Ethics and moral philosophy Books

Book SynopsisAvramenko contends that courage is the primary means for humans to raise themselves out of their individualistic, isolated, and materialistic existence.Trade Review"In this engaging book, written with a sharp eye and keen sensibilities, Richard Avramenko traces the multifaceted history of courage from its Homeric manifestations to the modern day. Through creative and subtle readings of important texts, both ancient and modern, Avramenko chronicles the transformation of courage from its association with the manly violence of an Achilles or the Spartan three hundred into a virtue that, while still entailing an ever-essential care for others, sheds its connection with manliness and becomes compatible with the equality that is so much a part of today's democratic regimes." —Arlene Saxonhouse, University of Michigan"In his ambitious book, Richard Avramenko has given us a profound and rigorous treatment of four important phases in the self-understanding of courage. Avramenko has done much more than provide a snapshot of the 'red badge of courage'; he has taken courage as a prism through which the history of political thought can be viewed. As a consequence, he has also shown that courage is not a one-dimensional invocation but a many-faceted virtue whose meaning is inexhaustible. He has mapped the terrain with a mastery that will be difficult to surpass." —David John Walsh, The Catholic University of America"Avramenko’s rich and lucid study of the principal modes of courage manifest in Western thought deploys impressive learning in an undertaking that transcends conventional scholarship. Guided by the insight that every human community and thus all truly human existence arises from some fundamental care that must be esteemed beyond mere material existence, the author is able to demonstrate the singular originary quality of the virtue of courage, in all its various manifestations, from Homer through the classical Greeks to Rousseau and Tocqueville. Avramenko understands that this 'beyond' can never be fully grasped or mastered by reason, and he proves himself fully aware that one cannot study courage truly without praising and emulating it, that is, without exposing oneself to the still recognizable call of authentic human existence that underlies the various forms courage may take." —Ralph C. Hancock, Brigham Young University“. . . Richard Avramenko’s Courage: The Politics of Life and Limb [is] his veritable history of the ‘existential virtue par excellence’ from ancient Greece to modern times. . . . Subsequent chapters deal with martial courage and honor, political courage, moral courage, and economic courage. The last chapter, ‘The Aftermath,’ is Avramenko’s delightful effort to come to terms with his obvious reverence for courage’s lofty role in human affairs.” —Foreword"Courage, properly understood, requires deep commitment or 'care' on the part of the individual to a communally defined value. Avramenko traces these commitments in five chapters on Herodotus, Plato, Rousseau, and Tocqueville. . . Avramenko clearly seems nostalgic for an older sense of courage—one retaining some links with honor and martial prowess. In addition, Avramenko sees the lens of courage as a means of understanding traditions profoundly different from liberalism, some of which have been closely engaged in recent history." —Choice“[W]hen confronted with questions of, ‘What precisely does this courage entail and in what does it consist?’ or ‘What does it mean to be courageous and honorable and to be a man or woman of character?’, then we withdraw into platitudes, slogans, and clichés—anything except meaningful engagement with questions that demand substantive answers. It is precisely this need for meaningful engagement that makes Richard Avramenko’s study, Courage: The Politics of Life and Limb such a compelling read.” —VoegelinView.com"Courage has come into disrepute, most often on display as the last refuge of nostalgics, reactionaries, and jingoists. This book is a welcome reminder, and a compelling demonstration, that courage is too powerful and too useful to leave to them. . . . Courage opens a worthwhile discussion, and is itself a worthwhile contribution. Anyone who is interested in the political cultures of the societies he treats will benefit from reading it." —Bryn Mawr Classical Review“This is a valuable book that can be read not just by social scientists, but ethicists, and indeed, any scholar interested in society and the political. Indeed, Avramenko ends by making a good case for courage as a social scientific virtue, pushing scholars to see the care and legitimate courage at work in honor cultures that are still present in our politics. Only then might we be able to dig deeper and see a sense of value that we missed in those we fear.” —Journal for Peace and Justice Studies

Read more less

Book SynopsisPublished in 1913 as La Philosophie Bergsonienne, this incisive critique of the thought of Henri Bergson was Jacques Maritain''s (18821973) first book. In it he shows himself already to have an authoritative grasp of the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and an uncanny ability to demonstrate its relevance to alternative philosophical systems such as that of Henri Bergson. Volume 1 in the series The Collected Works of Jacques Maritain, this edition faithfully reproduces the 1955 translation published by the Philosophical Library. It would be difficult to overestimate Bergson's role in extricating French philosophy from the deadening materialism that dominated the Sorbonne. It was that cultural milieu that brought Maritain and his wife Raïssa to the brink of suicide. They drew back for two major reasons. First were the lectures of Henri Bergson at the Collège de France, in which the Maritains found a defense of metaphysics, of the transcendent beyond the material, wiTrade Review"Maritain's (1882-1973) first published book was La Philosophie Bergsonienne (1913), which so harshly criticized Henri Bergson that he made a point of urging readers of his later books to study him. It also established his credentials as a major commentator on the thought of Thomas Aquinas. This 1995 translation for the Philosophical Library edition inaugurates the series of Maritain's collected works." —Reference and Research Book News

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn The Extravagant Robert Baker explores the interplay between poetry and philosophy in the modern period, engaging a broad range of writers: Kant, Wordsworth, and Lyotard in a chapter on the sublime; Rimbaud, Nietzsche, and Bataille in a chapter on visionary quest; and Kierkegaard, Dickinson, Mallarmé, and Derrida in a chapter on apocalyptic negativity. His guiding concern is to illuminate adventures of extravagant or wandering language that, from the romantic period on, both poets and philosophers have undertaken in opposition to the dominant social and discursive frames of a pervasively instrumentalized world. The larger interpretative narrative shaping the book is that a dialectic of instrumental reason and creative negativity has been at work throughout modern culture. Baker argues that adventures of exploratory wandering emerge in the romantic period as displaced articulations of older religious discourses. Given the dominant trends of the modern world, however, Trade Review". . . Baker sees modernity as a dialectical struggle between increasingly organized instrumental societies and constructive, energetic, and creative negativity." —Religious Studies Review ". . . Baker is surely right to see a kind of displaced religious longing behind many of these writers. . . Scholars looking for common themes uniting Romanticism and now-fading postmodernity will find a support here. . . " —Choice"The Extravagant is a fascinating and ambitious study of the interplay between philosophy and poetry in the modern period." —The Virginia Quarterly Review". . . The Extravagant is an engaging book that will have many admirers among the ever-widening circle of 'religionists without religion.' It makes a good case for the continuity of romantic and modernist poetics despite the clear break between expressivism and constructivism in twentieth-century theory and practice." —Christianity and Literature“ . . . his richly erudite, lucidly intelligent, and beautifully written book is indispensable for anyone who wants to understand and reflect on the trajectory of modern culture.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Review“Baker locates the origin of this 'extravagant' wandering not in the Homeric plot of return to a lost household, but rather in the Biblical theme of 'crossing' over or through to a new heaven or a new earth, and in the desire to make all things new . . . Baker further argues that the major 20th-century philosophers in the Continental tradition have been inspired by these 'extravagant' poets; as a result there has been a remarkable 'interanimation' between poetry and philosophy in our time.” —The Heythrop Journal “In conclusion, and in good extravagant fashion, I'll say this: Baker's book is absolutely fascinating, interesting, and compelling, in spite of its forcing the reader to wander almost to exhaustion-but then such is the nature of both the extravagant and the negative.” —Hyperion"Robert Baker's The Extravagant: Crossings of Modern Poetry and Modern Philosophy deals boldly and brilliantly with its titular subjects as ways of exploring perhaps arbitrating lofty, even ultimate issues. . . . This structure is intriguing, but even more impressive is Baker's command of his voluminous and difficult subject matter." —The Georgia Review“Baker’s great strengths—apart from the scale and urgency of his wonderfully conceived topic—are his prodigious learning, his luminous intelligence, and his probing diagnostic vision. He has a truly remarkable capacity to move scrupulously and profoundly between poetry and philosophical thought.” —Peter Sacks, Harvard University"This is an outstanding book about the inter-relations between poetry and philosophy. It's splendidly written, impressively argued and genuinely original. I read it with great admiration." —Mark W. Edmundson, University of Virginia

Read more less

Book SynopsisRobert Baker explores the interplay between poetry and philosophy in the modern period, engaging a broad range of writers.Trade Review". . . Baker sees modernity as a dialectical struggle between increasingly organized instrumental societies and constructive, energetic, and creative negativity." —Religious Studies Review ". . . Baker is surely right to see a kind of displaced religious longing behind many of these writers. . . Scholars looking for common themes uniting Romanticism and now-fading postmodernity will find a support here. . . " —Choice"The Extravagant is a fascinating and ambitious study of the interplay between philosophy and poetry in the modern period." —The Virginia Quarterly Review". . . The Extravagant is an engaging book that will have many admirers among the ever-widening circle of 'religionists without religion.' It makes a good case for the continuity of romantic and modernist poetics despite the clear break between expressivism and constructivism in twentieth-century theory and practice." —Christianity and Literature“ . . . his richly erudite, lucidly intelligent, and beautifully written book is indispensable for anyone who wants to understand and reflect on the trajectory of modern culture.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Review“Baker locates the origin of this 'extravagant' wandering not in the Homeric plot of return to a lost household, but rather in the Biblical theme of 'crossing' over or through to a new heaven or a new earth, and in the desire to make all things new . . . Baker further argues that the major 20th-century philosophers in the Continental tradition have been inspired by these 'extravagant' poets; as a result there has been a remarkable 'interanimation' between poetry and philosophy in our time.” —The Heythrop Journal “In conclusion, and in good extravagant fashion, I'll say this: Baker's book is absolutely fascinating, interesting, and compelling, in spite of its forcing the reader to wander almost to exhaustion-but then such is the nature of both the extravagant and the negative.” —Hyperion"Robert Baker's The Extravagant: Crossings of Modern Poetry and Modern Philosophy deals boldly and brilliantly with its titular subjects as ways of exploring perhaps arbitrating lofty, even ultimate issues. . . . This structure is intriguing, but even more impressive is Baker's command of his voluminous and difficult subject matter." —The Georgia Review“Baker’s great strengths—apart from the scale and urgency of his wonderfully conceived topic—are his prodigious learning, his luminous intelligence, and his probing diagnostic vision. He has a truly remarkable capacity to move scrupulously and profoundly between poetry and philosophical thought.” —Peter Sacks, Harvard University"This is an outstanding book about the inter-relations between poetry and philosophy. It's splendidly written, impressively argued and genuinely original. I read it with great admiration." —Mark W. Edmundson, University of Virginia

Read more less

Book SynopsisAlthough countless books have been devoted to the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr., few, if any, have focused on King''s appropriation of, and contribution to, the intellectual tradition of personalism. Emerging as a philosophical movement in the early 1900s, personalism is a type of philosophical idealism that has a number of affinities with Christianity, such as a focus on a personal God and the sanctity of persons. Burrow points to similarities and dissimilarities between personalism and the social gospel movement with its call to churchgoers to involve themselves in the welfare of both individuals and society. He argues that King''s adoption of personalism represented the fusion of his black Christian faith and his commitment not only to the social gospel of Rauschenbusch, but most especially to the social gospelism practiced by his grandfather, father, and black preacher-scholars at Morehouse College. Burrow devotes much-needed attention both to King''s conviction that Trade Review“Burrow insightfully makes the case that King had learned themes of personalism and of the social gospel in its African American form from his family, from Benjamin Mays and George Kelsey at Morehouse College, and from George Washington Davis at Crozer Seminary, prior to King’s own studies at the seat of personalism, Boston University. . . . Burrow shows how King’s understanding of Jesus’ way of love as delivering love, together with how Ghandi’s satyagraha and the actual experience of the power of nonviolent direct action can also be seen as an illumination of how God’s power works in history.” —Journal of Religion "This is a strong and sophisticated treatment of Martin Luther King, Jr., that makes an important contribution. It reflects Burrow's immense knowledge of personalist philosophy and the thought of King." —Gary Dorrien, Union Theological Seminary"This scholarly, courageous, insightful work, which fuses so successfully King's academic career with his heritage from the Black Church, is a much needed addition to Martin Luther King studies and breaks new ground for all of us who pursue truth of the 'whole' King. No book more clearly illustrates how pervasive an influence the philosophy of personalism was on King's life and thought. It is an obligatory read." —Ira G. Zepp, Jr., Professor Emeritus, McDaniel College"Like a seasoned maestro, who uses his or her insight to bring new life to the symphonic warhorses of Beethoven, Mozart, or Wagner; Professor Rufus Burrow, Jr. wields a baton of passionate, analytical, critical, and creative discourse in his narration of the life, intellectual scholarship, and social activism steeped in the "home grown" personalism of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in God and Human Dignity: The Personalism, Theology, and Ethics of Martin Luther King, Jr. Midst the woodwinds of King's metaphysical and ethical personalism, the strings of his intellectual history and cultural social activism, the brass relaying King's metaphysics and ethics, and the percussion which challenges those who negate the import of personalism in King's thought, Burrows engages King scholars, to probe, in a brilliant manner, King's strengths and weaknesses, including his foibles with his own sexism, to orchestrate the life of a human man with an embodied faith. This volume is a must read and reference for all persons interested not only in the life and thought of Martin Luther King, Jr., but for those intrigued by Civil Rights, the history of nonviolence and personalism in Christian thought, moral law and ethics, and for grappling with a notion of the universe as a place for socio-ethical analysis." —Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Shaw University Divinity School“Burrow offers a well-written analysis of the intellectual tradition of personalism. He shows how the tradition influenced Martin Luther King Jr.’s theology and ethics, and how King in turn made his own unique contributions to this system of thought. . . . This book is both an excellent introduction to King’s thought and an excellent survey of scholarship on this aspect of King’s life and contributions.” —Choice“One of my favorite commentators on Dr. King is Prof. Rufus Burrow, Jr. In his book, God and Human Dignity, Burrow writes of King’s theistic personalism. . .” —Patheos

