Ethics and moral philosophy Books

Book SynopsisDo animals have moral rights? If so, what does this mean? What sorts of mental lives do animals have, and how should we understand welfare? By presenting models for understanding animals'' moral status and rights, and examining their mental lives and welfare, David DeGrazia explores the implications for how we should treat animals in connection with our diet, zoos, and research. Animal Rights distinguishes itself by combining intellectual rigour with accessibility, offering a distinct moral voice with a non-polemical tone. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. Introduction to the Issues ; 2. The Moral Status of Animals ; 3. What Animals are Like ; 4. The Harms of Suffering, Confinement, and Death ; 5. Meat-Eating ; 6. Keeping Pets and Zoo Animals ; 7. Animal Research ; 8. Epilogue

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Book SynopsisWell and Good presents a combination of classic and little-known cases in health care ethics. These cases, accompanied by information about the major ethical theories, give students a chance to grapple with the ethical challenges faced by health care practitioners, policy makers, and recipients. The authors’ narrative style and leading questions provoke interest and engagement, while allowing readers to work through complicated issues for themselves. This fourth edition includes an expanded discussion of feminist ethics, as well as new cases addressing pandemic ethics, humanitarian aid, the social determinants of health, research and Aboriginal communities, and a number of other emerging issues.Trade Review“Perhaps the best text of its kind for undergraduate courses in Health Care Ethics and Health Science programs. It requires no previous knowledge of philosophy, is full of relevant and interesting case studies, and contains the most up-to-date information concerning health law and precedent-setting cases in a Canadian context. Maybe best of all, it’s sure to prove a powerful generator of class discussion.” — David C. Flagel, University of New Brunswick“This new and improved edition of Well and Good offers an impressive selection of cases on a broad range of topics. An outstanding resource.” — David Rondel, University of Nevada, RenoComments on previous editions“… superb … wide in scope but concrete in the way it grapples with these problems. It illuminates both the moral and the technical aspects of the field.” — Daniel Callahan, Hastings Center“There are so few books like this … very helpful in showing how ethical theory can be applied in real life.” — Mary Bockover, University of California, Santa Barbara“Well and Good covers a diverse range of issues using medically detailed cases. I particularly like how it addresses clinic and home settings as well as hospitals.” — Connie Perry, Allegheny University of the Health SciencesTable of ContentsPreface to the Fourth EditionAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Ethical Resources for Decision-Making Moral Philosophy Morality versus Ethics Levels of Moral Response A Variety of Perspectives Some Basic Concepts Five Types of Ethical Theory: Mill, Kant, Ross, Aristotle, and Feminist Perspectives The Language of Rights Concluding Thoughts Chapter One: Relationships in Health Care When Physicians and Family Disagree Prescribing Birth Control to Minors Nancy Olivieri, Bioethics, and Industry Funding Ol’ Joe Terminal Illness, Addictions, and Respect An “Over-the-Hill” Surgeon Chapter Two: Health Care in Canada Budget Cutting in Neonatology and Perinatology Social Determinants of Health An Artificial Heart — Allocating Health Care Funding Canada’s Tainted Blood Scandal Chapter Three: Consent Research Involving Alzheimer Patients Non-Consensual Electroconvulsive Shock Therapy Discontinuing Forced Feeding of an Anorexia Nervosa Patient Choosing Not to Vaccinate Religious Conflict over a Life-Saving Blood Transfusion Chapter Four: Reproduction When a Couple Disagree over Abortion Caesarean for the Sake of the Fetus? The Legality and Morality of Contract (Surrogate) Pregnancy The Role of Chantal Daigle’s Boyfriend in Her Abortion Decision Fetal Tissue Transplantation Too Old to Have a Baby? Chapter Five: Fetuses and Newborns Should Treatment Be Withheld from Patients with Severe Cognitive Disabilities? Sex Selection for Non-Medical Reasons Should Fetuses with “Milder Disabilities” Be Aborted? Protecting an “Unborn Child” Saviour Siblings Chapter Six: Death, Dying, and Euthanasia Two Different Requests to Be Left to Die “Don’t Let My Mother Die” “Please Let Me Die” Sue Rodriguez: “Please Help Me to Die” Tracy and Robert Latimer: “It Was Right to Kill MyDaughter” Stephen Dawson: Should Severely Mentally ChallengedPatients Be Treated? The Brain Dead as Teaching Materials Chapter Seven: Research Involving Human Participants Using Infants in Medical Research Projects Diagnosing and Treating Heart Disease in Women Who Owns the Research? The Case of the HeLa Cells Access to Experimental Drugs in Catastrophic Circumstances Pandemic Flu Ethics and Risk Chapter Eight: Scarce Medical Resources and Catastrophic Circumstances Dialysis Machine Shortages: Who Shall Live? Ethics and Humanitarian Aid: Vertical Aid Programs Payment for Plasma Anencephalic Infants as Donors A Baboon Heart for Baby Fae Did Family Instability Justify Non-Treatment of Baby Jesse? Chapter Nine: Genetics The Nuu chah nulth Nation and Arthritis Research Enhancement and Sport Genetic Testing and Disclosure Chapter Ten: Unanalyzed Cases for Further Study Should Restraints Be Used to Correct Self-Destructive Behaviour? Breast Cancer While Pregnant Should Patients Be Informed of Remote Risks of Procedures? Minors as Organ Donors Failed Contraception, Genetic Disorders, and Parental Disagreement To Resuscitate or Not to Resuscitate? CPR and a Nurse’s Responsibility ”Don’t Start the Respirator” Queue-Jumping in the OR Allocation of ICU Beds Vaccination Allocation Genetic Screening and Family Disclosure Index

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Book SynopsisPersonal empowerment in the face of planetary despairTable of Contents Permissions Message from Dalai Lama Foreword by Matthew Fox Preface by Joanna Macy Preface by Molly Young Brown Chapter 1: To Choose Life We Can Still Opt for a Life-Sustaining World Choosing Our Story 1. Business As Usual 2. The Great Unraveling 3. The Great Turning The Great Turning 1. Holding Actions in Defense of Life 2. Transforming the Foundations of Our Common Life 3. Shift in Perception and Values Chapter 2: The Greatest Danger - The Deadening of Heart and Mind What is Pain for the World? What Deadens Heart and Mind? Fear of Pain Fear of Despair Other Spiritual Traps Fear of Not Fitting In Distrust of Our Own Intelligence Fear of Guilt Fear of Distressing Loved Ones View of Self as Separate Hijacked Attention Fear of Powerlessness Fear of Knowing - and Speaking Mass Media Job and Time Pressures Social Violence The Cost of Blocking Our Pain for the World Impeded Cognitive Functioning Impeded Access to the Unconscious Impeded Instinct for Self-Preservation Impeded Eros Impeded Empathy Impeded Imagination Impeded Feedback Coming Back to Life Chapter 3: The Basic Miracle - Our True Nature and Power Living Systems Theory How Life Self-Organizes Water, Fire and Web Gaia Theory Deep Ecology Beyond Anthropocentrism The Ecological Self Asking Deeper Questions Ancient Spiritual Teachings Abrahamic Religions Asian Traditions Indigenous Spirituality The Miracle of Mind Self as Choice Maker Positive Disintegration We Are the World The Nature of Our Power Power Over Power With Power Over Blocks Feedback The Power of Disclosure Synergy and Grace Chapter 4: What Is The Work That Reconnects? History of the Work Aims of the Work Basic Assumptions of the Work The Spiral of the Work The Shambhala Prophecy The Work That Reconnects in Corporate Settings Chapter 5: Guiding The Work That Reconnects The Value of Working in Groups Tasks of the Facilitator Foundations of Good Facilitation Capacities of an Excellent Guide Engaging Full Participation Working With Strong Emotions Guidelines for Conducting Rituals Workshop Setting and Arrangements Money Opening The Workshop Closing The Workshop Evaluation Follow-Up Ongoing Support for the Guide Chapter 6: Coming From Gratitude Gratitude: Teaching Points Practices Becoming Present through Breath, Movement,Sound and Silence Introductions with Gratitude Open Sentences Open Sentences on Gratitude Gratitude Rounds Mirror Walk Open Sentences on the Great Turning The Wheel of the Great Turning The Elm Dance The Presence of Gratitude Throughout the Work Chapter 7: Honoring Our Pain For The World Our Inner Responses to Suffering and Destruction Practices Small Groups on the Great Unraveling Open Sentences on Honoring Our Pain Breathing Through The Milling Reporting to Chief Seattle The Bestiary We Have Forgotten Who We Are "I Don't Care" Cairn of Mourning Truth Mandala Despair Ritual Bowl of Tears Spontaneous Writing Imaging with Colors and Clay Chapter 8: Seeing With New Eyes Brain Food Key Teaching Points Advice for Conveying These Concepts Practices The Systems Game Riddle of the Commons Game When I Made a Difference Widening Circles The Cradling Who Are You? Dance to Dismember the Ego Bodhisattva Check-In Council of All Beings Chapter 9: Deep Time - Reconnecting with Past and Future Generations To Reinhabit Time Practices Invoking the Beings of the Three Times Open Sentences on Time The Evolutionary Gifts of the Animals Harvesting the Gifts of the Ancestors Audio Recording to the Future Letter from the Future The Seventh Generation Field Work on the Great Turning The Storytellers Convention Chapter 10: Going Forth Discoveries Made So Far in the Spiral Practices Networking Communicating Our Concerns and Hopes Life Map Imaging Our Power The Sword in the Stone Callings and Resources Consultation Groups Corbett The Clearness Committee Dialoging with Mara to Strengthen Our Resolve Bowing to Our Adversaries Creating Study/Action Groups The Four Abodes Five Vows Circle of Blessings Two Poems for the Road Ahead Chapter 11: The Work That Reconnects with Children and Teens What Do Children Know and Feel? The Effects of Silence Suggestions for Overcoming the Fear and the Silence Using the Work That Reconnects Generation Waking Up Practices for Children and Teens Mothers and Daughters Follow the Spiral Talking Circle Gratitude The Human Camera Honoring Our Pain for the World Open Sentences Milling with Open Sentences Two Stories of the Truth Mandala with Children Boom Chicka Boom with Feelings Seeing with New Eyes The Web of Life Our Life As Gaia The Robot Game The Council of All Beings in a School Setting Going Forth Open Sentences for Going Forth Starfish Story and Ritual The Galactic Council Planning Actions Chapter 12: Learning with Communities of Color Part One by Joanna Macy Getting Started Honoring Our Ancestors The Immensity of the Pain How the Pain of People of Color is Pathologized Seeing the Industrial Growth Society with New Eyes Time for Deep Cultural Awakening Part Two by Patricia St. Onge Walking Toward the Work That Reconnects Deep Culture as a Lens Weaving the Threads Together Part Three by Adelaja Simon, Adrián Villaseñor Galarza and Andrés Thomas Conteris. Part Four: Sharing the Work That Reconnects with First Nationsby Andrea Avila Chapter 13: Meditations for the Great Turning The Web of Life Gaia Meditation Death Meditation Loving-Kindness Breathing Through The Great Ball of Merit The Four Abodes Two Litanies Appendix A: Chief Seattle's Message Appendix B: The Bestiary by Joanna Macy Appendix C: Ethics and Declarations of Rights Appendix D: Bodywork and Movement and Using the Spiral in Writing Workshops Endnotes Resources Index Acknowledgments About the Authors

