Philosophy Sharing Malta

This is a list of philosophy books published by Maltese authors in the last few years.

(Note: If you are Maltese and have published a philosophical book which does not appear on this page, kindly send the details to philosophysharingmalta@gmail.com with the subject line 'Published Book(s)'.

Between Rectitude and Incongruity: The chiastic structure of the Cantilena

Mark Montebello

The author, Malta; bi-lingual; April 2016; 145 x 260 mm; 44 pp.

ISBN 978-99957-0-924-2

Throughout Malta and Gozo’s philosophical tradition very few philosophy works have been written in Maltese. This book is a pleasant exception. Its merit, however, lays not only in its use of the Maltese language but―and this is doubly refreshing―in its innovative content. The book is basically about perception. However, though dealing with such a subject, one that has been profusely contended with throughout the history of philosophy, especially since Descartes onward, the book submits insights which are quite original. Just to pique one’s curiosity, one might mention here one of the book’s fundamental tenets that reality as we generally perceive it but a mental hallucination; that the mind is consistently engaged in deceiving itself by assigning objectivity to things when it is, in fact, only concerned (and it cannot do otherwise) with its own inventions. In this complex process, language and its ability only made things worse. Nevertheless, the mind also created its own home-made remedies.

Is-Sinteżi: Riinvenzjoni tar-Realtà

Pierre Attard

BDL Publishing, Malta; February 2016; 147 x 210 mm; 96 pp.

ISBN 978-99957-46-86-5

Thinking to Create Values: Bonting

Edward de Bono

Kite Group, Malta; 2015; 125 x 177 mm; 303 pp.

ISBN 978-99957-50-19-0

One of the many intriguing qualities of Edward de Bono is to repeat himself while rarely being boring. This latest little book is no exception. It is interesting and engaging. What’s more―as is usual with De Bono―it proposes something new and stimulating. This time around, it is none less than a new verb: bonting (pronounced like wanting). The main feature of bonting is to create value, and the book is intended to help the reader achieve precisely that. Or rather, it sets out the frameworks, the tools, the methods, and the habits that can lead to value creation. Someone familiar with De Bono’s writings will find that what he puts forward in this book has been already sufficiently dealt with before. Nevertheless, the book can also stand on its own. Of course, the new word proposed has its usefulness.

The ‘Cantilena’ is the first known documentary evidence of the Maltese language. It is a short, charming poem written around 1450 by Peter Caxaro, a notary from Mdina hailed as a philosopher, orator and poet. This book is the only available introduction to the subject. It includes biographies of the people who brought the poem to light, a thorough background of the times when it was written, suggestions for the reading the poem’s mediaeval script and style, a complete list of the studies published about the Cantilena during the last sixty years, and much more. It also includes an essay on the philosophical value of the ‘Cantilena’.

PIETRU CAXARU
U L-KANTILENA TIEGĦU

Mark Montebello
Faraxa Publications
132 pp
15 cm x 21 cm
ISBN 978-99957-48-31-9
(First edition: 1992)
2015

This is a collection of twenty-seven short writings published by Grech over the past couple of years. The writings, most of which illustrate philosophical skill, are grouped in seven sections, each of which is followed by a short essay related to the section’s general theme penned by different scholars. The sections deal with politics, history, racism, religion, peace, common sense, and ‘the spiritually and traditionally hyper-real’. The essays are by Prof. John Baldacchino, Meinrad Calleja, Giovanni Franzoni, Dr Joseph Gravina, Prof. Peter Mayo, Justin Schembri, Emanuel Scicluna, and Prof. Yosanne Vella. The book offers much intellectual stimulation and food for thought.

This is the third volume of the history of philosophy written in Maltese. It is the final part of a series, the other previous two volumes having been published in 2000 and 2007 respectively. This volume covers from German Idealism (Hegel onwards) till today, reviewing a host of major Western philosophers. It includes sections on French feminism, and some post-modern  philosophies. The book closes with a section on Anglo-American philosophy after Wittgenstein. It also deals with contemporary philosophers such as Badiou, Agamben, Zizek and Bauman.

