{"title":"Series: No Limits","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eNo Limits\u003c\/strong\u003e series invites readers on a diverse journey through expansive knowledge and culture, spanning practical guides in \u003cem\u003eHome \u0026amp; Garden\u003c\/em\u003e and cutting-edge insights in \u003cem\u003eComputing \u0026amp; Technology\u003c\/em\u003e to the rich tapestry of \u003cem\u003eArts \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/em\u003e. Whether exploring historical milestones, delving into engineering precision, or seeking inspiration from influential figures, this collection transcends traditional boundaries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith titles ranging from in-depth technical manuals to evocative travel narratives and compelling political biographies, \u003cstrong\u003eNo Limits\u003c\/strong\u003e empowers readers to expand their horizons and deepen their understanding across disciplines. It’s a celebration of curiosity and the relentless pursuit of expertise in an ever-evolving world.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"rapture-by-christopher-hamilton-9780231201551","title":"Rapture","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is it like to experience rapture? For philosopher Christopher Hamilton, it is a loss of self that is also a return to self—an overflowing and emptying out of the self that also nourishes and fills the self. In this inviting book, he reflects on the nature of rapture and its crucial yet unacknowledged place in our lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHamilton explores moments of rapture in everyday existence and aesthetic experience, tracing its disruptive power and illuminating its philosophical significance. Rapture is found in sexual love and other forms of intense physical experience, such as Philippe Petit's nerve-defying wire walk between the Twin Towers. Hamilton also locates it in quieter but equally joyous moments, such as contemplating a work of art or the natural world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe considers a range of examples in philosophy and culture—Nietzsche and Weil, Woolf and Chekhov, the extremes of experience in Werner Herzog's films—as well as aspects of ordinary life, from illness to gardening. Conversational and evocative, \u003cem\u003eRapture\u003c\/em\u003e calls on us to ask how we might make ourselves more open to experiences of rapturous joy and freedom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000722211052,"sku":"9780231201551","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/8072213482270.jpg?v=1763300410"},{"product_id":"self-improvement-by-mark-coeckelbergh-9780231206556","title":"Self-Improvement","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are obsessed with self-improvement; it's a billion-dollar industry. But apps, workshops, speakers, retreats, and life hacks have not made us happier. Obsessed with the endless task of perfecting ourselves, we have become restless, anxious, and desperate. We are improving ourselves to death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe culture of self-improvement stems from philosophical classics, perfectionist religions, and a ruthless strain of capitalism—but today, new technologies shape what it means to improve the self. The old humanist culture has given way to artificial intelligence, social media, and big data: powerful tools that do not only inform us but also measure, compare, and perhaps change us forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSelf-Improvement\u003c\/em\u003e shows how self-improvement culture became so toxic—and why we need both a new concept of the self and a mission of social change in order to escape it. Mark Coeckelbergh delves into the history of the ideas that shaped this culture, critically analyses the role of technology, and explores surprising paths out of the self-improvement trap.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDigital detox is no longer a viable option and advice based on ancient wisdom sounds like yet more self-help memes: The only way out is to transform our social and technological environment. Coeckelbergh advocates new \"narrative technologies\" that help us tell different and better stories about ourselves. However, he cautions, there is no shortcut that avoids the ancient philosophical quest to know yourself, or the obligation to cultivate the good life and the good society.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000738103532,"sku":"9780231206556","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/8122263482270.jpg?v=1763301525"},{"product_id":"storythinking-by-angus-fletcher-9780231206938","title":"Storythinking","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery time we think ahead, we are crafting a story. Every daily plan—and every political vision, social movement, scientific hypothesis, business proposal, and technological breakthrough—starts with \"what if?\" Linking causes to effects, considering hypotheticals and counterfactuals, asking how other people will react: these are the essence of narrative. So why do we keep overlooking story's importance to intelligence in favour of logic?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eStorythinking\u003c\/em\u003e explains how and why our brains think in stories. Angus Fletcher, an expert in neuroscientific approaches to narrative, identifies this capacity as \"storythinking.\" He demonstrates that storythinking is fundamental to what makes us human. Artificial intelligence can perform symbolic logic, rational deduction, and mathematical calculation, but it is incapable of deliberating in narrative. Drawing on new research in neuroscience and narrative theory, Fletcher explores the nature of imagination, innovation, and creativity. He provides concise answers to big questions: How does storythinking work? Why did it evolve? How can it misfire? What problems can it solve?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRevealing the significance of storythinking from science to business to philosophy, this book also provides ways for readers to harness its power to script better tomorrows.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000756125932,"sku":"9780231206938","price":47.