Social and political philosophy Books

10836 products


  • Thinking and Being

    Harvard University Press Thinking and Being

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisFrege argued that psychological laws of thought which explicate how we in fact think must be distinguished from logical laws of thought which impose rational requirements on thinking. Marking a radical break with Frege's legacy in analytic philosophy, Irad Kimhi's work shows that thinking and being are different manifestations of the same capacity.Trade ReviewTo his admirers, Kimhi is a hidden giant, a profound thinker…Strives to do a lot in a short space, aiming to overthrow views about logic and metaphysics that have prevailed in philosophy for a century. * New York Times Book Review *Irad Kimhi’s Thinking and Being is a profound philosophical inquiry into mind and world. The text is difficult. I had to work hard at every sentence to make sure I was following the argument. But the more I did this the more I realized that this book challenges fundamental assumptions of logic and metaphysics that have dominated analytic philosophy throughout the twentieth century and into the present. By going back to the ancient Greeks, Kimhi reanimates a sense of what we might mean by first philosophy. I believe this book marks a turning point. -- Jonathan Lear, University of ChicagoThis book is the most rewarding text by a living author that I have read in years. Kimhi is a philosopher of the highest caliber. Thinking and Being is revolutionary in relation to contemporary orthodoxy by being conservative in relation to certain classical texts. It will have an immediate and powerful impact in a wide array of fields. -- Sebastian Rödl, University of LeipzigIt would be remiss to downplay the enormous effort required to understand this book, but even more so to diminish its rewards. Impossible, frustrating, beguiling and iconoclastic, few books in philosophy have challenged my views about so much, so deeply…For those within whom dissatisfaction with philosophy’s dominant methods and presuppositions glimmers darkly, the book suggests a radical new project, one that starts by taking us back to the very beginning of philosophy and showing that we can, each of us, think our way through it all over again, now differently…Extraordinary work. -- Steven Methven * The Point *

    15 in stock

    £32.26

  • Plato as Critical Theorist

    Harvard University Press Plato as Critical Theorist

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisWhat is the best possible society? How would its rulers govern and citizens behave? In an era when political idealism seems a relic of the past, these questions are more urgent than ever. Taking seriously Plato's claim that in an ideal society philosophers rule, Jonny Thakkar offers a daring experiment to breathe life into our political present.Trade ReviewJonny Thakkar’s book is incredibly stimulating, intelligent, and, at times, astonishingly original. It touches on a number of compelling themes in contemporary politics, political theory, and the history of ideas. It will spark terrific debates and push people to think in new ways about Plato, Rawls, and the place of ideal theory in political thinking. -- Marc Stears, Macquarie UniversityJonny Thakkar follows in a tradition of political philosophers and theorists such as Charles Taylor, Michael Sandel, Michael Ignatieff, and Michael Walzer: theorists who work at the highest levels of intellectual rigor, but who are committed to their theoretical work making a political difference. This book engages with recent Platonic scholarship as well as with contemporary political theory, and what emerges is a remarkable synthesis: a Platonically inspired idealist defense of modern democratic liberalism. -- Jonathan Lear, University of ChicagoThis book will challenge and provoke or edify different readers, but also possibly the same ones. Count me among the grateful latter. -- Victor Castellani * European Legacy *

    15 in stock

    £33.11

  • The Essence of Politics

    Harvard University Press The Essence of Politics

    20 in stock

    Book SynopsisKamandaki’s influential The Essence of Politics redefined political thought in early medieval India. Its lessons range from the finer points of military strategy and economic policy to the moral qualities of effective rulers. The Sanskrit text, presented here in the Devanagari script, accompanies a new English prose translation.Trade ReviewKnutson has done a huge favor to Sanskritists and interested amateurs alike. It will be to his credit that the Nītisāra will in future be studied alongside the Arthaśāstra as an important work on Old Indian politics, second only to Kauṭilya’s masterpiece. -- Harald Wiese * Indo-Iranian Journal *

    20 in stock

    £26.96

  • The Emotional Mind

    Harvard University Press The Emotional Mind

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisFor 200 million years before humans developed a capacity to reason, the emotional centers of the brain were hard at work. Stephen Asma and Rami Gabriel help us understand the evolution of the mind by exploring this more primal capability that we share with other animals: the power to feel, which is the root of so much that makes us uniquely human.Trade ReviewWith impressive mastery of the scientific and philosophical literature, The Emotional Mind is an ambitious work with sweeping scope and multidisciplinary character. Asma and Gabriel have written an impressively thorough volume, pulling together work in a variety of disciplines to present a detailed picture of the fundamental role of affective systems and processes in perception, cognition, decision-making, and social behavior. -- David Livingstone Smith, author of Less than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate OthersThe power of the emotions in our lives is obvious, yet many people prefer to stress the intellectual side of our species. When philosophers turn to the emotions, as in this fascinating book, something magical happens. We get a far more realistic view of human affairs by grounding our psychology in age-old impulses and strivings. -- Frans de Waal, author of Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about OurselvesIn The Emotional Mind, Asma and Gabriel have produced a scholarly work that adds significantly to the current literature. It uses cognitive science to show that affect is the neglected partner when it comes to imagining the construction of the modern human mind. This is a much-needed contribution. -- Antonio Damasio, author of The Strange Order of Things: Life, Feeling, and the Making of CulturesAn admirable accomplishment, bringing together evolutionary and ecological psychology; philosophy of mind and of psychology; and evolution of culture. This book has been called for since affective neuroscience came on the scene, and the foundational claim that emotions are shaped by and shape both internal cognition and the external world will be used to rethink human evolutionary adaptations of all kinds. -- Heidi M. Ravven, author of The Self Beyond Itself: An Alternative History of Ethics, the New Brain Science, and the Myth of Free WillAn ambitious study of the role of emotion in human cognitive and cultural development…Will likely play a significant role in reshaping scientific and philosophical discussions with respect to mind, emotion, and culture. * Choice *A fresh and compelling take on the affective roots of human rationality, cognition, and judgment-making processes. -- Paul Rezkalla * Quarterly Review of Biology *

    7 in stock

    £22.46

  • To Shape a New World Essays on the Political

    Harvard University Press To Shape a New World Essays on the Political

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisOn the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, assassination, his political thought remains underappreciated. Tommie Shelby and Brandon Terry, along with a cast of distinguished contributors, engage critically with King's understudied writings on a wide range of compelling, challenging topics and rethink the legacy of this towering figure.Trade ReviewFascinating and instructive…Shelby and Terry may offer the best solution to the pain of thinking about King and our loss of him…King’s philosophy, speaking to us through the written word, may turn out to constitute his most enduring legacy. -- Annette Gordon-Reed * New York Review of Books *To Shape a New World firmly situates Dr. King in the canon of American political thought. An extraordinary group of scholars grapple with the subtlety and nuance of King’s political philosophy, and they set the stage for a renewed engagement with his broader work. This is a must-read in our time. -- Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Princeton UniversityThe collection brings together a series of impressive scholars—Cornel West, Martha Nussbaum, and Robert Gooding-Williams among them—to look at King’s understudied writings on economic inequality, just-war theory, and voting rights…To Shape a New World is a compelling work of philosophy, all the more so because it treats King seriously without inoculating him from the kind of critique important to both his theory and practice. -- Shivani Radhakrishnan * Los Angeles Review of Books *To Shape a New World is a milestone in the study of Martin Luther King, Jr., essentially a sanctified figure in American life, whose actual ideas are rarely interrogated in any depth, either in the public realm or in academic circles. What makes this volume particularly striking is the exceptionally high quality of the essays, which are analytically rigorous, impressively researched, and often profoundly original. They highlight the limits of common narratives about King and the civil rights movement, showing the shifts in his own thinking and the unconventional nature of many of his arguments. This is a path-breaking book. -- Aziz Rana, Cornell UniversityThis is a powerful and invaluable collection of essays on Dr. King. I hope it will inspire an entirely new generation of readers to go back and immerse themselves in Dr. King’s language and thought and hear and heed his prophetic voice. -- Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children’s Defense FundKing’s theology, philosophy, and nonviolent prophetic engagement are needed now more than any time since his death. In his last speech, Dr. King said that when it comes to the struggle for love and justice, ‘nothing would be more tragic than for us to turn back now.’ We must embrace his challenge in this moment and commit to go forward together, not one step back. -- Rev. Dr. William J. Barber IIWhile his birthday has become a national holiday and schoolchildren across the nation and the world know the words of his most famous speeches, there are still many aspects of his life and work that remain lesser known. * Time *Looks at the work of Dr. King as a philosopher, rather than a political figure. By examining some lesser-known writings, the authors draw the conclusion that Dr. King was a much more radical thinker than his watered-down legacy would suggest. * Vox *King was not simply a compelling speaker, but a deeply philosophical intellectual…King drew on theological, economic, and historical ideas to inform his philosophical thinking…We still have much to learn from him. -- Olivia Goldhill * Quartz *King’s own scholarship is refreshingly illuminated in To Shape a New World. -- Colin Grant * Prospect *[An] ambitious, illuminating volume…The collection facilitates rigorous engagement with King’s thought in its own time and place but also presses the question of what we ought to do with it in this current ‘age of impunity and mendacity.’ -- Erin R. Pineda * Journal of the History of Philosophy *Reimagines King as a political thinker for our—and for all—time. * The Point *This book demonstrates the necessity of revisiting King’s philosophy and creed of nonviolence…Perhaps most importantly, this collection gives us a clear look at the mechanisms of the nonviolent approach, a different option to discrimination instead of submission or violent resistance. * Kirkus Reviews *[A] robust and wide-ranging collection...The book as a whole displays the pliability and dynamism of King’s thought, applying it to circumstances both recent (Barack Obama’s presidency) and far in the past (the practice of slavery in 18th- and 19th-century America). Throughout, King’s voice is placed within a community of philosophers…As the nation approaches the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination, this work demonstrates, for anyone who needs convincing, the continued and vital importance of his thinking. * Publishers Weekly *