IN-NISĠA TAL-ĦSIEB

Volume III

Joe Friggieri
Malta University Books
292 pp
21.4 cm x 30 cm
ISBN 978-99909-44-64-8
2015

Noise becomes meaningful only within an environment one lives in and understands. Evocative noise is expressed in a myriad of ways, one being music, the voice of eloquent sounds. In this short essay it is the nature and significance of such meaningful sounds and creative eloquence that philosopher Peter Serracino Inglott and composer Charles Camilleri explore. Written almost forty years ago, this writing continues to retain a freshness which can be detected today as it was when it was   produced. Indeed, it commands a contemporary intensity of interest as much as its arguments an intact sparkle for conversation and debate. This is the first time Serracino Inglott and Camilleri are being published since passing away.

For more information, click here.

A broad reading of Rousseau’s writings on education and politics in view of exploring and addressing the competing demands of the enculturation and individuation of the young in Western societies. Drawing on the thinking of Foucault and Rorty, the book considers the public and private conflicts of education and politics in modern societies, treating them as the tension between the demands of truth and freedom. This tension exists across a range of educational and political systems, such as teaching in and by the family, school, the government and, separately, for women. Wain suggests that the conflict between truth and freedom began with Rousseau and remains a central challenge in our contemporary world of political and educational thought.

BETWEEN TRUTH AND FREEDOM
Rousseau and our contemporary
political and educational culture

Kenneth Wain
Routledge, UK
188 pp
23.4 cm x 15.6 cm
ISBN: 041-57043-75
EAN: 978-041570-43-73
2014

This abridged biography of Manuel Dimech (1860–1921) has been long in coming. Various biographies of this renowned Maltese philosopher and social reformer have been published in Maltese, but not in English. This edition, then, brings Dimech’s remarkable life story to an English-reading audience. The book gives an easy-going account of his life, and provides information about the background of Dimech’s social, political, economic, religious and cultural context. Complete with interesting photographs and many quotations from Dimech’s aphorisms, the book introduces the reader to Dimech’s thought and philosophy, and also to the intricities of what made him such a outstanding personality worth reading about.

The essay presented in this booklet endeavours to proffer a new theory on how the universe might be rationalially viewed. While making such a bold attempt, asserting a break from earlier (and well known) such rationalizations, the author writes in an almost aphorismic style which whets one’s appitite for more details. The essay can thus be considered to be more of a basic outline than a full exposition of the proposed theory. Neverthless, it makes interesting reading and offers challenging perspectives to how we understand the physical world around us. This is Cefai’s first attempt at publishing his philosophical views.

This is a collection of fourteen philosophical essays, most of which had been originally prepared for conferences in Malta and abroad (2000-10). All essays have been revised and edited for the purposes of this book, and cover a number of themes elaborated against the background of postmodern thought. Three essays deal with philosophy and literature, five with politics and ethics, three with education and technology, and the final three are responses to other philosophers on Nietzsche, the ethics of resistance, and democracy.

This is a translation of Voltaire’s philosophical classic to Maltese from Morize’s 1913 French edition. Palma is a published author in his own right, and his translation offers a version which, while integrally faithful to the French original, presents the text in honed and polished Maltese. This is the first time that the Candide is being published in the Maltese language. The edition comes with an introduction to the context of Voltaire’s philosophy, and to the main themes dealt with in his famous work.

VOLTIARE:
CANDIDE JEW L-OTTIMIŻMU

Alfred Palma (Translator)

Dom Communications Ltd.

154 pp

15cm x 21cm
ISBN: 978-99957-47-05-3

2014

This is a unique book within the circle of philosophy publications. It not only narrates the story of philosophy in Malta but it does so in a most accessible and intriguing manner. The volume is fully illustrated with breath-taking images, and each page is presented in spectacular style. The book's content covers the whole extent of Malta's philosophical tradition, and offers in-depth perspectives of major modern and contemporary Maltese philosophers. Furthermore, it proffers tools for readers to do their own thinking. Have a look at the inside by clicking here.