Charlton Heston plays a cop in this 21st century science-fiction horror story. The setting is New York, teeming with 40 million citizens, most of whom are out of work. Environmental erosion is almost complete and voluntary death is encouraged by government-sponsored clinics. For their food, the people have grown to rely almost totally on a greenish, wafer-like substance called soylent. As Heston investigates the murder of a magnate in the dictatorial...

The leaders of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific prepare for and fight the pivotal Battle of Midway in 1942.

An ordinary house dog is stolen and taken to the Klondike to serve as a sled dog during the gold rush.

A peace-loving prince of Judea, leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering Romans.

Arthur Schopenhauer was the most articulate and influential pessimist in the history of human thought. He was convinced that the space and time of ordinary life is an illusion, that the world consists of two aspects: representation (visible appearances) and will (hidden reality). Will is a unitary, blind, irrational force underlying all nature and expressing itself throughout it. Since human actions are blindly propelled by this will, not reason,...

David Hume sought to create a comprehensive "science of man" in order to understand human nature and human actions. He saw a constant social and political tension between liberty and authority, and he developed extensive political and economic theories to describe this conflict. He believed there is an inescapable moral dimension to human life, and it is found in emotions rather than reason. Moral concepts originate from a social perspective, not...

Nietzsche condemned nearly all of the religious and philosophical thought of his day to blunt terms (e.g., God is dead). He says the only reality is this world of life and death, conflict and change, creation and destruction. For centuries, religious ideas have given meaning to life in the western world; but as they now collapse, humanity faces a grave crisis of nihilism and despair. The basic character of life in this world is to exhibit a primal...

Plato was the first person to organize and record the issues and questions that define philosophy. As Socrates' student, Plato preserved the teachings of his great mentor in many famous "dialogues"; these deal with classic issues like law and justice, perception and reality, death and the soul, mind and body, reason and passion, and the nature of love. The dialogues also discuss the value of moral principle vs. the value of life itself; how to achieve...

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was Plato's student, but revised his teacher's ideas to be more consistent with ordinary experience. He thought human beings are one with the rest of nature, yet set apart from it by their ability to reason. Aristotle systematized the laws of thought, gave a complete account of nature and God, and developed an attractive view of the good life and the good society. He also provided the first systematic expositions of physics,...

John Dewey wants philosophy to rise above old tired disputes to address new, more vital questions and problems. His views are known as "pragmatism," which emphasizes action and results. Here philosophy isn't a system of beliefs but a practical, empirical method of inquiry. Dewey created new theories of human experience, knowledge, education, social and political philosophy, ethics, art and religion. Art isn't separated from life in museums, it's...