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this book Adam Briggle provides a sympathetic account of the President’s Council on Bioethics led by Dr. Leon Kass.Trade Review“Adam Briggle has written a rich and sympathetic account of the President's Council on Bioethics led by Leon Kass. It puts in historical context the efforts of this council to move beyond the limited ‘instrumentalist’ approaches to bioethics taken by earlier commissions, toward a more philosophically serious effort to deliberate on the human goods put in play by modern biomedicine. In the process it answers many of the charges of politicization and corrects the record concerning the council's work.” —Francis Fukuyama, The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies“What an eloquent, humane, and wise book. Briggle discovers an imperfect yet fascinating effort to bring the world of biomedical research into the domain of public philosophy. His scholarship and generosity make clear that a democratic society need not be morally shackled to the realm of the possible that science is constantly expanding.” —Daniel Sarewitz, Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes, Arizona State University"This is the most persuasive and thoughtful reconstruction of the Kass Council's goals and rationale that I have seen. Adam Briggle's account of the notion of a 'richer' bioethics is comprehensive and well-reasoned." —Jonathan D. Moreno, University of Pennsylvania“A Rich Bioethics: Public Policy, Biotechnology, and the Kass Council . . . gives an account of the President’s Council of Bioethics, led by Leon Kass from 2001-05, during President George W. Bush’s administration.” —Denton Record-Chronicle"Briggle offers the first book-length analysis of the council’s work, setting it in a wider philosophical, historical, and political context. The book also discusses how the procedure for selecting council members led to accusations that it was ideologically narrow. The book’s well-balanced analysis and close but fair readings of the council’s documents show how the Kass Council dealt with differences and was far more tolerant of varying opinions than many think. This book would be a useful supplementary text in classes on bioethics and public policy.” —Choice“Anyone familiar with MacIntyre’s narrative of decline and hoped-for renewal is likely to be struck by the similarities with this account of Adam Briggle’s depiction of contemporary bioethics in A Rich Bioethics. In Briggle’s view, bioethics is in disarray largely because it has succumbed to what he calls ‘instrumentalism.’ . . . there is much of value in Briggle’s book. . . . it offers a model for public ethics committees that merits serious consideration.” —Commonweal"The Kass council’s reports, even more than Kass’s own work, became, in Adam Briggle’s words, 'a lightning rod for political controversy.' In particular, the council attracted criticism from many that its membership had been stacked to reflect Bush’s own conservative views and that it was insufficiently attentive to the existence of disagreement among its own members. In his brief and breezy A Rich Bioethics, Briggle (a philosopher at the University of North Texas) sets out to give an account of the council’s fundamental conception of bioethics and to evaluate its performance against that conception." —Science“In this book Dr. Briggle provides a sympathetic account of the President’s Council on Bioethics led by Dr. Leon Kass. He shows the wisdom of the approach to bioethics taken by the Kass Council and corrects the unfair and often nasty attacks on the Council and Dr. Kass himself. It is a persuasive and thoughtful reconstruction of the Council’s goals and rationale.” —Law & Medicine“Briggle had an inspired idea to make the controversies surrounding Leon Kass’s chairmanship of the President’s Council on Bioethics (2001-5) his point of departure to argue the need for bioethics based in humanistic questioning rather than accepting the more restricted task of what he calls instrumental bioethics, which exists to offer specific policy guidelines. The issues are clear throughout but perhaps best crystallized near the end of the book, when Briggle presents criticisms that the Kass Council failed to be sufficiently policy oriented.” —Science and Public Policy“Adam Briggle has written a fine book on a complex, controversial topic. He shows the wisdom of the approach to bioethics taken by the Kass Council, sets right the unfair and often nasty attacks on the council and Kass himself, and offers a perceptive and wide-ranging look at the terrain of ethics.” —Daniel Callahan, The Hastings Center

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe essays in Virtue and Politics explore the influences of Marx on Alasdair MacIntyre. They show his political theory is a form of revolutionary Aristotelianism.Trade Review"This is an excellent collection. Its particular strength is its sustained focus on Alasdair MacIntyre's political thought, in particular MacIntyre's complicated relation and indebtedness to Marxism. In their introduction, the co-editors say that the reception of MacIntyre within political philosophy has largely been reductive and one-sided, namely, that he is simply viewed as a conservative communitarian. In focusing on MacIntyre's radical heritage, this volume helps correct that simplistic misperception." —Keith Breen, Queen's University Belfast"In this learned and elegant volume, Paul Blackledge, Kelvin Knight, and their roster of noteworthy contributors—including Alasdair MacIntyre himself—strive with considerable success to explore the core ideas of MacIntyre’s ethics and politics in order to present a coherent vision of his intellectual and practical project. The reader will discover how the evolution of MacIntyre’s teachings has led him to a position that the authors convincingly label 'Revolutionary Aristotelianism,' a doctrine that unites the many concerns and interests evinced by him over a half-century or more. This book is required reading for political theorists, philosophers, sociologists, and anyone else who has ever struggled to make sense of MacIntyre’s large, always challenging, and sometimes provocative body of work." —Cary J. Nederman, Texas A&M University“Alasdair MacIntyre is perhaps the greatest moral philosopher alive today. . . . Blackledge and Knight have assembled this fascinating set of papers addressing what his politics are and/or should be. . . . MacIntyre, as is clear from this volume, makes no secret of the fact both that he takes Marxism as a political programme to be unsalvageable and that he still feels entitled to call his Thomist Aristotelianism ‘revolutionary.’” —Marx and Philosophy Review of Books“Virtue and Politics offers a collection of essays that address the political trajectories of [Alasdair MacIntyre's] . . . early and more recent work. Whereas countless books and articles have been written on the significance of MacIntyre’s contributions to moral philosophy, Virtue and Politics is distinctive in its decidedly political focus.” —International Socialist Review“A superb academic trajectory, an indictment of modernity and a witness to the power of Christian tradition. . . . MacIntyre’s insights transcend party politics, and all readers will benefit from continuing reflections on their applicability to contemporary Western society.” —The Living Church“If there are two people fitted for the task of assembling papers to critically explore the sources, structure, implications and limitation of MacIntyre’s social, political and ethical philosophy, Knight and Blackledge are them. . . . readers looking for wide-ranging, incisive, original and charitably critical evaluations of MacIntyre’s work can do no better than . . . [this volume].” —Journal of Critical Realism“This point leads to a final question: in what way (if at all) can we describe MacIntyre’s political thought as revolutionary? Virtue and Politics explores all these questions from a variety of perspectives. It also contains MacIntyre’s illuminating response to the volume’s essays, which helps us understand his own sense of these questions. It is difficult to give an adequate sense of the richness and diversity of the essays in this volume, which wrestle with all of these questions.” —The Thomist

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this original and compelling book, Jeffrey P. Bishop, a philosopher, ethicist, and physician, argues that something has gone sadly amiss in the care of the dying by contemporary medicine and in our social and political views of death, as shaped by our scientific successes and ongoing debates about euthanasia and the right to dieor to live. The Anticipatory Corpse: Medicine, Power, and the Care of the Dying, informed by Foucault's genealogy of medicine and power as well as by a thorough grasp of current medical practices and medical ethics, argues that a view of people as machines in motionpeople as, in effect, temporarily animated corpses with interchangeable partshas become epistemologically normative for medicine. The dead body is subtly anticipated in our practices of exercising control over the suffering person, whether through technological mastery in the intensive care unit or through the impersonal, quasi-scientific assessments of psychological and spiritual medicinTrade Review“The book’s interdisciplinary nature, along with its careful analyses combined with concrete stories of real human struggles with death and dying, no doubt, will be of interest to those engaged in medicine, bioethics, philosophy, theology, and debates concerning public health policies; but all those interested in the place of the body in modern technoscientific culture will find it engaging and cogent.” —Per Caritatem". . . this book will prove to be a seminal, conversation-changing monograph especially in bioethics and philosophy of medicine. . . . It will challenge the fundamental presuppositions that structure most courses in bioethics or death and dying. It is certainly a must-read for scholars and graduate students in these fields, but with guidance, it is an accessible and important text to use with undergraduates interested in bioethics or theology and medicine as well." —Modern Theology"This is a genuinely novel approach that invites one to completely reassess why healthcare institutions and professionals function as they do. It also invites us to question how our lives are shaped by our anticipated deaths. . . . This is not an easy book, but it is worth devoting time to reading it and thinking about the questions it poses. It is beautifully written and carefully argued, and instead of shying away from difficult and potentially disruptive issues in modern medicine it exposes them and challenges us to think again." —Times Higher Education“In this evocatively titled book, physician Bishop joins his Catholic sensibility with a Foucaldian analysis of medicine and power to expose the ambiguities and complexities of contemporary end-of-life issues. . . . Bishop examines issues such as how the need for donated organs since the 1950s has shaped care of the dying in troubling ways, the contesting passions surrounding the Terri Schiavo case, and the trivialization of the religious lives of caregivers and dying patients as wrought by the professionalization of palliative care.” —Library Journal"The Anticipatory Corpse: Medicine, Power, and the Care of the Dying [is] a compelling read and a groundbreaking work in philosophy and bioethics. Written by physician, bioethicist, and philosopher Jeffrey P. Bishop, the book presents an eloquent argument as to how the profession’s care of dying persons has evolved as well as a provocative and insightful critique of the present state of such care. . . . The Anticipatory Corpse . . . is engaging, provocative, and difficult to put down. . . . For physicians, lawyers, philosophers, chaplains, nurses, and other professionals whose work is centered on life’s final chapter, I wholeheartedly recommend this book." —Journal of the American Medical Association“Jeffrey Bishop . . . takes the reader on a journey into the past to provide insight into how the dead body plays an integral and unrecognized role in the present state of medicine in his book . . . . He argues that the corpse is the end of the practice of medicine.” —Journal of Medical Humanities“It is hard to overestimate the importance of Bishop’s book, not least because of the unchallenged, well-nigh hegemonic place occupied by medicine in western culture . . . . The theological acuteness and pastoral warmth that flow through Jeffrey Bishop’s book make it the most compelling argument for the superiority of this type of humane medicine over the ubiquitous and utterly flaccid ‘biopsychosociospiritual’ pretensions of modern medical practice. But as a challenge to the story of western liberalism, and the central place of medicine within it, The Anticipatory Corpse is also the most important book of 2011.” —ABC Religion and Ethics“The Anticipatory Corpse is interesting, provocative and important—one of the most novel contributions to the field of bioethics of the last several decades. Bishop has many illuminating new things to say about the ethics of medical care for the dying. In the process, he helps to explain why bioethics itself is in such a sad state.” —America"In this brilliant book, Jeffrey Bishop, who is both a physician and a philosopher, turns his clinical and analytical gaze on medicine. His diagnosis is bleak: 'There is something rotten in the heart of medicine.' Nine of the ten chapters are devoted to the diagnosis, showing the source and history of the disease and some of its symptoms, always focusing on how medicine approaches death and care for the dying. . . . In the last chapter, he turns his attention to therapeutic possibilities for medicine and raises a series of provocative questions, the most provocative of which is the last line of his book: Might it not be that only theology can save medicine?" —The Christian Century“The Anticipatory Corpse has the potential to become a classic in the field of medicine. . . . Bishop’s critique of contemporary medical practices and the fundamental philosophical questions underlying them are a stark reminder that the practices of medicine—many of them very good indeed—should not become ends in themselves.” —Ethics and Medicine

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Dark Again in Wonder examines the poetry of René Char (1907–88) and George Oppen (1908–84).Trade Review"A brilliant, philosophical, and aesthetic approach to twentieth-century poetry that casts important light on the great poetic works of René Char and George Oppen. Revealing the ongoing role of wonder in the post-Romantic tradition, it points to two remarkable poets whose work embodies imagination in the knowledge of inevitable loss, renewal in the awareness of despair. This is a book worth reading for its insight into two poets and the larger literary and philosophical currents in which they lived and worked." —Sandra L. Bermann, Princeton University"Robert Baker has written a fine and unusual book: a study of two remarkable poets, one French and the other American, and a concluding reflection of considerable literary and intellectual reach on the gap between history and metaphysics in which both poets found themselves and in which we still subsist. Baker's style is synthetic, magisterial, drawing on a capacious knowledge of literature and the history of ideas." —Kevin Hart, University of Virginia"This is an erudite, beautifully written, and compelling book, one that makes an important contribution to our understanding not only of the two poets on whom it focuses but of the period they inhabit and that we, as their inheritors, continue to inhabit. Robert Baker wears his considerable learning lightly, but he has deep knowledge both of the history of European and American poetry and of the history of philosophy. He has thought deeply and passionately about poetry, philosophy, history, and the ways in which they intertwine." —Henry Weinfield, University of Notre Dame“. . . Baker shows readers that each poet, especially as he grew older, participated in that larger philosophical search for an account of the mystery of the whole in which individual lives unfold: Where am I? Who am I? How should I live my life? In the modern West, these questions have been answered from a political, historicist, or sociological perspective and from a Romantic, phenomenological, or existentialist perspective, and both Oppen and Char wrestled with the tension between those perspectives.” —Choice“Baker has written a comprehensive study of how modernist European and American poetry continues to internalize philosophical oppositions by looking beyond the discrete outputs of the two poets it names in its title. In this sense, it will be of equal interest to anyone concerned with Char’s oeuvre, Oppen’s work, or with the intellectual history of Western religion, philosophy, and art in the twentieth century.” —Modern Language Review“ . . . I have hardly ever come across a book that was more packed with insight into the vital and contentious topic of the relevance of poetry to political and social life.” —Heythrop Journal

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn innovative exploration of “modern evil” in works of early- and late-modern theatre, focusing on ethics, religion, and aesthetics that speak to our present condition.Trade Review“Corey’s lucid, compelling treatise argues for a radical reconsideration of the role of tragedy in dealing with the shifting metaphysical and metatheatrical sands of the contemporary era. While the study begins with an examination of mid-20th Century French existentialism—and the dramatic work of Beckett and Camus in particular—the book soon takes the reader on a fascinating voyage back into the ‘problem’ comedies of the Italian and English Renaissance theatre, and beyond that, into Greek tragedy to understand the evolving concept of ‘evil’ in the Western philosophical, theological, and dramatic tradition. Ending with a reflection on the new ‘theatre’ of terrorism entering the 21st Century, Corey poses the intriguing suggestion, that far from being irrelevant to the post-modern era, a ‘new tragic sensibility’ may become key to our gaining a ‘lucid awareness of our current situation […] the limits of politics, the indelible nature of violence, our inescapable mortality, and a need for prudence’” —Moira Day, University of Saskatchewan“A sensitive examination of the problem of evil in Renaissance and 20th century drama. Corey provides fascinating analyses of individual plays, and makes a compelling argument for restoring a tragic vision of good and evil in the face of modern expediency and utopianism.” —Mary P. Nichols, Baylor University“In Messiahs and Machiavellians, Paul Corey delivers insights both numerous and profound. His work is a serious and important contribution to contemporary political science while also offering analyses of interest to scholars in literature, religious studies, theology, and ethics.” —Barry Cooper, University of Calgary“Corey's engaging book centers on the close analysis of four plays, each one depicting evil in a particular light: Albert Camus' Caligula, Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Machiavelli's Mandragola, and Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. Corey carefully distinguishes between endeavors that might achieve temporary success within definite limits and those that claim a boundless victory that will destroy evil forever.” —First Principles

Read more less

Book SynopsisSince it was first published in 1991, The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics has received praise from a wide range of commentators, both Catholic and Protestant. This second edition includes discussion of works that have appeared since the early 1990s, especially the first papal document to address fundamental questions of moral theology, Veritatis Splendor. Those who already have adopted the book for classroom use will welcome this new edition, while those who have just been introduced to it will find an authoritative account of the status that virtue-centered theological ethics enjoys today. Following a new preface, the text of the six chapters from the original edition remains unchanged. However, Romanus Cessario has substantially updated his notes to account for recent literature on the subject, and a new chapter that accommodates his original study to current developments in moral theology. This second edition will inspire a new generation of students andTrade Review"In this second edition, Cessario presents a brief but thorough introduction to Christian virtue theory, specifically as expounded by Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae. What is new here is a consideration of recent papal teaching (John Paul II's Veritatis Splendor and Benedict XVI's Deus Caritas Est) as it relates to virtue theory. . . . The book is meant to be studied, not merely read, and so is most appropriate for graduate and advanced [students]." —Choice“It is the author’s intention to provide a general introduction to the Christian virtues and their role in ethics for students. A moral theology based on virtues represents an important element of the tradition. The author’s main source is Thomas Aquinas. . . . The author’s emphasis on the imago Dei as a theological category is a good starting point.” —Catholic Library World

