Ethics and moral philosophy Books

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe best translation of these two treatises available in any language: accurate, lively, and readable. --Peter King, The Ohio State UniversityThis volume is excellent. The introduction presents the readings in a clear manner, one that is direct and comprehensible. Similarly, the translation is highly readable. The notes are helpful without being intrusive. In short, this is a volume I have enjoyed using with graduate students and will certainly plan to use with undergraduates. --Charles E. Butterworth, University of Maryland at College Park

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Book Synopsis This volume includes the complete texts of two of John Stuart Mill''s most important works, Utilitarianism and On Liberty, and selections from his other writings, including the complete text of his Remarks on Bentham''s Philosophy. The selection from Mill''s A System of Logic is of special relevance to the debate between those who read Mill as an Act-Utilitarian and those who interpret him as a Rule-Utilitarian. Also included are selections from the writings of Jeremy Bentham, founder of modern Utilitarianism and mentor (together with James Mill) of John Stuart Mill. Bentham''s Principles of Morals and Legislation had important effects on political and legal reform in his own time and continues to provide insights for political theorists and philosophers of law. Seven chapters of Bentham''s Principles are here in their entirety, together with a number of shorter selections, including one in which Bentham repudiates the slogan often used to characterize his p

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Book SynopsisHappy Lives, Good Lives offers a thorough introduction to a variety of perspectives on happiness. Among the questions at issue: Is happiness only a state of mind, or is it something more? Is it the same for everyone? Is it under our control, and if so, to what extent? Can we be mistaken about whether we are happy? What role, if any, does happiness play in living a good life? Is it sometimes morally wrong to pursue happiness? Should governments promote happiness through public policy? Asking and answering these questions is worthwhile not only as an intellectual exercise, but also as a means of gaining practical insight into how best to pursue a happy life.Trade Review“Happy Lives, Good Lives: A Philosophical Examination is an outstanding book, brimming with exciting philosophical ideas, always expressed clearly and supported with engaging examples. Mulnix and Mulnix have wisely decided to organize this book by topic, not chronology, which allows them to bring in contemporary scientific findings as they are relevant. As a result, readers get a more complete view of the nature of happiness more quickly. It is an unparalleled strength of Happy Lives, Good Lives that its readers will be ready and able to apply what they have learnt about happiness to their own lives, the lives of others, and possible public policies.” — Dan Weijers, California State University, Sacramento“Students and teachers alike will benefit from this comprehensive guide to theories of happiness. Mulnix and Mulnix offer engaging, charitable presentations of theories from ancient philosophy to contemporary psychology, illustrated with examples from real life, literature, and film (the Dalai Lama, Stephen Hawking, Robin Hood, and Truman Burbank from the film The Truman Show all make an appearance). They pose questions that challenge our assumptions about happiness, and they weave these diverse views into a compelling narrative that culminates in a thoughtful discussion of the prospects for government policies to promote happiness.” — Valerie Tiberius, University of MinnesotaTable of ContentsPrefaceOnline MaterialsPART I: THINKING ABOUT THE NATURE AND VALUE OF HAPPINESSChapter 1: Introduction Who Is the Happy Person?Three Theories of HappinessThe Value of HappinessOverview of the Book Chapter 2: Intuitions about Happiness Is Happiness Only a State of Mind?Is Happiness More Than a Mental State?Can We Be Wrong about Our Own Happiness?Is Happiness under Our Control? Chapter 3: Happy Lives, Good Lives, and Moral Lives Is What’s Good for You Good for Me?Happiness: Description or Evaluation?How Might the Happy Life Be Connected to the Good Life?The Happy Life and the Moral Life PART II: HAPPINESS AS PLEASUREChapter 4: The Feel-Good Feature of Happiness Varieties of HedonismCan Happiness Be Measured? The Felicific CalculusRemembering versus Experiencing Happy EventsThe Worry of AdaptationWe Love Happy EndingsIs There Just One Type of Pleasure Feeling?Desiring Things Other Than for How They Feel Chapter 5: Taking Pleasure in Things and Feeling Joy Pleasure Is an Attitude, Not a FeelingWhere’s the Fun in Happiness?Do We Actually Want Those Things That Bring Us Pleasure?Happiness Is Deep, ManThe Problem with Feelings PART III: HAPPINESS AS SATISFACTIONChapter 6: Satisfied with What? Local Desire SatisfactionismWhole Life SatisfactionismThat Which Is, Was, and Will BeNot Happy? Just Lower Your StandardsMistakes Come Easy: The Contextual, Arbitrary, and Fickle Nature of Life SatisfactionDo We — or Can We — Even Make Life Satisfaction Judgments? Chapter 7: It’s All about Perspective Putting Things in PerspectiveValue-Based Life SatisfactionFiguring Out What We WantIs Being Satisfied Enough?Revisiting the Cult Experience PART IV: HAPPINESS AS EUDAIMONIAChapter 8: Is Ignorance Bliss? Do We Value Things outside Our Subjective Experience?Are We Talking about Well-Being or Happiness?Can We Be Happily Deceived?Are Happiness and Well-Being the Same?What of Moral Virtue? Chapter 9: Happiness, Moral Virtue, and the Purpose of Life The Transformative Power of VirtueThe King, the Tyrant, and the Democrat: The Role of Pleasure in the Life of VirtueThe Complete LifeThe Psychological Rewards of the Eudaimon LifeA Theory of CapabilitiesHow Much Is Enough? Chapter 10: Finding Equanimity in the Face of Suffering Equanimity as the GoalThe Determined Universe: A Lesson in What Lies within and beyond Our ControlThe Science of MindfulnessOvercoming Irrationality and Dealing with LossFinding Meaning in Suffering PART V: APPLICATIONS AND FURTHER QUESTIONSChapter 11: Justice and National Happiness Can National Happiness Be Measured?Measuring Happiness in Terms of WealthIndexing Subjective Well-BeingBuilding a List for Happiness: A Capabilities IndexThe Greatest Happiness for the Greatest Number? Chapter 12: Concluding ReflectionsReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisEnvironmental Ethics provides an accessible, lively, and up-to-date introduction to the central issues and controversies in environmental ethics. Requiring no previous knowledge of philosophy or ethical theory, the book will be of interest to students, environmental scientists, environmental policy makers, and anyone curious to know what philosophers are saying today about the urgent environmental challenges we face. The book is divided into two parts.Part One deals with theoretical issues in environmental philosophy, examining a variety of ethical and environmental theories that provide diverse and thought-provoking perspectives on critical ecological issues. Part Two turns to applied environmental ethics, addressing current debates on topics such as climate change, biodiversity loss, wilderness preservation, responsibilities to future generations, population growth, overconsumption, food ethics, and ecological activism. Features include: Clear explanations of key concepts and theories that lie at the heart of current debates in environmental ethics. A mix of theory of practice that permits readers to apply diverse theoretical perspectives to key environmental debates. A wealth of pedagogical aids, including chapter summaries, discussion questions, suggested readings, and a glossary of important terms. Trade Review"This is a wonderful text! It is clear, comprehensive, and balanced. The Current Issues sections are extremely well-researched while remaining very accessible, making them valuable to students and professionals alike. I’ll use this book." –Frederik Kaufmann, Ithaca College"Environmental ethics is a constantly changing field of study. Bassham's book is a well-balanced treatment of the central environmental issues for our time and place. It rightly locates climate change for us today as 'the mother of all environmental problems.'" –James P. Sterba, University of Notre Dame "Bassham's highly accessible writing offers applied ethical thinking within a helpful theoretical framework, and properly positions environmental ethics as central to our collective future." –Kristin Wolf, Champlain College"[T]he new introductory text Environmental Ethics: The Central Issues (2021) approaches moral issues holistically, with an eye to arguments and their application. Gregory Bassham offers an accessible and affordable multi-directional blueprint to help us think about current problems. Environmental Ethics engages broad enough issues to attract a variety of learners, including philosophy, public policy, and environmental science majors. "As a blueprint, it is compact enough to aid those who wish to veer off the beaten path. This encourages a range of approaches in the classroom, opening space for instructors to touch on the history, development and interconnectivity of philosophical ideas. We can effortlessly move from principles in Kant or Mill (Chapter 1), to those challenged by biocentrism and ecocentrism (Chapters 4 and 5), and see how they play out today vis-à-vis environmental justice (Chapters 8 or 11). Or, we might connect virtue ethics with deep ecology (Chapter 6) and civil disobedience (Chapter 14). "On the whole, Environmental Ethics will be a great addition for a variety of individuals. Instructors wishing to change up their course materials will find this short text helpful for getting to the heart of key arguments and fresh issues. Those new to the environmental side of applied ethics will also greatly benefit. Lastly, independent learners, students and environmentalists will find countless starting points for further exploration." —Zachary Vereb, University of Mississippi, in Environmental Values"This book is fantastic! Prior to this semester, I had never taught environmental ethics and had minimal exposure to the topic. Teaching from Environmental Ethics: The Central Issues has been extremely helpful to me and my students. In fact, I took a poll in my class and every student agreed that the book is extremely helpful, well written, and worthy of recommendation."—Ryan Lemasters, Western Michigan University