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/8126083482270.jpg?v=1763302195"},{"product_id":"taste-by-jehanne-dubrow-9780231201759","title":"Taste","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eTaste\u003c\/i\u003e is a lyric meditation on one of our five senses, which we often take for granted. Structured as a series of \"small bites,\" the book considers the ways that we ingest the world, how we come to know ourselves and others through the daily act of tasting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough flavorful explorations of the sweet, the sour, the salty, the bitter, and umami, Jehanne Dubrow reflects on the nature of taste. In a series of short, interdisciplinary essays, she blends personal experience with analysis of poetry, fiction, music, and the visual arts, as well as religious and philosophical texts. Dubrow considers the science of taste and how taste transforms from a physical sensation into a metaphor for discernment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eTaste\u003c\/i\u003e is organized not so much as a linear dinner served in courses but as a meal consisting of meze, small plates of intensely flavored discourse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000758354156,"sku":"9780231201759","price":52.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/8074293482270.jpg?v=1763302397"},{"product_id":"connection-by-dan-turello-9780231220163","title":"Connection","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Thrilling and fun. From Aristotle and Dante to Bono and adrienne maree brown, Dan Turello takes us to a wonderland where technology meets ideas.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e- Azar Nafisi, New York Times best-selling author of \u003cem\u003eReading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTechnology gets a bad rap. It is accused of being a dehumanising force, a chief culprit in everything from mass commercialisation to environmental crisis through the potential collapse of civilisation. In \u003cem\u003eConnection\u003c\/em\u003e, Dan Turello reflects on the origins and limitations of such views. He offers a philosophical and literary meditation on what technology is and can be, arguing that it provides surprising ways to strengthen and deepen what makes us human. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePutting medieval Italian poets and Renaissance artists in conversation with contemporary philosophers and pop culture, this book traces the roots of our fascination with—and aversion to—technology. Turello shows how the moments that shaped Western views of technology offer perspective on our current predicaments, as figures such as St. Francis of Assisi and Dante grappled with problems that are strikingly reminiscent of the ones we face today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eChallenging nostalgia for preindustrial innocence, he demonstrates that historically technology has enabled us to develop art, philosophy, religion, and culture. Today, technology can safeguard human creativity—if we choose self-awareness and community over consumption and exploitation. Wide-ranging and inviting, \u003cem\u003eConnection\u003c\/em\u003e makes a timely case for embodied experience in the age of AI.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47306898505964,"sku":"9780231220163","price":47.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3dac380ef162fb53a84b7066957e72b4.jpg?v=1771100639"},{"product_id":"aimlessness-by-tom-lutz-9780231199353","title":"Aimlessness","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur culture values striving, purpose, achievement, and accumulation. This book asks us to get sidetracked along the way. It praises aimlessness as a source of creativity and an alternative to the demand for linear, efficient, instrumentalist thinking and productivity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAimlessness\u003c\/em\u003e collects ideas and stories from around the world that value indirection, wandering, getting lost, waiting, meandering, lingering, sitting, laying about, daydreaming, and other ways to be open to possibility, chaos, and multiplicity. Tom Lutz considers aimlessness as a fundamental human proclivity and method, one that has been vilified by modern industrial societies but celebrated by many religious traditions, philosophers, writers, and artists.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe roams a circular path that snakes and forks down sideroads, traipsing through modernist art, nomadic life, slacker comedies, drugs, travel, nirvana, and oblivion. The book is structured as a recursive, disjunctive spiral of short sections, a collage of narrative, anecdotal, analytic, and lyrical passages—intended to be read aimlessly, to wind up someplace unexpected.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47429724831980,"sku":"9780231199353","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780231199353.jpg?v=1774559989"},{"product_id":"contemplation-by-kevin-hart-9780231213479","title":"Contemplation","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is contemplation? How is it distinct from meditation? Is contemplation essentially religious or mystical? What should one contemplate, and how? Are there different styles of contemplation, and why should one practice them? Ought we try to lead more contemplative lives?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis book offers a philosophical introduction to the theory and practice of contemplation. Kevin Hart examines a variety of religious, aesthetic, and philosophical notions, shedding light on the singular qualities of contemplation. This book spans topics including the spiritual exercises of the ancient Greeks, overlooked aspects of Christian spirituality, and aesthetic contemplation of nature and art. \u003cem\u003eContemplation\u003c\/em\u003e ranges from ancient thinkers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Plotinus to Aquinas and other medieval theologians as well as modern philosophers like Kant, Husserl, and Wittgenstein. Though focused on Christianity, it also considers contemplation in other religious traditions, among them Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Paganism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eConcise and comprehensive, this book provides both religious and nonreligious readers with a foundational understanding of the history and nature of contemplation as well as the benefits of practising it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47470329364716,"sku":"9780231213479","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780231213479-contemplation.jpg?v=1775216443"},{"product_id":"touch-by-richard-kearney-9780231199537","title":"Touch","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur existence is increasingly lived at a distance. As we move from flesh to image, we are in danger of losing touch with each other and ourselves. How can we combine the physical with the virtual, our embodied experience with our global connectivity? How can we come back to our senses?