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe purpose of Aquinas''s Ethics is to place Thomas Aquinas''s moral theory in its full philosophical and theological context and to do so in a way that makes Aquinas (1224/5-1274) readily accessible to students and interested general readers, including those encountering Aquinas for the first time. Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Colleen McCluskey, and Christina Van Dyke begin by explaining Aquinas''s theories of the human person and human action, since these ground his moral theory. In their interpretation, Aquinas''s theological commitments crucially shape his account of the human person, human capacities for action, and human flourishing. The authors develop a comprehensive picture of Aquinas''s thought, which is designed to help students understand how his concept of happiness and the good life are part of a coherent, theologically-informed worldview.Many studies of Aquinas naturally focus on certain areas of his thought and tend to assume a general knowledge of the whoTrade Review"Aquinas’s Ethics is a perfect introduction to one of the most sophisticated and influential ethical systems in Western thought. DeYoung, McCluskey, and Van Dyke capture the brilliant clarity of Aquinas’s moral vision, offering an illuminating perspective true to both the theoretical depth and practical richness of Aquinas’s writings. Those new to Aquinas’s ideas will find this book eminently readable. Everyone—students and scholars alike—will appreciate its direct, distinctive voice and clear philosophical intelligence." —Scott MacDonald, Norma K. Regan Professor in Christian Studies, Cornell University"Aquinas's Ethics is an excellent contribution to the literature on Aquinas and ethics, providing an integrated and robust account of the relationship between a metaphysics of human nature, natural law theory, and virtue theory. Showing these inextricable connections, it is very much like the work of St. Thomas himself, and suggests why so many lesser theories of ethics are unsatisfying for their lack of depth and comprehensive reach." —John Kavanaugh, S.J., Saint Louis University“DeYoung, McCluskey, and Van Dyke have written the ideal introduction to Aquinas’s ethics, situating it in the broader context of his thinking about human nature and action. Although Aquinas cared more about—and wrote more about—ethics than about any other philosophical topic, it remains the most unjustly neglected aspect of his thought. I know of no better guide to that territory than this book.” —Robert Pasnau, University of Colorado at Boulder“DeYoung, McCluskey, and Van Dyke hope to show the metaphysical foundations of Aquinas’s moral theory by placing it within the broader Christian theological context of his work. . . . Rejecting as narrow and ‘unbalanced’ the contemporary view of Thomas as a ‘natural law ethicist,’ the authors try to restore (or relegate) the natural law to its rightful place in his thought. . . . It provides a first-rate introduction for the undergraduate audience.” —Choice“While this book breaks no new ground, it offers a holistic and theologically informed reading of Aquinas’ ethics. I highly recommend this book as a valuable introduction to the ethics of Thomas Aquinas. It is an eminently clear exposition of a complex system.” —Catholic Library World“In this recent book, Rebecca DeYoung Konyndyk, Colleen McCluskey, and Christina Van Dyke have sought to provide a comprehensive yet manageable introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas’ moral thought. The text itself flows well and is uncluttered by notations, with a fairly extensive scholarly apparatus confined to 46 pages of endnotes at the back of the book. Overall, Aquinas’s Ethics is a very useful text that should find a wide readership.” —Dialogue“This is an excellent introduction not only to Aquinas’s ethics per se but also to much of medieval Scholastic thought in general. . . .Those unfamiliar with medieval philosophy in general or Aquinas’s ethics in particular will gain greatly from having read it. Even those who already have some such familiarity are sure to benefit from the particular metaphysical and integrationist frameworks this work offers.” —Speculum“The study nicely reflects the authors’ involvement with undergraduate teaching, which affords a refreshing level of presentation, replete with examples. . . . The result is an articulate and detailed presentation of what Aquinas says, yet affording less insight into the issues he was struggling with, or of the creative ways he develops to address them.” —The Living Church“The authors of Aquinas’s Ethics have furnished budding Thomists and curious onlookers alike with an outstanding introduction to Aquinas’ moral thought. Written for first (or perhaps second) time readers, this volume strikes just the right balance between technical argument and readability, without compromising the rich complexity of Thomas’ account of human nature and the good life.” —Scottish Journal of Theology

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMost moral philosophers and psychologists have missed something crucial in the work of Lawrence Kohlberg (192787), best known for his theory of stages of moral development. In Following Kohlberg: Liberalism and the Practice of Democratic Community, Donald R.C. Reed clearly illustrates how the Kohlbergian project has much to offer the crucial debate about moral psychology and how to revivify our society''s jaded sense of fairness and responsibility. Psychologists, philosophers, theologians, educators, and therapists will find here a comprehensive guide to Kohlberg''s life work, a clear presentation of both theory and practice, and an understanding of moral maturity which encompasses both justice and responsiveness. All who care about nurturing and preserving a democratic community are well-advised to read this book.Trade Review“Reed’s most original contribution resides in his articulation of distinct conceptions of liberal and democratic thinking.” —Philosophy in Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisHuman Knowing is a clearly written, brief introduction that guides the reader through an exploration of sense perception, ordinary knowing, scientific knowing, and philosophic knowing. This journey culminates in a justification of philosophy as a genuine form of knowing and thus a natural prelude to metaphysics. Though Felt manages to avoid technical language, the development of his argument is a genuine exercise in philosophic thinking. The outcome is a contemporary expression of a position similar to that of Thomas Aquinas, significantly enriched by insights from Bergson, Whitehead, and phenomenology. This book is accessible, smart, and refreshing. Any interested general reader or student will profit from reading it.Trade Review“This fine book is ideal for introductory courses in philosophy, and it is executed and backed up by careful, sophisticated philosophical analysis and insight.” —W. Norris Clarke, S.J., Fordham University“A strong case for relational realism is presented with a carefully outlined argument and discussion of classic examples from many major philosophers, including Locke, Hume, Kant, Searle, Merleau-Ponty, Kuhn, Whitehead, and Aquinas. Numerous analogies from common experience and chapter review questions are provided (plus a dab of humor and poetry). Felt successfully proves with his relational realism that we are not, as some philosophers might call us, merely meat-robots.” —Dialogue“. . . [T]his is an engaging work--bright, readable, and tightly argued. It should serve as a fine undergraduate introduction to epistemology.” —The Review of Metaphysics

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe View from Within examines the character of reason and the ability of an individual to effectively distance himself from the normative framework in which he functions in order to be self-critical and innovative. To accomplish this task, Menachem Fisch and Yitzhak Benbaji critically employ or reject the recent writings of Brandom, Friedman, Frankfurt, Walzer, Davidson, Williams, Habermas, Rorty, and McDowell to offer a fundamental analysis of the character of reason and the problem of relativism. This ambitious book forcefully raises the problem of rational normative change and makes the unique and insightful claim that although we cannot be convinced by normative criticism to modify or replace our norms, we can be rationally motivated to do so by the effect of exposure to trusted critics. Its unprecedented analysis, with its solution to the problem of normative self-criticism that has baffled philosophers for the past sixty years, will be welcomed by both students aTrade Review"This is a bold and wide-ranging book that offers a novel solution to a central problem of philosophy: if there is no normatively neutral language in which to compare normatively distinct vocabularies, how can transitions from one vocabulary to another ever be rational? Combining great analytic subtlety with deep knowledge of the history of science, Fisch and Benbaji argue that a central role is played by the ambivalence induced in insiders when they engage external critics within the 'trading zones' of discourse. A tour de force, this book sheds new light on many areas of philosophy. Indeed, by examining the role of familiar phenomena that philosophers often neglect, such as ambivalence and indecision, The View from Within illuminates the destabilizing as well as the creative potential of reason throughout human life." —Paul Franks, University of Toronto and Yale University“The View from Within is a thorough evaluation of the arguments made by contemporary philosophers about the normative character of reason and the derivative problem of relativism. Fisch and Benbaji have admirably compared and contrasted competing positions, and with a balanced critique, they have made a sustained effort to ‘save’ rationality and provide new guideposts for its philosophical evaluation. A timely and important contribution.” —Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University"How can one change one’s mind about the very standards one applies as a critical thinker without losing a grip on one's reasons? Fisch and Benbaji assess the state of the question in a remarkably wide range of fields: Kuhnian philosophy of science, interpretive social theory, pragmatism from Rorty to Brandom, and Frankfurt's philosophy of personal identity. Then they offer an answer of their own, which integrates a social account of rationality as a trait agents exhibit when exchanging reasons with one another and a subject-centered account of rationality as a trait agents exhibit when criticizing their own commitments from within. The result is a fresh and illuminating approach to the nature of rationality and normativity." —Jeffrey Stout, Princeton University“. . . this thought-provoking study is important for anyone interested in rationality and the normativity of rational standards.” —Choice“Fisch and Benbaji frame their critique in dialogue with the recent writings of leading contemporary philosophers in a detailed analysis of the character of reason, the problem of relativism, and how to comprehend scientific change more generally. Firmly placed within the context of current debate, the authors provide a thorough evaluation of recent arguments as well as offering an important critique of normative reason in scientific discourse.” —Philosophy in Review“. . . there is a lot to admire here and the book is likely to find a cross-disciplinary audience among those interested in broad questions about facts and norms, cultural diversity and the plurality of values.” —The Philosophical Quarterly

Read more less

Book SynopsisDialectic and Narrative in Aquinas investigates the intent, method, and structural unity of Thomas Aquinas''s Summa Contra Gentiles. In this innovative study Thomas S. Hibbs goes against the grain of most traditional interpretations of the work, which claim it serves a missionary or apologetic end, and argues that the intended audience is Christian and that its subject is Christian wisdom. In the process of making his argument, Hibbs also demonstrates that the Summa Contra Gentiles is the most important of Aquinas''s texts on the relationship between faith and reason, theology, and philosophy.Since the prologue to the Summa Contra Gentiles has been the focus of nearly all the debates over the work, Hibbs begins with an examination of it and the controversies it has provoked, and tests various interpretations of the prologue in light of the actual text. He then goes on to suggest that the method of the Contra Gentiles is dialectical and that Trade Review“Thomas Hibbs has produced the definitive book on Summa Contra Gentiles, a book destined to become a permanent part of Thomistic studies." —International Studies in Philosophy"One does not find in this book still another effort to explain what Aquinas was really about in the SCG; instead [Hibbs] interprets the text in a way that remarkably imitates Aquinas's own cogitatio fidei, his thinking about the truth of Catholic faith. The result is so brilliantly accomplished that one is led to ponder whether Hibbs works here as a philosopher or as a theologian. Whatever the answer, he renders a tremendous service to the world of Roman Catholic theology." —Theological Studies“[Hibbs] make[s] a signal contribution to the discussion of Thomas’s intellectual project by emphasizing the ‘narrative’ at least as much as the ‘dialectic’ and by writing with a view to chastising those who would neglect the former in preference for the latter.” —Religious Studies Review[A] provocative and engaging new study . . . " —The Review of Metaphysics

Read more less

Book SynopsisRobert Kraynak and Glenn Tinder contend that the major challenge of our time is to recover a true and authentic understanding of human dignity and to defend it against threats from modern civilization. In Defense of Human Dignity wrestles with the dilemma that contemporary society has developed a heightened sensitivity to the demands of human dignity while creating radically new dangers to humanity in the form of the totalitarian state, modern technology, genetic engineering, the practical ethics movement, and radical environmentalism.Representing diverse viewpoints, the authors of this volume explore what is meant by human dignity and related notions, such as the sanctity of life. The authors not only defend human dignity drawing upon principles from Kantian ethics, theories of human rights, the Bible, and Christianity theology they also examine the limitations and problems of misguided conceptions of human dignity.The inspiration for this volume is the pubTrade Review"...fine essays...This encouraging volume reminds me that there are historically proven questions and age-old arguments about human nature that we still ought to consider within and outside of the academy."—Rhetoric & Public Affairs"Despite its title, this book is more about the various meanings and implications of human dignity than its defense. The contributors agree that the idea of human dignity has widespread if not unanimous support today, even if it is all too frequently violated in practice. However, they identify many different concepts of human dignity throughout history and at present and they differ among themselves as to which concept is preferable." —The Heythrop Journal“...those committed to liberalism need to defend it against its despisers. ... In Defense of Human Dignity is an important book that recognizes this challenge. I recommend it for scholars and citizens who are concerned about liberalism’s future.” —Markets & Morality

Read more less

Book SynopsisJones challenges progressives to find the heart of the liberal tradition not in allegedly neutral appeals to “choice” but in a renewed commitment to equality and social justice that welcomes public religious voices as allies.Trade Review"In this engrossing study of debates over physician-assisted suicide, Jones has issued a challenge to liberals. The old idea that liberalism is morally neutral and culturally unbiased will have to be discarded. But in doing so, liberals just may find allies among religious and other voices fighting for equality." —Amy Sullivan, The Washington Monthly“Examining the legal debates surrounding Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, [Jones] argues that liberal theorists such as Ronald Dworkin, whom he otherwise admires, are wrong to weigh in on the side of physician-assisted suicide. The cause of their error, he argues, is a failure to recognize the cultural biases that help socially determine suicide choices. This failure is connected with a failure to fully articulate the commitment to egalitarianism suggested by Dworkin's own conception of 'equality of resources.'” —SciTech Book News“Focuses on the writings of Ronald Dworkin and John Rawls in a critique of liberal egalitarian philosophers’ support for physician-assisted suicide; argues that liberal philosophers should oppose the practice, at least until access to health care is assured for all.” —The Chronicle of Higher Education“Liberalism’s Troubled Search for Equality is the most sophisticated analysis I have read that gives a social and philosophical context to the Oregon debate on assisted death. Jones’s meaningful discussion of moral values in liberal political philosophy incorporates strong scholarship and an impressive use of interviews and ethnography.” —Courtney S. Campbell, Oregon State University"A fresh, challenging, and timely approach to the political intersections of religion and progressive politics. Cutting through the headlines on the contentious physician assisted suicide issue, Jones's intellectually rigorous focus on equality and justice as the key to shaping an authentic liberal response will have great appeal across political and religious lines. His approach offers precisely the right prescription for a stronger progressive movement." —Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Read more less