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Book Synopsis''I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it'' This slogan, attributed to Voltaire, is frequently quoted by defenders of free speech. Yet it is rare to find anyone prepared to defend all expression in every circumstance, especially if the views expressed incite violence. So where do the limits lie? What is the real value of free speech? Here, Nigel Warburton offers a concise guide to important questions facing modern society about the value and limits of free speech: Where should a civilized society draw the line? Should we be free to offend other people''s religion? Are there good grounds for censoring pornography? Has the Internet changed everything? This Very Short Introduction is a thought-provoking, accessible, and up-to-date examination of the liberal assumption that free speech is worth preserving at any cost. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewThe genius of Nigel Warburton's Free Speech lies not only in its extraordinary clarity and incisiveness. Just as important is the way Warburton addresses freedom of speech - and attempts to stifle it - as an issue for the 21st century. More than ever, we need this book. * Denis Dutton, University of Canterbury, New Zealand *Crisp, clear and astute, this is a thought-provoking introduction to one of the most hotly contested questions of our time. * Lisa Appignanesi, President English PEN *Table of Contents1. Free Speech ; 2. A Free Market in Ideas? ; 3. Giving and Taking Offence ; 4. Censoring Pornography ; 5. Free Speech in the Age of the Internet ; 6. Conclusion: The Future of Free Speech

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Book SynopsisAN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR'An ambitious and anecdote-rich sweeping history of morality's growing influence over our lives' WALL STREET JOURNAL'This fat, complex, good-natured and intriguing book is full of such memorable material...startling and often thrilling' SPECTATOR'A heroic effort...rich with complex narrative, full of unexpected twists like the inquisitors' tale' ECONOMISTFor almost five million years, humans have been locked in a relationship with morality, inventing and reinventing the concepts of 'Good' and 'Evil', and weaving them into our cities, laws and customs. Morality is a concept that can feel joyless and claustrophobic, associated with restraint and coercion, restriction and sacrifice, inquisition, confession and a guilty conscience. For many, it is a device used to shame us into compliance. This impression is not necessarily incorrect, but it is most certainly incomplete. Hanno Sauer traces humanity's fundamental moral transformations from our earliest ancestors

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Book SynopsisRoger Scruton explores the place of God in a disenchanted world. His argument is a response to the atheist culture that is now growing around us, and also a defence of human uniqueness. He rebuts the claim that there is no meaning or purpose in the natural world, and argues that the sacred and the transcendental are ''real presences'', through which human beings come to know themselves and to find both their freedom and their redemption.In the human face we find a paradigm of meaning. And from this experience, Scruton argues, we both construct the face of the world, and address the face of God. We find in the face both the proof of our freedom and the mark of self-consciousness. One of the motivations of the atheist culture is to escape from the eye of judgement. You escape from the eye of judgement by blotting out the face: and this, Scruton argues, is the most disturbing aspect of the times in which we live. In his wide-ranging argument Scruton explains the growing sense oTrade ReviewRoger Scruton is one of our most interesting intellectuals... This is an important book, with a very wide cultural range. It is brave in pointing to a turning away from God as the fundamental plight of our times. * The Church Times *... if you want a handy pocket guide to humanity's perennial search for God, one that will take you safely round the edges of the current religious battlefield, this elegant and gracious book is one to buy. * New Statesman *... [Scruton's] sequence on the structure of the effable (buildings) is good, and the book contains many interesting and prettily phrased thoughts. * The Guardian *Scruton develops this account with illuminating attention to some classic artworks (the book has 20 illustrations), and the book's introduction and five chapters are consistently nontechnical and accessible. -- P.K. Moser, Loyola University Chicago * CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. The View from Nowhere 2. The View from Somewhere 3. Where Am I? 4. The Face of the Person 5. The Face of God

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Book SynopsisFor many, technology offers hope for the futurethat promise of shared human flourishing and liberation that always seems to elude our species. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies spark this hope in a particular way. They promise a future in which human limits and frailties are finally overcomenot by us, but by our machines. Yet rather than open new futures, today''s powerful AI technologies reproduce the past. Forged from oceans of our data into immensely powerful but flawed mirrors, they reflect the same errors, biases, and failures of wisdom that we strive to escape. Our new digital mirrors point backward. They show only where the data say that we have already been, never where we might venture together for the first time. To meet today''s grave challenges to our species and our planet, we will need something new from AI, and from ourselves. Shannon Vallor makes a wide-ranging, prophetic, and philosophical case for what AI could be: a way to reclaim our human potential for m

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Book SynopsisEthics: The Fundamentals explores core ideas and arguments in moral theory by introducing students to different philosophical approaches to ethics, including virtue ethics, Kantian ethics, divine command theory, and feminist ethics. * The first volume in the new Fundamentals of Philosophy series.Trade Review“Julia Driver’s admirably clear and concise account of the fundamentals of ethics will serve as an excellent text for introductory courses and beyond, as well as being a good place for the interested lay person to start. She discusses the major questions thoroughly and insightfully, with reference to historical and contemporary works, and uses vivid and entertaining examples.” Elinor Mason, University of Edinburgh “An outstanding and highly useful contribution. Driver’s introduction to ethics is more responsive to the contemporary philosophical scene than any other that I know of.” Michael Slote, University of Miami “Driver’s introductory textbook discusses the theories that should be discussed, and does so in an engaging and fair-minded way. The book is not only clear enough for students confronting moral philosophy for the first time but also penetrating enough for more advanced students.” Brad Hooker, University of ReadingTable of ContentsAcknowledgments. Introduction. 1. The Challenge to Moral Universalism. 2. God and Human Nature. 3. Classical Utilitarianism. 4. Contemporary Consequentialism. 5. Kantian Ethics. 6. Social Contract Theory. 7. Intuitionism. 8. Virtue Ethics. 9. Feminist Ethics. 10. Moral Nihilism. Index