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Book SynopsisApplied Ethics: An Impartial Introduction prepares readers to evaluate selected classical and contemporary problems in applied ethics in a way that does justice to their complexity without sacrificing clarity or fairness of representation. Its balanced exposition and analysis, enhanced by helpful pedagogical features, make it an ideal book for introducing the ethics of real-life problems including abortion, animal rights, disability, the environment, poverty, and punishment.Trade Review"Jackson, Goldschmidt, Crummett, and Chan are experienced teachers with a multitude of insights on the problems they explain in this splendid introduction to applied ethics. It is selective in focus but comprehensive in coverage; it is philosophically rigorous but remarkably clear in presentation; and each of the six sections is substantive enough for a good part of a course while the whole could occupy a full term. The book is an excellent choice as a main introductory text in applied ethics but so well laid out and referenced as to be a resource for students working in this field at any level. It has the clarity and concreteness needed for an introduction and the thoroughness needed in a higher-level study of the moral problems it explores." —Robert Audi, John A. O’Brien Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame"An engaging, well written, and rigorous introduction to applied ethics. Jackson, Goldschmidt, Crummett, and Chan have produced an impressive work. Their text covers many different topics, some of which are not often covered by similar books, even as they become more and more relevant in the current debate (e.g., wild animal suffering and charitable giving). I particularly liked the way in which the authors help students to test their own level of understanding, and how they encourage students to deepen their knowledge of the topics they find most interesting. I look forward to using this book in my next undergraduate course." —Francesca Minerva, University of Milan"The authors have done a marvelous job with Applied Ethics. They’ve chosen great topics, they’ve explained contemporary debates crisply and clearly, they’ve obviously made a huge effort to represent every position charitably. Moreover, they’ve made smart decisions to enhance reader comprehension and engagement, such as scattering questions throughout the text, rather than burying them at the end of each chapter. It’s going to be a pleasure to teach with this book!" —Bob Fischer, Department of Philosophy, Texas State University

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Book SynopsisBertrand Russell changed Western philosophy forever. He tackled many puzzles--how our minds work, how we experience the world, and what the true nature of meaning is. In "Introducing Bertrand Russell "we meet a passionate eccentric, active in world politics, who had outspoken views on sex, marriage, religion, and education.

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Book SynopsisSuccess is all very well, but failure teaches us what is most important: humility. Costica Bradatan tells the stories of four thinkers who, for all their external success, courted failure throughout their years. From Simone Weil to Seneca and Gandhi, the greatest of us made meaningful lives by grasping the epiphanies of failure.Trade ReviewBradatan, a philosopher, writes with elegance and wit, his every thought and sentence slipping smoothly into the next…I was absorbed by Bradatan’s book even—or especially—when I felt uncomfortable with its implications. -- Jennifer Szalai * New York Times *Bradatan wears his erudition lightly. He is a pleasure to read, and his prose conveys a happy resilience in the face of life’s inevitable contradictions. His lessons in humility remind us that the pursuit of success is often motivated by the dread of failure—and that our attempts to create things are often driven by an avoidance of our mortality. -- Michael S. Roth * Washington Post *Charming and brilliant…Bradatan transcends the pessimistic visions of Cioran and co, for it is clear that he believes in the possibility of spiritual progress once we have been sufficiently humbled by failure. -- Anna Katharina Schaffner * Times Literary Supplement *What [Bradatan] offers is a normative argument for why we should be humbled by failure rather than, like Hitler and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, see failure as a mere ‘stepping-stone to success’…Humans in Bradatan’s eyes are not featherless bipeds or rational animals but the only creatures who can recognize failure. It is this failure-detecting faculty, rather than, say, Aristotle’s nous, that makes us fully human…Thought-provoking. -- Alexander Raubo * Literary Review *Bradatan argues that we should not run from failure, but face it, clear eyed, because facing our failures makes us humble, and, by becoming humble, we can live better lives…This book is about the art of living a good life, and Bradatan’s voice is like a steady and charming guide through a moonless night. -- Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn * Hedgehog Review *[Bradatan] has an encyclopedic knowledge combined with the gift of a master storyteller who knows how to stay out of the weeds. His prose is limpid and calm but spiced with just the right dash of irony. Most chapters move gracefully along, with switchbacks between a tale about one blunderer and a story about another. A rarity, In Praise of Failure is at once a substantial history of ideas and a page-turner. -- Gordon Marino * Christian Century *In Praise of Failure is a book that nearly anyone can read, and yet it will spark reflection in even the most seasoned professor. Both highly readable and thought-provoking, Costica Bradatan challenges readers theoretically, but also, and perhaps more importantly, challenges them on a more practical level…In our times of multiple crises, and especially for us who live in cultures where success is directly analogous to dignity, failure is something we all experience in penetrating ways. * Philosophy Now *The style of [this book] reflects the humility Bradatan advocates at the moral level. His clear thinking and erudition come through in limpid, simple, yet highly articulate sentences. -- Robert Pogue Harrison * New York Review of Books *Each of the four failures in this book—physical, political, social, and ultimate—shows us the importance of philosophy for finding a good life. How shall we live today? We live in a fallen world, and the author inspires us to consider how to weave a life story, around and through our failures, into a better future. -- Karen Altergott Roberts * Englewood Review of Books *‘More than a form of behavior…humility should be seen as a form of knowledge,’ writes Bradatan. Such a knowledge has always been essential, but it is now so more than ever as our creaturely existence is threatened on every side…In Praise of Failure is a helpful orientation into this way of knowing—one that is an invitation toward the ground of our being. -- Ragan Sutterfield * Plough Quarterly *Bradatan makes a persuasive case for failure’s generative ability to knock us out of our self-centeredness…Give[s] us good reason to hope that failure and disappointment are better understood as preludes, not conclusions, to the messy but fascinating narrative of becoming we call ‘life.’ -- Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen * Yale Review *Invites us to lean into failure, to domesticate it and allow it to guide us on the journey from the nothingness before birth to the nothingness after death…Bradatan is precise and captivating. -- Polona Osojnik * Textual Practice *The ideas are boldly counterintuitive, and the illuminating historical examples complicate what it means to succeed. This is, ironically enough, a triumph. * Publishers Weekly *Provocative, stimulating, wise—the book that our success-obsessed age needs to read. -- Tom Holland, author of Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the WorldIn this deeply inspiring book, Costica Bradatan invites us to humble up and embrace the fact that we are all prone to failure. But the real lesson is that this embrace is a first step on a long journey toward self-transformation and growth. We all fail, but only the wise understand that their imperfections are what make them whole. -- Marcelo Gleiser, author of The Island of Knowledge: The Limits of Science and the Search for MeaningI have nothing but praise for this revealing and riveting, probing and provocative book. Bradatan has succeeded in reminding us why failure is not only inevitable, but, if viewed properly, so very vital. A brilliant tour de force. -- Robert Zaretsky, author of The Subversive Simone Weil: A Life in Five IdeasIn Praise of Failure takes a set of corrosively prophetic lives and makes them new again through a compelling, cross-cutting, swift, and entirely original mode of narration. Costica Bradatan writes with the same daring, the same interpretive anger that made his subjects notorious in their own day for choosing failure over what their respective worlds counted as success. A gripping read, start to finish. -- Jack Miles, author of God: A BiographyA belletrist following in the footsteps of Walter Benjamin and Susan Sontag, Costica Bradatan exhibits, yet again, that he is an original thinker of real merit. -- James Miller, author of Examined Lives: From Socrates to NietzscheWith eloquent passion—and compassion—Costica Bradatan puts fear of failure at the heart of human existence, yesterday, now, and forever, from the failures that frustrate our daily existence to the ultimate failure that is death. Weaving together the life and work of such disparate souls as Simone Weil, Seneca, Gandhi, E. M. Cioran, and Yukio Mishima, he reminds us why our fellow humans have always ascribed to the mad, the misfits, and those on the verge of death an uncanny capacity for second sight. A unique, insightful meditation on the essential questions of human existence that aims to heal as well as to provoke. -- Ingrid Rowland, coauthor of The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari and the Invention of Art

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Midlife will help you recast your regrets and longing for the possibilities of youth into a more affirming vision for the rest of your life."---Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"An Economist Book of the Year""A thought-provoking read."---Jerry Coyne, Washington Post"The ultimate claim of The Genetic Lottery is an extraordinarily ambitious act of moral entrepreneurialism. Harden argues that an appreciation of the role of simple genetic luck—alongside all the other arbitrary lotteries of birth—will make us, as a society, more inclined to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy lives of dignity and comfort."---Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker"A book that is closely argued and packed with compelling scientific and statistical evidence. . . . This is a fascinating and detailed discussion of how genetic and environmental factors are braided together in all of us, shaping our destinies for good or ill. Harden’s ideas challenge existing orthodoxies, and she is also aware that complex research such as this is often misused. But her passionate commitment to tackling inequality and changing society is not to be doubted."---P. D. Smith, The Guardian"The Genetic Lottery is one of the most thought-provoking books I've read this year."---Dan Falk, CBC Radio"The Genetic Lottery is a good read, peppered with relatable stories and examples. Harden pulls off the trick of simultaneously introducing a technical field to newcomers; addressing deep, specialist debates; and taking seriously the intersection of scientific and philosophical analyses of inequality."---Aaron Panofsky, Science"Harden diligently fights a desperate battle to enlist science to serve progressive social reform." * Kirkus Reviews *"[An] outstanding new book. . . . It’s scientifically spot on, historically adroit, and excellently written. Required reading."---Adam Rutherford"While acknowledging the roles our environment and experiences play in shaping our lives, Harden makes the case that social scientists who want to address the roots of inequality must reckon with genetics. . . . The more researchers understand about the myriad factors that influence how our lives turn out, the more they can help improve outcomes for everyone. Genetics is one of those factors, Harden argues: when we ignore it, the most vulnerable suffer."---Jennifer Latson, Texas Monthly"A welcome resource for scholars and policy makers who want to advocate for and initiate equitable social changes with the help of reliable, expert knowledge."---J. F. Heberle, Choice"An engagingly written and highly accessible account of how genes shape our lives. . . . [The Genetic Lottery] richly merits the widespread attention it has received."---Robert H. Frank, Administrative Science Quarterly"[Harden] is a beautiful writer, weaving together personal narrative and complex technical concepts skillfully. Her writing is accessible to nonexperts, and the argument she makes—that it is both valuable and politically progressive for researchers of social outcomes to study DNA—is provocative. With this argument, The Genetic Lottery invites a necessary debate."---Daphne Oluwaseun Martschenko, Hastings Center Report"One of the most impressive things about [The Genetic Lottery] is Harden’s crystal-clear exposition of complex scientific research and methods. This alone is a gift to the public and every scientist should be grateful to her for helping the public understand genomic research and causal inference."---Jonathan T. Rothwell, Rothwell's Newsletter"Kathryn Paige Harden's The Genetic Lottery is both a novel contribution to this set and a novel kind of contribution, in that she does something much of the rest of this work does not: take a definite position on the political and social implications of behavioral genetics. . . . The book is a masterly tour of the state of the art of behavioral genetics and its relevance for pressing social questions."---Bryan Cwik, Bioethics"In creating a new synthesis that neither ignores the role of genetics nor misappropriates it, Harden acknowledges the importance the genetic lottery plays in shaping our life outcomes, while cautioning against misinterpreting the genetically laden differences among people as implying inborn, societal superiority. Harden examines the nascent field of behavioral genetics in an intellectually humble way, by detailing in lay terms the science of genetics and its applicability to differential life outcomes among people, and by incorporating this knowledge to advance social policies and social considerations that limit inequities."---Mark Rapala, International Social Science Review"Harden has illuminated a path forward free of racial bias and 'superior-inferior' dichotomies to build on seeking applications for greater social equality."---E. B. Boatner, Lavender Magazine"Kathryn Paige Harden has been waging a noble battle to liberate genetic science from its reactionary connotations, and especially the foul practice of eugenics. Her point, pithily made in this important book, is that knowledge of genetics is essential to any progressive politics and can be harnessed to advance the cause of equality."---Matt d’Ancona, Tortoise ​​​​​​​