Book SynopsisA collection of essays about character and character education by some of the top scholars in the fields of ethical theory, moral development research, and educationTrade Review"This new collection of essays on the moral education of character, edited by two distinguished contemporary theorists of moral education and including contributions by other psychologists and philosophers of reputation, would appear to mark something of a turning point in latter day theorizing about moral education. . . it represents something of a shift from the dominant Kohlbergian 'cognitive developmental' paradigm of the past half century towards the more recently emerging paradigm of character education. . . they raise profound and unresolved questions about the vexed relationship of empirical psychology to ethics in the theory of moral development and education. It is greatly to the credit of the editors and other contributors to this work that they have not shirked such hard questions, and that they have sought honestly to address them in bold and interesting ways. From this viewpoint, despite some inevitable variable quality, this volume may be regarded as something of a landmark in the contemporary theory of moral education and the questions that it raises merit attention and much further discussion." —Journal of Moral Education"Contributors have expertise in personality and developmental research as well as educational and ethical theory. Readers interested in the fields of psychology and moral education should learn from these essays. Highly recommended." —Choice". . . an impressive compendium of articles written by diverse professors of psychology and presents a critical assembly of essays offering new views on the nature of character and moral education, drawing from the disciplines of moral psychology, moral philosophy, and education." —Midwest Book Review“The thinkers contributing to Character Psychology and Character Education engage us at the crossroads of discussion and dialogue. They harmonize in one respect: the choice of character. In choosing to speak of character, they speak to moral functioning more generally and accept that a deep understanding of moral character entails deeper integration with all relevant psychological literatures. . . a rich tapestry of insights, a flourishing of emergent systems of thought, and courage to embrace the challenge.” —PsycCRITIQUES"The psychologist Kurt Lewin famously observed, 'There is nothing so practical as a good theory.' Moral educators such as Lawrence Kohlberg and Ralph Mosher reminded us that there is nothing so instructive for theory as good practice. If there is not now a fruitful interchange between character psychology and character education, this rich, provocative, and uniquely valuable volume is an invitation to deepen the dialogue." —Tom Lickona, SUNY Cortland"This volume takes virtue seriously as an empirically based and testable ethical phenomenon. More unusual, it takes moral character seriously as something more than a compilation of virtues, and as something quite different—a true identity system of a richly cognitive and development sort. It is about time a book of this sort has been written, and it will be well-received and well-used by researchers and faculty." —William Puka, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute"This is an important new collection of essays about character and character education by some of the top scholars in the fields of ethical theory, moral development research, and education." —Don Collins Reed, Wittenberg University

Read more less

Book SynopsisBy clarifying the ways in which agreement on moral issues between people from different traditions can be pursued through moral discourse, this book provides a coherent conceptual framework for addressing the political, social and environmental problems arising from unresolved moral conflict.Trade Review“The book is a helpful contribution to ongoing conversations about whether and how persons from very different moral traditions may argue productively about moral issues across cultural and religious gulfs.” —Theological Studies“Moral Discourse in a Pluralistic World is not only an eloquent philosophical work, but also very relevant for moral practice. It is a book to be studied and taken to heart.” —Journal of Moral Education

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Complicity and Moral Accountability, Gregory Mellema presents a philosophical approach to the moral issues involved in complicity. Starting with a taxonomy of Thomas Aquinas, according to whom there are nine ways for one to become complicit in the wrongdoing of another, Mellema analyzes each kind of complicity and examines the moral status of someone complicit in each of these ways. Mellema's central argument is that one must perform a contributing action to qualify as an accomplice, and that it is always morally blameworthy to perform such an action. Additionally, he argues that an accomplice frequently bears moral responsibility for the outcome of the other's wrongdoing, but he distinguishes this case from cases in which the accomplice is tainted by the wrongdoing of the principal actor. He further distinguishes between enabling, facilitating, and condoning harm, and introduces the concept of indirect complicity. Mellema tackles issues that are clearly important to any cTrade Review"In Complicity and Moral Accountability, Gregory Mellema has made an immensely important contribution to the discussion of group morality and collective responsibility both within and far beyond professional academic philosophy. His clearly written book will be essential reading." —Fergus Kerr, Honorary Fellow, University of Edinburgh"Although the book is grounded in the account of complicity given by Thomas Aquinas, it also engages contemporary literature on the subject and finishes with an account of the ways this moral concept intersects with American legal principles. . . . This is a first-rate contribution to contemporary moral philosophy." —C. Stephen Evans, University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Baylor University"With characteristic clarity and insight, Gregory Mellema cautiously explores the concept of complicity and charts its connections to related moral concepts. His discussion is precise but accessible, and also addresses practical questions like how to avoid becoming complicit in wrongdoing." —Scott A. Davison, Morehead State University"Anyone interested in such timely issues as the difference between enabling harm, facilitating harm, and condoning harm (and how these relate to legal categories such as aiding and abetting), or between what we may morally expect from others and what they are morally obliged to give us, will appreciate this carefully nuanced and historically informed scholarship." —Edward Langerak, St. Olaf College“Gregory Mellema’s short and lively book on the ethics of complicity, while decidedly a work of analytical philosophy, is ‘aimed at an audience that includes nonphilosophers’. . . . I found much to inspire and intrigue as well as to provoke in these passages, as indeed in the whole of the book.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat Happened in and to Moral Philosophy in the Twentieth Century? is a volume of essays that examine the various positions of contemporary moral philosophyTrade Review"This is a wide-ranging collection of articles, written by some of the most interesting and significant figures in contemporary philosophy. The authors discuss MacIntyre’s thought from the very earliest days to the present time, and they cover both themes in his work (Marxism, Emotivism, Thomism) and detailed interpretations of it. MacIntyre offers an Epilogue which is characteristically sensitive and nuanced. No-one with an interest in MacIntyre or recent moral philosophy will wish to be without a copy of this excellent collection." —Sue Mendus, Morrell Professor Emerita of Political Philosophy, University of York"This is an impressive collection of essays, which deserves a wide audience. The book makes an original contribution to the field, since its retrospective of twentieth-century moral philosophy goes beyond the Anglophone mainstream, tackling Catholic and continental as well as Anglophone analytical thought. Given this and given its dedication to Alasdair MacIntyre, it should appeal to philosophers, sociologists, historians, and cultural theorists." —Tom Angier, University of Kent“This collection of essays in honor of Alasdair MacIntyre provides the means to engage with century-long theories of moral philosophy in a positive and interesting way. And, more importantly, it allows the reader to be a part of a debate between ethical theories that are usually presented as completely different and incapable of arguing with one another.” —Marx and Philosophy online“This Festschrift brings together the majority of those papers presented at a conference held in Dublin in March 2009 to honour Alasdair MacIntyre. The tribute is richly deserved, for throughout his career Macintyre’s work has displayed, not only formidable powers of analysis and wide ranging intellectual curiosity, but also an uncommon readiness to defy the philosophical fashions of his age.” —Philosophical Investigations“A newly published volume of essays edited by Fran O’Rourke marks the most recent attempt to grapple with the complex ramifications of MacIntyre’s thought. . . . O’Rourke has . . . gathered a number of truly excellent and thought provoking pieces that move the discussion on MacIntyre and philosophical issues in political theory, ethics, and philosophy of social science further.” —Philosophy in Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisEdmund D Pellegrino has played a central role in shaping the fields of bioethics and the philosophy of medicine. This volume offers a presentation of Pellegrino's thought and its development. Suitable for medical ethicists, students, scholars, and physicians, it offers insights into the emergence of a field and the work of one of its pioneers.Trade Review“This volume is composed of a selection from Dr. Pellegrino's corpus of writings on medical ethics. To date, these essays have been unavailable in one work. . . . This reader provides essays on philosophical foundations of medicine, the medical profession, physician-patient relationship, physician as moral agent, humanism and the Hippocratic tradition.” —Issues in Law & Medicine“Pellegrino believes bioethics should not be restricted to specific topics such as abortion, cloning, or physician-assisted suicide. In this collection of nineteen essays from across his career, Pellegrino describes the philosophical foundations of medicine and of the medical profession, the healing relationship, virtue and medical practice with the physician as moral agent, the humanities in medicine, and the Hippocratic tradition.” —Book News“This remarkable book summarizes Edmund Pellegrino's writings by extracting several meaningful essays from his voluminous bibliography. These point to the dearth of humanities requirements for medical training and highlight the poverty of ethical considerations in medical decision-making. . . . Agree or disagree, this book needs to be read by all physicians, especially those whose education was devoid of philosophy. The editors have done an excellent job of offering a sage's viewpoint in an accessible form.” —Journal of American Medical Association“Editors H. Tristam Engelhardt, Jr., and Fabrice Jotterand have carefully selected, organized, and interpreted the writings of Pellegrino, making them more accessible to students, scholars, physicians, and anyone generally interested in medical ethics. In almost a lecture style, the editors present an overview of each article, emphasizing the important developments in each, which will make this volume particularly useful as a teaching tool for a journal club or seminar course, or for anyone outside the field of bioethics looking for guidance on what to read.” —Quarterly Review of Biology

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis important philosophical reflection on love and sexuality from a broadly Christian perspective is aimed at philosophers, theologians, and educated Christian readers. Alexander R. Pruss focuses on foundational questions on the nature of romantic love and on controversial questions in sexual ethics on the basis of the fundamental idea that romantic love pursues union of two persons as one body. One Body begins with an account, inspired by St. Thomas Aquinas, of the general nature of love as constituted by components of goodwill, appreciation, and unitiveness. Different forms of love, such as parental, collegial, filial, friendly, fraternal, or romantic, Pruss argues, differ primarily not in terms of goodwill or appreciation but in terms of the kind of union that is sought. Pruss examines romantic love as distinguished from other kinds of love by a focus on a particular kind of union, a deep union as one body achieved through the joint biological striving of the sort Trade Review"This is a terrific—really quite extraordinary—work of scholarship. It is quite simply the best work on Christian sexual ethics that I have seen. It will become the text that anyone who ventures into the field will have to grapple with—a kind of touchstone. Moreover, it is filled with arguments that even secular writers on sexual morality will have to engage and come to terms with." —Robert P. George, Princeton University"One Body is an excellent piece of philosophical-theological reflection on the nature of sexuality and marriage. This book has the potential to become a standard go-to text for professors and students working on sex ethics issues, whether in philosophy or theology, both for the richness of its arguments, and the scope of its coverage of cases. " —Christopher Tollefsen, University of South Carolina“With great clarity and without recourse to religious argument, Pruss gives the reader an extensive philosophical reflection on love and sexuality. . . . The author examines reproductive technology and concludes that it is only morally permissible when helping coition to be fruitful, so that the child always remains a fruit of the marital act. Pruss has presented us with a substantial apologia on Catholic teaching on human sexuality.” —Catholic Medical Quarterly“Professor Pruss has thought as deeply and rigorously about the meaning and moral significance of human sexuality, and about the norms by which sexual choices should be guided and sexual conduct governed, as anyone of whom I am aware writing today.” —firstthings.com“Pruss does not hesitate to deal with all aspects of human sexuality in an open and honest manner, recognizing and responding to objections from the secular world as well as from more liberal Christian writers. His arguments are sensitive to the realities of modern life, but unyielding in adherence to traditional doctrine. . . . College and professional libraries would benefit from having such an articulate and thorough treatment of Christian sexual ethics.” —Catholic Library World"This is a wide-ranging and deeply interesting book. . . . It is a philosopher's work of moral philosophy and theology. . . . It has a core thesis, the principal concern of which is to advance a conception of marital union; it then discusses the implications of that thesis for a variety of questions in sexual ethics. Given the variety of debates about marriage currently under way in many cultures, the topic is obviously a significant one." —Studies in Christian Ethics“This profound and very readable work sets a new standard for sexual ethics. Built around its central argument is a profound examination of a wide variety of sexual phenomena, many of which are of pressing ethical concern yet are only curiously dealt with by previous writers . . . . I doubt I will read a better book on the philosophy of sex in my lifetime.” —New Blackfriars“The most impressive thing about One Body is Pruss’s ability to sustain his main argument for the entirety of the work (all four hundred-plus pages), through further complications, responses to objections, and an array of complex and important issues. There are, scattered throughout, several minor arguments that offer secondary support for some of his particular ethical conclusions. But, in my opinion, the greatest contribution that One Body makes to the field of Christian sexual ethics is the systematic approach that it provides for those who want to investigate these issues further.” —Catholic Social Science Review“This volume is written by a philosophy professor who is also very well versed in Christian theology . . . . It would be interesting for anyone wanting to understand Catholic moral reasoning with regard to sexual issues, and could be especially helpful as a graduate level textbook on marriage and sexuality at a Catholic institution.” —Religious Studies Review“One Body is a large, ambitious, and impressive defense of traditional Christian sexual ethics . . . Alexander Pruss’s argumentative tenacity (One Body ‘bristles’ with arguments, as they say) is extraordinary, and One Body will become a standard text in sexual ethics.” —Nova et Vetera

Read more less

Book SynopsisReclaiming Goodness: Education and the Spiritual Quest begins with the premise that sound models for achieving both spiritual fulfillment and the good life are lacking in contemporary culture. Arguing that contemporary education is responsible for having abandoned spirituality and the cultivation of goodness in people, Hanan A. Alexander advances a definition of spirituality which acknowledges an integral connection to education. Reclaiming Goodness charts a way to reintegrate ethical and spiritual values with the values of critical thought and reason. Written in accessible and non-technical prose, it will be of interest to professional educators as well as to a wider audience.Trade Review“Hanan Alexander turns his incisive mind to addressing spirituality and education in a marvelously integrative, challenging, and generative book. The work is integrative in drawing from three faith traditions, and also from the philosophy of education and broader philosophical discourse on questions of goodness. The work is challenging because it analyzes major social-religious-educational issues with sharpness and clarity. It also challenges people to think, to ask questions of themselves, to ask questions of Alexander, and even to argue with him. This is exactly what Alexander wants of his readers; intelligent spirituality is his goal. Finally, this work is generative. It stirs bold visions of education for goodness and clears practical pathways for religious peoples to travel. Alexander poses the possibility of a spiritual renaissance—most fully possible when religious and other communities are fully engaged in educating spirituality. I say a huge thank you to Hanan Alexander for daring to put goodness at the center of spiritual life and for equipping readers to see how this might be done!” ”—Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore, Professor of Religion and Education, and Director of Program for Women in Theology and Ministry, Candler School of Theology, Emory University“Christian readers will find this book most helpful in enabling them to both critique and defend their own stance.” —Journal of Christian Education“An impressive defense of liberal, moral education within an open community of seekers. A formidable champion of a powerful view.” —Choice“Every page is filled with deep innovative thoughts on the moral and spiritual future of liberal education. . . . This book gives the reader not only a clear overview of the different positions (with an extensive index and list of notes for further reading), it also helps him/her to anticipate an authentic and communicative learning, rooted in the wisdom of religious traditions.” —International Journal of Education and Religion“Hanan A. Alexander’s fascinating and hugely enjoyable book is deeply rooted in his own tradition of liberal Judaism. The task he sets himself is to describe a vision of education that is neither instrumental nor utilitarian but promotes a vision of ‘the good life’. This is a tremendously rich book and will be of interest to any reader concerned with spiritual education, religious pluralism and, perhaps especially, the topical debate about Faith Schools.” —Journal of Beliefs and Values“Reclaiming Goodness represents a sophisticated analysis of the spiritual crisis that marks modern life and offers an imaginative program for a renaissance of values and a revitalization of meaning in the present situation. Hanan Alexander draws upon a wide array of philosophical, sociological, and historical resources, as well as the Bible and classical rabbinic sources, in constructing the argument of book. Impressive in its learning and judicious in its diagnosis of the challenges confronting educators and others in the present-day world, Reawakening Goodness also contains positive proposals for the construction of enduring and humane purpose for modern persons.” —David Ellenson, I.H. and Anna Grancell Professor of Jewish Religious Thought at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion“Reclaiming Goodness invites profound reflection on the relationship between education and spirituality. Hanan Alexander complements his clarity of analysis with a passion for the educative potential of religious traditions. His outstanding book deserves a wide readership." —Mary C. Boys, Skinner & McAlpin Professor of Practical Theology, Union Theological Seminary“Reclaiming Goodness is a powerful and important book. It will be noticed not only because it goes against the grain—spirituality, liberal education, education for the good life—but also because the book is so clearly the narrative expression of someone who has passionately lived a life of spirituality, education, and scholarship. The book is profoundly marked by Alexander’s biography.” —Michael Connelly, Director, Center for Teacher Development, University of Toronto“This is an insightful and compassionate book that seeks to connect philosophy with religion; rationality with spirituality; and the cosmic with the secular. I recommend it highly to those in quest of an education that seeks to continue our responsibility to create a society rooted in a consciousness of loving-kindness.” —David E. Purpel, ECL Department, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Read more less