    3 in stock

    £30.56

  • LincolnS Tragic Pragmatism

    Harvard University Press LincolnS Tragic Pragmatism

    Book SynopsisIn their famous debates, Lincoln and Douglas struggled with how to behave when an ethical conflict like slavery strained democracy's commitment to rule by both consent and principle. What conscience demands and what it can persuade others to agree to are not always the same. Ultimately, this tragic limitation of liberalism led Lincoln to war.

    £32.36

  • Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political

    Harvard University Press Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political

    Book SynopsisPlato’s penchant for mythmaking sits uneasily beside his reputation as the inventor of rationalist philosophy. Hegel’s solution was to ignore the myths. Popper thought them disqualifying. Tae-Yeoun Keum responds by carving out a place for myth in the context of rationalism and shows how Plato’s tales inspired history’s great political thinkers.Trade ReviewWell suited to the moment. The convergence of pandemic conspiracy theories with populist narratives of globalist malfeasance shows that the desire for stories that give meaning to our collective experience is alive and kicking (if not exactly well)…Keum’s study is an exercise in demystification, showing the Platonist approach to myth to be more complex—and relevant—than we thought…Subtle and enriching. -- Knox Peden * Australian Book Review *Keum establishes both that narrative myth is a persistent tool for political theorists in modernity and antiquity, and that its use has given rise to continuing debates on the proper content and form of political theorizing. Those debates have sharpened as the dangers and power of political myth have become more apparent, but as she ably shows, the ambiguous role of myth in political theorizing has a long history and is inescapably bound into the texture of the canon of Western political thought. -- Carol Atack * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Tak[es] up in a refreshingly original way the problem of political myth…[Keum’s] subtle and careful text suggests that myth and work on myth are both the cause of and the possible solution to the polarization of political life as it manifests itself in, and depends upon, culture. -- Isaac Ariail Reed * Hedgehog Review *A splendid achievement. -- Teresa Bejan * Mind *The breadth of Keum’s erudition with regard to the history of philosophy is impressive, as is the depth of her knowledge of the texts and thinkers treated throughout. -- Joseph Forte * Review of Metaphysics *Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political Thought provides a fine, original, and persuasive case for a reconsideration of Plato’s myths and their bearing on political thought. Tae-Yeoun Keum’s reading of Plato as a political philosopher who sees the value of myth-making deserves a wide audience. -- Tushar Irani, author of Plato on the Value of PhilosophyTae-Yeoun Keum traces a rich tradition reflecting on Plato’s use of myth, revealing how attention to myth as a literary artifact can modulate its relationship to unchallenged social verities and serve in philosophical self-examination and social improvement. Her readings of More, Bacon, Leibniz, the German Idealists, and Cassirer are subtle and original in drawing out these themes. -- Melissa Lane, Princeton UniversityAn important book for our troubled times. Beginning with Plato and extending into Plato’s reception amongst modern theorists of myth, Keum’s guiding question is whether myth, in its ability to captivate the mind in what might be described as a non-rational way, can achieve forms of communication that strictly rational thought cannot, and whether there may be a normative role for myth to play in political discourse today. -- Angus Nicholls, Queen Mary University of LondonMyths do more than entertain. They direct our attention, structure our psyches, and regulate our societies. By taking the philosophical significance of myth seriously, Tae-Yeoun Keum rediscovers the depth of Plato’s writings and offers a remarkable new account of his legacy. Following in the rich tradition of Ernst Cassirer and Hans Blumenberg, Keum suggests that myth and reason are not opposites, but instead complementary parts of the human effort to understand. -- Bryan Garsten, Yale UniversityIn the history of political thought it is a well-worn conceit that politics must be founded on reason alone, while the last burning embers of myth must be extinguished. In this thoughtful and nuanced exploration of Plato’s legacy, Tae-Yeoun Keum seeks to qualify this prejudice, and she directs our attention to a more generous understanding of myth as an enduring—and perhaps even necessary—thread in the fabric of our collective life. -- Peter E. Gordon, Harvard University

    £32.36

  • Politics against Domination

    Harvard University Press Politics against Domination

    20 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIan Shapiro has written an exceptional book that brings together political philosophy, empirical political science, political economy, history, occasional natural science, and much else. -- Jeffrey Green, University of PennsylvaniaIan Shapiro has the richest knowledge of contemporary politics across the world and the keenest sense of political reality of any American political theorist. Politics against Domination is his trenchant summary of what he has learnt from more than three decades of strenuous inquiry and hard thought. -- John Dunn, University of CambridgeAs Ian Shapiro says, a polity cannot pursue liberty, equality, or justice until it overcomes domination—and this book provides the best way to think about that crucial step that I know of. It is a fine example of his ability to ‘anchor philosophical reflection in real politics,’ thereby showing all of us how to mingle ‘ought’ with ‘can’ in the service of human liberation and dignity. -- Jennifer Hochschild, Harvard UniversityThis is a profound and unmatched study of the order and justice of non-domination. Ian Shapiro makes the case that politics—whether domestic or international—should be about saving citizens from hell, not leading them to heaven. -- Michael Doyle, Columbia UniversityIan Shapiro combines erudite, rigorous political theorizing with a public intellectual’s ability to canvass and illuminate contemporary domestic and global problems. It’s a rare blend, one that makes Politics against Domination a book both for academic syllabi and presidential reading lists. It is a book that has actually changed my mind on how to think about international intervention. -- Anne-Marie SlaughterShapiro’s insights are trenchant, especially with regards to the Citizens United decision, and his counsel on how the ‘status-quo bias’ in national political institutions favors the privileged. After more than a decade of imperial overreach, his restrained account of foreign policy should likewise find support. -- Scott A. Lucas * Los Angeles Review of Books *Shapiro has a brief and compelling section on the importance of hope in his first chapter. This book enacts and encourages hope, with its analytical clarity, deep engagement of complicated political issues that resist easy theorizing, and emphasis on the politically possible. -- Kathleen Tipler * Political Science Quarterly *Offers important insights for thinking about democracy’s prospects. -- Christopher Hobson * Perspectives on Politics *

    20 in stock

    £23.36

  • Prophecy without Contempt

    Harvard University Press Prophecy without Contempt

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWhat a welcome book! Kaveny shows us a reality hidden in plain sight, the rhetorical form of the jeremiad, which is crucial for understanding how and why political discourse has become so sour and polarized. Her wonderfully fresh and important approach deserves to be pondered by all who hope to understand the public square today. -- John O’Malley, Georgetown UniversityThrough solid historical insights and careful moral reasoning, Kaveny gives her readers something that has become increasingly rare: a strong religious voice that points not to a shouted dialogue of the deaf, but to integrity, community, healing, and ways of getting along. It is an important book for the times. -- Mark Noll, University of Notre DameCathleen Kaveny has given us a book that brings us closer to both the rhetoric and the reality of American politics. In our history, commitment is not incompatible with civility, and Prophecy without Contempt shows how we might recover that possibility for the future. -- Robin Lovin, Southern Methodist UniversityA monumental achievement, and a much-needed addition to the academic and societal conversation about the role of religion in public life. In precise prose and with careful analysis, Kaveny challenges some of the leading theorists about public discourse and puts forward her own theories, all accompanied by a storyteller’s gift for anecdote and a philosopher’s talent for explication. -- Michael Sean Winters * National Catholic Reporter *Kaveny’s project in Prophecy without Contempt is important and path-breaking. The place of religious discourse in the American public square has received much attention for many years, but the role of prophetic indictment has been largely overlooked. Kaveny’s book not only opens a ‘new front’ in these debates, but starts the conversation with a rich analysis of the history and function of prophetic discourse and a carefully developed normative framework to guide its use. The interdisciplinary work that informs Kaveny’s book is especially impressive. As an ethicist and legal academic, Kaveny draws on resources from these disciplines, and she also integrates sophisticated analyses of American history, biblical scholarship, and literary criticism. -- Kathleen A. Brady * Commonweal *[An] original account of public speech in America’s past, present, and possible future…The timely genius of Prophecy Without Contempt lies in its examination of the rhetoric of contemporary moral and political debates in light of this tradition of the American jeremiad, which she sees running through the American Revolution and Civil War into the present. Although Kaveny deliberately ends her study with the presidential election of 2004, when speeches were pitched to attract the ‘moral voter,’ she offers an essential perspective on the 2016 primaries. -- William Storrar * Commonweal *Inspiring…[Kaveny] suggests that religion’s most powerful public role involves ‘prophetic indictment’ of our shortcomings. Martin Luther King Jr. is one model of this, Abraham Lincoln another. She insists that the most powerful prophets are tempered by ‘a lively sense of humility.’ They understand both the limits of their knowledge and their own moral shortcomings. They also have ‘social humility regarding the status of other peoples, including one’s enemies, in God’s affections.’ In other words, they don’t consign their foes to hell. -- E. J. Dionne, Jr. * Washington Post *This is a well-imagined, highly detailed, multidisciplinary, compelling, and clearly written analysis of the history (from biblical, to American Puritan, to contemporary U.S.) of the conceptual roots, religious and cultural nature, and contributions to civil (or uncivil) political discourse of the ‘American Jeremiad’ or prophetic indictment. -- L. S. Hulett * Choice *