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTouch\u003c\/em\u003e by Richard Kearney offers a timely call for the cultivation of the basic human need to touch and be touched. He argues that touch is our most primordial sense, foundational to our individual and common selves. Kearney explores the role of touch, from ancient wisdom traditions to modern therapies. He demonstrates that a fundamental aspect of touch is interdependence, its inherently reciprocal nature, which offers a crucial corrective to our fixation with control.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMaking the case for the complementarity of touch and technology, this book is a passionate plea to recover a tangible sense of community and the joys of life with others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47600874914028,"sku":"9780231199537","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780231199537-touch.jpg?v=1777992803"},{"product_id":"connection-by-dan-turello-9780231220156","title":"Connection","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Thrilling and fun. From Aristotle and Dante to Bono and adrienne maree brown, Dan Turello takes us to a wonderland where technology meets ideas.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e- Azar Nafisi, New York Times best-selling author of \u003cem\u003eReading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTechnology gets a bad rap. It is accused of being a dehumanising force, a chief culprit in everything from mass commercialisation to environmental crisis through the potential collapse of civilisation. In \u003cem\u003eConnection\u003c\/em\u003e, Dan Turello reflects on the origins and limitations of such views. He offers a philosophical and literary meditation on what technology is and can be, arguing that it provides surprising ways to strengthen and deepen what makes us human.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePutting medieval Italian poets and Renaissance artists in conversation with contemporary philosophers and pop culture, this book traces the roots of our fascination with—and aversion to—technology. Turello shows how the moments that shaped Western views of technology offer perspective on our current predicaments, as figures such as St. Francis of Assisi and Dante grappled with problems that are strikingly reminiscent of the ones we face today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eChallenging nostalgia for preindustrial innocence, he demonstrates that historically technology has enabled us to develop art, philosophy, religion, and culture. Today, technology can safeguard human creativity—if we choose self-awareness and community over consumption and exploitation. Wide-ranging and inviting, \u003cem\u003eConnection\u003c\/em\u003e makes a timely case for embodied experience in the age of AI.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47933933322476,"sku":"9780231220156","price":306.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780231220156-connection.jpg?v=1783885434"},{"product_id":"frivolity-by-jehanne-dubrow-9780231216159","title":"Frivolity","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy must everything be so important—so dour and solemn, so grim and austere? How about a feather boa, some frilly lace, and a bright splash of pink? In \u003cem\u003eFrivolity\u003c\/em\u003e, Jehanne Dubrow stands up for the seemingly shallow and trifling, calling for a reconsideration of what we find worthy and what we dismiss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is a provocation. It offers a defence of the pursuits, objects, and people denigrated as frivolous, asking why we so readily scorn them and why, in particular, the label is so often tied to femininity and queerness. Its 101 sections move lightly across literature, art, and popular culture, from Susan Sontag, Sei Shōnagon, Jane Austen, and Mozart to Barbie, Nora Ephron rom-coms, exclamation points, and Dubrow's own \"Year of Perfect Skin.\" Written in a lyrical style, this book takes both an intimate and a rigorous approach to thinking about the frivolous, blending personal essay with scholarship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor Dubrow, frivolity is a way of affirming the importance of joy and silliness. And don't we need a little more of both these things in an era made all too serious by autocracy and terror?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48038279610604,"sku":"9780231216159","price":75.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/92f0d5943dad4c2ebb72f6efb6373437.jpg?v=1787727404"},{"product_id":"listening-by-miriam-rasch-9780231222334","title":"Listening","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen everyone can make themselves heard, who cares to listen? How can we learn to pay attention without simply waiting for our turn to speak? What does it truly mean to be a good listener?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMiriam Rasch offers a philosophical and personal exploration of the ethics of listening, understanding it not as a passive act but as a relationship between the self and the world. This relationship is always mediated — by technologies such as algorithms and social media, by techniques like dialogue and attention, and by our bodies and surroundings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRasch investigates listening in different settings across four chapters. The first explores the effects of technology, the second examines dialogue and its pitfalls, the third considers questions of testimony and bearing witness to trauma and violence, and the fourth shifts focus to nonverbal sounds such as music and nature as a way to discover meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eListening\u003c\/em\u003e brings together philosophy of technology, ethics, and aesthetics with examples from film, literature, and art as well as reflections on listening as an everyday practice. This book recasts listening as an act of generosity — an active and open-ended process that unites giving and receiving.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48038343508204,"sku":"9780231222334","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/b46f76849bd9e703bc0434af0943e037.jpg?v=1787727123"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/series-no-limits.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}