Book SynopsisJosiah Royce and William James lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Irving Street, just two doors apart, and Charles Peirce grew up only blocks away. John Dewey was born and educated in nearby Vermont. These four great thinkers shared more than geographic space; they engaged in a series of formative philosophical discussions. By tracing the interactions of Royce (18551916) with James, Peirce, and Dewey, Oppenheim re-imagines pragmatism in a way that highlights the late Royce''s role as mediator and favors the seed-plant image of O. W. Holmes, Jr., over the corridor image of Papini.Josiah Royce emphasized that communities of all sizesranging from families to townsneeded reverence for the relations of life not only to thrive but to survive. This theme permeates the dialectic of Royce's interactions with Peirce, James, and Dewey. Oppenheim analyzes the agreement and disagreement of these thinkers on the method and content of philosophy, skepticism and intelligibility, and nominTrade Review“This meticulous and thorough book will stimulate new insights into the thought and life of Josiah Royce as well as into the ideas and experiences of three other giants in American philosophy, Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. This book will be a valuable resource to all who wish to explore the nuances and depths of the lives and philosophical work of these four giants in American thought.” —The Review of Metaphysics“In a time when the patience for scholarship has in large part been put to flight by the need to publish quickly and widely, Oppenheim has taken the time to produce a fascinating provocative look at Josiah Royce's relations with the ‘big three’ American pragmatists-Charles Pierce, William James, and John Dewey. . . . Those seriously interested in the history and culture of pragmatism should read Reverence for the Relations of Life.” —Transactions of the C.S. Peirce Society“Oppenheim’s book signals a change . . . in the contested story of American pragmatism. It represents an opening for a deeper exploration of the origins and meaning of pragmatism in relation to religion and in particular Christianity.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews“. . . a carefully researched, clearly written history of American pragmatism centered on the development of Josiah Royce's thought and his connections with other turn-of-the-century American philosophers. . . . Recommended.” —Choice“This book . . . interpret(s) American pragmatism through the prism of Josiah Royce by focusing on his personal and philosophical interactions with Peirce, James, and Dewey. . . . [A] well-researched and scholarly work by one of the great experts in the field.” —Catholic Library World“Frank M. Oppenheim’s book is a study of the personal and intellectual encounters Josiah Royce had with his contemporary philosophical colleagues Charles S. Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. . . . This book is as much a work of philosophy as it is an intellectual history. Oppenheim offers an interpretation of Royce’s philosophy organized around the theme of ‘reverence for the relations of life,’ which he argues permeates Royce’s philosophy and, especially, his late writings. . . . Oppenheim has made a strong case that Royce was indeed a pragmatist of a Peircean orientation and that his philosophy needs to be better known and understood if the full story of the development of pragmatism is to be written.” —American Historical Review“This volume is . . . a lengthy appreciation of the philosopher James Royce. . . . The book has three parts in which the author compares Royce to Charles Peirce, then to William James, and finally to John Dewey. . . . Each part mixes biographical information on each thinker and analysis of contrasting doctrines.” —The Journal of American History“Frank Oppenheim provides us with a rich, extraordinarily informed and judicious version of the kaleidoscopic relations undergone by C.S. Peirce, W. James, J. Royce, and J. Dewey. They represent one of the most creative clusters in the history of philosophy. Oppenheim refreshingly places Royce as the centerpiece, resulting in a work of impeccable scholarship and wisely tolerant intellectual biography.” —John J. McDermott, Texas A&M University“Climaxing his long, prolific career as the preeminent interpreter of Royce’s philosophy, Frank M. Oppenheim has achieved what rightly is called his magnum opus. Reverence for the Relations of Life is a learned and lucid study of Royce, in relation to Peirce, James, and Dewey. Effectively refuting earlier interpreters, such as Ralph Barton Perry, who have marginalized Royce, Oppenheim places him at the center of thought in late-19th and early-20th century America. The book is meticulously researched and it sparkles with fresh insight.” —John Clendenning, California State University, Northridge

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Unearthed: The Economic Roots of Our Environmental Crisis, Kenneth M. Sayre argues that the only way to resolve our current environmental crisis is to reduce our energy consumption to a level where the entropy (degraded energy and organization) produced by that consumption no longer exceeds the biosphere''s ability to dispose of it. Tangible illustrations of this entropy buildup include global warming, ozone depletion, loss of species diversity, and unmanageable amounts of nonbiodegradable waste. Degradation of the biosphere is tied directly to human energy use, which has been increasing exponentially since the Industrial Revolution. Energy use, in turn, is directly correlated with economic production. Sayre shows how these three factors are invariably bound together. The unavoidable conclusion is that the only way to resolve our environmental crisis is to reverse the present pattern of growth in the world economy. Economic growth is motivated by social valueTrade Review"With unerring logic and science, Kenneth Sayre dissects the origins of the ecological crisis and points to the necessary recalibration of industrial societies with the laws of thermodynamics and ecology. It is a radical book in that he gets to the heart of what ails us, and it charts a course toward a future grounded in authentic hope." —David W. Orr, Oberlin College“Sayre’s assessment forces all seeking a sustainable future to reexamine the preeminence accorded to clean energy. Unearthed uniquely combines thermodynamics and ethics to challenge and broaden readers’ understandings of the systemic issues we face. Assembled and presented with piercing clarity, Unearthed constructs a brilliant framework for making sense of our quiet, but growing crises.” —Felipe Witchger, IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates“Kenneth M. Sayre’s Unearthed: The Economic Roots of Our Environmental Crisis constitutes a major and significant contribution to our understanding of the grave ecological crisis facing humanity. It covers the complete picture, from the basic physical causes of the destruction of our environment to the sociological or anthropological forces that condition our self-destructive actions. The work not only is a brilliant and mind-sweeping piece of diagnosis and prognosis, but it goes all the way to point towards possible solutions.” —Fernando del Río Haza, Laboratorio de Termodinámica, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa, Mexico“This is a well-written, well-organized, thorough book. Sayre leads the reader to the conclusion that to avoid catastrophe, humankind must change its fixation on continued economic growth and learn to live sustainably. . . . Sayre writes a short but excellent history of the modern environmental movement highlighting no-growth economics as a future alternative path for humankind.” —Choice“. . . considers the origins of the ecological crisis and how industrial societies need to re-consider the laws of ecology to make necessary changes key to our survival. Any[one] interested in sustainable living need[s] this science-oriented survey blending thermodynamics and ethics: it argues that the only way to resolve our current environmental crisis is to reduce our energy consumption vastly based on the biosphere’s ability to dispose of byproducts.“ —California Bookwatch“Explores the economic sources of the current environmental crisis and considers whether fundamental changes to our economic system could eradicate or contain the damage being done to the ecological system and human society.” —Journal of Economic Literature

Read more less

Book SynopsisAll of us teach, begins Mark Schwehn's anthology of readings on teaching and learning. Teaching is woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. It includes training children, forming habits and characters, witnessing to a way of life, nurturing reflection and imagination, and imparting goals as well as facts and skills. Teachers are parents, grandparents, spouses, friends, neighbors, pastors, siblings, and co-workers, as well as professional educators. Most people know good teaching when they encounter it, Schwehn argues, and few would identify it with a list of techniques. Although good teaching often seems closer to an art than a skill, teaching is not an occult practice, but a public activity that can be improved by practice and questioning and demonstrated by good examples. Through Schwehn's choice of examples and deft introductions, Everyone a Teacher is an argument for a rich account of good teaching. It invites reflection yet avoids the abstractions of psychology and eTrade Review“If you know someone who’s about to become a teacher, a very suitable present might be Everyone a Teacher, edited by Mark Schwehn. Mr. Schwehn has a deep and sound knowledge of important works about education and every reader will encounter something new in his book. The book will be the ideal graduation present for anyone who has completed a master’s degree and is about to start a teaching career.” —The Washington Times“Schwen is to be commended for compiling a stimulating book of primary texts about teaching and learning. I benefited from the balance of gender, race/ethnicity in the selection—a testament to a conscientious editor. One could use Everyone a Teacher as an outline for a faculty development workshop, where each section could be read, discussed and applications could be made for institution. Or perhaps the book can be better used in a mentoring relationship between a senior and junior faculty member. Or even as a gift for summer reading and reflection. Whatever the context, Everyone a Teacher reminds us that being a teacher should always be the foundation of teaching.” —Teaching Theology and Religion

Read more less

Book SynopsisReaders expecting a traditional philosophical work will be surprised and delighted by David Walsh's Politics of the Person as the Politics of Being, his highly original reflection on the transcendental nature of the person. A specialist in political theory, Walsh breaks new ground in this volume, arguing, as he says in the introduction, that the person is transcendence, not only as an aspiration, but as his or her very reality. Nothing is higher. That is what Politics of the Person as the Politics of Being strives to acknowledge. The analysis of the person is the foundation for thinking about political community and human dignity and rights. Walsh establishes his notion of the person in the first four chapters. He begins with the question as to whether science can in any sense talk about persons. He then examines the person's core activities, free choice and knowledge, and reassesses the claims of the natural sciences. He considers the ground of the person and oTrade Review"Politics of the Person as the Politics of Being is a brilliant, eloquent, and luminous meditative study, filled necessarily with paradox, owing to the limitations of analysis and of language, of which Walsh is fully cognizant, on the meaning of the person. This is an outstanding piece of work by one of the foremost scholars of his generation." —Barry Cooper, University of Calgary "Politics of the Person as the Politics of Being is a magisterial book in the line of Gilson’s Unity of Philosophical Experience, that is, it is a book that sees where ideas go in the light of the being in which all things are grounded. Walsh brings his previous searching reflections on the direction and content of philosophy to a brilliant conclusion in these memorable pages. This is a work of original intellect that serves to illuminate what a person is, how it is grounded in reality, how it relates to both God and to the political order." —James V. Schall, S.J., emeritus, Georgetown University"Rare, indeed, is the book that discusses the human soul in all its amplitude with grace, discernment, and penetration. David Walsh’s new book allows us to see that the relational human person is the alpha and omega of all philosophical and political reflection. David Walsh’s post-metaphysical reflection, a luminous exercise in philosophical Christianity, has nothing to do with fashionable academic nihilism. And his treatments of art and 'God as the seal of the personal' are alone worth the price of admission." —Daniel J. Mahoney, Augustine Chair in Distinguished Scholarship, Assumption College"In reading Walsh, one gets the sense that, in its logic, thought is going somewhere, whether it likes it or not. What Walsh has spent his life seeking to accomplish is a coherent, thorough, and valid understanding of the relationship of God, man, nature, and politics in light of what it is to be a person. . . . Almost every page contains passages and considerations that took me back to almost everything I had ever read before. . . . Continually I found understandings that so struck me that I simply had to let them sink in. This was a book that I did not want to end, even though somehow I was in a hurry to finish it to see if its conclusion would be what I suspected all along that it might be. . . . The greatness of Walsh’s book, following on his previous ones, is that it sees that persons bear reality and give it its meaning and purpose." —New Oxford Review"Politics of the Person as the Politics of Being is a dense and difficult read, but also very rewarding. In trying to describe the indescribable astonishment that each person is, Walsh keeps alive the idea of philosophy not only as linguistic analysis but also as the seeking of wisdom and truth." —America“David Walsh has written a wonderful book. Because it studies the person in the context of Eric Voegelin’s project in Order and History, it will be of great interest to Veogelin readers who have followed his search for order. . . . Walsh’s book is uniquely and creatively a work of original thinking. He expertly situates his ideas within modern philosophical and political thought, as well as within several Voegelinian perspectives.” —Voegelin View“No philosopher, theologian, or political scientist will want to miss Walsh’s beautiful, philosophic meditation on personhood. Walsh’s achievement is not simply that his arguments clarify the paradoxes and insufficiencies within various attempts to capture and define the human person but also that his own searching lines of inquiry invite readers to experience with him the transcendental, grounding character of personhood.” —Choice"David Walsh's new study is a tour de force in terms of its contribution to modern philosophy, politics, and culture and clearly shows that Walsh is a world-class philosopher. Politics of the Person is quite simply unique and groundbreaking in philosophical significance. . . . Everyone who joins in the adventure of reading this volume becomes a candidate for the disclosure of the beauty, height, breadth, and depth of the truth of the human person." —Claritas: Journal of Dialogue and Culture“David Walsh’s argument in the Politics of the Person as the Politics of Being . . . looks first to nineteenth- and twentieth-century Continental philosophy, and then to Christian theology, for a better understanding of ourselves.” —The Review of Politics

Read more less

Book SynopsisBlakely argues that the resources for overcoming the divide between the empirical and the normative of society are available in the intellectual developments of Charles Taylor and Alasdair MacIntyre.Trade Review"Jason Blakeley writes a well-researched, well-argued manifesto for a new social science. The power of the analysis is that this new social science need not be revolutionary, since Macintyre and Taylor have already paved the way. Will others follow? Will political science and the other social sciences follow? Only time will tell. I’d encourage social scientists and philosophers of all stripes to pick up this helpful volume." —voeglinview"Although a number of other scholars have at least considered writing on this subject over the past decade and more, I am not aware of any book-length treatment of it or of any treatment that is so well informed or so well judged. Jason Blakely's account might well prove definitive." —Kelvin Knight, London Metropolitan University"Jason Blakely skillfully uses the writings of Alasdair MacIntyre and Charles Taylor as his interpretive lens for observing how the naturalist /antinaturalist debate develops in the philosophy of the social sciences over the second half of the twentieth century. Blakely does this, moreover, with great clarity and economy. His book thus offers a philosophical and historical perspective on an important debate that is both intellectually substantive and highly readable." —Paul A. Roth, University of California-Santa Cruz"This book, containing many original contributions to the field, does an excellent job in identifying a real problem in mainstream political theory—its overly normative character and its separation from social science. It contains many original contributions to the field. I particularly liked the way in which the problems of naturalism are presented as institutional, cultural, and political as well as philosophical. The historical background to these problems is also interesting and sheds fresh light on the issues." —Nicholas Smith, Macquarie University