    2 in stock

    £23.36

  • Princeton University Press Modernitys Wager

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisEvaluates modernity's wager, namely, the gambit to liberate the modern individual from external social and religious norms by supplanting them with the rational self as its own moral authority. This book argues that 'the fundamentalist doctrine of enlightened reason has called into being its own nemesis' in the forms of ethnic and racial politics.Trade Review"Mr. Seligman's analysis of modernity is insightful and thought-provoking."--Damon Linker, The Wall Street Journal "This book is an erudite critique of existing traditions of Western thought, especially in sociology... [It] offers an excellent critique of the hole that social science has gotten into in trying to understand a rational yet authoritative social order."--Choice "A very valuable contribution to the sociological study of religion, with strong relevance to philosophy and theology as well. Any work that can connect such diverse domains deserves to be applauded."--Steven D. Boyer, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "This very timely book is about authority and its connection to the constitution of selfhood and to related notions of community and the sacred. Adam Seligman proposes a very bold thesis... He develops it with substantive and nuanced arguments."--Thomas A. Byrnes, Journal of ReligionTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowlegments ix Introduction 3 Chapter One: The Self in the Social Sciences 15 Chapter Two: Authority and the Self 34 Chapter Three: Heteronomy and Responsibility 60 Chapter Four: The Self Internalized 87 Chapter Five: Tolerance and Tradition 124 Notes 143 Bibliography 159 Index 173

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • The Pathologies of Individual Freedom  Hegels

    Princeton University Press The Pathologies of Individual Freedom Hegels

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisA reinterpretation and defense of Hegel's social theory as an alternative to reigning liberal notions of social justice. It rereads Hegel's Philosophy of Right to show how it diagnoses the pathologies of the overcommitment to individual freedom that the author says underlies the ideas of Rawls and Habermas alike.Trade Review"Axel Honneth's book is stimulating, insightful, philosophically interesting, and analytically sophisticated. Its main contribution lies in its sympathetic, philosophically acute reconstruction of Hegel's position on individual freedom, which is made with an eye to lending it contemporary relevance. The book succeeds admirably and makes a great contribution to the English-language literature on Hegel."—Fred Neuhouser, Barnard CollegeTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii I: Hegel's Philosophy of Right as a Theory of Justice 1 The Idea of Individual Freedom: Intersubjective Conditions of Autonomy 7 "Right" in the Philosophy of Right: Necessary Spheres of Self-Realization 18 II: The Connection between the Theory of Justice and the Diagnosis of the Age 25 Suffering from Indeterminacy: Pathologies of Individual Freedom 28 "Liberation" from Suffering: The Therapeutic Significance of "Ethical Life" 42 III: The Theory of Ethical Life as a Normative Theory of Modernity 48 Self-Realization and Recognition: Conditions of "Ethical Life" 49 The Over-Institutionalization of "Ethical Life": Problems of the Hegelian Approach 63 Index 81

    1 in stock

    £40.50

  • The Higher Law

    Princeton University Press The Higher Law

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisIncludes thirteen selections from the polemical writings of Henry D Thoreau that represent various stages in his twenty-two years of active writing. This title offers a microcosm of Thoreau's literary career. It allows the reader to achieve a full sense of Thoreau's evolution as a writer and thinker.Table of ContentsIntroduction by Howard Zinn ix The Service 3 Paradise (To Be) Regained 19 Herald of Freedom 49 Wendell Phillips Before Concord Lyceum 59 Resistance of Civil Government 63 Slavery in Massachusetts 91 A Plea for Captain John Brown 111 Martyrdom of John Brown 139 The Last Days of John Brown 145 Life without Principle 155 Reform and the Reformers 181 Index by Paul O. Williams 199

    2 in stock

    £16.14

  • The Canon of American Legal Thought

    Princeton University Press The Canon of American Legal Thought

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisTraces the rise and evolution of a distinctly American form of legal reasoning. This book is suitable for law students and their teachers and for lawyers.Trade Review"The editors provide an introduction to each article, making the sophisticated scholarship more accessible and highlighting connections among articles whose subjects range from contracts to republican theory. While not everyone will agree with the editors' selections, Professors David Kennedy and William Fisher have undeniably performed a valuable service to scholars and students and have provided an important baseline for understanding legal thought."--Harvard Law Review "[This book] is invaluable evidence that the study of law and the distinctive arguments and claims characteristic to legal practice and academia, are worthy of study as an autonomous discipline. In an age where the legal academy is increasingly moving toward a 'law and --' model of scholarship, this weighty reminder that the law warrants its own study could not be more timely."--Aziz Huq, New York Law Journal "[W]hile this specialized and sophisticated compendium is not light summer reading, it is for the interested scholar with some legal background who wants a survey of contemporary American legal thought and the grounding to take that interest further."--George Conyne, American Studies "There is much in this compilation to admire, and it would actually make sense to make every American law professor ... read and ponder these pieces."--Stephen B. Presser, The American LawyerTable of ContentsPreface ix Introduction 1 Part I: Attacking the Old Order: 1900-1940 Oliver Wendell Holmes, "The Path of the Law," 10 Harvard Law Review 457 (1897) 19 Wesley Hohfeld, "Some Fundamental Legal Conceptions as Applied in Judicial Reasoning," 23 Yale Law Journal 16 (1913) 45 Robert Hale, "Coercion and Distribution in a Supposedly Noncoercive State," 38 Political Science Quarterly 470 (1923) 83 John Dewey, "Logical Method and Law," 10 Cornell Law Quarterly 17 (1924) 111 Karl Llewellyn, "Some Realism About Realism-Responding to Dean Pound," 44 Harvard Law Review 1222 (1931) 131 Felix Cohen, "Transcendental Nonsense and the Functional Approach," 35 Columbia Law Review 809 (1935) 163 Part II: A New Order: The Legal Process, Policy, and Principle: 1940-1960 Lon L. Fuller, "Consideration and Form," 41 Columbia Law Review 799 (1941) 207 Henry M. Hart, Jr., and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in the Making and Application of Law, Problem No. 1 (unpublished manuscript, 1958) 241 Herbert Wechsler, "Toward Neutral Principles of Constitutional Law," 73 Harvard Law Review 1 (1959) 311 Part III: The Emergence of Eclecticism: 1960-2000 Policy and Economics Ronald H. Coase, "The Problem of Social Cost," 3 Journal of Law and Economics 1 (1960) 353 Guido Calabresi and Douglas Melamed, "Property Rules, Liability Rules, and Inalienability: One View of the Cathedral," 85Harvard Law Review 1089 (1972) 401 The Law and Society Movement Stewart Macaulay, "Non-Contractual Relations in Business: A Preliminary Study," 28 American Sociological Review 55 (1963) 445 Marc Galanter, "Why the'Haves' Come Out Ahead: Speculations on the Limits of Legal Change," 9 Law and Society Review 95 (1974) 481 Liberalism: Interpretation and the Role of the Judge Ronald Dworkin, "Hard Cases," 88 Harvard Law Review 1057 (1975) 549 Abram Chayes, "The Role of the Judge in Public Law Litigation," 89 Harvard Law Review 1281 (1976) 603 Critical Legal Studies Duncan Kennedy, "Form and Substance in Private Law Adjudication," 88 Harvard Law Review 1685 (1976) 647 Liberalism: Legal Philosophy and Ethics Robert Cover, "Violence and the Word," 95 Yale Law Journal 1601 (1986) 733 Frank Michelman, "Law's Republic," 97 Yale Law Journal 1493 (1988) 777 Identity Politics Catharine A. MacKinnon, "Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: An Agenda for Theory," 7:3 Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 515 (1982) 829 Catharine A. MacKinnon, "Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward a Feminist Jurisprudence," 8 Signs: Journal of Women, Culture, and Society 635 (1983) 869 Kimberle Crenshaw, Neil Gotanda, Gary Peller, and Kendall Thomas, eds., "Introduction," Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings that Formed the Movement, The New Press, New York, 1996 at xiii-xxxii 887

