship plays in the escalating risks to Wittgenstein’s safety. Their story is one of tragedy and inspiration, and it aptly illustrates the deeply human core of philosophical ideas. This novel illuminates and clarifies the complex philosophical, linguistic, and mathematical issues that engaged some of the best thinkers of the early twentieth century.

Companion Products:

The Paradox Box – Guidebook 

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Our expansive Western philosophy series consists of books for children in kindergarten all the way through the twelfth grade, taking students through the full history of the Western philosophical tradition, from the Presocratics to contemporary concerns.

The student books are stories or novels that cleverly draw children in and introduce them to various philosophers and their philosophies in creative and innovative ways. The books are engaging, gorgeously illustrated, and intellectually uplifting.

Each book is accompanied by a teacher manual or a guidebook that contains historical and philosophical background information about the philosophers and the events from the story, as well as an array of high-level discussion questions that will get kids thinking and debating long after the story is over.

The second set of three volumes are formatted as chapter books that tell stories but with less reliance on images. In these books, philosophers begin to appear as characters in the stories.

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The student books are stories or novels that cleverly draw children in and introduce them to various philosophers and their philosophies in creative and innovative ways. The books are engaging, gorgeously illustrated, and intellectually uplifting.

Each book is accompanied by a teacher manual or a guidebook that contains historical and philosophical background information about the philosophers and the events from the story, as well as an array of high-level discussion questions that will get kids thinking and debating long after the story is over.

The third set of three books is presented as a trilogy of novels that contain gorgeous, full-color works of art, including some renowned masterpieces. In these books, a group of middle school students enter the past through virtual reality simulations, where they engage with famous philosophers and scientists who are the heart of the Western intellectual tradition.

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Will Power is a chapter book that features two kids, Will and Foo, who find themselves in a race against time to stop a man who has developed a frequency that will reveal the human brain to be a machine. In fact, he has already zapped Will, and Will and Foo must stop him before he can broadcast his frequency to the rest of humankind.

In the process, they struggle with the question of free will, as discussed by such philosophers as Albert Einstein, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epicurus, Lucretius, and Sartre. They also explore the philosophical skills of making careful observations, defending a position, and tolerating ambiguity.

Companion Product:

Will Power –  Guidebook

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The four main philosophers presented in this book—Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, and Pascal—are classic in the original sense: judged as having the highest value over the test of time. The characters in the story discuss and evaluate their views from atheist, Christian, and Buddhist perspectives, and throughout, they offer readers different perspectives using convincing arguments that will help to teach tolerance for the beliefs of others.

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Xperiment is a chapter book that features a boy named X who becomes involved with a group of children who struggle to find the meaning of justice in the small society that they have created for themselves. The kids explore the philosophical concepts of selective rule-breaking, thought-experimenting, and proposing alternative theories.

The story introduces philosophies about human nature, civilization, and government by such philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Locke, Hobbes, and Hume. Children are introduced to these concepts in an interesting and engaging way that makes them accessible and that highlights them as real-world issues.

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Readers will remember Mark and Theo from the first two books, and they will delight to find them brought together in this book as they debate against Will, the architect of their world who is also the star of Will Power, a book further on in the series.

Will has decided that the world he drew for Mark and Theo is imperfect and therefore is not worth maintaining. Mark and Theo argue against this idea, insisting that something that is not perfect can still be good. Children are introduced to the principles originally put forth by Plato in his quest for a perfect world and Aristotle’s rejection of that world. They learn how to identify a problem, make an argument, and make objections. In the process, they watch Mark and Theo work together toward a surprising conclusion that ultimately convinces Will that, though imperfect, they are perfect as they are.

Companion Products:

Question Mark – Student Book
Question Mark – Teacher Manual 
Theo Rising – Student Book 
Theo Rising – Teacher Manual 
Mark and Theo Make Their Case – Student Book 
Mark and Theo Make Their Case – Teacher Manual 

Western Philosophy Package 1

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Theo Rising features a young girl who learns about various theories posed by the earliest Greek philosophers, the Presocratics, who asked about the nature of the world around them and deliberated on an essential building block for everything in the universe. Theo learns about the concepts of earth, water, air, fire, and numbers as the ultimate source of everything else, and she discovers different criteria with which to judge between the competing theories. Children are introduced to these philosophical concepts in a fun, creative, innovative way that makes them accessible, even to the very young.

Companion Products:

Question Mark – Student Book
Question Mark – Teacher Manual 
Theo Rising – Student Book 
Theo Rising – Teacher Manual 
Mark and Theo Make Their Case – Student Book 
Mark and Theo Make Their Case – Teacher Manual 

Western Philosophy Package 1

The post Theo Rising – Student Book (Perfect-Bound) appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Companion Products:

Question Mark – Student Book
Question Mark – Teacher Manual 
Theo Rising – Student Book 
Theo Rising – Teacher Manual 
Mark and Theo Make Their Case – Student Book 
Mark and Theo Make Their Case – Teacher Manual 

Western Philosophy Package 1

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