Read more less

Book SynopsisWorking from within the contours of Christian faith, this book examines the relation between two ways of forming familiesthrough nature (by procreation) and through history (by adoption). Christians honor the biological tie between parents and children, for it is the work of God in creation. Yet Christians cannot forget that it is adoption, and not simply natural descent, that is at the center of the New Testament's depiction of God's grace. Gilbert Meilaender takes up a range of issues raised by the practice of adoption, always seeking to do justice to both nature and history in the formation of families, while keeping at the center of our vision the truth that it is not by nature but by grace that we can become adopted children of the one whom Jesus called his Father. Meilaender begins with reflection on the puzzling relation of nature and history in forming families and proceeds to unpack the meaning of huiothesia, the word used in the New Testament to name the gracTrade Review"Gilbert Meilaender writes as a Christian, and he finds help in sorting through his perspective from Muslim and Jewish sources. His tone is patient (even when discussing arguments he finds wrongheaded) pulling out the best and the worst strands in questions regarding adoption, artificial reproductive technologies, and cryopreserved embryos. The chapters are informative and winsomely written. He has also notably managed to bring books I read to my daughters together with arcane theological documents that are relevant, but tricky to introduce." —Amy Laura Hall, Duke Divinity School"Readers of Meilaender’s work have come to expect beautiful prose wedded to probing theological and ethical analysis. Both are in evidence in this engaging exploration of how adoption challenges Christians to understand the complex balancing of nature and history that is required for a proper understanding of family life. That Meilaender can weave together literature, philosophy, theology, and personal experience so seamlessly in developing his account of adoption is a marvel." —Paul Lauritzen, John Carroll University"One of the great theological ethicists of our generation, Gil Meilaender has gifted us with a book that is absolutely essential reading for anyone whose life is touched by adoption and wants to make moral sense of it. Meilander’s pithy, lucid style is perfect for conveying deep theological truths, and his arguments are consistently compelling and civil. Having lived a life with adopted children, Meilaender shows us deep and abiding wisdom on every page." —John Berkman, Regis College, University of Toronto“'[S]hared history—not just biology—can create a bond between parent and child,' [Gilbert Meilaender] says. The center of his concern is 'the meaning of adoption for Christian theology,' and he discusses such issues as whether single persons should adopt, if it is wise for adoption to take place across racial or national boundaries, and the relation between adoption and new reproductive technologies." —Notre Dame Magazine"As Meilaender points out, current estimates are that, worldwide, 17–18 million children are orphans. . . . Meilaender's fine and accessible book is an important start in thinking about forming families and the implications of our commitment to them." —Christian Century“Meilaender analyzes ethical questions that bear on us all, and not merely adoptive parents, because the question of adoption also raises the question of what it means to be human.” —Lutheran Quarterly "[We] should approve of those who are willing to cross boundaries of nation and culture to adopt children who need a home. I feel the same way about adoption across racial boundaries, although we all know how complex this is in the United States because of the troubled history of race relations here." —Crux“. . . what makes the book endearing is that he combines theological reasoning about adoption together with letters to his son. . . . Meilaender has written a thought-provoking and eloquent book that deserves to be read not only by those interested in the topic of adoption, but by all Christians seeking to know more about what it means to be heirs of God’s kingdom.” —Studies in Christian Ethics

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis collection of essays by leading international philosophers considers central themes in the ethics of Danish philosopher Knud Ejler Løgstrup (19051981). Løgstrup was a Lutheran theologian much influenced by phenomenology and by strong currents in Danish culture, to which he himself made important contributions. The essays in What Is Ethically Demanded? K. E. Løgstrup''s Philosophy of Moral Life are divided into four sections. The first section deals predominantly with Løgstrup''s relation to Kant and, through Kant, the system of morality in general. The second section focuses on how Løgstrup stands in connection with Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Levinas. The third section considers issues in the development of Løgstrup''s ethics and how it relates to other aspects of his thought. The final section covers certain central themes in Løgstrup''s position, particularly his claims about trust and the unfulfillability of the ethical demand. The volume includes a previously untranTrade Review“Løgstrup’s intent—to reach the secular world with the message of Jesus—is a contemporary issue of vital importance. . . . [This] is a work most likely to be appreciated by scholars and advanced students in philosophy and theology.” —Catholic Library World"This book introduces Løgstrup's central idea of 'the ethical demand' and probes various aspects of how it should best be understood and its significance for ethics. While some recent work has explored the relation between The Ethical Demand and some of Løgstrup's later work, especially on the 'sovereign expressions of life,' one thing that is interesting about this collection is that while it further advances those discussions, it also traces elements of Løgstrup's thought back to his earlier work—chiefly, but not only, through the inclusion of a translation of his relatively early essay 'The Anthropology of Kant's Ethics.' The collection will make a significant contribution to the progress of the study of Løgstrup in English. It will make an excellent companion volume to other titles published by Notre Dame by and about Løgstrup." —John Lippitt, University of Hertfordshire“Fink and Stern’s collection reveals just why this Danish thinker is a landmark in ethical conversation. . . . Each part of the book provides new ways of seeing the ethical demand of [the] subjectivity present in Løgstrup's philosophy. . . . Phenomenologists and ethicists will do well to take note.” —Studies in Christian Ethics"Knud Ejler Løgstrup's The Ethical Demand should have been recognized long ago as, at least, a minor classic if not a landmark in twentieth-century moral philosophy. Hopefully Fink and Stern's excellent collection of essays will help Løgstrup's writings receive the reading and reception they deserve. The best of the essays in this volume are philosophically subtle and morally engaged in ways that reveal the significance and depth of Løgstrup's demanding ethical thought." —J. M. Bernstein, New School for Social Research“The opening selection from Løgstrup’s early writings, the 14 engaging and diverse assessments of Løgstrup’s work, and the editors Hans Fink’s and Robert Stern’s close interweaving of these essays into 4 clear and critical divisions make Løgstrup’s relevance apparent. . . . Hence, this volume could easily become a handbook for graduate programs and schools of theology wishing to teach this compelling, but long neglected thinker.” —Reading Religion

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Spiritual Guides: Pathfinders in the Desert, Fred Dallmayr challenges the desert character of modern culture. Political and economic corruption, incessant warmongering, spoliation of natural resources, and, above all, mindless consumerism and greedy self-satisfaction are all symptoms of what he contends is an expanding wasteland or desert where everything creative and nourishing decays and withers. Through an alternative interpretation of Nietzsche''s saying the desert grows, this book calls for spiritual renewal, invoking in particular four prominent guides or pathfinders in the desert: Paul Tillich, Raimon Panikkar, Thomas Merton, and Pope Francis. What links all four guides together is the view of spiritual life as an itinerarium, a pathway along difficult and often uncharted roads.Dallmayr begins by drawing a connection between Nietzsche''s characterization of the desert in Thus Spoke Zarathustra and the present culture of consumerism, in which a nearly-eTrade Review"Spiritual Guides: Pathfinders in the Desert continues Fred Dallmayr's already significant analysis of where we are today by offering an account of lives that provide hope in a time that often seems hopeless. This book provides a presentation of the thought of the central four figures in a manner such that one illumines the other. Dallmayr's presentation of the four is quite moving because this is a book that is rightly thought of as 'spiritual.' That could be a dismissive description, but the way Dallmayr presents the work is really quite profound." —Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor Emeritus of Divinity and Law, Duke Divinity School -- Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School"Insightfully and inspiringly, Dallmayr illustrates how his spiritual guides—Tillich, Panikkar, Merton, Pope Francis—can lead us to a self-and-world-transforming spirituality that overcomes current dualities between sacred and profane, immanence and transcendence, mysticism and prophecy, contemplation and action. In his concluding chapters on Muslim and Buddhist mystics, he also makes clear that such a spirituality can and must be an inter-spirituality. This is a book that will speak to both religious scholars and practitioners." —Paul Knitter, Paul Tillich Professor Emeritus of Theology, World Religions, and Culture, Union Theological Seminary“Fred Dallmayr. . . has chosen four pathfinders in the desert to provide the spiritual guidance we need to make it through these perilous and disturbing times. . . . As an added treat, Dallmayr opens our hearts by including chapters on Muslim and Buddhist mystics as fellow travelers on this enlightening journey.” —Spirituality & Practice “Dallmayr’s Spiritual Guides: Pathfinders in the Desert takes four contemporary western Christian thinkers and theologians and explores their views on the meaning of spirituality in the modern world. . . . What was crucial for all four thinkers and theologians in Dallmayr’s study was the importance of dialogue and creating ‘communion’ with other communities.” —The Muslim World Book Review"[Dallmayr] provides here a constructive reading that makes apparent how mystical traditions can be seen as ways to critically approach contemporary Western political, economic, and spiritual culture." —Reading Religion

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Constructing Civility, Richard Park bridges Christian and Islamic political theologies on the basis of an Aristotelian ethics. He argues that modern secularism entails ideological commitments that can work against the promotion of public civility in pluralistic societies. A corrective outlook on public life and the public sphere is necessary, an outlook that aligns with and recovers the notion of the human good. Park develops a framework for a universally applicable public civility in multifaith and multicultural contexts by engaging the central concepts of the image of God (imago Dei) and human nature (fitra) in Roman Catholicism and Islam.The study begins with a critique of the social fragmentation and decline of public life found in modernity. Park''s central contention is that the construction of public civility within Christian and Islamic political theologies is more promising and sustainable if it is reframed in terms of the human good rather thTrade Review"Citing sympathetic Catholic and Muslim philosophers, legal scholars, and ethicists, Park devotes well-crafted chapters to elaborating his claim that to be human is to be intrinsically relational, rational, and purposive. These inherent attributes of human nature, he submits, shape the way we interpret experience, history, and culture, derive universally binding moral principles, and establish the criteria for adjudicating competing applications of them." — Reading Religion"In this highly original book, Richard S. Park succeeds in redirecting political ethics towards a conception of the ‘human good’ as a means for reconstructing public civility. Displaying an impressive command of the literature across many disciplines and religions, he offers a way forward for peacebuilders as they seek what he calls ‘dialogical friendships’ across the world today. This carefully argued study is one of the most creative contributions to interfaith dialogue in a very long time." —Mark D. Chapman, University of Oxford"Constructing Civility offers a timely and imaginative corrective to the fragmentation of modern societies caught in the tussle between relativistic multiculturalism and reactionary nativism. Drawing on an incredible array of ancient wisdom and modern scholarship across several disciplines, Park points us toward the 'human good' as a universal normative vision with particular resonance within Catholicism and Islam—two traditions that the author treats, as a Protestant, with equal seriousness and respect, thus modeling his message of civility." —Judd Birdsall, managing director, Cambridge Institute on Religion & International Studies"Richard Park advances a crucial and variant aspect of public civility, based on an articulation of the human good that transcends tradition and offers conceptual resources and motivations for intercommunal engagement, which is stultified by a modernist view of the state that admits of no universal conception of the human self. Park correctly argues that without such an articulation, peace building in conflict-torn regions of the world is next to impossible." —Abdulaziz Sachedina, IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies, George Mason UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction 1. Religious Diversity and Public Civility 2. Modernity’s Mayhem and the Need for Moral Political Theory 3. The Decline of Public Life 4. A Case for the Human Good 5. The Human Good and Catholic Social Thought 6. The Human Good within Islamic Political Ethics 7. Public Civility and Islamic Political Theology 8. The Prospects of Public Civility 9. The Human Good and the Scope of Public Civility Conclusion Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisPark develops a framework for universally applicable public civility in multi-faith and multicultural contexts by combining concepts of Roman Catholicism and Islam.Trade Review"Citing sympathetic Catholic and Muslim philosophers, legal scholars, and ethicists, Park devotes well-crafted chapters to elaborating his claim that to be human is to be intrinsically relational, rational, and purposive. These inherent attributes of human nature, he submits, shape the way we interpret experience, history, and culture, derive universally binding moral principles, and establish the criteria for adjudicating competing applications of them." — Reading Religion"In this highly original book, Richard S. Park succeeds in redirecting political ethics towards a conception of the ‘human good’ as a means for reconstructing public civility. Displaying an impressive command of the literature across many disciplines and religions, he offers a way forward for peacebuilders as they seek what he calls ‘dialogical friendships’ across the world today. This carefully argued study is one of the most creative contributions to interfaith dialogue in a very long time." —Mark D. Chapman, University of Oxford"Constructing Civility offers a timely and imaginative corrective to the fragmentation of modern societies caught in the tussle between relativistic multiculturalism and reactionary nativism. Drawing on an incredible array of ancient wisdom and modern scholarship across several disciplines, Park points us toward the 'human good' as a universal normative vision with particular resonance within Catholicism and Islam—two traditions that the author treats, as a Protestant, with equal seriousness and respect, thus modeling his message of civility." —Judd Birdsall, managing director, Cambridge Institute on Religion & International Studies"Richard Park advances a crucial and variant aspect of public civility, based on an articulation of the human good that transcends tradition and offers conceptual resources and motivations for intercommunal engagement, which is stultified by a modernist view of the state that admits of no universal conception of the human self. Park correctly argues that without such an articulation, peace building in conflict-torn regions of the world is next to impossible." —Abdulaziz Sachedina, IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies, George Mason UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction 1. Religious Diversity and Public Civility 2. Modernity’s Mayhem and the Need for Moral Political Theory 3. The Decline of Public Life 4. A Case for the Human Good 5. The Human Good and Catholic Social Thought 6. The Human Good within Islamic Political Ethics 7. Public Civility and Islamic Political Theology 8. The Prospects of Public Civility 9. The Human Good and the Scope of Public Civility Conclusion Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Metaphysical Perspectives, Nicholas Rescher offers a grand vision of how to conceptualize, and in some cases answer, some of the most fundamental issues in metaphysics and value theory. Rescher addresses what he sees as the three prime areas of metaphysical concern: (1) the world as such and the architecture of nature at large, (2) ourselves as nature''s denizens and our potential for learning about it, and (3) the transcendent domain of possibility and value. Rescher engages issues across a wide range of metaphysical themes, from different worldviews and ultimate questions to contingency and necessity, intelligent design and world-improvability, personhood and consciousness, empathy and other minds, moral obligation, and philosophical methodology. Over the course of this book, Rescher discusses, with his characteristic fusion of idealism and pragmatism, an integrated overview of the key philosophical problems grounded in an idealistically value-oriented approach. His discTrade Review"Necessity, randomness, free will, consciousness, the transcendental, intelligent design, the improvability of the world: in Metaphysical Perspectives these and many other topics get fascinating treatment by America's finest philosopher. Particularly intriguing is Rescher's theory of why the cosmos exists." —John Leslie, professor emeritus, University of Guelph, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada"Nicholas Rescher's Metaphysical Perspectives is a magisterial work, in both depth and breadth. The proposed metaphysical theory is novel, though Leibnizean in spirit. It rests on axiological considerations, hence much of the book consists of discussion, brief but unfailingly erudite, of topics not usually regarded as strictly metaphysical. This is why an extended and highly interesting ethical theory is also proposed, succinctly but clearly and eloquently." —Panayot Butchvarov, professor emeritus, University of Iowa"Across questions of possibility, reality, consciousness, and value, Nicholas Rescher brings a full range of metaphysical topics together in a unified approach. To all of these questions he applies a unified vision of the character of philosophy as well: philosophy as literature, following wherever rationality leads, normative as well as descriptive, aimed at offering a guide to life. The result is comprehensive in both topic and technique, a masterful value-based vision from a true contemporary master." —Patrick Grim, Stony Brook University and University of Michigan"Nicholas Rescher’s encyclopedic knowledge of philosophy is on full display in this work. A broad sweep of metaphysical topics is covered, ranging from the principle of sufficient reason through consciousness to the question of why philosophy is ordinarily inexact. One of its virtues is that the clarity of writing makes most chapters accessible to a general readership while providing an intellectual challenge to academic philosophers." —Paul Humphreys, University of VirginiaTable of ContentsPreface Introduction: On the Mission of Philosophy 1. Ultimate Questions 2. World Views 3. Terminological Contextuality 4. On Contingency and Necessity 5. Randomness and Reason 6. Issues of Self-Reference and Paradox 7. Explanation and the Principle of Sufficient Reason 8. Intelligent Design Revisited in the Light of Evolutionary Neo-Platonism 9. What If Things Were Different? 10. On the Improvability of the World 11. Consciousness 12. Control 13. Free Will in the Light of Process Theory 14. Personhood 15. The Metaphysics of Moral Obligation 16. Empathy, Shared Experience, and Other Minds 17. Philosophy as an Inexact Science 18. Philosophy’s Involvement with Transcendental Issues 19. Religious Variation and the Rationale of Belief Notes Bibliography Index of Names