    4 in stock

    £57.80

  • Identity in Democracy

    Princeton University Press Identity in Democracy

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisTalks about the good, the bad, and the ugly of identity politics. This book addresses fundamental questions of urgency while keeping in focus their relevance to contemporary debates. It shows that identity-group politics is not aberrant but inescapable in democracies because identity groups represent who people are, not only what they want.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2003 Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Government and Political Science, Association of American Publishers "Typically, discussions of identity politics in American life are tinged with vitriol. Gutmann's book, by contrast, calms the debate with an unflappably reasonable analysis... She argues that, since humans are social creatures, identity politics is a permanent fixture of the political landscape."--The New Yorker "There is much to admire in this book. It is clearly written, deploys interesting and topical examples, and is accessible without losing important nuance and careful insight."--Margaret Moore, Political Science Quarterly "Although Gutmann writes as a philosopher, her text is accessible to the nonspecialist interested in analyzing core issues of diversity, identity, and community... Gutmann's analysis of identity groups is instructive to those who seek a more complex understanding of the tensions between expressions of individual identities and the creation of an equitable community."--Kristen A. Renn, AcademeTable of Contents*FrontMatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. vii*Acknowledgments, pg. ix*Introduction. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Identity Politics, pg. 1*Chapter One. The Claims of Cultural Identity Groups, pg. 38*Chapter Two. The Value of Voluntary Groups, pg. 86*Chapter Three. Identification by Ascription, pg. 117*Chapter Four. Is Religious Identity Special?, pg. 151*Conclusion. Integrating Identity in Democracy, pg. 192*Notes, pg. 213*Index, pg. 235

    1 in stock

    £29.75

  • Outside Ethics

    Princeton University Press Outside Ethics

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisBrings together some works by creative philosophers. Seeking to expand the scope of contemporary moral and political philosophy, this book presents essays bound by a shared skepticism about a particular way of thinking about what is important in human life. It explores various human phenomena - including poetry, art, and religion.Trade Review"No one among contemporary moral and political philosophers writes better essays than Raymond Geuss. His prose is crisp, elegant, and lucid. His arguments are to the point. And, by inviting us to reconsider what we have hitherto taken for granted, he puts in question not just this or that particular philosophical thesis, but some of the larger projects in which we are engaged. Often enough Geuss does this with remarkable economy, provoking us into first making his questions our own and then discovering how difficult it is to answer them."--Alasdair MacIntyre, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "Absorbing... Fourteen essays of uncommon interest... [They] exhibit a striking combination of careful analysis and utter iconoclasm... Despite Geuss's justified claim to be on the outside looking in, he would be a wonderful guide for all those on the inside who want to come out."--George Warnke, EthicsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Liberalism and Its Discontents 11 Chapter 2: Neither History nor Praxis 29 Chapter 3: Outside Ethics 40 Chapter 4: Freedom as an Ideal 67 Chapter 5: Virtue and the Good Life 78 Chapter 6: Happiness and Politics 97 Chapter 7: Suffering and Knowledge in Adorno 111 Chapter 8: On the Usefulness and Uselessness of Religious Illusions 131 Chapter 9: Genealogy as Critique 153 Chapter 10: Art and Criticism in Adorno's Aesthetics 161 Chapter 11: Poetry and Knowledge 184 Chapter 12: Plato, Romanticism, and Thereafter 206 Chapter 13: Thucydides, Nietzsche, and Williams 219 Chapter 14: Adorno's Gaps 234 Index 249

    1 in stock

    £37.80

  • Platos Fable  On the Mortal Condition in Shadowy

    Princeton University Press Platos Fable On the Mortal Condition in Shadowy

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisOffers insight into what, in Plato's view, is the central problem of life: the mortal propensity to adopt defective ways of answering the question of how to live well. This book seeks to explicate the meaning of Plato's central claim - that "only philosophy can save us."Trade Review"Plato's Fable is ... a well researched and eloquently expressed work of scholarship, and as such would be a valuable tool for any student of ancient philosophy in particular along with moral, metaphysical and political philosophy in general."--Kenneth Royce Moore, The Philosophical QuarterlyTable of ContentsPreface ix A Note on the Translation xv Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Imitation in Mortal Life 1 The Disappointments of Reason 3 Hegel and the Origins of "Identity Politics" 5 Rousseau's Gentler Form of Imitation 7 Beyond the Reformation Categories of "Identity Politics" and Socialization 11 Reason Revisited: Plato's Critique of "Rationality" 12 Honor's Place 14 (Divine) Reason 16 The Mortal Condition in Shadowy Times 18 Chapter 2: PLATO'S FABLE 21 Rendering Each Its Due 22 The Origin of the City 27 Fables, Lies, and Medicine 34 Fool's Gold 47 Noble Education--and Beyond 51 From the City to the Soul 56 The Philosopher 59 The Hunt for the Good 68 The Decline toward Tyranny 75 Timocracy 79 Oligarchy 82 Democracy 89 Tyranny 99 The Prisoner's Dilemma 111 Envy 113 Sadomasochism 114 Rights and the Relativity of All Things 115 Averting Ruptures 119 The Pathos of Measurement, and Power 122 Trivia 126 Medical Crises, Legal Gridlock 133 Ethics as First Science 137 Beyond Debt 139 The Misplaced Search for Origins 146 The Opinings of the Divided Soul 152 The Inaction of the Divided Soul 156 Chapter 3: CONCLUSION 167 The Fable of Liberalism 167 The Tocquevillean Wager: Mimesis and the Mediational Site of Renewal 175 The Socratic Wager: Mimesis and the Philosophical Practice of Death 189 Bibliography 195 Index 203

    1 in stock

    £49.30

  • A World beyond Politics

    Princeton University Press A World beyond Politics

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisIt's the illusion that we would be better off without politics - at least national politics, and perhaps all politics. This title describes a few essential features of democracy and the nation-state, and then shows how these characteristics illuminate many aspects of our present political circumstances.Trade Review"In this dazzling book, French political philosopher Pierre Manent tries to provide an 'impartial overview of the political order--or disorder--of today's world.' Few living thinkers could hope to pull off such an ambitious undertaking, but Manent is surely one... The reader will find much ... of interest in this heady book: meditations on egalitarianism, modern art, the French novel, sexual identity, science and faith, the French and American revolutions, the morality of international relations--on and on, all delivered in Manent's glistening prose, ably translated by Marc LePain... It's an ideal introduction to political philosophy in the new millennium."--Brian C. Anderson, National Review "By simultaneously insisting upon the (limited) intelligibility of natural, human, and political matters and remaining open to the questions that invite theological responses, Manent has already achieved a great deal and put us all in his debt."--Thomas S. Hibbs, First Things "A World beyond Politics? is a remarkable tour d'horizon that happens to be a genuine tour de force."--James W. Ceaser, Claremont Review of Books "Pierre Manent may be the best student of political philosophy alive, and this is probably his most penetrating, wonderful, and accessible book. A World beyond Politics? certainly deserves to be the most influential political analysis written this century so far."--Peter Augustine, Perspectives on PoliticsTable of ContentsPreface to the American Edition vii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: The Organization of Separations 10 CHAPTER 2: The Theologico-Political Vector 21 CHAPTER 3: The Movement of Equality 32 CHAPTER 4: The Question of Political Forms 42 CHAPTER 5: The Nation and the Work of Democracy 51 CHAPTER 6: Europe and the Future of the Nation 60 CHAPTER 7: The Wars of the Twentieth Century 70 CHAPTER 8: The Forces of Trade 86 CHAPTER 9: Declaring the Rights of Man 98 CHAPTER 10: Becoming an Individual 110 CHAPTER 11: The Religion of Humanity 121 CHAPTER 12: The Body and the Political Order 130 CHAPTER 13: Sexual Division and Democracy 141 CHAPTER 14: The Question of Communism 151 CHAPTER 15: Is There a Nazi Mystery? 161 CHAPTER 16: The Empire of Law 171 CHAPTER 17: The Empire of Morality 186 CHAPTER 18: The Human Political Condition and the Unity of the Human Race 197 NOTES 207 INDEX 215