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Book SynopsisMartha Nussbaum asks: How can we sustain a decent society that aspires to justice and inspires sacrifice for the common good? Amid negative emotions endemic even to good societies, public emotions rooted in love—intense attachments outside our control—can foster commitment to shared goals and keep at bay the forces of disgust and envy.Trade Review[Nussbaum] maps out the routes by which men and women who begin in self-interest and ingrained prejudice can build a society in which what she calls ‘public emotions’ operate to enlarge the individual’s ‘circle of concern’… Those who would extend the sympathy individuals feel to include fellow citizens of whatever views, ethnicity, ability or disability must ‘create stable structures of concern that extend compassion broadly.’ Those structures cannot be exclusively rational and philosophical—as they tend to be in the work of John Rawls and other Kantian liberals—but must, says Nussbaum, be political in the sense that they find expression in the visible machinery of public life… It is one of the virtues of Nussbaum’s book that she neither shrinks from sentimentality (how could she, given her title and subtitle?) nor fears being judged philosophically unsophisticated. -- Stanley Fish * New York Times *Continuing her philosophical inquiry into both emotions and social justice, Nussbaum now makes the case for love, arguing that emotions rooted in love can foster commitment to shared goals and keep fear, envy and disgust at bay…To sustain democratic institutions, Nussbaum claims, a liberal society should cultivate the emotions that underpin imagination and sympathy for others, and the way to do this is through education and the arts. Imaginative capacities will be developed very early in the family, and should be furthered via art, poetry, music and literature. These skills enable us to see each person’s fate in every other’s, and to picture it vividly as an aspect of our own. For Nussbaum, the liberal tradition should not cede emotion to anti-liberal forces (fascism, for example, was particularly good at using emotions for political ends). But all political principles need a proper emotional basis to ensure their stability over time, and all decent societies need to guard against division by cultivating appropriate sentiments of sympathy and love. This is why political emotions, narrative imagination, and love matter for justice. -- Marina Gerner * Times Literary Supplement *Martha Nussbaum has been a productive and creative commentator on the questions raised by A Theory of Justice, and her book Political Emotions is a long and thoughtful discussion of one of them: How can we engage the citizens’ emotions…on behalf of a more just, more inclusive, gentler, and more imaginative society? …Nussbaum takes Rawls’s account of justice as her starting point, but she greatly extends its range. She wants to turn away from hypothetical and bloodless contractors behind the veil of ignorance to focus on our actual flesh-and-blood selves. -- Alan Ryan * New York Review of Books *Impressively erudite. -- Julian Baggini * Financial Times *There’s no more interesting or persuasive writer on the wider and connected subjects of emotions and social justice than Martha Nussbaum… Here she brings together strands that go back to her own The Fragility of Goodness (1986), and in the process delivers a book as important in its way as John Rawls’s definitive but slightly bloodless A Theory of Justice. Here, she draws on aesthetics as well as philosophy to make her point… It’s a great book, though, and goes straight on the shelf beside John Rawls. Political morality for the new age. -- Brian Morton * Glasgow Herald *Martha Nussbaum’s is one of the most influential and innovative voices in modern philosophy. Over the past four decades, a steady stream of books and articles has issued from her prodigious mind. She stands out among her contemporaries for insisting that philosophy must be rigorous and, above all, useful… The book demonstrates how people of different identities can be brought together around a common set of values and political principles through the power of art and symbol… As a culmination of her monumental contribution to academia, in Political Emotions she has produced an incandescent work that will not only be an inspiration to scholars and lay readers alike, but be a beacon for societies that aspire to justice and goodness. -- Govindan Nair * The Hindu *Nussbaum [is] one of the finest theorists on law and ethics… Her journey is a tour de force that travels through Greek and Indian epics, the music of Mozart in ‘The marriage of Figaro,’ the poems of Rabindranath Tagore and Walt Whitman, the rhetorical speeches of Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., the writings of John Stuart Mill, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, B.R. Ambedkar, Auguste Comte and John Rawls to make a case for establishing just societies by foregrounding emotions that can be developed through critical reasoning… Then she, with incisive brilliance, investigates three emotions that pose special problems for compassionate citizenship: fear, envy and shame and also explain that some societies instead of combating them make the situation worse… Her magnum opus. -- A. S. Panneerselvan * The Hindu *This volume is impressive for its breadth of references in liberal political philosophy to literature and art theory, but all the more impressive for the care and enthusiasm expressed for the subject matter. The heart of the book, and what makes it a rather novel contribution, is Nussbaum’s attention to the psychology of emotions, particularly in how she draws upon the lessons of attachment theory to inspire lessons for building a caring, loving society and a rich notion of political justice… Political Emotions is an exciting contribution to liberal political theory. Nussbaum’s recent forays in bridging political philosophy with attention to aesthetic affect, emotion and attachment have genuinely enriched the terrain of liberal theory. Hopefully the discussions Nussbaum introduces here will help to enrich our collective public life as well. -- Michael Larson * Metapsychology *[Nussbaum] reinstates the role of emotion in politics and draws attention to and rejects any kind of false emotionalism vis-à-vis nationalism. She examines how figures like Rabindranath Tagore and B. R. Ambedkar, through their emotional appeal on relevant issues, were able to build the right kind of nationalism. In the very contemporary context of Hindutva and its very particular link to patriotism, I would recommend this book to everyone. -- Indira Jaising * Outlook India *Genuinely bracing. -- Brian Morton * The Tablet *Political Emotions is an important work, and Nussbaum has created valuable space for love and human imperfection to be weighed more heavily in the search for justice. -- Geraldine Van Bueren * Times Higher Education *Reading [Political Emotions] has reinforced, but more importantly broadened, my understanding of love’s significance in political life and how it can be fostered there… I find much political wisdom in Nussbaum’s book. -- Walter Moss * LA Progressive *Nussbaum stimulates readers with challenging insights on the role of emotion in political life. Her provocative theory of social change shows how a truly just society might be realized through the cultivation and studied liberation of emotions, specifically love. To that end, the book sparkles with Nussbaum’s characteristic literary analysis, drawing from both Western and South Asian sources, including a deep reading of public monuments. In one especially notable passage, Nussbaum artfully interprets Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, revealing it as a musical meditation on the emotionality of revolutionary politics and feminism. Such chapters are a culmination of her passion for seeing art and literature as philosophical texts, a theme in her writing that she profitably continues here. The elegance with which she negotiates this diverse material deserves special praise, as she expertly takes the reader through analyses of philosophy, opera, primatology, psychology, and poetry. In contrast to thinkers like John Rawls, who imagined an already just world, Nussbaum addresses how to order our society to reach such a world. A plea for recognizing the power of art, symbolism, and enchantment in public life, Nussbaum’s cornucopia of ideas effortlessly commands attention and debate. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *Justice is hard. It demands our devotion as well as our understanding. For that reason, it must grip our emotions. We must feel its absence and its presence with the depth of feeling that we associate with love. That is the compelling message in Martha Nussbaum’s remarkable—and remarkably original—account of political emotions. She explores the place of love in a decent society that aspires to be just. And she explains—with great intellectual and emotional force—how we can cultivate a political love with the kind of complexity that does justice to our humanity. -- Joshua Cohen, author of The Arc of the Moral Universe and Other EssaysIn her sweeping panorama of society and culture, Nussbaum skillfully and flexibly uses her understanding of public emotions to produce a book of considerable wisdom and merit. Her study is anchored in a well-rounded view of a complex but largely unexplored theme in the West as well as in South Asia. -- Mushirul Hasan, author of Faith and Freedom: Gandhi in HistoryPolitical Emotions is a remarkable synthesis of two of the most distinctive strands of Martha Nussbaum’s thought—a conception of the emotions as essential to our understanding of the world and a political liberalism attuned to the fostering of human capacities. Readers will not fail to be enlightened and moved. -- Charles Larmore, author of The Autonomy of MoralityMartha Nussbaum rises above all the disciplinary boundaries. This wise and engaging study of what patriotism is and how to cultivate it is written by a philosopher, a political theorist, a psychologist, a literary critic, and a historian—all of them at their best and all of them one amazing person. -- Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced Study

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A pleasure to read. . . . Its literary qualities . . . resemble the sharp lines and bright colors of a fine Mondrian or the austere elegance of good modernist architecture. . . . [A] comprehensive statement of the mature views of one of the most creative philosophers of his generation.”—Philip L. Quinn, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews“[Frankfurt’s] little book provides the rare pleasure of witnessing an agile and sensitive mind grappling with an issue of universal importance.”—Eric Ormsby, New York Sun“Well worth reading.”—Berel Dov Lerner, Practical Philosophy“A thought-provoking work that should appeal to those interested in love, practical reasoning, and questions concerning the good life.”—Jason Kawall, Philosophy in Review

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Book SynopsisOne World Now seamlessly integrates major developments of the past decade into Peter Singer's classic text on the ethics of globalizationTrade Review"This is a valuable update to a book that excels at examining competing solutions for some of the world’s critical economic, environmental, and political problems."—David A. Rezvani, Dartmouth College"One World is an instructive book, especially for American students wrestling with America’s poor record as a global citizen. However unpleasant this may be, awareness of the reality is a necessary condition for young people to want to get involved to change things for the better."—David Hoinski, West Virginia University"As someone who uses this book and some of its details for teaching, I greatly welcome the updated data and evidence. I am not aware of other books on this subject that are accessible to general readers."—Linda Dynan, Northern Kentucky University"Peter Singer writes, as always, lucidly and with relentless logic. Getting states to behave ethically is a heroic aspiration, but this book will give even the most obdurate realist much to think about."–Gareth Evans, Past President, International Crisis Group, former Australian Foreign Minister"Peter Singer may be the most controversial philosopher alive; he is certainly among the most influential."—New Yorker (on the earlier edition)

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This book is a delight. . . . This should be in the pocket of every lover of Latin literature, and especially of Horace."---Peter Jones, Classics for All"Fantastic . . . a long and wonderfully informed conversation with [Horace]."---Steve Donoghue, Open Letters"[A]n elegant little volume."---Ron Charles, Washington Post"[How to Be Content] shines a light on the philosophical core of the great poet’s [Horace] writing. . . . Stephen Harrison translates excerpts beautifully in modern English."---Steven Gambardella, The Sophist

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Book SynopsisIn this deeply personal book, the last one she wrote before her death in 2018, Deborah Bird Rose explores the shimmer of life - the iridescent pulse of beauty and power, the processes of transition and transformation - that flows across and between generations, grounded in her work with flying foxes in Australia.