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year 2021""Honorable Mention for the Journal of the History of Philosophy Book Prize""Van der Lugt succeeds brilliantly in her aim of setting aside the arid technical disputes in which philosophy often seems (at least to the layman) to be enmeshed, and applying it with compelling urgency to perennial and fundamental moral questions."---Ritchie Robertson, Times Literary Supplement"This is a highly readable, elegantly written and sophisticated study that even non-philosophers will find accessible and illuminating, and perhaps also inspiring."---Steven Nadler, Literary Review"Engaged and engaging."---Julian Young, Society"Reading this book is a rare event and something of an adventure in that it is as solidly argued as it is eloquent and as learned as it is moving. Those who feel philosophers no longer care to address truly vital issues are especially in for a treat."---Wiep van Bunge, British Journal for the History of Philosophy"[Van der Lugt] handles these ‘dark matters’—evil, suffering, suicide—with admirable delicacy. As such her book is an invaluable source for anyone interested in the history of human thinking about evil and suffering, hope and consolation."---Maikki Aakko, Heythrop Journal"Prospective readers of Dark Matters should come to this work first of all for van der Lugt’s masterclass in exegesis of Enlightenment philosophy and cultural criticism. Readers should stay for her personal insights into the problem of suffering and her ingenious insistence on pessimism as a moral source. Don’t be fooled by its somber title; Dark Matters is a treasure-trove of moral argument and inspired philosophical insights that left this reader consoled and hopeful."---David Greder, Reading Religion"A monumental achievement." * The Philosopher *

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Book SynopsisFrom world-leading scientist and New York Times bestselling author of The Language of God, a deeply thoughtful guidebook to discerning what and who we can trust to move us from societal discord to civic harmony.

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Book SynopsisThe fox knows many things, the Greeks said, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. In this title, the author argues that value in all its forms is one big thing: that what truth is, life means, morality requires, and justice demands are different aspects of the same large question.Trade ReviewIn a sustained, profound, and richly textured argument that will, from now on, be essential to all debate on the matter, Ronald Dworkin makes the case for…the unity of value… Dworkin writes as an applied philosopher; the topics he discusses are matters of practical importance. They affect whether and how people can give meaning to their lives. They make a difference in legislatures and courts of law whose decisions touch hundreds of millions of lives. That is what gives the overall argument its urgency, for Dworkin's principal aim in establishing the unity of value is the familiar and central one for him: to show how law and government can be based on political morality… He completes, in [the] final chapter, a chain of reasoning that can be seen as uniting convictions of personal morality with principles of political justice, and then showing how these are all gathered together in a larger system of moral ideals that he believes lawyers and judges must deploy in discovering what the abstract principles of the American Constitution really mean and require. We are in at the birth, here, of a modern philosophical classic, one of the essential works of contemporary thought. It is bound to be a major debate-changer, because even the many who will find much to disagree with—Dworkin, after all, disagrees with them in advance, and robustly—will not be able to ignore the challenges he poses. And out of the heat to come, much light will shine. -- A. C. Grayling * New York Review of Books *The most profound legal book of the season is Justice for Hedgehogs… This book is [Dworkin's] theory of everything and rests on the notion that 'value' is the one big philosophical thing… For the first time, all pieces of Dworkin's jurisprudential thinking fall formidably into place. -- Richard Susskind * The Times *[Dworkin's arguments] display great intellectual rigour… A daring and demanding treatise… Defining morality as the standards governing how we ought to treat other people, and ethics as the standards governing how we ought to live ourselves, Dworkin argues that living morally and living ethically are inseparable. What we achieve is less important than the manner in which we live our lives, and that is judged in part by how we treat other people. To live well, Dworkin writes, is to live one's life as if it were a work of art. In a work of art the value of what is created is inseparable from the act of creating it. A painting is not only a product; it embodies a particular performance. For Dworkin, it isn't the product value of a human life that is most important but its performance value. A life should be an achievement 'in itself, with its own value in the art in living it displays.' …Justice for Hedgehogs attempts to give human beings their due, not in any spirit of self-congratulation but so that we may build a better life for all. -- Richard King * The Australian *Justice for Hedgehogs represents a powerful account of what our moral world would have to be for our moral life to be harmonious. -- William A. Galston * Commonweal *The 79-year-old professor of philosophy's grand, perhaps culminating, statement of what truth is, what life means, what morality requires and justice demands… [Dworkin] builds up a comprehensive system of value—embracing democracy, justice, political obligation, morality, liberty, equality—from his notions of dignity and self-respect. -- Stuart Jeffries * The Guardian *The first thing to strike you about this remarkable book is its ambition… In Justice for Hedgehogs all of Dworkin's great talent is on display, the themes overwhelming in their sheer bigness. The basic point is that like the hedgehog in a famous essay by Isaiah Berlin, there is one big thing Dworkin knows above all else—it is what makes sense of how we act as persons, how we relate to others and how we construct our society… The nineteen substantive chapters stand as a great statement of a life well lived (and with, it is hoped, many years still to go). -- Conor Gearty * New Humanist *Justice for Hedgehogs is Dworkin's most ambitious book to date… It is full of sustained argument and arresting observations drawn from a lifetime of thought and a great armory of knowledge. -- Jonathan Sumption * The Spectator *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAdding the selections from the Speech on Capital Punishment is an excellent idea. --Mark Migotti, University of Calgary

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Book SynopsisDemocracy is in trouble--there is disagreement about what is going wrong and what we should do about it. Lottocracy argues that, perhaps surprisingly, the problem is with the heart of modern democracy: the election. Elections are failing as accountability mechanisms. Elections provide powerful short-term incentives, leading elected politicians to downplay long-term catastrophic concerns. Elections create divisions where none need exist. The most powerful among us take advantage of this to control who is elected, what policies are enacted, and which problems are ignored. Policy complexity, citizen ignorance, elite capture and manipulation, algorithmically reinforced echo chambers, intensifying partisan division and distrust, and the dissolution of political community combine to render modern electoral democracies incapable of helping us solve the urgent problems we face. What should we do?Alexander Guerrero takes seriously the possibility that although electoral democracy has been bette

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Book SynopsisIn his final work, Richard Rorty provides the definitive statement of his political thought. Rorty equates pragmatism with anti-authoritarianism, arguing that because there is no authority we can rely on to ascertain truth, we can only do so intersubjectively. It follows that we must learn to think and care about what others think and care about.Trade ReviewToday, there are few philosophers left whose thoughts are inspired by a unifying vision; there are even fewer who can articulate such a view in terms of a ravishing flow of provocative, but sharp and differentiated, arguments. But rarely anyone can compete with Richard Rorty in summarizing the whole of it in a series of brilliant literary lectures like these. -- Jürgen HabermasRichard Rorty was the most iconoclastic and dramatic philosopher of the last half-century. In this final book, his unique literary style, singular intellectual zest, and demythologizing defiance of official philosophy are on full display. -- Cornel WestA sharp and comprehensive statement of Richard Rorty’s distinctive version of pragmatism, presented with all the wit and vitality typical of his writings. Carefully edited by Eduardo Mendieta, with an illuminating foreword by Robert B. Brandom, this book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in Rorty’s philosophical vision. -- Richard J. Bernstein, Vera List Professor of Philosophy, The New School for Social ResearchWe have perhaps the clearest account of how he understood pragmatist thinking as a political undertaking…Provocative and engaging…The array of urgent questions and crises facing our democracy makes one miss Richard Rorty’s voice: insistent, relentlessly questioning, and dedicated to the proposition that we can’t afford to let our democracy fail. -- Chris Lehmann * New Republic *The verve with which [the arguments] are made and their relevance to our current context make for a bracing read…The message of Rorty’s body of work, so well summarized in these newly published lectures, is that aiming at ‘increased responsiveness to the needs of a larger and larger variety of people and things’ will reduce the sources of suffering, and by so doing multiply our opportunities to thrive. -- Michael S. Roth * Los Angeles Review of Books *Show[s] an impressive command of both analytic and continental philosophy. -- George Scialabba * Commonweal *It is coherent, often brilliant, and it presents a clear and timely case for political pragmatism. -- Jonathan Rée * Prospect *A useful compendium of the philosopher’s mature views. -- Robert Chodat * American Literary History *A very finely edited collection of essays in which Rorty’s undeniable polemical brilliance and philosophical knowledge are in full display. -- Richard Shusterman * Society *