    7 in stock

    £51.00

  • Princeton University Press A World beyond Politics

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisWe live in the grip of a great illusion about politics, Pierre Manent argues in A World beyond Politics? It's the illusion that we would be better off without politics--at least national politics, and perhaps all politics. It is a fantasy that if democratic values could somehow detach themselves from their traditional national context, we could entTrade Review"In this dazzling book, French political philosopher Pierre Manent tries to provide an 'impartial overview of the political order--or disorder--of today's world.' Few living thinkers could hope to pull off such an ambitious undertaking, but Manent is surely one... The reader will find much ... of interest in this heady book: meditations on egalitarianism, modern art, the French novel, sexual identity, science and faith, the French and American revolutions, the morality of international relations--on and on, all delivered in Manent's glistening prose, ably translated by Marc LePain... It's an ideal introduction to political philosophy in the new millennium."--Brian C. Anderson, National Review "By simultaneously insisting upon the (limited) intelligibility of natural, human, and political matters and remaining open to the questions that invite theological responses, Manent has already achieved a great deal and put us all in his debt."--Thomas S. Hibbs, First Things "A World beyond Politics? is a remarkable tour d'horizon that happens to be a genuine tour de force."--James W. Ceaser, Claremont Review of Books "Pierre Manent may be the best student of political philosophy alive, and this is probably his most penetrating, wonderful, and accessible book. A World beyond Politics? certainly deserves to be the most influential political analysis written this century so far."--Peter Augustine, Perspectives on PoliticsTable of ContentsPreface to the American Edition vii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: The Organization of Separations 10 CHAPTER 2: The Theologico-Political Vector 21 CHAPTER 3: The Movement of Equality 32 CHAPTER 4: The Question of Political Forms 42 CHAPTER 5: The Nation and the Work of Democracy 51 CHAPTER 6: Europe and the Future of the Nation 60 CHAPTER 7: The Wars of the Twentieth Century 70 CHAPTER 8: The Forces of Trade 86 CHAPTER 9: Declaring the Rights of Man 98 CHAPTER 10: Becoming an Individual 110 CHAPTER 11: The Religion of Humanity 121 CHAPTER 12: The Body and the Political Order 130 CHAPTER 13: Sexual Division and Democracy 141 CHAPTER 14: The Question of Communism 151 CHAPTER 15: Is There a Nazi Mystery? 161 CHAPTER 16: The Empire of Law 171 CHAPTER 17: The Empire of Morality 186 CHAPTER 18: The Human Political Condition and the Unity of the Human Race 197 NOTES 207 INDEX 215

    1 in stock

    £25.20

  • Hiding from Humanity

    Princeton University Press Hiding from Humanity

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisShould laws about sex and pornography be based on social conventions about what is disgusting? Should felons be required to display bumper stickers or wear T-shirts that announce their crimes? This book presents a critique of the role that shame and disgust play in our individual and social lives and, in particular, in the law.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2004 Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Law, Association of American Publishers "[A] lucid and carefully argued new book."--Brigitte Frase, Ruminator Review "A remarkably wide ranging and nuanced treatise on the interplay between emotions and law... A short book review cannot do justice to Nussbaum's exceptionally thorough evaluation of shame, disgust and the law."--Stefanie A. Lindquist, Law and Politics Book Review "Disgust and shame are problematic emotions that often appear to want to repudiate our basic, body-based humanity, Martha Nussbaum claims in this ambitious and timely book... Nussbaum is by no means in favor of purging the law of all reference to emotion: she in fact makes an eloquent case for why this cannot and should not be done... But there are some emotions--Nussbaum mentions jealousy as well as shame and disgust--that appear to offer an unreliable guide to human behavior, to risk calling up mere prejudice and social stigma instead of valid distinctions."--Peter Brooks, Green Bag "Nussbaum is America's most prominent philosopher of public life, and a new book by her is always a force to be reckoned with. The argument of Hiding from Humanity, characteristically lucid, is carried on at two levels. First, she wants to put disgust on trial... At a deeper level, however, Nussbaum's argument is not simply about the law, but about a whole conception of human society and what it means to be human."--John Wilson, The Boston Globe "What part should disgust pay in determining which acts society punishes, and how severely? And to what extent, if at all, should disgust's cousin, shame, be harnessed to play a role in punishment? As a liberal, Nussbaum comes to a liberal answer. But this does no credit to the painstakingly fair way in which she sets out and explores the arguments in both directions, and any reader who approaches her book with views firmly set is likely to leave it with solid certainties somewhat shake... She traverses some difficult territory, from necrophilia and bestiality to Martha Stewart, to reach as close to a civilized conclusion as the subject may admit."--David Honigmann, Financial Times "This study, written in an engaging style that reflects Nussbaum's concern to make philosophy accessible, contains a keen and erudite examination of the emotions of disgust and shame... Getting to the root of what causes us disgust, shame and righteous anger forces us to clarify what we value. This is the task to which Nussbaum's study should inspire us."--Christian Century "Writing in an academically sophisticated but accessible style, Nussbaum is equally at home discussing Aristotle and Freud, Whitman's poetry and Supreme Court case law. The result is an exceptionally smart, stimulating and intellectually rigorous analysis that adds an illuminating psychological dimension to our understanding of law and public policy."--Publishers Weekly "[A] sophisticated exploration of how emotions enlarge or contract the nation's commitment to equal dignity for all... Populists and communitarians will lock horns with legal theorists in the debates this book will provoke."--Booklist "Nussbaum's work is rich and readable. To construct her argument she uses thick case studies and extensive research from a wide variety of literary, experimental, and sociological sources. She gives a fair hearing and fair treatment not only to her own liberal position and its accompanying conclusions but to those whose conclusions mark out strong disagreement with her."--Dolores L. Christie, Magill's Literary Annual 2005 "Hiding from Humanity is a noteworthy addition to recent scholarship on emotions and a valuable counterweight to the growing--and at times unexamined--endorsement of disgust and shame."--Justin Reinheimer, Law, Culture, and the HumanitiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 I. Shame and Disgust: Confusion in Practice and Theory 1 II. Law without the Emotions? 5 III. Two Problematic Emotions 13 Chapter 1. Emotions and Law 19 I. Appeals to Emotion 20 II. Emotion and Belief, Emotion and Value 24 III. Emotions, Appraisal, and Moral Education 31 IV. Emotion and the "Reasonable Man": Manslaughter, Self-Defense 37 V. Emotions and Changing Social Norms 46 VI. Reasonable Sympathy: Compassion in Criminal Sentencing 48 VII. Emotions and Political Liberalism 56 VIII. How to Appraise Emotions 67 Chapter 2. Disgust and Our Animal Bodies 71 I. Disgust and Law 72 II. Pro-Disgust Arguments: Devlin, Kass, Miller, Kahan 75 III. The Cognitive Content of Disgust 87 IV. Disgust and Indignation 99 V. Projective Disgust and Group Subordination 107 VI. Disgust, Exclusion, Civilization 115 Chapter 3. Disgust and the Law 124 I. Disgust as Offense, Disgust as Criterion 125 II. Disgust and the Offender: The "Homosexual-Provocation" Defense 126 III. Disgust and the "Average Man": Obscenity 134 IV. Disgust as a Reason for Illegality: Sodomy, Necrophilia 147 V. Disgust and Nuisance Law 158 VI. Disgust and the Jury: "Horrible and Inhuman" Homicides 163 Chapter 4. Inscribing the Face: Shame and Stigma 172 I. The Blushing Face 173 II. Primitive Shame, Narcissism, and the "Golden Age" 177 III. The Refusal of Imperfection: The Case of B 189 IV. Shame and Its Relatives: Humiliation, Embarrassment 203 V. Shame and Its Relatives: Disgust, Guilt, Depression, Rage 206 VI. Constructive Shame? 211 VII. Stigma and Brand: Shame in Social Life 217 Chapter 5. Shaming Citizens? 222 I. Shame and the "Facilitating Environment" 223 II. Shame Penalties: Dignity and Narcissistic Rage 227 III. Shame and "Moral Panics": Gay Sex and "Animus" 250 IV. Moral Panics and Crime: The Gang Loitering Law 271 V. Mill's Conclusion by Another Route 278 Chapter 6. Protecting Citizens from Shame 280 I. Creating a Facilitating Environment 282 II. Shame and a Decent Living-Standard 282 III. Antidiscrimination, Hate Crimes 287 IV. Shame and Personal Privacy 296 V. Shame and People with Disabilities 305 Chapter 7. Liberalism without Hiding? 320 I. Political Liberalism, Disgust, and Shame 321 II. Mill's Defense of Liberty Reconsidered 322 III. The Case against Disgust and Shame 335 IV. Emotions and Forms of Liberalism 340 Notes 351 List of References 389 General Index 401 Index of Case Names 412