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Book Synopsis'Life-transforming' Susan Cain, author of QuietSearching for happiness is overrated, learn to find meaning insteadThere is a persistent myth in our culture that in order to lead a fulfilling life we must pursue happiness at all times. In her groundbreaking work, Emily Esfahani Smith explains that it is actually the search for meaning that will bring fulfilment. She argues that meaning is all around us in vast untapped resources, and that the key is finding it in the right here, right now. Her inspiring TED Talk on the same topic has been viewed over a million times.To explore how we can change our lives for the better, she draws on the latest research in psychology, sociology, philosophy and neuroscience, as well as insights from figures in literature and history such as George Eliot, Viktor Frankl, Aristotle and the Buddha. She shows us how cultivating connections to others, identifying and working toward a purpose, telling stories about our place in the world, and seeking out mystery, can immeasurably deepen our lives. To do this she visits remarkable people and places, such as a tight-knit fishing village in the Chesapeake Bay, a dinner where young people gather to share their experiences of profound loss, and a drug kingpin who finds his purpose in helping people get fit. She explores how we might begin to build a culture that leaves space for introspection and awe, cultivates a sense of community, and imbues our lives with meaning.Trade ReviewAn intelligent page turner…illuminating…the book mounts a timely challenge * PROSPECT *Speaks to the yearning we all share for a life of depth and significance...Beautifully written and rigorously researched...reading it is a life-transforming experience * SUSAN CAIN, authof of Quiet *A beautiful book, full of hope. While drawing on the best scientific evidence, it also stirs us with powerful narratives of living full of meaning. * PROF RICHARD LAYARD, author of Happiness: lessons from a new science *Evidence-based and inspiring, this is a book I've been awaiting for a very long time. * ADAM GRANT, author of Originals *A powerful invitation to live a life that is not only happy but filled with purpose, belonging, and transcendence. By combining scientific research and philosophical insights with moving accounts of ordinary people who have deeply meaningful lives, Smith addresses the most urgent questions of our existence in a delightful, masterful, and inspiring way. * EMMA SEPPALLA, author of The Happiness Track *

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Book SynopsisThis classic and controversial book examines the roots of the idea of virtue, diagnoses the reasons for its absence in modern life, and proposes a path for its recovery.Trade Review“After Virtue is a striking work. It is clearly written and readable. The nonprofessional will find MacIntyre perspicuous and lively. He stands within the best modern traditions of writing on such matters.” —New York Review of Books“MacIntyre’s arguments deserve to be taken seriously by anybody who thinks that the mere acceptance of pluralism is not the same thing as democracy, who worries about politicians wishing to give opinions about everything under the sun, and who stops to think of how important Aristotelian ethics have been for centuries.” —The Economist“After Virtue is a rigorous, ambitious, and original book. It is a reinterpretation of the entire history of Western moral philosophy, as decline, fall, and—possibly—rebirth.” —The Village Voice“MacIntyre has reconsidered and extended his ideas since the 1981 and 1984 editions, but retains his central thesis that it is only possible to understand the dominant moral culture of advanced modernity adequately from a standpoint external to that culture. He is still an Aristotelian, he says, but has come to believe that Thomas Aquinas expressed Aristotle's views better than the old man himself did.” —Reference and Research Book News“If MacIntyre’s admittedly bleak diagnosis of our times is not accepted, the rivalry it sparked surely has some benefit for the interface between competing traditions. And where it is accepted, it will also be because those who accept it have not give up on our capacity, despite everything else, to be virtuous.” —Catholic Books Review"Alasdair MacIntyre in After Virtue has written one of the most important books of the decade… a stunning critique of current moral philosophy and moral practice." — Commonweal MagazineMaIntyre’s After Virtue is one of the most widely read books of moral philosophy to appear in recent years. It is written with little of the technical arguments that limits the readership of many philosophy works and has drawn considerable response from readers outside academe.” —The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Book SynopsisHow can we find true or reasonable moral principles to live our everyday lives by? This title presents 7 different moral theories, each of which attempts to provide the answer to the question of what we ought to do and why. It describes each theory, showing how it works in practice, assessing it and putting it into its historical perspective.

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Book SynopsisDo we really make our own decisions? Or are we compelled to act by factors beyond our control? This introduction is an investigation of one of the most important problems of Western philosophy. It looks at a range of issues surrounding this fundamental philosophical question, exploring it from the ideas of the Greek and medieval philosophers.Table of Contents1. The free will problem ; 2. Freedom as free will ; 3. Compatibilism and reason ; 4. Compatibilism and nature ; 5. Morality without freedom? ; 6. Libertarianism and scepticism ; 7. Self-determination and the will ; 8. Freedom and its place in nature

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Book SynopsisMacIntyre explores the central philosophical, political and moral claims of modernity and argues that a proper understanding of human goods requires a rejection of these claims. This significant book by a distinguished philosopher will interest a wide readership in moral and political philosophy.Trade Review'For readers of Alasdair MacIntyre who have wondered how the views of his After Virtue, Whose Justice? Which Rationality? and Dependent Rational Animals hang together, this book is as good a response as we could have hoped for. In Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity, we see the fundamental continuity of the ideas that MacIntyre has developed and defended over the past forty years. It is a canonical statement of MacIntyre's mature views in moral, political, and social philosophy.' Mark Murphy, Georgetown University, Washington DC'Alasdair MacIntyre is one of the greatest living philosophers and any new book by him is bound to raise the highest expectations. Readers will not be disappointed by a book that represents the culmination of MacIntyre's life long project to situate ethical thought in its historical and political context. Beginning with academic discussions in meta-ethics, the work develops into a general theory of modernity from MacIntyre's Thomistic perspective. The range of reference is remarkable: from the work of Oscar Wilde and D. H. Lawrence to that of Aquinas and Marx. MacIntyre's scholarship and insight are evident on every page. Everyone – from moral and political philosophers to the reflective general reader – will greatly benefit from reading it.' Alan Thomas, Universiteit van Tilburg, The Netherlands'It's as important a work of philosophy as there has been in some time and a must-read for MacIntyre's followers, detractors, and everyone in between.' Christian Century'… astonishingly wide-ranging work …' Marx and Philosophy Review of Books'… especially where the misdeeds of the powerful are at issue, MacIntyre writes with great trenchancy; and one detects, underneath a cool and measured argumentative surface, the heart of an Amos or Isaiah, burning with righteous anger.' Commonweal'Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity is an essential addition to MacIntyre's distinguished body of work.' Richard Kraut, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews'[Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity] is a rich and nuanced text that provides a foundational restatement of Thomistic practical philosophy for the 21st Century. It links moral philosophy, business ethics, and political philosophy in a way that contrasts with standard academic practice.' Caleb Bernacchio, Acta Philosophica'For over three decades, Alasdair MacIntyre has been arguing that Thomistic Aristotelianism offers the best path forward for contemporary politics and ethics. While his philosophical career began in the 1950s, it has been this project … that has established his reputation as one of the most significant philosophers of the twentieth century.' Jennifer A. Herdt, Studies in Christian EthicsTable of ContentsPreface; 1. Desires, goods, and 'good', the philosophical issues; 2. Theory, practice, and their social contexts; 3. Morality and modernity; 4. Neo-Aristotelian ethics and politics developed in contemporary Thomistic terms: issues of relevance and rational justification; 5. Four narratives; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe text contains some of Nietzsche's most disturbing ideas, including the "slave revolt" in morality, which he claims began with the Jews and has now triumphed, and the "blond beast" that must erupt, which he claims to find behind all civilisation.Trade ReviewHackett's On the Genealogy of Morality (we now have even the correct title!) may very well change the entire climate for reading Nietzsche in English--especially if read in conjunction with their equally splendid Twilight of the Idols. . . . Competing translations of Nietzsche’s late, utterly influential masterpieces have often made them a chore, rather than a delight, to read; and their introductions generally obscure, rather than illuminate, the texts’ situations. Clark and Swensen (and Polt and Strong) have made the Genealogy and Twilight accessible and exhilarating--while leaving them, as they are, enigmatic and problematic. Finally, readers of Nietzsche in English can--begin!--William Arctander O'Brien, University of California, San DiegoThis unique collaboration of an internationally renowned Nietzsche commentator and a scholar of German language and literature has yielded the finest existing edition of Nietzsche’s book in English. The translation itself strikes an intelligent balance between fidelity to the German and readability in English. It is especially welcome for bringing an historically and philosophically sensitive appreciation of Nietzsche to bear on translation issues. (The decision to translate Mitleid consistently as 'compassion,’ instead of 'pity'--thus emphasizing for the English-language reader Nietzsche’s opposition to Schopenhauer’s moral philosophy--is but one of many examples.) The Introduction is the most philosophically substantial guide to the Genealogy in any edition, and will be of value to both student and specialist. Most remarkable of all are the notes on the text: the wealth of biographical, historical, philosophical, and literary detail makes the volume the most informative and reader-friendly edition of Nietzsche's work to date. The notes will also prove fascinating for the scholar, as the editors have tracked down the numerous contemporary scholarly sources on which Nietzsche relied in writing the Genealogy.--Brian Leiter, University of Texas at AustinThis is an excellent translation. The copious and detailed endnotes will make it easy for a beginner to grasp Nietzsche's thought--Fred Clark, Colorado State University