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Book SynopsisSituates 'The Enquiry' in its historical context, clarifying its relationship to Calvinism, to Newtonian science, and to earlier moral philosophers, and provides an account of Hume's ethical naturalism.Trade ReviewA splendid edition. Schneewind's illuminating introduction succinctly situates the Enquiry in its historical context, clarifying its relationship to Calvinism, to Newtonian science, and to earlier moral philosophers, and providing a persuasive account of Hume's ethical naturalism. --Martha C. Nussbaum, Brown University

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Book SynopsisIs socialism desirable? Is it even possible? This book presents a moral case for socialism and argues that the obstacles in its way are exaggerated.Trade Review"Characteristically lucid, engaging and gently humorous... Cohen says things that need to be said, often better than anyone else; and his last book is especially effective as an argument against the obstacles to socialism typically ascribed to human selfishness. His style of argument is very accessible, and it is certainly a more attractive mode of persuasion than dreary analyses of how capitalism actually works."--Ellen Meiksins Wood, London Review of Books "Is socialism really such an alien way of organizing human society? In this stimulating essay titled Why Not Socialism? (just 92 pages long), the late Oxford philosopher G. A. Cohen invites us to think seriously about what socialism has to offer in comparison with capitalism."--Sanford G. Thatcher, Centre Daily Times "Beautifully written... In sublimely lucid fashion, Cohen draws up taxonomies of equality, offers ethical objection to capitalism ... and distinguishes between two questions: is socialism desirable?; and, if desirable, is it feasible? ... Tiny books are all the rage in publishing nowadays; this is one of the few that punches well above its weight."--Steven Poole, The Guardian "[A] stimulating and thoughtfully argued advocacy of the better world that we need to fight for."--Andrew Stone, Socialist Review "A quietly urgent book."--Owen Hatherley, Philosophers' Magazine "Cohen brings his characteristic clarity to his final defence of socialism."--Tim Soutphommasane, The Australian "No doubt the best forms of socialist organization will emerge, like everything else, after much trial and error. But a vast quantity of preliminary spadework is necessary to excavate the assumptions that keep us from even trying. With Why Not Socialism?, Cohen has turned over a few shovelfuls, bringing us a little nearer the end of the immemorial--but surely not everlasting--epoch of greed and fear."--George Scialabba, Commonweal "[Here] we have a renowned scholar producing an accessible, concise work addressing a vital topic from a committed, progressive standpoint: would that more of today's academic star scholars would follow this example."--Frank Cunningham, Socialist Studies "Why Not Socialism? is a lucid and accessible statement of some of Cohen's deepest preoccupations."--Alex Callinicos, Radical Philosophy "However small the package ... the problems that Cohen addresses in this slim volume are of enormous importance, and can be taken seriously by readers ranging from those with only a tangential interest in the field, to serious scholars of egalitarian and socialist thought."--Robert C. Robinson, Political Studies ReviewTable of ContentsCHAPTER I: The Camping Trip CHAPTER II: The Principles Realized on the Camping Trip CHAPTER III: Is the Ideal Desirable? CHAPTER IV: Is the Ideal Feasible? Are the Obstacles to It Human Selfishness, or Poor Social Technology? CHAPTER V: Coda Acknowledgment

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Book SynopsisWhy do policies and business practices that ignore the moral and generous side of human nature often fail? Should the idea of economic manthe amoral and self-interested Homo economicusdetermine how we expect people to respond to monetary rewards, punishments, and other incentives? Samuel Bowles answers with a resounding no. Policies that follow from this paradigm, he shows, may crowd out ethical and generous motives and thus backfire. But incentives per se are not really the culprit. Bowles shows that crowding out occurs when the message conveyed by fines and rewards is that self-interest is expected, that the employer thinks the workforce is lazy, or that the citizen cannot otherwise be trusted to contribute to the public good. Using historical and recent case studies as well as behavioral experiments, Bowles shows how well-designed incentives can crowd in the civic motives on which good governance depends.Trade Review"In his tightly argued and illuminating book, Bowles makes the case that appeals made to our self-interest can undercut instinctive moral impulses; and that when these impulses are weakened crucial institutions work sub-optimally, if not at all."—Robert Armstrong, Financial Times"Bowles makes an appealing case that virtue has a place in the world of economics . . . adds to a tide of research (such as the work of economist Elinor Ostrom and evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson) showing that selfishness is not the only human virtue in the real world."—Bob Holmes, New Scientist“A welcome alternative. . . Bowles persuasively argues that when economists take as given (and thus plan for) a world of utility-maximising agents, they actually help create such a world.” —Rebecca L. Spang, Times Literary Supplement Won an Honorable Mention for the 2017 Robert Lane Award given by the Organized Political Sections of the APSA"The Moral Economy plows new ground in exploring how the actions we take are motivated by their meaning. Samuel Bowles is proposing a paradigm shift in how we think about our lives and about economics."—George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics"The Moral Economy convincingly shows that economic incentives and legal constraints alone will not produce a flourishing society because good – morally motivated – people are indispensable. A thought-provoking work!"—Ernst Fehr, Professor of Economics at the University of Zurich"The Moral Economy is a brilliant book. Rarely have such big ideas been communicated in such a compact package. This book should change the way political leaders, policy makers, and social scientists of all stripes do their work and understand the work that they do."—Barry Schwartz, author of Practical Wisdom and Why We Work"In this wonderful book, Sam Bowles explores—with intellectual breadth and analytical acuity—the importance of altruism and a sense of fairness in creating and sustaining decent societies. His prose is lucid, arguments compelling, and conclusions important. This is social science at its very best."—Joshua Cohen, Apple University"Sam Bowles is a visionary thinker who has done more than anyone else I know to unite the social sciences. In this superb book his combination of wisdom and rigor shines through, offering important lessons for anyone who hopes to motivate, govern, or even inspire actual humans."—Joshua Greene, author of Moral Tribes and director of the Moral Cognition Lab, Harvard University

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Book SynopsisWith over 520 million followers, Buddhism is now the world''s fourth largest religion. Over the last seventy years or so there has been a growing interest in Buddhism, and it continues to capture the imagination of many in the West, who see it as either an alternative or a supplement to their own religious beliefs. For complex cultural and historical reasons, ethics has not received as much attention in traditional Buddhist thought as it has in the West. In this Very Short Introduction, Damien Keown explores how Buddhism approaches a range of moral issues of our age, including our relationship with our environment, our treatment of animals, and our stance on abortion, on sexuality and gender, on violence and war. This new edition also includes a discussion of the ethical challenges posed by cutting-edge developments in science and biomedical technologies, including neuroscience, artificial intelligence, transhumanism, and gene editing.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 Acknowledgements Note on citations and pronunciation List of illustrations 1: Buddhist morality 2: Ethics east and west 3: Animals and the environment 4: Sexuality and gender 5: War, violence, and terrorism 6: Abortion 7: Suicide and euthanasia 8: Clones, cyborgs, and singularities References Further reading Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisWarning: Using this book could be hazardous to your ego! The slogans it contains are designed to awaken the heart and cultivate love and kindness toward others. They are revolutionary in that practicing them fosters abandonment of personal territory in relating to others and in understanding the world as it is. The fifty-nine provocative slogans presented here—each with a commentary by the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa—have been used by Tibetan Buddhists for eight centuries to help meditation students remember and focus on important principles and practices of mind training. They emphasize meeting the ordinary situations of life with intelligence and compassion under all circumstances. Slogans include, 'Don''t be swayed by external circumstances,' 'Be grateful to everyone,' and 'Always maintain only a joyful mind.' This edition contains a new foreword by Pema Chödrön.