    2 in stock

    £34.20

  • Prudes Perverts and Tyrants  Platos Gorgias and

    Princeton University Press Prudes Perverts and Tyrants Platos Gorgias and

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisThrough a study of Plato's Gorgias, this title shows that contemporary conceptions of shame are far too narrow. It develops an account of a different kind of shame, which the author calls 'respectful shame' and argues that this type of shame is just as important to contemporary democracy as it was to its ancient form.Trade Review"Every once in a long while a book comes along that the reader finds so worthwhile, down to the smallest detail, that she painstakingly devours every line and every section, even those with which she finds herself in disagreement, and ultimately closes the book with a sigh of disappointment when the journey is done and the book ends. Such a book is ... Prudes, Perverts, and Tyrants... This book will be an excellent addition to any philosopher's library, worthy as a graduate level text on ancient philosophy, and valuable for those readers interested in nuanced studies of the effects of the emotions in human societies and in politics. Regardless of whether the reader agrees with the twists and turns of Tarnopolsky's arguments, the journey will be well worth taking."--Wendy C. Hamblet, Philosophy in Review "Tarnopolsky presents many thought-provoking and helpful interpretations of Plato's Gorgias."--James H. Nichols, Jr., PolisTable of ContentsList of Tables ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Contemporary Attitudes toward Shame 1 The Theoretical Debates Surrounding Shame 2 Plato's Relevance to the Contemporary Politics of Shame 6 Plato's Gorgias and the Politics of Shame 16 Prudes, Perverts, and Tyrants 21 PART ONE: Plato's Gorgias and the Athenian Politics of Shame 27 CHAPTER ONE: Shame and Rhetoric in Plato's Gorgias 29 Situating Plato's Gorgias within the Platonic Corpus 35 The Dual Character of the Socratic Elenchus 38 From Gorgianic Rhetoric to Platonic Rhetoric 41 CHAPTER TWO: Shaming Gorgias, Polus, and Callicles 56 The Refutation of Gorgias 61 The Refutation of Polus 65 The Refutation of Callicles 79 The Mechanisms of Shame 84 CHAPTER THREE: Plato on Shame in Democratic Athens 89 The Canonical View of Plato's Criticisms of Athens 90 Disrupting the Canon 91 Parrhe-sia as an Athenian Democratic Ideal 96 Parrhe-sia and Shame 98 The Structure of Shame 100 Flattering vs. Respectful Shame 104 Plato contra Tyrannical Democrats 110 CHAPTER FOUR: Socratic vs. Platonic Shame 114 Shame and Deception in Plato's Gorgias 114 The Myth as an Illustration of the Socratic Elenchus 120 Platonic Myth vs. Socratic Elenchus 126 Gregory Vlastos on Socratic and Platonic Irony 131 Alexander Nehamas on Socratic and Platonic Irony 133 Socratic vs. Platonic Irony in Plato's Gorgias 136 PART TWO: Plato's Gorgias and the Contemporary Politics of Shame 141 CHAPTER FIVE: Prudes, Perverts, and Tyrants: Plato and the Contemporary Politics of Shame and Civility 143 The Contemporary Politics of Shame and Civility 143 Michael Warner and the Politics of Shame 145 Jean Bethke Elshtain and the Politics of Civility 147 Elshtain and Warner: Finding a Common Ground 150 The Conceptual Confusions Surrounding Shame 151 Solving the Conceptual Confusions 153 Socratic Respectful vs. Flattering Shame 160 Platonic Respectful Shame and the Search for Consensus 167 CHAPTER SIX: What's So Negative about the "Negative" Emotions? 172 Defining the "Negative" Emotions 172 Rationality and the Emotions 178 Primitive vs. Advanced Emotions 183 The Positivity of Negativity 193 Bibliography 197 Index 211

    2 in stock

    £42.50

  • Montaignes Politics  Authority and Governance in

    Princeton University Press Montaignes Politics Authority and Governance in

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisGives an account of the political meaning of the "Essais" in the context of Montaigne's life and times. This work argues, Montaigne's "Essais" very much reflect his ongoing involvement and preoccupation with contemporary politics - particularly the politics of France's civil wars between Catholics and Protestants.Trade Review"Drawing on the historical research of Geralde Nakam and others, [Fontana] illuminates the political dimension of the work by reading it against precise contexts... A more historically grounded political understanding of the Essais, and essential orientation for those who engage in even closer styles of reading."--Neil Kenny, Times Literary Supplement "Far from being politically detached, Montaigne served in his provincial parliament. His famed guardedness in writing derived from his practical and theoretical reflections upon the French civil wars of religion, unceasing throughout his mature life. The certainty of partisans and the confusion of authorities alike pointed him toward skepticism concerning all claims to rule. Fontana nonetheless defends Montaigne from suspicions of religious unbelief. Fontana equally defends Montaigne against charges of Machiavellianism, rightly considering him less openly audacious. Fontana prudently directs new readers of the Essais not to begin by thinking Montaigne Machiavellian."--W. Morrisey, Hillsdale College, for CHOICE "By enriching our knowledge of the political and historical background of the Essais, Fontana has made it easier to link what Montaigne has to say about his own particular time and place to his political philosophy which transcends that time and place."--Ann Hartle, Review of Politics "[Fontana's] reading of Montaigne, combined with the readability of her prose (a welcome thing in any scholarly work) and the brevity of her book (fewer than 150 pages, not counting notes) make this an effort one with only passing interest in the subject can read with both pleasure and profit."--Donald D. Wells, Sixteenth Century Journal "[Montaigne's] political theory and practice are skillfully dissected by Biancamaria Fontana in Montaigne's Politics... After reading this clear argument some scholars will have to change their minds. Good books always change minds. This is one. They also point up problems to consider further."--Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et RenaissanceTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction 1 CHAPTER ONE: The Spirit of the Laws 26 CHAPTER TWO: In a Leaden Century: The Decline of Virtue 45 CHAPTER THREE: Freedom of Conscience: The Politics of Toleration 66 CHAPTER FOUR: Freedom of Conscience: Governing Opinion 85 CHAPTER FIVE: Turning the Tide: Trust and Legitimacy 104 CHAPTER SIX: Learning from Experience: Politics as Practice 122 CONCLUSION: Montaigne's Legacy 141 Notes 147 Bibliography 183 Index 203

    1 in stock

    £42.50

  • Emotion and Virtue

    Princeton University Press Emotion and Virtue

    3 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    3 in stock

    £36.00

  • How Do You Know  The Economics of Ordinary

    Princeton University Press How Do You Know The Economics of Ordinary

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisSupposes that people are not usually act knowingly against their interests or other purposes. This title presents an economic account of what an individual can come to know and applies this account to many areas of ordinary life: political participation, religious beliefs, popular knowledge of science, liberalism, extremism, and moral beliefs.Trade Review"This book is an exceptionally clear statement of why individuals believe and act as they do and should be especially useful to policy makers."--Choice "Overall, this book is a good choice for anybody with broad interests, as Hardin is highly knowledgeable on an impressive broad scale of issues. It is well-written, and the many international examples give this book a rare global perspective... [I]t is an essential reference that serves as an excellent guide to a fast, multidisciplinary theme."--Hans Dubois, CEU Political Science Journal "[Hardin] he offers an insightful lens on popular knowledge in society and politics."--Mark B. Brown, Perspectives on PoliticsTable of ContentsPreface xi Acknowledgments xiii Chapter 1: Ordinary Knowledge 1 An Economic Theory of Knowledge 4 The Social Generation of Knowledge 10 Knowledge from Authority 11 The Division of Labor and Individual Knowledge 14 The Internalization of Norms 15 Standard Philosophical Theories of Knowledge 19 Concluding Remarks 25 Chapter 2: Popular Knowledge of Science 28 Medical Knowledge 35 Estrangement from Science 41 The Science Wars 44 Religion versus Science 45 A New Science? 49 Concluding Remarks 58 Chapter 3: Democratic Participation 60 The Logic of Collective Action 62 The Economic Theory of Democracy 63 Voting and Ordinary Knowledge 65 Knowledge of How to Vote 66 Median Knowledge 69 Understanding Whether to Vote 70 Multidimensional Issues 78 Concluding Remarks 80 Chapter 4: Liberalism 83 Austrian Social Theory 84 Legibility and Democracy 87 Seeing like Hayek 89 Distributed Knowledge and Policy 91 Civil Liberties 93 Liberty and Welfare 96 Concluding Remarks 99 Chapter 5: Moral Knowledge 101 Individual Moral Knowledge 103 Testing Moral Theories against Common Sense 105 The Strategy of Knowing 111 The Economics of Moral Motivation 113 Social Evolution of Collective Moral Knowledge 114 Authority and Moral Knowledge 118 Concluding Remarks 119 Chapter 6: Institutional Knowledge 121 Strategic Interaction and Institutions 123 Institutions and Moral Knowledge 124 Institutions as Meliorative 126 Apparent Mutual Advantage 130 Interpersonal Comparisons of Welfare 131 Concluding Remarks 133 Chapter 7: Religious Belief and Practice 135 Religious Knowledge by Authority 138 Incentive to Believe, or Count as True 142 Adaptive Knowledge Revision 143 Communal Sources of Belief 147 Communal Enforcement of Belief 148 Sincerity of Belief and Knowledge 150 Fundamentalist, Infallible Belief 153 Concluding Remarks 159 Chapter 8: Culture 161 Group-Specific Implications of Individual Knowledge 162 Knowledge and Culture 166 A Functional Account of Culture 175 The Goodness of a Culture 176 Collective Identity 179 Concluding Remarks 181 Chapter 9: Extremism 185 Knowledge by Authority, Again 186 Normal Politics 187 The Belief System of Extremism 188 Nationalism 191 Fanatical Action without Fanatical Belief 195 Interests and Knowledge 196 Knowledge, Fanaticism, and Nationalism 200 Coerced Ignorance 201 Concluding Remarks 203 References 205 Index 219