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Book SynopsisFor liberals, the question “Do others live rightly?” seems to demand a follow-up question: “Who am I to judge?” Peaceful coexistence, in this view, is predicated on restraint from morally evaluating our peers. But Rahel Jaeggi argues that criticizing is not only valid but also useful. Moral judgment is no error—the error lies in how we go about it.Trade ReviewJaeggi combines…phenomenological attention to lived experience and an eye for social detail… She binds that together with a shrewd grasp of critical theory and the philosophical landscape of the present. Her footnotes alone would make a good book. -- Terry Pinkard * European Journal of Philosophy *Jaeggi’s most impressive undertaking to date…Represents part of Jaeggi’s recent work in critical theory that has led to her recognition as one of the more interesting and innovative critical theorists working in Germany. -- Kevin W. Gray * Marx and Philosophy Review of Books *Jaeggi offers an interesting new attempt to fulfill the task Habermas has set for critical theory. She recommends accepting the plurality of life forms… Nevertheless we can still uphold a general ideal of emancipation and judge the different contributions of different life forms to a more rational world, if we consider the abilities of life forms to learn from crises and to transform themselves accordingly. -- Andreas Niederberger and Tobias Weihrauch * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Jaeggi has already earned a firm place in German philosophy. This book reinforces the impression that she has established an important philosophical voice that addresses society and its problems and that we will hear from in the future, even beyond the academy. -- Eva Weber-Guskar * Süddeutsche Zeitung *Critique of Forms of Life is a comprehensive work that convincingly sets out the philosophical kernel of Hegel’s view, reconstructing and updating it in such a way that it becomes a ‘live’ philosophical option for contemporary audiences. Jaeggi is a rare instance of a philosopher who is immersed in both Continental and Anglo-American philosophical traditions and skillfully unites them in one dialogue. -- Fred Neuhouser, Barnard College, Columbia University

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Book SynopsisDavid Wootton guides us through four centuries of Western thought to show how new ideas about politics, ethics, and economics stepped into a gap opened up by religious conflict and the Scientific Revolution. As ideas about godliness and Aristotelian virtue faded, theories about the rational pursuit of power, pleasure, and profit moved to the fore.Trade ReviewExplains how European thought came to abandon the old virtues and accept the ‘selfish system’ of utility…Wootton explicates complex social and political theories with admirable lucidity. -- Jeffrey Collins * Wall Street Journal *More relevant to our current political and cultural circumstance than any other I’ve read in the last four years…Truly wonderful. -- Lewis Lapham * The World in Time *Wootton presents the conceptual shift that gave birth to our life today in a book that is ambitious and impressive in its sweep…A gripping story of how ideas can change the world. -- John Gray * New Statesman *Wootton does not wish to take sides in the controversy between detractors and defenders of the Enlightenment: his purpose is rather to retrace the emergence of the intellectual and cultural revolution that radically transformed modern Western societies… Power, Pleasure, and Profit is an erudite book, full of learned asides. * Times Literary Supplement *This is decidedly not a traditional history of the Enlightenment as a philosophical or political project…Wootton’s Enlightenment ushered in a moral universe of unstoppable excess—one in which the pursuit of power, pleasure, and profit had no limit, for individuals or for societies…An unusual but fascinating foray into all the great themes of moral and political philosophy, from happiness to politics to commerce to love. -- James Chappel * Commonweal *His erudition is impressive and his range of inquiry is vast… Wootton traces the development of three interrelated notions that together, in his view, displaced the moral and religious inheritance bequeathed by classicism and Christianity. -- Darrin M. McMahon * Literary Review *Gripping…A fascinating story…The Enlightenment spawned a series of assumptions about what human beings are, why they do what they do, and what the good life looks like. We’re still hostage to those assumptions, whether we know it or not, and Wootton’s book asks us to consider the consequences. -- Sean Illing * Vox *In the brilliant, penetrating and amazingly erudite study by David Wootton…readers are treated to an engaging tour of the ‘Enlightenment paradigm’ gaining in the process a more profound understanding of our modern political economy and ethical situation…This book is essential reading for understanding the climate in which we still live and which is exported worldwide through neoliberalism and globalization. -- David Lorimer * Wall Street International *A work of exceptional merit. Wootton is one of the best intellectual historians in the Anglo-American world today. -- Steven Smith, Yale UniversityIn this deliciously written, stunningly erudite, and enchantingly combative book, one of our most free-spirited and original intellectual historians has helped us see the roots of the Enlightenment and thus our contemporary world with entirely new eyes. -- Stephen Holmes, New York UniversityFull of spirited engagement, Wootton’s writing exemplifies iconoclasm, imagination, and verve. -- Christopher Brooke, University of CambridgeWootton’s notion of modest, practical Aristoteilian-esque virtue in the face of limitless appetite is a compelling one, and he stakes his claims methodically and persuasively. -- Nicholas Cannariato * The Millions *Through the writings of great thinkers, Wootton describes the birth of a new concept of human nature during the years 1500 to 1800… Wootton demonstrates a consistent ability to make complex intellectual ideas approachable… A surprisingly lucid examination of a dramatic revolution in human thought. * Kirkus Reviews *Valuable as a wide-ranging…investigation into the philosophical revolution that made the modern Western world. * American Conservative *Erudite…Raises a number of timely ethical and historical questions for a world where the limitless pursuit of power and pleasure appears increasingly unsustainable. -- Anton M. Matytsin * Journal of Modern History *Engaging…The idea that we are driven by our remorseless quest for power, pleasure, and profit, Wootton argues, has come to dominate Western conceptions of politics and economics since the time of Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, and Adam Smith, and has largely replaced previously important theories of Christian morality and Aristotelian ethics…A pleasure to read. -- K. Steven Vincent * European Legacy *

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Book SynopsisIn this essay, the philosopher presents a complex, many-faceted argument that cautions against an uncritical devotion to the study of history and excessive devotion to any country's past greatness.

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Book SynopsisThis landmark work challenges the separatist doctrines which have come to dominate our understanding of the world. Appiah revives the ancient philosophy of Cosmopolitanism, which dates back to the Cynics of the 4th century, as a means of understanding the complex world of today. Arguing that we concentrate too much on what makes us different rather than recognising our common humanity, Appiah explores how we can act ethically in a globalised world.