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Book Synopsis A new translation of this renowned Japanese text illustrated with 75 artworks A classic work on the way of the Samurai made relevant to a modern audience A beautifully packaged gift made using traditional Chinese book-binding techniques

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Book SynopsisReparations for slavery have become a reinvigorated topic for public debate over the last decade. Most theorizing about reparations treats it as a social justice project - either rooted in reconciliatory justice focused on making amends in the present; or, they focus on the past, emphasizing restitution for historical wrongs. Olúfemi O. Táíwò argues that neither approach is optimal, and advances a different case for reparations - one rooted in a hopeful future that tackles the issue of climate change head on, with distributive justice at its core. This view, which he calls the constructive view of reparations, argues that reparations should be seen as a future-oriented project engaged in building a better social order; and that the costs of building a more equitable world should be distributed more to those who have inherited the moral liabilities of past injustices. This approach to reparations, as Táíwò shows, has deep and surprising roots in the thought of Black political thinkers sTrade ReviewOlúfẹmi Táíwò's Reconsidering Reparations offers a novel, passionate, and compelling account of reparative justice in the contemporary world. Offering a "constructive" theory of reparations, Táíwò combines two pressing moral and political concerns: reparations for historical injustices, and environmental justice for future generations. * Felix Lambrecht, University of Toronto, Ethics *This book takes on the question of reparations for the damage wrought by colonialism and slavery. Drawing on the efforts of anti-colonial activists of the 20th century, Táíwò calls for a constructive approach to reparations to establish a new world order based on justice. * J. M. Rich, CHOICE *Colonialism isn't over. Instead of men in pith helmets, the rich now send pollution, climate catastrophe, development consultants and philanthropists. In this sweeping, subtle and sophisticated analysis, Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò presents an iron-clad case for why colonialism's end must coincide with a reparative transformation in relations between the colonizer and colonized, in the Global North and South. It's required reading for anyone looking for the arguments to support a just, and healing, future. * Raj Patel, author of The Value of Nothing and co-author of Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice *Weaving together the long-held redistribution demands of revolutionary movements for racial justice and decolonization with the scientific imperative for immediate climate action, Olúf?´&mi Táíwò builds the irresistible case for decarbonization through reparation. Coursing with moral urgency and propelled by brilliant prose, this is more than argument. It's how we build the power needed to win. * Naomi Klein, Author of This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate *An extremely welcome intervention into the contemporary debate about reparations. * Vanessa Wills, The George Washington University *In this forcefully argued book, Táíwò Olúfẹ̀mi grounds the case for reparations in a sweeping yet synthetic account of the historical origins of our starkly unequal world order. Weaving together multiple traditions of radical thought and attuned to the most pressing debates of our moment, Táíwò reveals reparations to be world-making in two potent senses of the term. As a means of dismantling and transforming Global Racial Empire--necessarily a project planetary in its spatial horizons and internationalist in the scope of its solidarities--reparations are in turn a requirement for saving the earth and human society from the climate crisis. * Thea Riofrancos, author of Resource Radicals: From Petro-Nationalism to Post-Extractivism in Ecuador *I give my highest recommendation to Táíwò's philosophically rich and important book. * Jennifer M. Page, Radical Philosophy Review *Reconsidering Reparations introduces new intuitions to the usually philosophically stagnant debates of reparations and climate justice. This book will be of interest to scholars and general readers interested in the philosophical justification of progressive politics. Specifically, it can be of great help for those who know that we need to consider the injustices of the past to build a just and livable future. * Josep Recasens, Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics *Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Reconsidering World History Chapter 3: The Constructive View Chapter 4: What's Missing Chapter 5: What's Next Chapter 6: The Arc of the Moral Universe Appendix A: The Malê Revolt Appendix B: Colonialism and Climate Vulnerability References

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Book SynopsisOn the Genealogy of Morality is a history of ethics, a text about interpreting that history, and a primer on interpretation in general. It also has elements of archaeology, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and etymology. Nietzsche's history-based approach to the development of morality, as well as his keen understanding of how power relations - especially the role played in this process by social, class, and racial divisions - continue to shape our ethical norms and standards of behavior. His reading of history and the human capacity for rationalization anticipated, influenced, and underpinned the interpretative techniques and strategies that emerged as dominant in the humanities and social sciences over the past several decades. In this age of 'alternative truths,' Nietzsche's insight into the nature of interpretation is more valuable than ever before.Trade ReviewA fresh, accessible new translation of a seminal text in Nietzsche's philosophy. Readers are given a good deal of background for coming to terms with the Genealogy, with several appendices providing selections from some of Nietzsche's other books, religious and scientific writings that bear on Nietzsche's argument, and sources on the reception of Nietzsche's thought in Germany. This edition will be very useful to students and scholars alike." - Lawrence J. Hatab, Louis I. Jaffe Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Old Dominion University"The appearance of this Broadview edition of Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morality, scrupulously edited by Gregory Maertz and ably translated by Ian Johnston, is a boon to the reception and teaching of Nietzsche in English. Philosophically, the Genealogy is Nietzsche's most influential text, and pedagogically it is likely his most taught. Both professor and student will benefit from this volume, with its wealth of well-chosen secondary materials and helpful introduction to Nietzsche's life and times, thought, influence, and significance." - Mark Migotti, University of Calgary"Johnston's accessible and engaging translation manages to convey the energy of Nietzsche's ‘polemic' without sacrificing philosophical accuracy. And the copious notes and supplemental material help to contextualize Nietzsche's intellectual world. This edition is highly recommended for students and anyone else." - Robert Guay, Binghamton UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionFriedrich Nietzsche: A Brief ChronologyTranslator's NoteOn the Genealogy of Morality: A Polemical Tract Prologue First Essay: Good and Evil, Good and Bad Second Essay: Guilt, Bad Conscience, and Related Matters Third Essay: What Do Ascetic Ideals Mean? Appendix A: Schopenhauer, Rèe, and Nietzsche 1. From Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation (1818) 2. From Paul Rée, The Origin of the Moral Sensations (1877) 3. From Friedrich Nietzsche, 'On Truth and Falsity in Their Ultramoral Sense' (1873) 4. From Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All-Too Human (1878) 5. From Friedrich Nietzsche, The Dawn (1881) 6. From Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil (1886) 7. From Friedrich Nietzsche, The Joyful Wisdom (1882/1887) 8. From Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power (1901) Appendix B: Plato1. From Plato, The Republic, Book IAppendix C: Old and New Testaments 1. Exodus 20:1–26 2. Matthew 5:1–21; 27–48 3. Matthew 19:13–30 4. Luke 6:20–38 Appendix D: British Philosophy, History, and Science 1. From Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651) 2. From Jeremy Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789) 3. From John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism (1863) 4. From Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (1859) 5. From Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man (1871) 6. From Sir John Lubbock, Pre-historic Times (1865) 7. From Herbert Spencer, The Principles of Psychology (1855) Appendix E: The Reception of Nietzsche in Germany 1. From Max Nordau, Degeneration (1892) 2. From Stefan George, 'Nietzsche' (1907) 3. From Ernst Bertram, Nietzsche: An Attempt at a Mythology (1918) 4. From Oswald Spengler, Nietzsche and His Century (1924) Works Cited and Recommended Reading

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Book SynopsisDespair and uncertainty surround us: in the news, in our families, and in ourselves. But even when life is at its bleakest, Anne Lamott shows how we can rediscover the hope and wisdom that are buried within us and that can make life sweeter than we ever imagined. Divided into short chapters that explore life's essential truths, Almost Everything pinpoints these moments of insight and, with warmth and humour, offers a path forward.Trade ReviewI keep learning a lot from the clear and great Annie Lamott. I think you will, too -- GLORIA STEINEMAnne Lamott is a cause for celebration. [Her] real genius lies in capturing the ineffable, describing not perfect moments, but imperfect ones . . . perfectly. She is nothing short of miraculous * * New Yorker * *That is what the wise and wonderful Anne Lamott considers with uncommon self-awareness and generosity of insight throughout Almost Everything: Notes on Hope - the small, enormously soul-salving book that gave us Lamott on love, despair, and our capacity for change * * Brain Pickings * *Anne Lamott has a rare talent for making writing look easy . . . Given the warmth, liveliness and intimacy of her prose, time with one of her books can feel like a visit with a friend * * Wall Street Journal * *Like a feminist C.S. Lewis, [Lamott] talks about God, politics and other unmentionables, and gently exhorts her readers, as she does herself, to find joy in a bleak and chaotic world: a leftie guru of optimism * * New York Times * *Part memoir, part manual and part sermon from the church of Lamott, this satisfying escape points to notes of beauty in our uncertain world * * People * *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Martha C. Nussbaum, Recipient of the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences""Nussbaum writes as an advocate [of the Hellenistic philosophers], though not an uncritical one, for even while she admires the seriousness and subtlety with which these philosophers analyze the passions, she allows that there is an unresolvable conflict between the detachment and the intense engagement entailed by their philosophies. The sense that these philosophers still matter, that we can wrangle with them and learn from them, is invigorating."---Richard Jenkyns, New York Times Book Review"Few modern books have done as much as this one promises to do in raising the profile of Hellenistic philosophy. It is constantly gripping and absorbing, written with rare eloquence and containing long stretches of almost lyrical intensity. A literary as well as a philosophical tour de force."---David Sedley, Times Literary Supplement"By turns wise and witty, silly and Socratic, critical and compassionate, Nussbaum proves to be an extraordinarily addictive literary companion…. This is a book to live with."---Peter Green, New Republic"[T]his is a wonderful book, of interest to scholars of ancient philosophy, but also to those interested in medical philosophy and philosophy of mind. It would also be of great interest to those interested in the conception of philosophy as therapy that has grown from studies on Wittgenstein. I can heartily recommend it."---Michael Gillan Peckitt, Metapsychology Online Reviews

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is an extremely worthwhile addition to the literature on the evolution of morality. It is well written and strikes an excellent balance between easy accessibility and nuanced and novel ideas. This book will appeal to students and researchers from a range of disciplines. -- Richard Joyce, author of The Evolution of MoralityThis is an important synthesis of the ideas Tomasello has been developing over a number of years, extended with an offer of a philosophically relevant genealogy of morality. Readers will learn much from this informed review of the extensive literature on the evolution of morality—a substantial part of which consists of the major contributions Tomasello and his colleagues have made. -- Philip Kitcher, author of The Ethical ProjectIf you’re after a definitive guide to explain how humans became an ultra-cooperative and, eventually, moral species, this must be it. Evolutionary anthropologist Michael Tomasello has followed his last book, A Natural History of Human Thinking, with another hard hitter. * New Scientist *Tomasello is convincing, above all, because he has run many of the relevant studies (on chimps, bonobos and children) himself. He concludes by emphasizing the powerful influence of broad cultural groups on modern humans…Tomasello also makes an endearing guide, appearing happily amazed that morality exists at all. -- Michael Bond * New Scientist *