    1 in stock

    £46.75

  • Hobbes and the Law of Nature

    Princeton University Press Hobbes and the Law of Nature

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThomas Hobbes remains one of the most controversial of early modern philosophers, and debates persist about the interpretation of many of his ideas, particularly his views about natural law and natural right. This book argues that these two concepts are the twin foundations of the entire structure of Hobbes's moral and political thought.Trade Review"Zagorin's study is erudite, insightful and especially commendable for analyzing both the philosophical import and historical context of the ideas discussed."--Robin Douglass, Political Studies Review "Zagorin's book is a helpful introduction into the basics of Hobbesian politics, the prominent secondary debates, and the broader historical context of natural law theory, which will inspire many of its readers with a positive awareness of the potentially moral dimensions in Hobbes' political writings."--Ester Bertrand, Political Science Journal "Zagorin's book ... serves as a good introduction to Hobbes and the history of Hobbes scholarship as well as to the history of political philosophy more generally. It would be a suitable text for an upper-level undergraduate course on Hobbes as well as a graduate course."--Michael P. Krom, HistorianTable of ContentsPreface ix Abbreviations xi Chapter 1: S ome Basic Hobbesian Concepts 1 The Law of Nature 5 Hobbes's Critique of the Natural Law Tradition 11 Natural Rights 20 Chapter 2: Enter the Law of Nature 30 Human Nature 32 The State of Nature or Man's Natural Condition 36 The Precepts of the Law of Nature 42 Natural Rights and the Creation of the Commonwealth 54 Consent, Fear, Obligation, and Populism 60 Chapter 3: The Sovereign and the Law of Nature 66 The Theory of Sovereignty 66 The Liberty of Subjects 75 Hobbes's Very Moral Sovereign 84 Chapter 4: Hobbes, the Moral Philosopher 99 Self and Others 99 Obligation 106 Is and Ought 112 Religion and Toleration 117 Conclusion 127 Notes 129 Index 171

    1 in stock

    £37.80

  • The Rights of Spring

    Princeton University Press The Rights of Spring

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisHuman rights workers have achieved positions of formidable power. They have done much good. But the moral ambiguity of their work and questions about whether they can sometimes cause real harm endure. This book tackles those questions. It presents a tale of the bright sides and the dark sides of the humanitarian world built by good intentions.Trade Review"[Kennedy] writes with great wisdom and experience about the idealism and the decline of the human rights movement, and the many obstacles it faces, most important, on the ground. He writes openly and eloquently about the unresolvable barriers between the victims and the people who act to help them."--Susan Salter-Reynolds, Los Angeles Times "Kennedy tackles questions about the role and usefulness of human-rights workers with a combination of narrative drive and honesty. This is a tale of the bright sides and the dark sides of the humanitarian world built by good intentions."--Times Higher EducationTable of ContentsAuthor's Note ix Chapter 1: Introductions 1 Chapter 2: Thinking Ahead 10 Chapter 3: Crossing Over 16 Chapter 4: Professional Roles 25 Chapter 5: Direct Examination: Telling Ana's Story 39 Chapter 6: Cross-Examination: The Doctor's Tale 48 Chapter 7: The Men of Libertad 58 Chapter 8: Transition: Preparing to Act 68 Chapter 9: A Moment of Advocacy 80 Chapter 10: The Aftermath 85 Epilogue 104

    1 in stock

    £18.00

  • Machiavellis Ethics

    Princeton University Press Machiavellis Ethics

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisChallenges the entrenched understandings of Machiavelli, arguing that he was a moral and political philosopher who consistently favored the rule of law over that of men, that he had a coherent theory of justice, and that he did not defend the 'Machiavellian' maxim that the ends justify the means.Trade Review"Taking a cue from Rousseau, who read Machiavelli as a serious republican thinker, Benner argues that Machiavelli did not at all separate ethics from politics... Benner's interest in Machiavelli's rhetorical strategies produces gratifyingly detailed and impressive readings of difficult passages... This is a provocative argument for Machiavelli as a proponent of moral autonomy and ethical reflectiveness."--Victoria Kahn, Times Literary Supplement "This major new study of Machiavelli's moral and political philosophy by Benner argues that most readings of Machiavelli suffer from a failure to appreciate his debt to Greek sources, particularly the Socratic tradition of moral and political philosophy... Her research is meticulous and her arguments finely honed. This important contribution to both Machiavelli studies and the history of political philosophy will be indispensable for scholars."--Choice "This book is a prime example of thorough and detailed scholarship... With the publication of this bold but responsible contribution to scholarship, those who assert that Machiavelli was not an ethical philosopher have a significant amount of evidence and argumentation to overcome."--David F. Horkott, International Philosophical Quarterly "[Benner's] reading yields an innovative and stimulating interpretation of a notoriously difficult (even slippery) author that is meant to reveal his distinctive contribution to philosophical concerns. Benner's insights are often surprising and challenging, but are definitely worthy of careful consideration... Her book gives us very good reasons for thinking that Machiavelli may have adopted the kind of ethical individualism that she ascribes to him."--Cary J. Nederman, Notre Dame Philosophical Review "[A] book that swims against the current, one that orients its perspective backwards, towards antiquity. A refreshing catharsis now that I am stepping out from the flood of current events. Benner puts forward the thesis that Machiavelli was no Machiavellian in his values [but] a moral philosopher with high republican ideals, a critical humanist... Least in tune with our age are the great demands that, following in the footsteps of Machiavelli and the classics of antiquity, Benner makes on readers [to] train themselves in the art of seeing through all manner of manipulations. A call to break through the cobwebs of propaganda that the powerful try to run around citizens, especially in election years."--Rolf Gustavsson, Svenska Dagbladet "Machiavelli's Ethics is a remarkable account of the dominant themes in Machiavelli's work and his role as a moral and political philosopher unusually sensitive to reality. It should be read by all who are interested in philosophy, politics, rhetoric, and the history of Western thought. Books of such perceptive insight and scholarly care arrive infrequently."--Michael K. Potter, Philosophy in ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments xiii Abbreviations xv Introduction 1 Arguments: Philosophical ethics and the rule of law 5 Sources: Greek ethics 8 Part I: Contexts Chapter 1: Civil Reasonings: Machiavelli's Practical Filosofia 15 1.1. Florentine Histories: Decent words, indecent deeds 16 1.2. Flawed remedies: Rhetoric and power politics 25 1.3. Flawed analyses: Self-celebratory versus self-critical histories 30 1.4. Philosophy and the vita activa in Florentine humanism 37 1.5. What is, has been, and can reasonably be: Machiavelli's correspondence 43 1.6. The Socratic tradition of philosophical politics 49 1.7. Forming republics in writing and in practice: The Discursus 54 Chapter 2: Ancient Sources: Dissimulation in Greek Ethics 63 2.1. Constructive dissimulation: Writing as civil "medicine" 64 2.2. Inoculation for citizens: Words and deeds in Xenophon's Cyropaedia 71 2.3. Conversations with rulers: Plutarch and Xenophon on purging tyranny 78 2.4. Dissimulating about deception: Xenophon's Cambyses 84 2.5. Dissimulating about justice: Thucydides' Diodotus 88 Part II: Foundations Chapter 3: Imitation and Knowledge 101 3.1. The ancient tradition of imitating ancients 101 3.2. Inadequate imitation: The "unreasonable praise of antiquity" 107 3.3. Historical judgment: Criticism of sources and self-examination 111 3.4. The Socratic metaphor of hunting 116 3.5. Ethical judgment: The "true knowledge of histories" 124 3.6. Machiavelli's dangerous new reasonings 132 Chapter 4: N ecessity and Virtue 135 4.1. The rhetoric of necessity 136 4.2. Necessita as an excuse 140 4.3. Necessita as a pretext 142 4.4. Imposing and removing necessita 147 4.5. Virtu as reflective prudence: Taking stock of ordinary constraints 150 4.6. Under- and overassertive responses to necessity 153 4.7. Virtu as self-responsibility: Authorizing constraints on one's own forces 156 4.8. Virtu as autonomy: Imposing one's own orders and laws 161 4.9. Necessita and fortuna 166 Chapter 5: Human Nature and Human Orders 169 5.1. Fortune and free will 170 5.2. How to manage fortuna: Impetuosity and respetto 175 5.3. Practical theology: Heavenly judgments and human reasons 180 5.4. Practical prophecies: Foreseeing the future by "natural virtues" 184 5.5. Moral psychology: The malignita of human nature and the discipline of virtu 190 5.6. Human zoology: The ways of men and beasts 197 5.7. Human cities, where modes are neither delicate nor too harsh 201 5.8. Who is responsible for the laws? Human reasoning and civilita 206 Part III: Principles Chapter 6: Free Agency and Desires for Freedom 213 6.1. The Discourses on desires for freedom in and among cities 214 6.2. The Florentine Histories on freedom and the need for self-restraint 221 6.3. Are desires for freedom universal? 226 6.4. Inadequate conceptions of freedom 231 6.5. The rhetoric of liberta in republics 239 6.6. Free will and free agency 244 Chapter 7: Free Orders 254 7.1. Priorities I: Respect for free agency as a condition for stable orders 255 7.2. Priorities II: Willing authorization as the foundation of free orders 259 7.3. Conditions I: Universal security 262 7.4. Conditions II: Transparency and publicity 266 7.5. Conditions III: Equal opportunity 269 7.6. Foundations of political freedom: Procedural constraints and the rule of law 279 7.7. Persuasions: Why should people choose free orders? 287 Chapter 8: Justice and Injustice 290 8.1. Justice as the basis of order and liberta 291 8.2. Partisan accounts of justice 299 8.3. Non-partisan persuasions toward justice 306 8.4. Why it is dangerous to violate the law of nations 309 8.5. Forms of justice: Promises, punishments, and distributions 314 8.6. Ignorance of justice: Who is responsible for upholding just orders? 320 Chapter 9: Ends and Means 325 9.1. Responsibility for bad outcomes: The dangers of giving counsel 326 9.2. Judging wars by post facto outcomes 331 9.3. Judging wars by anticipated outcomes 335 9.4. Reflective consequentialism or deontology? 340 9.5. Problem 1: Unjust means corrupt good ends 343 9.6. Problem 2: Who can be trusted to foresee effects? 347 9.7. Problem 3: Who can be trusted to identify good ends? 351 9.8. Problem 4: Corrupting examples 357 9.9. Corrupt judgments: Means and ends in the Prince 360 Part IV: Politics Chapter 10: Ordinary and Extraordinary Authority 367 10.1. The antithesis between ordinary and extraordinary modes 367 10.2. Are conspiracies ever justified? 373 10.3. Extraordinary and ordinary ways to renovate corrupt cities 380 10.4. Unreasonable uses of religion: Easy ways to acquire authority 386 10.5. Reasonable uses of religion: Fear of God and fear of human justice 394 10.6. Folk religion and civil reasoning 400 Chapter 11: Legislators and Princes 407 11.1. Spartan founders and refounders: Lycurgus, Agis, and Cleomenes 408 11.2. Roman founders and legislators: Romulus and Aeneas 418 11.3. God's executors and modes of free building: Moses 424 11.4. Ordinary mortals and the ancient ideal of the one-man legislator 432 11.5. Persuasion in the Prince: On maintaining one's own arms 437 11.6. Princely knowledge and the "knowledge of peoples" 447 Chapter 12: E xpansion and Empire 451 12.1. Why republics must expand: The defects of non-expansionist republics 451 12.2. Three modes: Equal partnership, subjection to one, and the Roman mode 454 12.3. The Roman "middle way": Making subjects or partners 458 12.4. Bad Roman modes, good Roman orders: The choice between extremes 464 12.5. Why Roman imperio became pernicious: The wars with Carthage 468 12.6. Expansion by partnership: The forgotten Tuscan league 475 12.7. Should Florence imitate Rome? 478 Conclusions 484 This interpretation and others 490 Machiavelli and the ethical foundations of political philosophy 496 Bibliography 499 Index 509