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Book SynopsisThe Rwandan genocide, the Holocaust, the lynching of African Americans, the colonial slave trade: these are horrific episodes of mass violence spawned from racism and hatred. We like to think that we could never see such evils again--that we would stand up and fight. But something deep in the human psyche--deeper than prejudice itself--leads people to persecute the other: dehumanization, or the human propensity to think of others as less than human. An award-winning author and philosopher, Smith takes an unflinching look at the mechanisms of the mind that encourage us to see someone as less than human. There is something peculiar and horrifying in human psychology that makes us vulnerable to thinking of whole groups of people as subhuman creatures. When governments or other groups stand to gain by exploiting this innate propensity, and know just how to manipulate words and images to trigger it, there is no limit to the violence and hatred that can result. Drawing on numerous historical and contemporary cases and recent psychological research, On Inhumanity is the first accessible guide to the phenomenon of dehumanization. Smith walks readers through the psychology of dehumanization, revealing its underlying role in both notorious and lesser-known episodes of violence from history and current events. In particular, he considers the uncomfortable kinship between racism and dehumanization, where beliefs involving race are so often precursors to dehumanization and the horrors that flow from it. On Inhumanity is bracing and vital reading in a world lurching towards authoritarian political regimes, resurgent white nationalism, refugee crises that breed nativist hostility, and fast-spreading racist rhetoric. The book will open your eyes to the pervasive dangers of dehumanization and the prejudices that can too easily take root within us, and resist them before they spread into the wider world.Trade ReviewThis is a book forged in urgency and written for the common reader by a philosopher seeking not just to interpret the world but to change it. His final chapter is a handbook for resistance to demagoguery. * Stephen Wilson, Times Literary Supplement *Smith's greatest strength lies in his ability to elucidate often complex notions in clear, concise terms -- as well as his lack of fear in bluntly telling the reader that we are all potentially capable of dehumanization. There is darkness in all of us -- but the point is to confront that darkness head-on. There can be no progress toward a better, more peaceful future for society without that reckoning. * Linda Roland Danil, Los Angeles Review of Books *Smith's useful work serves as a solid entry-point for those grappling with the psychological and political workings of white supremacy, xenophobia, and other forms of us-versus-them thinking. * Publisher's Weekly *This brilliant and powerful book is a philosophically sophisticated and prophetically courageous treatment of dehumanization, especially in regard to race. It is timely and needful in our monstrous times! Don't miss it! * Cornel West, Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy, Harvard University, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University *On Inhumanity is a powerful exploration of the processes and consequences of dehumanization. Concerning himself with violence and the processes that motivate the extermination of 'lesser beings,' Smith pens a much-needed treatment of the constantly reemerging brutality that is seemingly endemic to the human condition... Simply put, On Inhumanity is a most appropriate confrontation with the illusions and political powers that produce sub-humanity in the 21st century. * Tommy J. Curry, University of Edinburgh, author of The Man-Not *On Inhumanity profoundly interrogates the processes that lead [or what leads]ordinary people to engage in horrific acts of violence against others. Tracing common themes across the Holocaust, lynching, and genocides, Smith identifies dehumanization--seeing human beings as subhuman creatures--as the central feature of these mass atrocities, as well as of everyday forms of racial oppression. Most compelling is that Smith refuses to conclude that dehumanization is our inevitable destiny and instead charts a course for resisting it. On Inhumanity brilliantly provides a chilling warning of repeating the pastand a hopeful call to create a more humane future. * Dorothy Roberts, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, author of Fatal Invention *A chilling, comprehensive, and passionate account of dehumanisation. Smith offers adevastatingreminder of the capacity of every human to treat other humans as lesser. * Angela Saini, journalist, author of Inferior and Superior *This book is firm but gentle, wise but accessible. Its reflections on our worst habits of politics are phrased in such a way that they allow us to see what better habits might be. * Timothy Snyder, Yale University, author of On Tyranny *Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Why Dehumanization Matters Chapter 3. Defining Dehumanization Chapter 4. Holocaust Chapter 5. Lynching Chapter 6. How We Do Race Chapter 7. Racism Chapter 8. Race Science Chapter 9. Essence Chapter 10. From Barbados to Nazi Germany Chapter 11. Which Lives Matter? Chapter 12. The Act of Killing Chapter 13. Morality Chapter 14. Self-Engineering Chapter 15. Ideology Chapter 16. The Politics of the Human Chapter 17. Dangerous Speech Chapter 18. Illusion Chapter 19. Genocide Chapter 20. Contradiction Chapter 21. Impurity Chapter 22. Monsters Chapter 23. Criminals Chapter 24. Varities of Dehumanization Chapter 25. Dehumanization and its Neighbours Chapter 26. Resisting c. Reading Deeper

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Book SynopsisBias seems to be everywhere, in the media, in public policy, in our personal interactions. But what is it, exactly, for a person or thing to be biased? Thomas Kelly offers a way of thinking about this question, and argues provocatively that both morality and rationality sometimes require us to be biased.Trade ReviewThe philosopher Thomas Kelly has been working in the field of epistemology for many years, and his new book on bias is an impressively careful and cool headed attempt to introduce some order into the conceptual mess. * Jessie Munton, Times Literary Supplement *Analytically rigorous yet written clearly and supported by numerous examples that illustrate the big ideas, this book will shape the study of bias for years to come and is an important resource for researchers and professionals alike. * Choice *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Conceptual Fundamentals 1: Diversity, Relativity, Etc. 2: Pluralism and Priority Part II: Bias and Norms 3: The Norm-Theoretic Account of Bias 4: The Bias Blind Spot and the Biases of Introspection 5: Biased People 6: Norms of Objectivity 7: Symmetry and Bias Attributions Part III: Knowledge 8: Bias and Knowledge 9: Knowledge, Skepticism, and Reliability 10: Bias Attributions and the Epistemology of Disagreement 11: Main Themes and Conclusions Acknowledgements References

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Book SynopsisThis volume collects recent essays and reviews by Thomas Nagel in three subject areas. The first section, including the title essay, is concerned with religious belief and some of the philosophical questions connected with it, such as the relation between religion and evolutionary theory, the question of why there is something rather than nothing, and the significance for human life of our place in the cosmos. It includes a defense of the relevance of religion to science education. The second section concerns the interpretation of liberal political theory, especially in an international context. A substantial essay argues that the principles of distributive justice that apply within individual nation-states do not apply to the world as a whole. The third section discusses the distinctive contributions of four philosophers to our understanding of what it is to be human--the form of human consciousness and the source of human values.Trade ReviewThese essays are all written in Nagel's clear and familiar style; they combine substantial arguments and insights with the charms of a friendly conversation partner. Highly recommended to those interested in theism versus atheism and the current science-religion debate. * Religous Studies Review *Table of ContentsPART I. RELIGION ; PART II. POLITICS ; PART III. HUMANITY

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Book SynopsisThe Moral Philosophers adopts a historical approach to moral philosophy, taking in chronological sequence some of the major ethical philosophers of the past. Richard Norman introduces the thought of each figure as a coherent and comprehensive ethical theory, exploring their richness and complexity. Each theory is critically examined and presented as an attempt to surmount some of the deficiencies of its predecessor; and through this critical process the book moves towards some concluding suggestions about the content of an acceptable ethical theory. This new edition includes four new chapters: one on Nietzsche, and three which provide substantially extended coverage of twentieth-century moral philosophy, including discussions of contemporary utilitarianism, rights-based ethical theories, contractarian ethics and virtue ethics, and recent debates between realism and anti-realism in ethics. The Moral Philosophers is designed for undergraduate students and the general reader, and is written in clear and non-technical language. It is intended for use as a basic text in an introductory course on ethics, with detailed recommended reading sections at the beginning of each chapter.Trade ReviewThe writing throughout is clear and pleasant to read. The factual information . . . is accurate; and the explanatory comments are apposite and illuminating. . . . All told, the main body of this book has a great deal to commend it. * W. D.Z Hudson, University of Exeter, Times Higher Education Supplement *Table of ContentsPART I: THE ANCIENTS; PART II: THE MODERNS; PART III: CONTEMPORARY THEMES

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Book SynopsisNew Conversations in Philosophy, Law, and Politics offers a new agenda for work where these three disciplines meet. It showcases three generations of scholars--from newly minted professors to some of today''s most distinguished thinkers. Consisting of fifteen conversations, pairs of chapters dedicated to a single topic, the volume provides intergenerational and multidisciplinary perspectives on aspects of our social world. Each conversation comprises a first paper by a scholar who sets the topic, followed by a second paper by a scholar of a different generation, and usually a different discipline, who offers further insight or commentary. Each conversation thus provides two sets of original thoughts about a matter of lively current interest and interdisciplinary significance. Topics investigated include moral revolutions, AI and democracy, trust and the rule of law, responsibility, praise and blame, reasonableness, duty, political obligation, justice and equality, justice and intersectionality, domination, pornography, intentions in the law, and legal argumentation. Written in clear prose, the volume is accessible by philosophers, lawyers, political theorists, and beyond.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“[An] engaging history of anger”—Alexandre Leskanich, Review 31 “In our own age, so driven by anger, Rosenwein’s tour de force is a historical primer on where the very idea of anger has come from, what it means, and what we can do to face it.”—Jacob Soll, author of The Reckoning“A brilliantly rich investigation of the history, morality, functions, and conflicting ideas of an emotion that is all too frequently cast as either healthy or unhealthy, ethical or unethical, to be celebrated or to be overcome.”—Simon May, author of Love: A History“This is a fascinating and ambitious survey of a range of takes on anger from many traditions and time periods. The interweaving of the solid history with contemporary issues is particularly stimulating, as is the recognition that the emotion can play a constructive role.”—Peter N. Stearns, author of Shame: A Brief History

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Book SynopsisA testament to what it means to be liberal by one of the most prominent political philosophers of our eraTrade Review“Walzer is perhaps our foremost pilot on these rocky shoals. In his preface, he writes that this may be his last book. One hopes not.”—James Traub, New York Times“[A] superb testimony to a lifelong struggle for a decent politics.”—Mario Clemens, LSE Review of Books“This little book by one of the most eminent thinkers of our time contains more political wisdom and moral decency than shelves of tomes on liberalism and its discontents. There is no better defender or critic of our ‘seriously imperfect liberal democracy’ than Michael Walzer.”—Michael Kazin, author of What It Took to Win“The Struggle for a Decent Politics is one of those books that we may come to think of as making the case for liberalism at its best. There are many distinguished predecessors in this list, from J. S. Mill’s On Liberty to Lionel Trilling’s Liberal Imagination to Isaiah Berlin’s Two Concepts of Liberty. It would not surprise me if one day we thought of Michael Walzer’s book in this company. It deserves to be.”—Steven B. Smith, author of Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes“In this remarkable, deeply personal book, Michael Walzer melds political theory and un-elegiac memoir to trace the perennial struggle between liberalism and its enemies, a struggle that flashes in every facet of his political life—and ours. Walzer’s lifetime of learning and reflection has yielded an undimmed spirit of defiance, not just of brutal injustice but of the cults of true doctrine that injustice inspires. We’ve never needed that spirit more than now.”—Sean Wilentz, author of The Rise of American Democracy“Michael Walzer’s new book is a departure—it’s his most personal work yet—and, also, a continuation of the themes he’s developed so incisively for over four decades. This is a sometimes surprising, always illuminating look at key political concepts you may think you know (but don’t).The Struggle for a Decent Politics reminds us of what is worth fighting for, and of what can be lost.”—Susie Linfield, author of The Lions’ Den: Zionism and the Left from Hannah Arendt to Noam Chomsky