Read more less

Book SynopsisJean Bethke Elshtain (19412013) was a noted ethicist, political philosopher, and public intellectual. Her four decades of scholarship defy easy categorization: she wrote both seminal works of theory and occasional pieces for the popular press, and she was variously viewed as radical and conservative, feminist and traditionalist, anti-war and pro-interventionist. Jean Bethke Elshtain: Politics, Ethics, and Society is the first attempt to evaluate Elshtain's entire published body of work and to give shape to a wide-ranging scholarly career, with an eye to her work's ongoing relevance. This collection of essays brings together scholars and public intellectuals from across the spectrum of disciplines in which Elshtain wrote. The volume is organized around four themes, which identify the central concerns that shaped Elshtain's thought: (1) the nature of politics; (2) politics and religion; (3) international relations and just war; and (4) the end(s) of political life. The essays hTrade Review“This book is interdisciplinary, generative, and comprehensive in its aims. It truly establishes the significance of Elshtain’s political thought for intersecting fields of politics, political and social ethics, political theology, sexual-gender politics, and social problems. Many of the contributors are a virtual listing of 'Who's Who' in religious, social, and political ethics and political theorists.” —Victor Anderson, Oberlin Theological School Professor of Ethics and Society at the Divinity School, Vanderbilt University"What a wonderful tribute this collection of essays is to the person and work of Jean Elshtain who, for some forty years, was one of America's most prominent public intellectuals. The essays, of uniformly high quality, are both admiring and critical of Elshtain's work, lucidly expounding and engaging her thought while also making creative contributions of their own to political theory and social analysis. Suffusing the entire collection is the evident love these writers had, and continue to have, for the winsome, engaged, brilliant, and magnetic person that was Jean Elshtain." —Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University"Debra Erickson and Michael Le Chevallier’s collection is in every way a fitting tribute to Jean Elshtain: essays by thoughtful scholars of a wide range of disciplines and viewpoints, from doctoral students to distinguished professors, covering the full range of her work from feminism to sovereignty to just war. The essays are both stimulating reading in themselves and a compelling invitation to read or reread Elshtain’s own writings." —Nathan Tarcov, Karl J. Weintraub Professor of Social Thought and Political Science and in the College, The University of Chicago "A rich collection of essays that helps one understand the importance of Jean Bethke Elshtain's seminal works, and further develops moral and social ideas crucial for our time." —Amitai Etzioni, author of The New Golden Rule: Community and Morality in a Democratic Society"Jean Bethke Elshtain (1941–2013) was a distinguished political philosopher who opposed many dominant trends in her field. As the contributors to this volume point out, she closely related personal life and politics. . . . A valuable work for anyone interested in political theory and a useful companion to Elshtain’s own books, such as Sovereignty: God, State, and Self and Just War Against Terror." —Library Journal“This collection is part analysis of Elshtain’s work, part application of her work to new problems, and part critique—but always admiration for her commitment to ethics in the political realm. . . a valuable resource to those studying Elshtain’s thinking or the various fields in which her work has made an impact.” —Reading Religion“Debra Erickson and Michael Le Chevalier pay wonderful homage to their teacher Jean Bethke Elshtain, and perform an important service for the rest of us who, from various distances regard her as our teacher… The essays contained in this volume pay tribute both to her scholarship and to her as a person. Perhaps most importantly, they recognize how Elshtain regarded the person as the central category of the study of politics.” —Journal of Church and State"The collection displays why Elshtain managed to succeed where so many academics fail: she risked being interesting by pursuing lines of thought or threading needles of nuance that sometimes result in other intellectuals' jealousy or in being cast out of their particular movement (as Elshtain was by some feminists for Public Man, Private Woman). Even for those largely unacquainted with her work, this collection helps us understand what made her such a provocative, relevant, and fascinating public intellectual." —Modern Theology"The book virtually stands alone in the literature, offering readers in political science, political and social theory, ethics, religious studies, and theology a window into the scholarship of a major voice at the intersection of politics, religion, and ethics in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries." —Studies in Christian Ethics“Elshtain’s legacy lives on and is more vibrant and pertinent than ever . . . [this] collection analyzes [her] body of work from contemporary theoretical and applied perspectives.” —The Review of PoliticsTable of ContentsForeword Introduction: Debra Erickson and Michael Le Chevallier Part 1. The Political Question Introduction: Robin Lovin 1. The Context and Texts of Public Man, Private Woman: Jean Bethke Elshtain in the World of Ideas and Action by Arlene Saxonhouse 2. Becoming Jean Elshtain: Exploring the Intersections of Social Feminism and Civic Life by William Galston 3. Elshtain’s "Reflective" Ethics of Feminism and Family: An Appreciation and Critique by Don Browning 4. Striking the Balance: Burke’s Blending of Liberty, Tradition, and Reform by Peter Berkowitz 5. Reflections on Reflections: Democracy, Depression, and Disability by Nancy Hirschmann Part 2. Cities of God and Man Introduction: Michael Kessler 6. A Critical Appreciation of Jean Bethke Elshtain's Embodied Augustinian Realism by Nigel Biggar 7. Engaging the Mind of Elshtain on Sovereignty by Gilbert Meilaender 8. Taking Love Seriously: Elshtain’s Augustinian Voice and Modern Politics by Eric Gregory 9. Supremacy at Stake: Religion and the Sovereign State by Daniel Philpott 10. Sovereign No More? Selves, States, and God in Our Bewildering Global Environment by Lisa Sowle Cahill Part 3. Nations and Citizens at Peace and War Introduction: Marc LiVecche 11. The Education of a Just War Thinker by John Carlson 12. The Effect of Perspectives of Thinking about Sovereignty: a Dialogue with Jean Bethke Elshtain by James Turner Johnson 13. Two Sovereigns? Violence and the Ambiguities of Jean Bethke Elshtain’s Christian Realism by Nicholas Rengger 14. A New, But Still a Just War Against Terror by Chris Brown 15. Just War and Religion: Reflections on the Work of Jean Elshtain by Michael Walzer Part 4. The End(s) of Political Life Introduction: Erik Owens 16. Civil Society and Political Society by Francis Fukuyama 17. Religion and Democracy: Why Each Needs the Other by Carl Gershman 18. Defending the Indefensible Liberal Consensus: The Tragic Moderation of Jean Bethke Elshtain by Patrick Deneen 19. The Limits of Politics and the Inevitability of Ethics by Robin Lovin

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book argues that classical natural law jurisprudence provides a superior answer to the questions What is law? and How should law be made? rather than those provided by legal positivism and new natural law theories.What is law? How should law be made? Using St. Thomas Aquinas's analogy of God as an architect, Brian McCall argues that classical natural law jurisprudence provides an answer to these questions far superior to those provided by legal positivism or the new natural law theories. The Architecture of Law explores the metaphor of law as an architectural building project, with eternal law as the foundation, natural law as the frame, divine law as the guidance provided by the architect, and human law as the provider of the defining details and ornamentation. Classical jurisprudence is presented as a synthesis of the work of the greatest minds of antiquity and the medieval period, including Cicero, Aristotle, Gratian, Augustine, and Aquinas; the significTrade Review“The book is nothing short of a masterpiece. It is truly a tour de force that articulates and defends the classical understanding of natural law against detractors (and reformers) of both yesteryear and today. With this book, Brian McCall has established himself as, arguably, the leading natural law luminary in American legal academia.” —Ronald J. Colombo, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University“The Architecture of Law makes a masterful contribution to constructive jurisprudence in the best tradition of the ongoing encounter between reason and Christian faith. Erudite yet unpretentious, insightful yet careful, McCall’s account of human lawmaking starts at the beginning, where one should indeed start, and then gradually shows the reader exactly why law is correctly defined, pace most modern accounts, as a ‘dialectic among reason, command, and custom.’ This book offers a challenging, fascinating, but consistent journey for the reader. It is an outstanding piece of work.” —Patrick McKinley Brennan, Villanova University"Drawing on the best resources of Roman law, classical canon law, Catholic theology, perennial philosophy, and positivist, historicist, and natural law jurisprudence, Brian McCall constructs a dynamic account of law that refuses to leave anything important out. Erudite yet unpretentious, this book is the modern jurisprudential equivalent of the greatest medieval cathedrals. Offering shelter to all, it appeals to our capacity to construct law that is worthy of our better angels, while never mistaking men-as-they-happen-to-be for angels." —Patrick Brennan, John F. Scarpa Chair in Catholic Legal Studies, Villanova University“While committed opponents of traditional natural law nay not be convinced, McCall’s presentation is nonetheless extremely lucid, clear and thought-provoking for those who have become uncomfortable with the supposedly self-evident principles of modern jurisprudence—principles which deny any real connection between law and morality and nature.” —Catholic Herald“[The Architecture of Law] is worth reading. Those not immersed in the classical tradition will benefit from this introduction to some of its lesser-known themes. . . . Those who know the tradition well will find in McCall’s expression of it fresh and challenging glosses and close attention to its most vexing questions.” —Law and Liberty“Professor McCall issues a clarion call to return to classical sources, most notable Thomas Aquinas, in order to evaluate and appreciate the essential role of natural law within the whole structure of the law.” —Ecclesiastical Law Journal“. . . a bold, thoughtful, and cogent defense of classical natural law theory and its relevance for the contemporary theory and practice of law. This book deserves wide attention from legal scholars as well as theologians and historians of law.” —Journal of Law and Religion

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe principle of double effect has a long history, from scholastic disputations about self-defense and scandal to current debates about terrorism, torture, euthanasia, and abortion. Despite being widely debated, the principle remains poorly understood. In Intention, Character, and Double Effect, Lawrence Masek combines theoretical and applied questions into a systematic defense of the principle that does not depend on appeals to authority or intuitions about cases. Masek argues that actions can be wrong because they corrupt the agent''s character and that one must consider the agent''s perspective to determine which effects the agent intends. This defense of the principle clears up common confusions and overcomes critics'' objections, including confusions about trolley and transplant cases and objections from neuroscience and moral psychology. This book will interest scholars and students in different fields of study, including moral philosophy, action theory, moral theology,Trade Review"Masek convincingly argues that double effect captures the venerable Socratic insight that an agent uniquely corrupts his or her character in deliberately harmful acts that, thereby, differ from simply harmful acts. Responding to the common criticism of double effect—that it confuses act- with agent-assessment—Masek offers a comprehensive insightful argument as to how and why agent and act-evaluation form a unity that moralists must not put asunder. A must-read contribution for devotees of the double effect debate that locates the (at times seemingly exotic) account in the daily Socratic search to live the good life." —T. A. Cavanaugh, University of San Francisco“Lawrence Masek argues for a view of intention that is agent-centered all around both in its account of what is intended and what is a side effect, and in its account of why intention matters. Masek deals with a number of controversial cases, such as craniotomy, salpingotomy, and the Phoenix abortion case, which illustrate the different claims made by an agent-centered approach from other approaches, and defends those claims against various objections.” —Christopher Tollefsen, author of Lying and Christian Ethics“Masek examines the common philosophical puzzles used to explain double effect, and he proposes what he calls an ‘agent based’ formulation of [the principle of double effect]. He argues that one has to think about how the action will form an agent in order to assess its morality. Lucid and well argued, this is a book for those interested in ethics or moral philosophy.” —Choice "[This book] presents an agent-based version of the Principle of Double Effect (PDE) that arose from the author’s engagement with MacIntyre’s After Virtue, wrestling to pinpoint the disagreement between the critics and advocates of double effect and understanding why PDE generally appeals more to Catholic philosophers." —Catholic Library WorldTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Rational Basis of the Principle of Double Effect 2. A Definition of Intended Effects 3. The Strongest Objection to the Principle of Double Effect 4. Trolley Cases, Neuroscience, and Moral Psychology 5. Hard Cases in Medicine and War Appendix: Case Summaries Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAmerica and the Just War Tradition examines and evaluates each of America's major wars from a just war perspective. Using moral analysis that is anchored in the just war tradition, the contributors provide careful historical analysis evaluating individual conflicts.Each chapter explores the causes of a particular war, the degree to which the justice of the conflict was a subject of debate at the time, and the extent to which the war measured up to traditional ad bellum and in bello criteria. Where appropriate, contributors offer post bellum considerations, insofar as justice is concerned with helping to offer a better peace and end result than what had existed prior to the conflict.This fascinating exploration offers policy guidance for the use of force in the world today, and will be of keen interest to historians, political scientists, philosophers, and theologians, as well as policy makers and the general reading public.ContributorTrade Review“This collection has the capacity to bethe reference point for just war theory in relation to American wars from colonial origins to today. It deserves a wide readership. The editors are extremely knowledgeable and their arguments cohere.”—Harry Stout, Jonathan Edwards Professor of American Religious History, Yale University"These wise, penetrating essays offer a dispassionate moral assessment of the justice of past American wars from the just war perspective. The editors’ superb introductory chapter on the just war tradition provides the foundation for the eleven case studies on U.S. wars—from the Revolutionary War to recent post–Cold War conflict in Afghanistan. This book is an important contribution to the applied ethics of just war reasoning." —Mark R. Amstutz, emeritus, Wheaton College"Many recently published and revised books discuss the just war tradition with the aid of case studies or historical examples, but I cannot think of any recent book that focuses solely on the ethics of a subset of US wars. The book is very readable for anyone in academic humanities and even for non-academics. America and the Just War Tradition succeeds admirably as a general introduction. It provides a jumping-off point for deeper analysis of the ethics of particular wars." —James L. Cook, United States Air Force Academy“This compilation of essays gives a historical and moral framework to understand what . . . any of the millions of American servicemen were doing anywhere the United States has fought over the last 250 or so years.” —Law & Liberty“Whether one is a historian who hopes to learn more about America’s conflicts, a philosopher who works in ethics or political philosophy, or a soldier of veteran who enjoys military history, America and the Just War Tradition addresses each of these topics and audiences from a variety of authors in a range of disciplines.” —Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policy"The scholarship on display in each instance is exemplary. There is no browbeating here, no polemics, no special pleading, no Whiggery, just thoughtful analysis that offers a careful weighing of the evidence that is sensitive to, but not overwhelmed by, the demands of historical context. ...A superior book and a very welcome addition to the just war canon." —Journal of Church and State"This fascinating exploration offers policy guidance for the use of force in the world today, and will be of keen interest to historians, political scientists, philosophers, and theologians, as well as policy makers and the general reading public." —Law and Religion ForumTable of ContentsForeword by James Turner Johnson The Just War Tradition and America’s Wars by J. Daryl Charles and Mark David Hall “Fear, Honor, and Interest”: The Unjust Motivations and Outcomes of the American Revolutionary War by John D. Roche The War of 1812 by Jonathan Den Hartog James K. Polk and the War with Mexico by Daniel Walker Howe The Fractured Union and the Justification for War by Gregory Jones Just War and the Spanish-American War by Timothy J. Demy The Great War, the United States, and Just War Thought by Jonathan H. Ebel The United States and Japan in the Second World War: A Just War Perspective by Kerry E. Irish America’s Ambiguous “Police Action”: The Korean Conflict by Laura Jane Gifford Vietnam and the Just War Tradition by Mackubin Thomas Owens The First and Second Gulf Wars by Darrell Cole The War on Terror and Afghanistan by Rouven Steeves Acknowledgements About the Contributors