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Book SynopsisOn Obligations (De officiis) was written by Cicero in late 44 BC after the assassination of Julius Caesar to provide principles of behaviour for aspiring politicians. It explores the apparent tensions between honourable conduct and expediency in public life, and the right and wrong ways of attaining political leadership. The principles of honourable behaviour are based on the Stoic virtues of wisdom, justice, magnanimity, and propriety; in Cicero''s view the intrinsically useful is always identical with the honourable. Cicero''s famous treatise has played a seminal role in the formation of ethical values in western Christendom. Adopted by the fourth-century Christian humanists, it beame transmuted into the moral code of the high Middle Ages. Thereafter, in the Renaissance from the time of Petrarch, and in the Age of Enlightenment that followed, it was given central prominence in discussion of the government of states. Today, when corruption and conflict in political life are the focus of so much public attention, On Obligations is still the foremost guide to good conduct. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Book SynopsisA dazzling investigation into psychology, art and religion; the demise of capitalism; and the beginning of a new era from the author of IDEAS.Trade ReviewI would not wish to have missed The Age of Nothing by Peter Watson, a brisk 565 pages on the displacement of God from Western Culture. -- TOM STOPPARD * TLS - BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2014 *his erudition is formidable -- THEODORE DALRYMPLE * THE TIMES *In a vividly engaging conspectus of the formative ideas of the past century, The Age of Nothing shows how Nietzsche's diagnosis evoked responses in may areas of cultural life, including some surprising parts of the political spectrum. -- John Gray * NEW STATESMAN *I recommend this book to anyone who needs to know what the loss of religious faith has meant to the high culture of our civilsation and what, if anything, we might do about it.... (it) covers a whole century of intellectual endeavour as lightly as it can. -- ROGER SCRUTON * THE INDEPENDENT *The beauty of this book is Watson's ability to impose order on a riot of ideas. * PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY *This book will appeal to anyone with intellectual curiosity about the human condition and the development of ideas. It will especially appeal to the non-religious reader. This isn't a book about, or even particularly in defence of atheism as a worldview, but it sets out objectively a history of non-religious thought that covers everything from science to poetry, incorporating philosophy, the rise of new age 'spiritualism' and therapy. -- GREG JAMESON * ENTERTAINMENT FOCUS *There is much in this book that I did not know, and I am grateful to have learnt it. -- Theodore Dalrymple * THE TIMES *his erudition is formidable -- Theodore Dalymple * THE TIMES *The beauty of this book is Watson's ability to impose order on a riot of ideas. * Publisher's Weekly *This book will appeal to anyone with intellectual curiosity about the human condition and the development of ideas. It will especially appeal to the non-religious reader. This isn't a book about, or even particularly in defence of atheism as a worldview, but it sets out objectively a history of non-religious thought that covers everything from science to poetry, incorporating philosophy, the rise of new age 'spiritualism' and therapy. -- Greg Jameson * Entertainment Focus *I recommend this book to anyone who needs to know what the loss of religious faith has meant to the high culture of our civilsation and what, if anything, we might do about it.... (it) covers a whole century of intellectual endeavour as lightly as it can. -- Roger Scruton * THE INDEPENDENT *In a vividly engaging conspectus of the formative ideas of the past century, The Age of Nothing shows how Nietzsche's diagnosis evoked responses in may areas of cultural life, including some surprising parts of the political spectrum. -- John Gray * NEW STATESMAN *

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Book SynopsisWe live in a culture of apology and forgiveness. But while there are a few thinkers who are critical of forgiveness as being too supine, and extol the virtues of retribution and ''getting even,'' philosopher and intellectual Martha C. Nussbaum criticizes forgiveness from the other side: that in the realm of personal relations, forgiveness is at its heart inquisitorial and disciplinary. In this volume based on her 2014 Locke Lectures, Nussbaum paints a startling new portrait that strips the notion of forgiveness down to its Judeo-Christian roots, where it was structured by the moral relationship between a score-keeping God and penitent, self-abasing, and erring mortals. The relationship between a wronged human and another is, she says, based on this primary God-human relationship. Nussbaum agrees with Nietzsche in seeing in forgiveness a displaced vindictiveness and a concealed resentment that are ungenerous and unhelpful in human relations. She says forgiveness can give aid and comfort to a certain narcissism of resentment that a loving and generous person should eschew-in favor of a generosity that gets ahead of forgiveness and prevents its procedural thoughts from taking place. With a wide range of literary and classical references as background, Nussbaum pursues her penetrating and wide-ranging exploration of anger and forgiveness from the personal realm into the political, as well as into a so-called middle realm where we interact with people and groups who are not our close friends or family. A great deal of resentment toward others is in this middle realm, and she argues that the Stoics were right-we should try and understand how petty most slights are, and avoid anger to begin with.Trade ReviewAnger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice is an outstanding work, one that manages to build on many threads of Nussbaum's previous scholarship while breaking new ground in a way that stands on its own. * Gregory R. Peterson, Journal of Moral Philosophy *In all, the work provides a key philosophical addition to her volumes on emotional development and political liberal justice... Her strict focus on leadership pronouncements rather than de facto psychological and sociological dynamics opens the analysis to charges of empirically inattentive moralizing. * Steven Schoonover, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities *The book is deeply thought-provoking and persuasive. * Stuart Jesson, Studies in Christian Ethics *A timely meditation on the place of anger in our private and public lives... [Nussbaum's] writing, as always, is erudite and engaging, and she uses it to craft a sharp lens through which students of politics can interpret current events. * Dan Degerman, Contemporary Political Theory *A very impressive, wide-ranging, much reflected-upon work of moral and political philosophy * Trevor Pateman, Philosophy Now *Quite aside from any polemic, ethically, Nussbaum's book helps reader to discern between populism in penology, and a theory of anger which leads to further understanding. * Maximiliano E. Korstanje, International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies *Nussbaum is one of the most productive and insightful thinkers of her generation ... She combines a philosopher's demand for conceptual clarity and rigorous thinking with a novelist's interest in narrative, art and literature. The result is an impressive body of work spanning the overlapping territories of politics, ethics and the emotions. * Julian Baginni, Prospect *Shame on us for accepting anger and good on Nussbaum for calling us out. * Alice Bloch, New Humanist *In her impressively rich book on anger and forgiveness, Martha Nussbaum provides a broad and deep critique of score-keeping in general and of moral and legal score-keeping in particular. * David Heyd, Criminal Justice Ethics *Nussbaum is a connoisseur of emotions * VN *Table of ContentsI. Introduction: Furies into Eumenides II. Anger: Weakness, Payback, Down-ranking III. Forgiveness: A Genealogy Appendix: Dies Irae IV. Intimate Relationships: The Trap of Anger V. The Middle Realm: Stoicism Qualified VI. The Political Realm: Everyday Justice VII. The Political Realm: Revolutionary Justice Appendix A: Emotions and Upheavals of Thought Appendix B: Anger and Blame Appendix C: Anger and its Species

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Book SynopsisIn Very Practical Ethics David Benatar discusses some of the moral problems that ordinary people face in their everyday lives. These are not moral problems that arise only in extraordinary circumstances, nor those which are confronted only by select people in their professional or public roles; rather, they are problems that most people face on a daily basis. They are very practical issues, both because of their ubiquity, and because individuals are usually able to act on their decisions. Among these very practical questions: When is sex morally permissible? What duties does an individual have regarding the environment? When may we engage in practices such as smoking that might cause discomfort or increase the risk of harm to others? How extensive are our duties to assist the world''s poor and others in dire need of help? Is it morally permissible to consume animals and their products? When is language prejudicial? Is it wrong to swear? How should we address and refer to others? When, if ever, is controversial humour morally permissible? Is it always wrong to bullshit, or to fail to call out the bullshit of others? When should we forgive--or not forgive? Written accessibly and covering topics not often discussed by moral philosophers, Very Practical Ethics will be of interest to students and other readers who care about how we might resolve the kinds of ethical issues we all face every day.

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Book SynopsisRacial injustice, at its core, is the domination of time. Utopia has been one response to this domination. The racially dominated are not free to define what counts as progress, they are not free from the accumulation of past injustices, and, most importantly, they are not free from the arbitrary organization of work in capitalist labor markets. Racially unjust societies are forms of life where the justifications for how to organize time around life, labor, and leisure are out of the hands of the dominated. In Race, Time, and Utopia, William Paris provides a theoretical account of utopia as the critical analysis of the sources of time domination and the struggle to create emancipatory forms of life.Rather than focusing on inclusion and equality before the law, as found in liberal theories of racial injustice, Paris analyses the neglected utopian tradition of justice in black political thought that insists justice can only be secured through the transformation of society as a whole. This transformation is nothing less than the democratic transformation of how organize and narrate our shared time. Bringing into conversation the work W.E.B Du Bois, Martin Delany, Marcus Garvey, Frantz Fanon, and James Boggs with the critical theory of Karl Marx, Ernst Bloch, Rahel Jaeggi, and Rainer Forst, Paris reconstructs a social theory and normative account of forms of life as the struggle over how time will be organized, asking Can there be freedom without a new order of time?