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Book SynopsisThe fourth edition of this foremost college ethics text helps students form a basis for practical, ethical decision making in contemporary culture. Substantial updates and revisions include three new chapters and discussions on important contemporary issues including gun control, race, gender, diversity, immigration, refugees, and creation care.Trade Review'I regard Scott Rae’s latest book, the fourth edition of Moral Choices, as the most impressive work on Christian ethics that I have read in the last few decades. Written by an outstanding teacher and scholar, this is the one book that I would recommend to students, church leaders, and political decision-makers who want a sophisticated but easy-to-read guide through the maze of modern ethical decision-making. Situating ethics within an overall framework of worldview, this work masterfully explains and evaluates the various ethical systems, provides a suggested model for moral decision-making, and offers up-to-date and real life working examples of some sensible and satisfying solutions available to modern ethicists.' * Peter Hastie, principal, Presbyterian Theological College, Melbourne, Australia *'In my twenty years of teaching Christian Ethics, Moral Choices has been very helpful for my students because it is biblically grounded, clear, and engaging, and it helps readers both to think through the process of Christian moral reasoning and to apply such reasoning to the issues of our day. This updated and expanded fourth edition is timely, with new chapters on “Creation Care and Environmental Ethics,” “Violence and Gun Control,” “Race, Gender, and Diversity,” and “Immigration, Refugees, and Border Control.” Readers may disagree with some of Dr. Rae’s conclusions, but all will benefit from his work on critical moral issues.' * Ken Magnuson, professor of Christian ethics, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary *'In this highly readable and well-referenced book, Scott Rae patiently works through some of the most relevant and perplexing moral questions of the twenty-first century. Given the nature of these issues, this is not an easy task. His careful analysis is illustrated with many enlightening analogies. Beyond that, many readers will appreciate his answers to foundational questions such as why the topic matters in the first place, how to think morally and the variety of ways people do so, and what distinguishes a Christian approach to ethical analysis from a nonchristian one. Those who desire to navigate the perplexing maze of moral questions and various viewpoints on them will find this book invaluable.' * Paul Chamberlain, professor of ethics and leadership, director of Institute of Christian Apologetics, Trinity Western University *'Moral Choices is a fine presentation of an Evangelical perspective on normative and applied ethics. Although, as a Catholic, I part ways with Professor Rae on several issues, his arguments and insights are important in helping all of us to think more deeply and carefully about the most important moral and social issues of our time.' * Francis J. Beckwith, Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies, Baylor University; 2018 President, American Catholic Philosophical Association *'Moral Choices is a treasure. After giving a tour on how to think about ethics, Rae walks us through the array of moral choices one faces in the modern world. Loaded with example scenarios and all kinds of data, this book travels through the labyrinth of moral decisions one faces, especially in the area of medical ethics. Anyone reading this book will not get lost in how to wrestle with such choices and will possess a solid guide on how to think about them.' * Darrell Bock, senior research professor of New Testament, executive director of cultural engagement at the Hendricks Center, Dallas Theological Seminary *'Moral Choices is my go-to book on helping students think through challenging ethical issues. I recently took a group of advanced high school students through it, and they loved it. It is clear, compelling, and biblical. I’m thrilled about this update and am honored to offer it my highest recommendation.' * Sean McDowell, PhD, speaker, author, associate professor, Biola University *

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Book SynopsisFrom the authors of the Sunday Times bestseller The Little Book of HumanismA humanist wedding ceremony allows couples the freedom to express their love in a completely personal way - and choose what marriage means to them.In a beautiful collection of insights from humanist celebrants, plus quotes, poems and meditations from humanist writers and thinkers throughout history, The Little Book of Humanist Weddings is filled with inspiration to complement your unique celebration of love and commitment.Trade ReviewFor those who prefer not to have the supernatural preside over their joyful day, here is the perfect guide -- Ian McEwan

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Book SynopsisTechnology has become a major subject of philosophical ethical reflection in recent years, as the novelty and disruptiveness of technology confront us with new possibilities and unprecedented outcomes as well as fundamental changes to our normal ways of living that demand deep reflection of technology. However, philosophical and ethical analysis of technology has until recently drawn primarily from the Western philosophical and ethical traditions, and philosophers and scholars of technology discuss the potential contribution of non-Western approaches only sparingly. Given the global nature of technology, however, there is an urgent need for multiculturalism in philosophy and ethics of technology that include non-Western perspectives in our thinking about technology. While there is an increased attention to non-Western philosophy in the field, there are few systematic attempts to articulate different approaches to the ethics of technology based on other philosophical and ethical traditions. The present edited volume picks up the task of diversifying the ethics of technology by exploring the possibility of Confucian ethics of technology. In the six chapters of this volume, the authors examine various ideas, concepts, and theories in Confucianism and apply them to the ethical challenges of technology; in the epilogue, the editors review the key ideas articulated throughout the volume to identify possible ways forward for Confucian ethics of technology. Harmonious Technology revives Confucianism for philosophical and ethical analysis of technology and presents Confucian ethics of technology as another approach to the ethics of technology. It will be essential for philosophers and ethicists of technology, who are urged to consider beyond the Western paradigms. More broadly, the volume will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of philosophy, science and technology studies, innovation studies, political science, and social studies.Trade Review"Harmonious Technology is a must-read for anyone interested in the philosophy and ethics of technology. While the effects of technology are global, the frameworks to understand and evaluate them are still local, dominated as they are by western approaches. In six fascinating chapters and the epilogue, the authors convincingly and profoundly demonstrate how a ‘multicultural turn’ can substantially enrich the ethics of technology. Without any doubt, this book is a solid foundation for much exciting work to come." - Peter-Paul Verbeek, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Technology and Co-Director of the DesignLab, University of Twente, and author of What Things Do (2005) and Moralizing Technology (2011)"Refreshing, stimulative, and timely, Harmonious Technology makes an important contribution to developing a Confucian philosophy of technology. I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in this propitious field of study." - Chenyang Li, Professor of Philosophy, School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, and author of The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony (2013)"Although there have been an increasing number of English language studies devoted to reassessing Confucianism in general terms and presenting it as a challenge to Western ethics, this is the first to tackle a range of issues in the ethics of technology from a Confucian perspective broadly construed. It represents the important work of a new generation of internationally engaged Chinese philosophers of technology."- Carl Mitcham, Professor Emeritus of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Colorado School of Mines; International Professor of Philosophy of Technology, Renmin University of China; author of Thinking through Technology (1994) and Steps Toward a Philosophy of Engineering (2020)"[...]For those long engaged in such multicultural approaches to philosophy of ethics and technology, this volume represents a most welcome and significant contribution, one signaling a new level of engagement across these diverse traditions: it is simply delicious reading to be savored and learned deeply from. For those somewhat newer to these territories, the volume will be especially valuable as a primer in Confucian thought [...]. I simply cannot recommend it strongly enough."- Charles M. Ess, Professor Emeritus, Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo; author of Digital Media Ethics, 3rd Edition (2020)Table of ContentsIntroduction: Why Confucian Ethics of Technology? 1. Confucian Ritual Technicity and Philosophy of Technology 2. Dao, Harmony and Personhood: Toward a Confucian Ethics of Technology 3. Technological Mediation in and for Confucianism-Based Cultures 4. Self-Cultivation of the Confucian Engineer: What Engineering Ethics Education Can Learn from Confucian Moral Theory 5. Artificial Intelligence, Personal Decisions, Consent, and the Confucian Idea of Oneness 6. Confucian Personhood and the Scientific Spirit: Ren as the Foundation of Confucian Ethics of Technology Epilogue: The Future of Confucian Ethics of Technology

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Book SynopsisA central contested issue in contemporary economics and political philosophy is whether governments should redistribute wealth. In this book, a philosopher and an economist debate this question. James Otteson argues that respect for individual persons requires that the government should usually not alter the results of free exchanges, and so redistribution is usually wrong. Steven McMullen argues that governments should substantially redistribute wealth in order to ensure that all have a minimal opportunity to participate in economic life. Over the course of the exchange, the authors investigate a number of important questions. Is redistribution properly a question of justice, and what is the appropriate standard? Has the welfare state been effective at fighting poverty? Can we expect government intervention in the economy to be helpful or counterproductive? Are our obligations to help the poor best met through government action, or through private philanthropy and individual charitTrade Review"Both McMullen and Otteson are adept at navigating the ethical and moral arguments in the abstract, but each is willing to take seriously the problems of implementation and practical consequence. I enjoyed the discussion, and I expect that you will also."Michael Munger, Duke University (from the Foreword)Table of ContentsForeword 1. Redistribution to Expand Economic Opportunity 2. Justifying Wealth Redistribution: Can the High Burden be Met? 3. Poverty, Moral Hazard, and the State: Reply to James R. Otteson 4. Difficulties with the Wealth Redistribution Argument: Reply to Steven McMullen 5. Distributive Justice, Economic Growth, and the Welfare State: Reply to James’s Reply 6. How to Care for the Poor, and How Not to: Reply to McMullen’s Reply