Read more less

Book SynopsisPresents in an accessible way the thinking of Erich Przywara (1889-1972) for an English-speaking audience. Przywara's work remains little known to a broad Catholic audience, but it had a major impact on many of the most celebrated theologians of the twentieth century, including Hans Urs von Balthasar, Karl Rahner, Edith Stein, and Karl Barth.Trade Review"Graham McAleer makes astonishingly difficult things come to life in the most vibrant and persuasive way. His book is enormously erudite and enormously interesting. He makes the implications of Przywara's thought for ethics and culture pop off the page. This book could be a huge conversation starter on multiple levels." —John Betz, University of Notre Dame"This volume is a cultural and philosophical commentary on an extremely important twentieth-century text in Thomistic thought, Analogia Entis by Erich Przywara, S.J. The author aims both to make this very difficult text more easily accessible and to apply the thought found in that seminal text to contemporary trends." —Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., Fordham University"Graham McAleer's learning and talent for relating seemingly disparate ideas and thinkers . . . are clearly in evidence throughout. The author's command of sources from medieval to early modern to contemporary is impressive." —Aaron Pidel, Marquette University"This work is highly valuable from a number of angles: first it unpacks some of the key concepts of Erich Przywara’s Analogia Entis which was one of the most important Catholic books of the 20th century but notoriously dense. Second it argues that ethical reflection must include a metaphysics of morals that avoids landing on one extreme end of the vitalism-angelism see-saw. Thirdly it argues that natural law is Christoform and thereby affirms and extends the directions taken by St John Paul II in this field. Fourthly it demonstrates the contemporary relevance of these ideas by juxtaposing them with themes in postmodern philosophy and social practices. Fifthly it highlights the political repercussions of getting the analogia entis wrong or just not taking it into account at all. And last, but far from least, it achieves all of this with a very engaging (non-boring, non-technical) style of writing. It’s a 'must read' for anyone interested in the Catholic intellectual tradition." —Tracey Rowland, University of Notre Dame (Australia)"In fresh and accessible prose, Graham McAleer's latest book demonstrates the enduring relevance of Pryzwara's teaching on the analogy of being. On the basis of his thought, McAleer offers a compelling genealogy of modernity and sheds light on numerous otherwise perplexing features of contemporary culture." —Thomas Hibbs, president, University of Dallas"Another slendid book by G. J. McAleer, in which he tackles, with characteristic panache and ploymorphous erudition, a whole slew of the moral and cultural perplexities that confront Catholics currently in the liberal democracies, expounding and developing a radical account of the doctrine of natural law that shows how we got here and how we might work ourselves out of the mess. Granted, it is a challenging read for 'liberal humanitarians' such as myself, a Thomist who never read Pryzwara, and (worse still!) a student of philosophy at Aberdeen who never heard of Thomas Reid, two of McAleer's heroes. But, even when you resist where the argument is inexorably taking you, you cannot restrain your delight in the thought world that McAleer opens up—a dazzling performance!" —Fergus Kerr, O.P., School of Divinity, University of EdinburghTable of ContentsIntroduction Robert Kilwardby’s Angelism Hellfire and the Burning Flesh of the Disembodied Early Modern Angelism and Schopenhauer’s Vitalism Vitalism and National Socialism Agamben on the Ontology of Clothes Relying on Clothes: Merleau-Ponty’s Flesh Value Theory and Natural Law Play and Liturgy Conclusion: Moral Theory: Metaphysics and Liturgy Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Fate and Free Will, Heath White explores and defends a traditional view of God''s relationship to creation that has in recent years fallen out of favor. White argues that theological determinismthe idea that God is directly responsible for every detail of history and existenceis relevant to concepts such as human responsibility, freedom, and justice; the meaning of life; and theodicy. Defending theological determinism from the perspective of traditional orthodox Christianity, White clarifies this view, positions it within scripture, and argues positively for it through considerations about divine attributes and via the idea of an ex nihilo creation.White addresses objections to theological determinism by presenting nuanced and insightful counterarguments. He asserts that theological determinism does not undermine practices of criminal punishment, destroy human responsibility, render life meaningless, or hinder freedom. While the book does not attempt to answer everyTrade Review"Theological determinism has in recent decades not received the attention devoted to various versions of theological libertarianism, and this state of affairs is best corrected. Fate and Free Will promises to be the best current book-length philosophical treatment of theological determinism from a Christian perspective. It is in addition accessible to undergraduates and to the college-educated public." —Derk Pereboom, Susan Linn Sage Professor of Philosophy, Cornell University"Instead of engaging in the all-too-common and often unilluminating “low road” of argument and counterexample, Heath White primarily takes what he calls the “high road” of explanation. He is always asking “why” and proposing thoughtful and systematic answers. What results is a series of theories: theories of prayer, of punishment, of blame, of free will, even of the meaning of life, all connected to the overarching theologically determinist theory of divine providence. If you want to wrestle with genuinely deep and thorough attempts to get to the bottom of things, I can’t recommend anything on the subject more highly." —Daniel M. Johnson, Shawnee State University"Contemporary philosophy of religion has been dominated by approaches that assume a very robust libertarianism about free will and have unsurprisingly been accompanied by a diminished view of divine sovereignty. W. Heath White’s Fate and Free Will is a welcome counterweight. Beginning instead with a very robust account of divine sovereignty that precludes libertarianism, White shows how much progress can be made on thorny theological issues without sacrificing a strong conception of God as determiner of all that was, is, and ever will be." —Mark C. Murphy, Robert L. McDevitt, K.S.G., K.C.H.S. and Catherine H. McDevitt L.C.H.S. Chair in Religious Philosophy, Georgetown UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Divine Action 2. Why Believe Theological Determinism? 3. Does Theological Determinism Undermine Human Justice? 4. Responsibility 5. Does Theological Determinism Undermine Responsibility? 6. Theological Determinism and the Meaning of Life 7. Theological Determinism and Freedom 8. The Problem of Evil I: Its Mere Existence 9. The Problem of Evil II: Beyond Mere Existence 10. The Problem of Hell 11. The Last Word Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisValue and Vulnerability brings together scholars of many religionsincluding Catholicism, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Islam, and Humanismto identify and examine conceptions and interpretations of dignity within different religious and philosophical perspectives and their applications to contemporary issues of conflict, such as gendered, religious, and racial violence, immigration, ecology, and religious peacemaking. Value and Vulnerability also includes response chapters that clarify and refine these interpretations from interfaith perspectives. Through this volume, Matthew R. Petrusek and Jonathan Rothchild offer recommendations for advancing the conversation about dignity within and among traditions and for addressing urgent global issues and threats to dignity. Together, Petrusek, Rothchild, and the contributors create a comparative framework constituted by seven questions: What sources justify dignity's existence, nature, and purpoTrade Review“This is an ambitious book that engages the nature and scope of dignity as a normative claim, a topic of enduring interest to religious ethics at both the theoretical and practical level.” —Andrew Lustig, co-editor of Altering Nature"Though often referenced in connection with legal, theological, and human rights issues, human dignity remains a vague concept at best, varying according to its interpreters. In the present collection Petrusek and Rothchild seek to clarify different beliefs and issues related to the understanding of dignity. . . . Providing an excellent analysis, this collection will be a wonderful addition to the literature on ethics, philosophy of religion, and theology and contemporary social issues." —Choice"The collection is a wellspring of traditional, conceptual, practical, and innovative resources able to advance the effectiveness of dignity as the fundamental platform for vulnerably engaging in mutual recognition wherein we discover in the other what makes us capable of solidarity in the ongoing agenda of becoming more evidently human." —Theological Studies

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn The Priority of the Person, world-class philosopher David Walsh advances the argument set forth in his highly original philosophic meditation Politics of the Person as the Politics of Being (2015), that person is the central category of modern political thought and philosophy. The present volume is divided into three main parts. It begins with the political discovery of the inexhaustibility of persons, explores the philosophic differentiation of the idea of the person, and finally traces the historical emergence of the concept through art, science, and faith. Walsh argues that, although the roots of the idea of person are found in the Greek concept of the mind and in the Christian conception of the soul, this notion is ultimately a distinctly modern achievement, because it is only the modern turn toward interiority that illuminated the unique nature of persons as each being a world unto him- or herself. As Walsh shows, it is precisely this feature of persons that maTrade Review“The reader can trace David Walsh’s own personal turn(s) as he participates in the conversation that Kant, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, and others conduct. This is an intensely personal book about the person." —John von Heyking, author of The Form of Politics"With each new book, David Walsh’s formidable project broadens and deepens. His is a rare and elegant meditative reflection, grounded in a luminous appreciation of the inexhaustible dignity of the human person, and in the priority of practice, of lived experience, to all intellectual and theoretical abstractions. All in all, an intellectual gem not to be missed." —Daniel J. Mahoney, author of The Conservative Foundations of Liberal Order“Walsh brings his previous searching reflections on the direction and content of philosophy to a brilliant conclusion in these memorable pages. This is a work of original intellect that serves to illuminate what a person is, how it is grounded in reality, and how it relates both to God and to the political order.” —James V. Schall, S.J., author of The Modern Age“These essays broach the topic of the person within diverse fields of academic expertise: the political, philosophical, historical, and literary disciplines. It is a comprehensive study of the person that does indeed both unfold and clarify Professor Walsh’s creative grounding of the inviolability of personhood. The book is also exceptionally informative about these fields of study. The second volume on the person as ‘beyond being’ thus is well worth the read.” —VoegelinView"[Walsh's] core contention is profound. It is an application of Voegelin's theory of the differentiation of consciousness, the idea that the more a civilization plays with complex distinctions, the greater the likelihood of its framing a humane politics. . . . The Priority of the Person is a significant challenge to Catholic integralism, and any variety of conservatism that would think to forsake modern liberty." —Law and Liberty"[The Priority of the Person] is united around Walsh’s ambitious philosophical project, into which he hopes this volume will provide an entry. He succeeds in this endeavor. Although the book may still sometimes challenge lay readers, it is more accessible than its predecessors. It is therefore essential reading, as Walsh’s attempted vindication of modern philosophy and political liberalism demands engagement from those debating the merits and future of liberalism." —Public Discourse"Walsh, then, not Kierkegaard, is the culminating figure in this modern philosophical revolution. The Priority of the Person shores up an original project worth contemplating as such." —The Review of Politics“In sixteen intellectually scintillating chapters . . . [Walsh] outlines how if you want to address different questions like liberalism, the common good, the work of Eric Voegelin, or reflect on Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Benedict XVI or the great financial crisis of 2008, the most accessible way is to inquire into 'what it means to be a person.' . . . To Walsh the answer is not a definition but is constituted as an ‘imperative of living.'” —Claritas"Our ethics today plainly needs more reason, not less. So does our politics. And among the great contributions of Walsh’s book is to show how Christianity not only can but also must find its way home to liberalism, not the reverse." —Perspectives on Politics"In this wide-ranging, densely written text, David Walsh captures the importance of person. . . . Though many of the chapters are drawn from previously published essays, each section of the book adds new context or clarity regarding key aspects of this central component of human thought." —Choice

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“The reader can trace David Walsh’s own personal turn(s) as he participates in the conversation that Kant, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, and others conduct. This is an intensely personal book about the person." —John von Heyking, author of The Form of Politics"With each new book, David Walsh’s formidable project broadens and deepens. His is a rare and elegant meditative reflection, grounded in a luminous appreciation of the inexhaustible dignity of the human person, and in the priority of practice, of lived experience, to all intellectual and theoretical abstractions. All in all, an intellectual gem not to be missed." —Daniel J. Mahoney, author of The Conservative Foundations of Liberal Order“Walsh brings his previous searching reflections on the direction and content of philosophy to a brilliant conclusion in these memorable pages. This is a work of original intellect that serves to illuminate what a person is, how it is grounded in reality, and how it relates both to God and to the political order.” —James V. Schall, S.J., author of The Modern Age“These essays broach the topic of the person within diverse fields of academic expertise: the political, philosophical, historical, and literary disciplines. It is a comprehensive study of the person that does indeed both unfold and clarify Professor Walsh’s creative grounding of the inviolability of personhood. The book is also exceptionally informative about these fields of study. The second volume on the person as ‘beyond being’ thus is well worth the read.” —VoegelinView"[Walsh's] core contention is profound. It is an application of Voegelin's theory of the differentiation of consciousness, the idea that the more a civilization plays with complex distinctions, the greater the likelihood of its framing a humane politics. . . . The Priority of the Person is a significant challenge to Catholic integralism, and any variety of conservatism that would think to forsake modern liberty." —Law and Liberty"[The Priority of the Person] is united around Walsh’s ambitious philosophical project, into which he hopes this volume will provide an entry. He succeeds in this endeavor. Although the book may still sometimes challenge lay readers, it is more accessible than its predecessors. It is therefore essential reading, as Walsh’s attempted vindication of modern philosophy and political liberalism demands engagement from those debating the merits and future of liberalism." —Public Discourse"Walsh, then, not Kierkegaard, is the culminating figure in this modern philosophical revolution. The Priority of the Person shores up an original project worth contemplating as such." —The Review of Politics“In sixteen intellectually scintillating chapters . . . [Walsh] outlines how if you want to address different questions like liberalism, the common good, the work of Eric Voegelin, or reflect on Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Benedict XVI or the great financial crisis of 2008, the most accessible way is to inquire into 'what it means to be a person.' . . . To Walsh the answer is not a definition but is constituted as an ‘imperative of living.'” —Claritas"Our ethics today plainly needs more reason, not less. So does our politics. And among the great contributions of Walsh’s book is to show how Christianity not only can but also must find its way home to liberalism, not the reverse." —Perspectives on Politics"In this wide-ranging, densely written text, David Walsh captures the importance of person. . . . Though many of the chapters are drawn from previously published essays, each section of the book adds new context or clarity regarding key aspects of this central component of human thought." —Choice

Read more less