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Book SynopsisMoral psychology is the systematic inquiry into how morality works, when it does work, and breaks down when it doesn't work. In this comprehensive new textbook, Mark Alfano outlines the five central concepts in the study of moral psychology: agency, patiency, sociality, temporality, and reflexivity.Trade Review"Moral Psychology is a first-rate contribution to philosophy and a pedagogical tour de force, a fantastic gift to scholars working in ethics and moral psychology and to our students. Alfano is wickedly smart, in complete control of all the philosophical and empirical literature in moral psychology, and writes in crystal-clear, inviting prose. The study questions are amazing challenges to think hard, often personally, about implicit bias, one's own and one's loved ones' trustworthiness, emotions, character, relativism, and the significance of morality to a good life. Simply outstanding."—Owen Flanagan, Duke University "Accessibly written, though far from being a mere survey, this book is at once a concise and in the best sense idiosyncratic introduction to some recent findings in empirical moral psychology and an argued account of the relationship between those findings and moral philosophy."—Edward Harcourt, University of Oxford "There is much to like about this book, and I highly recommend it. It is particularly suitable as a textbook for courses on moral psychology (entry level or advanced), but even researchers working in the field will find many interesting thoughts and stimulating insights."—Ethical Theory and Moral Practice "Mark Alfano's Moral Psychology is an exciting and challenging introduction to the interface between philosophical ethics and the empirical sciences."—Scott Forrest Aikin, PhilosophyTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction 1. Preferences 2. Responsibility 3. Emotion 4. Character 5. Disagreement Afterward References Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisIn "The Open", contemporary Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben considers the ways in which the "human" has been thought of as either a distinct and superior type of animal, or a kind of being that is essentially different from animal altogether.Trade Review"[The Open] turns to perhaps the most basic distinction of existence: that between human beings and animals. The thin volume provides an impressive historical survey of the problem, offering a dizzying scope of debate over the nature of animality, including expositions of figures as diverse as Thomas Aquinas, Georges Bataille, Heidegger, Alexander Kojève, Benjamin, and the German zoologist Jakob von Uexküll."—Radical Philosophy ReviewTable of Contents@fmct:Contents @toc4:Translator's Note iii @toc2:1 Theromorphous 00 2 Acephalous 00 3 Snob 00 4 Mysterium disiunctionis 00 5 Physiology of the Blessed 00 6 Cognitio experimentalis 00 7 Taxonomies 00 8 Without Rank 00 9 Anthropological Machine 00 10 Umwelt 00 11 Tick 00 12 Poverty in World 00 13 The Open 00 14 Profound Boredom 00 15 World and Earth 00 16 Animalization 00 17 Anthropogenesis 00 18 Between 00 19 Desuvrement 000 20 Outside of Being 000 @toc4:Notes 000 Index 000 Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Philosophical anthropology, Human beings Animal nature

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Book SynopsisA genuine understanding of Hume''s extraordinarily rich, important, and influential moral philosophy requires familiarity with all of his writings on vice and virtue, the passions, the will, and even judgments of beauty--and that means familiarity not only with large portions of A Treatise of Human Nature, but also with An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals and many of his essays as well. This volume is the one truly comprehensive collection of Hume''s work on all of these topics. Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, a leading moral philosopher and Hume scholar, has done a meticulous job of editing the texts and has provided an extensive Introduction that is at once accessible, accurate, and philosophically engaging, revealing the deep structure of Hume''s moral philosophy. --Don Garrett, New York UniversityTrade ReviewA genuine understanding of Hume's extraordinarily rich, important, and influential moral philosophy requires familiarity with all of his writings on vice and virtue, the passions, the will, and even judgments of beauty--and that means familiarity not only with large portions of A Treatise of Human Nature, but also with An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals and many of his essays as well. This volume is the one truly comprehensive collection of Hume's work on all of these topics. Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, a leading moral philosopher and Hume scholar, has done a meticulous job of editing the texts and has provided an extensive Introduction that is at once accessible, accurate, and philosophically engaging, revealing the deep structure of Hume's moral philosophy.--Don Garrett, New York UniversityTable of ContentsMy Own Life; A Treatise of Human Nature; Book II: Of the Passions -- Part I: Of Pride and Humility; Part II: Of Love and Hatred; Part III: Of the Will and Direct Passions. Book III: Of Morals -- Part I: Of Virtue and Vice in General; Part II: Of Justice and Injustice; Part III: Of the Other Virtues and Vices. An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals; Index.

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Book SynopsisWe live in a world increasingly governed by technology—but at what cost?Trade Review"... readable and absorbing book...A clear-eyed study of shiny and new inventions..." -- Richard Joyner - Times Higher Education

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Book SynopsisIn this book, David Edmonds, coauthor of the best-selling Wittgenstein's Poker, tells the riveting story of why and how philosophers have struggled with the ethical dilemma posed by the trolley problem. In the process, he provides an entertaining and informative tour through the history of moral philosophy.Trade ReviewHonorable Mention for the 2015 PROSE Award in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014 "A lucid account of a famous thought experiment in moral philosophy."--Editors' Choice, New York Times Book Review "[J]aunty, lucid and concise... In Would You Kill the Fat Man? David Edmonds ... a seasoned philosopher, tells the story ... with wit and panache."--Sarah Bakewell, New York Times Book Review "[E]legant, lucid, and frequently funny... Edmonds has written an entertaining, clear-headed, and fair-minded book."--Cass R. Sunstein, New York Review of Books "[E]legantly written ... Edmonds's book is especially valuable for the way in which it embeds his introduction to the trolley problem in a story of the social reality that produced it."--Hallvard Lillehammer, Times Literary Supplement "David Edmonds's vastly more ambitious Would You Kill the Fat Man? has the cartoons--and just about everything else you could want in a thoughtful popular treatment of [the trolley problem]. A marvel of economy and learning worn lightly, Mr. Edmonds's book ranges pleasurably back to Aquinas and forward into the future of robots, who will of course need an ethics just as much as people do. Perhaps best of all, Mr. Edmonds recognizes that the origins of 'trolleyology' are at least as interesting as the many philosophical writings, academic exercises and parlor games that have sprung from the original trolley paper, published in 1967 by an English philosopher named Philippa Foot."--Daniel Akst, Wall Street Journal "An accessible, humorous examination of how people approach complex ethical dilemmas... Written for general readers, the book captures the complexities underpinning difficult decisions."--Publishers Weekly "Informative, accessible, engaging and witty, his book is a marvelous introduction to debates about right and wrong in philosophy, psychology, and neuro-science... In the hands of a lucid explicator like David Edmonds, trolleyology is, at once, serious business (relevant, among others things, to preferences for drone strikes) and lots of fun."--Glenn Altschuler, Psychology Today "This is a rare treat--a serious, thought-provoking book on ethics that is also witty, funny, and entertaining. Not to be missed... David Edmonds has taken the well-known trolley car problem and breathed new life into it, examining it from different perspectives and using it to shed light on the ethical theories of Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham, John Rawls, Aristotle, and others. If you think philosophy has to be ponderous and difficult, you haven't read this book... What's intoxicating about this book is that every time you think you know what you think, Edmonds tosses out a new element... There's lots more to enjoy and learn from this book, a real gem and one of my new favorites."--Mark Willen, TalkingEthics.com "[H]umans seem hard-wired to draw a distinction between a foreseeable side effect that sadly results from doing good (switching the tracks) and purposefully harming another, no matter how noble the cause (pushing the fat man off the bridge). Edmonds's exploration of why this is so is at the heart of his thoroughly delightful book."--Brian Bethune, Macleans "[A] fascinating and important field. The light it throws on the moral institutions of human beings is its own reward, and this book will make its readers think."--Richard King, Australian "This provocatively titled tract opens with a burst of drama that proves philosophy can be exciting."--David Wilson, South China Morning Post "Edmonds enjoyably traces the ever-expanding sub-genre of trolleyology through debates about language, abortion, cannibals, war, and a complicated love quadrangle involving the novelist Iris Murdoch and the philosopher Philippa Foot, offering insights on ethics, politics, and sex along the way."--Katherine Mangu-Ward, Reason "[A] fascinating book. Edmonds uses the problem of the fat man as a jumping-off point for a fairly wide-ranging exploration of morality and ethics, and he asks us to consider carefully how we would respond. It's a big subject packed into a relatively small book, and we leave the volume with perhaps more questions than answers, but isn't that the point here--to make us find our own answers?"--David Pitt, Booklist Online "[I]mpressive... [A] walking tour of moral philosophy organized around one of the most well-known thought experiments of the last half century... By weaving together abstract principles, biographical sketches, historical examples, and trendy research in this just-so way, Edmonds has figured out how to illustrate the dimensions and consequences of moral decision-making without sacrificing entertainment value... [A] carefully executed book."--Robert Herritt, Daily Beast "This is a witty and informative discussion of the trolley problem in philosophical ethics by Oxford University researcher Edmonds... Through a highly informed yet not technical discussion, readers get an excellent introduction to some main lines of 20th-century moral philosophy."--Choice "Edmonds does an outstanding job of introducing the reader to the historical emergence and subsequent development of trolleyology, explaining its significance for both moral philosophy and moral psychology, and responding to a number of substantive criticisms of the field. Edmonds's expertise is clearly on display throughout the text, and he largely succeeds in producing a work that is informative and sophisticated without being overly technical."--Eli Weber, Metapsychology "Rich in anecdote and example and wide-ranging in scope, Would You Kill the Fat Man?, is by turns fascinating and unsettling."--Gabriel Carlyle, Peace News "David Edmonds bravely attempts to make possible the impossible, offering us this well-reviewed book on the sanctity of life. His story is enlivened with biographical details, anecdotes, curiosities, pictures and jokes. Short of setting passages to music it is hard to see what more could have been done. There is something here for everyone."--Christopher Miles Coope, Philosophical Quarterly "Edmonds should be congratulated on his grand undertaking, and what I take to be his successful illumination of an important problem."--Joel Dittmer, Philosophy in ReviewTable of ContentsList of Figures xi Prologue xiii Acknowledgments xv Part 1 Philosophy and the Trolley Chapter 1 Churchill's Dilemma 3 Chapter 2 Spur of the Moment 8 Chapter 3 The Founding Mothers 13 Chapter 4 The Seventh Son of Count Landulf 26 Chapter 5 Fat Man, Loop, and Lazy Susan 35 Chapter 6 Ticking Clocks and the Sage of Konigsberg 44 Chapter 7 Paving the Road to Hell 57 Chapter 8 Morals by Numbers 69 Part 2 Experiments and the Trolley Chapter 9 Out of the Armchair 87 Chapter 10 It Just Feels Wrong 94 Chapter 11 Dudley's Choice and the Moral Instinct 108 Part 3 Mind and Brain and the Trolley Chapter 12 The Irrational Animal 127 Chapter 13 Wrestling with Neurons 135 Chapter 14 Bionic Trolley 153 Part 4 The Trolley and Its Critics Chapter 15 A Streetcar Named Backfire 169 Chapter 16 The Terminal 175 Appendix Ten Trolleys: A Rerun 183 Notes 193 Bibliography 205 Index 213