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Book SynopsisHans Vaihinger (18521933) was an important and fascinating figure in German philosophy in the early twentieth century, founding the well-known journal Kant-Studien. Yet he was overshadowed by the burgeoning movements of phenomenology and analytical philosophy, as well as hostility towards his work because of his defense of Jewish scholars in a Germany controlled by Nazism.However, it is widely acknowledged today that The Philosophy of As If' is a philosophical masterwork. Vaihinger argues that in the face of an overwhelmingly complex world, we produce a simpler set of ideas, or idealizations, that help us negotiate it. When cast as fictions, such ideas provide an easier and more useful way to think about certain subjects, from mathematics and physics to law and morality, than would the truth in all its complexity. Even in science, he wrote, we must proceed as if a material world exists independently of perceiving subjects; in behaviour, we must act as Table of ContentsForeword to the Routledge Classics Edition Michael Rosenthal General Introduction Part 1: Basic Principles General Introductory Remarks on Fictional Constructs A. The Enumeration and Division of Scientific Fictions B. The Logical Theory of Scientific Fictions C. Contributions to the History and Theory of Fictions D. Consequences for the Theory of Knowledge Part 2: Amplified Study of Special Problems 1. Artificial Classification 2. Further Artificial Classifications 3. Adam Smith's Method in Political Economy 4. Bentham's Method in Political Science 5. Abstractive Fictional Methods in Physics and Psychology 6. Condillac's Imaginary Statue 7. Lotze's 'Hypothetical Animal' 8. Other Examples of Fictitious Isolation 9. The Fiction of Force 10. Matter and Materialism as Mental Accessories 11. Abstract Concepts as Fictions 12. General Ideas as Fictions 13. Summational, Nominal, and Substitutive Fictions 14. Natural Forces and Natural Laws as Fictions 15. Schematic Fictions 16. Illustrative Fictions 17. The Atomic Theory as a Fiction 18. Fictions in Mathematical Physics 19. The Fiction of Pure Absolute Space 20. Surface, Line, Point, etc., as Fictions 21. The Fiction of the Infinitely Small 22. The History of the Infinitesimal Fiction 23. The Meaning of the' As If' Approach 24. The Fictive Judgment 25. The Fiction contrasted with the Hypothesis Part 3: Historical Confirmations A. Kant’s Use of the ‘As If’ Method B. Forberg, The Originator of the Fichtean Atheism-Controversy, and his Religion of As-If C. Lange's 'Standpoint of the Ideal' D. Nietzsche and his Doctrine of Conscious Illusion. Subject Index Index of Names

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Book SynopsisThis book equips readers with the knowledge, insights and key capabilities to understand and practice business activities from ethical and sustainable vantage points.In our interconnected global business environment, the impacts of business activities are under increased ethical scrutiny from a wide range of stakeholders. Written from an international perspective, this book introduces the theory and practice of ethical and sustainable business, focusing in particular on eco-environmental sustainability, intergenerational responsibilities, current disruptive technologies, and intercultural values of the business community and consumers. Written by an expert author who also brings to the fore non-Western concepts and themes, this book: features positive case studies, as well as transferrable and applicable key insights from such cases; highlights the importance of taking cultural differences into account; takes a tTrade Review"In business as in life there is no ethics-free zone, and students will look for guidance in steering their course through the many challenges awaiting them. This book prepares them well by laying a solid foundation in ethical theory with only a minimum of technical terminology, but with numerous cases and thought experiments for ethical decision-making that stimulate students’ moral imagination to develop their own pathways towards solutions they can ethically justify." Gerhold K. Becker, Founding Director, Centre for Applied Ethics, Hong Kong Baptist University "Gandhi once pointed out that commerce without morality is a social sin. In this excellent book, Roman Meinhold has provided practical ethical guidelines not just only for business students but also entrepreneurs and professionals. It is an invaluable asset for our future commercial society." Warayuth Sriwarakuel, Vice President for Research, Assumption University of Thailand Business Ethics and Sustainability is an incredibly valuable asset for any businessperson, young or experienced, to challenge old norms about business ethics and profitability working against each other and hopefully it will allow more people to understand that these two concepts can in fact work harmoniously hand-in-hand." Quincy Yu, Senior Vice President, Tycoon Music Co. Ltd. "The book is a highly recommended useful tool for current students and future global leaders." Khothatso Tšooana, Principal Secretary Ministry of Health, Lesotho; former Commissioner of Police, Lesotho Mounted Police Service, Lesotho Table of Contents1. Business and Ethics: Contradiction and Success Story 2. Ethics and Business: Down the Philosophical Rabbit Hole 3. Normative Ethical Foundations of Business Ethics: The Big Five 4. Sustainability and Organizations’ Environmental Responsibility: Trash and Treasures 5. Ethical Stakeholder Analysis and Ethical SWOT Analysis 6. Disruptive Technologies and Business Ethics 7. Business Ethics in Media, Marketing, Advertising, and Fashion 8. Intercultural Business Ethics and Sustainability 9. Systemic Issues 10. Conclusion

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Book Synopsis"[Appiah's] work reveals the heart and sensitivity of a novelist. . . .Fascinating, erudite and beautifully written."—The New York Times Book ReviewTrade Review"What causes moral progress? In this brilliant book, Appiah casts light on the role played by honor. Even though it's sometimes distorted, as with honor killings in Pakistan, this classical concept can be a lode star in guiding us to a better future. It's an amazing and fascinating insight. This is an indispensable book for both moral philosophers and honorable citizens." -- Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe"Appiah lays out a concept that is not only compelling in its own right but also suggests a connection that may in time help to collate biological and cultural exploration of human morality." -- Edward O. Wilson, author of Sociobiology"A deeply insightful exposition of the dangers, the potential and the (perhaps) ineradicable role of the human sense of honor." -- Charles Taylor, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, McGill University"This book is essential for us—inescapable in its urgent relevance to the embattled human morality we live within our codes of the present." -- Nadine Gordimer, author of Telling Times

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Book SynopsisA vital new moral perspective on the climate change debate.Trade Review"In Climate Matters John Broome brings his lucid writing, sparkling insights, and deep moral seriousness to the greatest moral challenge of our time. This is practical ethics at its most brilliant and its most significant." -- Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University"Climate Matters takes up where most books about global warming leave off. John Broome writes clearly and thoughtfully about the most pressing questions of our time." -- Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe"Broome applies ethical principles logically to private moral behavior and sound government policy on climate change, with interesting and sometimes surprising results. I want to argue with some of it, and climate change is worth arguing about." -- Ross Garnaut, former climate change advisor for the Australian government"How refreshing to have John Broome, an economist, argue that we should incorporate ethics in climate policy formation." -- Lester R. Brown, president of Earth Policy Institute and author of World on the Edge"Unmanaged climate change raises profound ethical, policy, and personal issues which must be faced directly. John Broome, one of the outstanding moral philosophers of our times, presents the issues and his conclusions in a most thoughtful, accessible, practical, and compelling way. A vitally important contribution." -- Nicholas Stern, president of the British Academy and chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics"For me (and for many others, I suspect) it is important to see this ethical side of climate change examined carefully by a skilled philosopher." -- Martin Weitzman, Professor of Economics, Harvard University"John Broome is uniquely qualified to help us think through some of the more important questions. His new book is sometimes controversial and surprising, but always insightful and clear." -- James Garvey - the Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisKonrad Lorenz was the author of some of the most popular books ever published about animals, including the best-selling Man Meets Dog and King Solomon's Ring. On Aggression is one of his finest works, as well as the most controversial. Through an insightful and characteristically entertaining survey of animal behaviour, the Nobel Prize winner tracks the evolution of aggression throughout the animal world. He also raises some startling questions when he applies his observations of animal psychology to humankind. His conclusions caused an unprecedented controversy, culminating in a statement adopted by UNESCO in 1989 which appeared to condemn his work. Whether or not Lorenz actually claimed aggression is hard-wired into the human psyche, and that war is an inevitable result, is something readers can decide upon for themselves. However you react, there can be no doubting that in today's violent world this powerful work remains of paramount importanceTrade Review'Packed with entrancing detail, profound wisdom and deft humour ... the book is a masterpiece.' – The GuardianTable of ContentsChapter 1 Prologue in the Sea; Chapter 2 Coral Fish in the Laboratory; Chapter 3 What Aggression is Good For; Chapter 4 The Spontaneity of Aggression; Chapter 5 Habit, Ritual and Magic; Chapter 6 The Great Parliament of Instincts; Chapter 7 Behavioural Analogies to Morality; Chapter 8 Anonymity of the Flock; Chapter 9 Social Organization without Love; Chapter 10 Rats; Chapter 11 The Bond; Chapter 12 On the Virtue of Scientific Humility; Chapter 13 Ecce Homo!; Chapter 14 Avowal of Optimism;

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