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Book SynopsisFor Tommie Shelby, the persistence of ghettos raises many thorny questions of morality, and he offers practical answers framed in terms of what justice requires of government and its citizens. His social vision and political ethics calls for putting the abolition of ghettos at the center of reform.Trade ReviewTommie Shelby’s Dark Ghettos is, in a word, brilliant! His thoughtful philosophical discourse on issues of race and urban poverty will engage and inform not only his fellow philosophers, but social scientists and educated lay readers as well...This book sets a standard that will be hard to equal. -- William Julius Wilson, author of The Truly Disadvantaged[Shelby] doesn’t lay out a jobs program or a housing initiative...What he aims to do instead is both more abstract and more radical: to challenge the assumption, common to liberals and conservatives alike, that ghettos are ‘problems’ best addressed with narrowly targeted government programs or civic interventions. For Shelby, ghettos are something more troubling and less tractable: symptoms of the ‘systemic injustice’ of the United States. They represent not aberrant dysfunction but the natural workings of a deeply unfair scheme. The only real solution, in this way of thinking, is the ‘fundamental reform of the basic structure of our society.’ -- James Ryerson * New York Times Book Review *Dark Ghettos will not let us forget that racial discrimination has not been eradicated and inequality is now greater and more entrenched. Shelby has issued a timely reminder that the status quo in the United States is unacceptable. -- Glenn Altschuler * Florida Courier *If you have ever bristled at discussions of marriage promotion strategies, the cultural roots of urban poverty, or the pointlessness of so-called political rap, only to decide that the real disagreement was buried too far under too many myths about Black humanity or assumptions about fairness and justice to unravel in one lifetime, then this book is for you. For anyone who hopes to engage productively with the assumptions and claims circulating among our most influential policymakers and ‘thought leaders,’ this book represents philosophy at its most helpful and edifying. -- Paul C. Taylor * Black Perspectives *This bold and incisive book reframes the racial justice debate roiling the United States today…The gestalt shift Shelby’s systemic-injustice perspective invites and supports constitutes a frontal assault on ‘personal responsibility’ and ‘politics of respectability’ approaches to the plight of poor blacks, according to which problems that disproportionately afflict blacks (such as crime and racialized mass incarceration) must be attributed to their bad choices, lack of personal responsibility, and moral deficiencies rather than to social oppression…Dark Ghettos drives a stake through the heart of this diehard but wrongheaded perspective on black criminals. -- Jody D. Armour * Los Angeles Review of Books *In a field with dizzying amounts of data, sensationalistic reporting, controversial policymaking, and strident protest, Dark Ghettos boldly offers deep and ethical thought that illuminates a just path toward eradicating race-, class-, and place-based inequalities. -- Mary Pattillo, author of Black on the BlockA major, groundbreaking contribution to both philosophical and public policy discourse about the ghetto poor. Shelby radically challenges an approach to thinking about black poverty that is deeply embedded in American intellectual and political life. And through his idea of a political ethics of the oppressed, he has more or less invented a new area of philosophical inquiry. -- Robert Gooding-Williams, author of In the Shadow of Du Bois[Shelby's] book tackles some of the thorniest issues in urban social policy—residential integration, the so-called ‘culture of poverty,’ reproduction, family, joblessness, crime and punishment, and cultural expressions of dissent—from a principled egalitarian position. He is consistently informed by a determination to show respect for inner-city residents and their actual and potential agency as equal citizens. The result is instructive and pathbreaking… Policymakers and politicians should take his moral message of abolitionism to heart. To fail to do so is to acquiesce to the persistence of deep injustice—economic and racial—for yet another generation. -- Thad Williamson * Boston Review *It is rare to find a book in political philosophy whose arguments successfully utilize both ideal and non-ideal theory. Rarer still does one find a book in political philosophy that takes seriously the proposition that the oppressed are not merely passive victims to injustice, but rather rational and moral agents, capable of making meaningful and informed choices concerning those things they have reason to value. Dark Ghettos does both. -- Michael S. Merry * Theory and Research in Education *The publication of this book is a significant event in contemporary political philosophy…The book presents a coherent and radical position, explaining why the denizens of dark ghettos are, in present circumstances, justified in their rejection of many mainstream norms. It will immediately be a required text for the philosophical study of racial injustice. -- Jonathan Wolff * Ethics *[This] is an original, powerful, passionately argued, and philosophically stimulating contribution to discussions of the black ghetto and how it can best be abolished…Throughout its pages Shelby matches his great respect and esteem for the black poor with the philosophical intensity and sophistication with which he defends and spells out the demands of their humanity. The black poor have not had so devoted and able a champion since W. E. B. Du Bois. -- Bernard R. Boxill * The Journal of Philosophy *This measured yet powerful philosophical and moral analysis of African American ghetto life and the injustices suffered by its denizens deserves to be widely read…While Shelby advocates abolishing the ghetto, he does not mean abolishing black neighborhoods. Rather, he urges a fundamental reform of the basic structure of society. This has implications for policing and the creation of employment opportunities, and much more. * Choice *Dark Ghettos is the first philosophical treatise on the ghetto…Shelby’s voice is clear, original, and insightful. -- Erin I. Kelly * Criminal Law and Philosophy *

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Book SynopsisWritten on the threshold of Thus Spoke Zarathustra during a high point of social, intellectual and psychic vibrancy, The Joyful Science (frequently translated as The Gay Science) is one of Nietzsche's thematically tighter books. Here he debuts and practices the art of amor fati, love of fate, to explore what is "species preserving" in relation to happiness (Book One); inspiration and the role of art as they keep us mentally fit for inhabiting a world dominated by science (Book Two); the challenges of living authentically and overcoming after the death of God (Book Three); and the crescendo of life affirmation in which Nietzsche revealed the doctrine of eternal recurrence and previewed the figure of Zarathustra (Book Four). Invigorated and motivated by Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche in 1887 added a new preface, an appendix of poems, and Book Five, where he deepened the critique of science and displayed a more genealogical approach. This volume provides the first English translation of the Idylls from Messina and, more importantly, it includes the first English translation of the notebooks of 1881–1882, in which Nietzsche first formulated the eternal recurrence. Structurally and stylistically, The Joyful Science remains Nietzsche's most effective book of aphorisms, immediately after which he took on the voice and alter ego of Zarathustra in order to push beyond the boundaries of even the most liberating prose.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[How to Grieve] offers an engaging read . . . and will certainly make this fascinating text easily accessible."---Catherine Steel, Classics for All"The relevance of grief is perennial, and this text has certainly stood the test of time." * Paradigm Explorer *

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Book SynopsisCan running make me a more moral person? Can striving to be a better person make me a better runner? In The Examined Run, philosopher and ultramarathon runner Sabrina B. Little asks whether running can be a laboratory for developing our character. She looks at the key ideas in virtue ethics--virtue, vice, exemplarism, moral emotions, and competition--and brings them into conversation with her experience in training and racing. Little pushes against the frequent conversations about ethics and sport that focus on the negative--doping and other forms of cheating or on simplistic expressions like no pain, no gain. She argues that these ideas don''t address the rich picture of how athletics inform a good life, and sport''s relationship to acts of justice or courage. A good athlete is not just one who avoids cheating--rather, they perform feats of perseverance and courage, and succeed by working to develop their natural capacities. Little employs her own experiences in training, coaching, an

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Book SynopsisPrivacy matters because it shields us from possible abuses of power. Human beings need privacy just as much as they need community. Our need for socialization brings with it risks and burdens which in turn give rise to the need for spaces and time away from others. To impose surveillance upon someone is an act of domination. The foundations of democracy quiver under surveillance. Given how important privacy is for individual and collective wellbeing, it is striking that it has not enjoyed a more central place in philosophy. The philosophical literature on privacy and surveillance is still very limited compared to that on justice, autonomy, or equality-and yet the former plays a role in protecting all three values. Perhaps philosophers haven''t attended much to privacy because for most of the past two centuries there have been strong enough privacy norms in place and not enough invasive technologies. Privacy worked for most people most of the time, which made thinking about it unnecessaTable of ContentsIntroduction Part One: Where Does Privacy Come From? 1: The Animalistic Origins of Privacy 2: Etymology, History, and Anthropology of Privacy Part Two: What Is Privacy? 3: Privacy, the Public, and the Private 4: Ten Accounts of Privacy-And Their Shortcomings 5: The Hybrid Account of Privacy 6: The Epistemology of Privacy Part Three: Why Does Privacy Matter? 7: The Value of Privacy 8: The Value of Surveillance 9: Privacy vs Surveillance Part Four: What Should We Do About Privacy? 10: The Right to (Robust) Privacy 11: Privacy Duties 12: Privacy Deceptions Part Five: Where Are We Now? 13: Privacy in the 21st Century Conclusion Acknowledgements References Index

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Book Synopsis

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