    1 in stock

    £27.00

  • Changes of State Nature and the Limits of the

    Princeton University Press Changes of State Nature and the Limits of the

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisA book about the theory of the city or commonwealth, what would come to be called the state, in early modern natural law discourse. It takes a fresh approach by looking at this political entity from the perspective of its boundaries and those who crossed them.Trade Review"Annabel S. Brett has amassed a great deal of information and delivers it and, as importantly, original insights of great value, with elegance, impressively, memorably... Highly recommended. What the Renaissance coped with in terms of balance between tradition and modernity, between mankind and nature, between freedom and order ... and a new relationship between God and His creation, proves a worthy topic for an exceptionally talented scholar and a good read for the rest of us."--Bibliothe'que d'Humanisme et Renaissance "The book's achievements are at several levels: as an impressively detailed intellectual history of some of the wide-ranging controversies preoccupying natural law theorists in sixteenth- to mid-seventeenth-century Europe; as a cogent analysis of what is at stake in Grotius's and above all Hobbes's significant developments of natural law theory; and as an innovative approach to the study of political thought."--Simon Kow, Canadian Journal of HistoryTable of ContentsA Note on the Text ix Acknowledgements xi INTRODUCTION: On the threshold of the state 1 CHAPTER ONE: Travelling the borderline 11 CHAPTER TWO: Constructing human agency 37 CHAPTER THREE: Natural law 62 CHAPTER FOUR: Natural liberty 90 CHAPTER FIVE: Kingdoms founded 115 CHAPTER SIX: The lives of subjects 142 CHAPTER SEVEN: Locality 169 CHAPTER EIGHT: Re-placing the state 195 Bibliography of works cited 225 Index 237

    1 in stock

    £51.00

  • Politics and the Imagination

    Princeton University Press Politics and the Imagination

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn politics, utopian's do not have a monopoly on imagination. The author argues that even the most conservative defenses of the status quo, require imaginative acts of some kind. He explores the role of imagination in politics, particularly how imaginative constructs interact with political reality.Trade Review"[A] terrific collection... Philosophy fails, writes Geuss, mostly by being unhistorical; he makes the case for understanding politics only in a richly articulated historical context."--Brendan Boyle, BookForum "[A] miniature classic worthy of strenuous rereading."--Fred Inglis, Times Higher EducationTable of ContentsPreface vii Acknowledgments xv CHAPTER I: Political Judgment in Its Historical Context 1 CHAPTER II: The Politics of Managing Decline 17 CHAPTER III: Moralism and Realpolitik 31 CHAPTER IV: On the Very Idea of a Metaphysics of Right 43 CHAPTER V: The Actual and Another Modernity Order and Imagination in Don Quixote 61 CHAPTER VI: Culture as Ideal and as Boundary 81 CHAPTER VII: On Museums 96 CHAPTER VIII: Celan's Meridian 117 CHAPTER IX: Heidegger and His Brother 142 CHAPTER X Richard Rorty at Princeton Personal Recollections 151 CHAPTER XI: Melody as Death 164 CHAPTER XII: On Bourgeois Philosophy and the Concept of "Criticism" 167 Bibliography 187 Index 193

    1 in stock

    £28.80

  • Trust and Violence

    Princeton University Press Trust and Violence

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe limiting of violence through state powers is one of the central projects of the modern age. Why then have recent centuries been so bloody? The author demonstrates that the aim of decreasing and deterring violence has gone hand in hand with the misleading idea that violence is abnormal and beyond comprehension.Trade Review"Trust and Violence is a richly textured and erudite meditation on the intimate proximity between civilization and barbarism. Drawing on authors as diverse as Shakespeare, Schopenhauer, and Primo Levi, Reemtsma's lucidly written and deftly argued book elevates our comprehension of inhumanity—and of the societal rationalizations underlying it—to new heights. This interpretive tour de force is destined to be debated and discussed for years to come."—Richard Wolin, author of The Wind from the East: French Intellectuals, the Cultural Revolution, and the Legacy of the 1960s"This is the most exciting work of philosophy that I have read in years. It is brilliant, deep, and destined to be a classic. Bringing together fifteen years of work on violence, modernity, good, and evil, this book should change the way we think about all these concepts."—Susan Neiman, Einstein ForumTable of ContentsPreface ix Introduction: The Mystery 1 Chapter 1: Trust and Modernity 9 Two Scenes from Thomas Mann's Confessions of Felix Krull 10 Trust 12 Practices of Social Trust 17 Trust and Seriousness-- The Gretchenfrage 21 Trust and the Construction of the We 27 We Can't Not Trust 33 Reorientation 35 The Bearers of Premodern Social Trust 39 The Problem of Trust within Modernity 44 Trust in Modernity 52 Chapter 2: Power and Violence 54 Kratos and Bia 54 A Phenomenology of Physical Violence 55 Locative Violence 57 Raptive Violence 60 Autotelic Violence 62 Reduction to Body 66 Psychological Violence/Autotelic Bias 69 Fragmentation: Th e Destruction of the I 71 Complementary Opposites 74 Power-- Without Violence 76 Coercive Power 79 The Temporality of Power 80 Reward Power, Coercive Power, and Violence 80 Richard III: A Flawed Power Calculus 83 Consent as a Function of Temporality 86 Participatory Power, Trust, Legal Regulation 89 Monopoly 92 Delegation 93 Th e Dynamics of Demonopolization 95 Participatory Power and Violence 97 Modernity and Violence 99 Chapter 3: Delegitimation/Relegitimation 101 Marsyas 101 Max Stays Seated 102 Permitted, Prohibited, Mandated 103 Civilization and Barbarism 106 Th e I and the Idea of Humanity 110 Disgust 116 Shakespeare and the Dawning Awareness of Violence as Wrong 127 Curtailing Violence and Preserving Trust 145 Relegitimation (1): Th e Rhetoric of Nation and Civilizing Mission 153 Bounding the Nation 167 Th e Guillotine and the Puppy 169 Relegitimation (2): Th e Rhetoric of Eschatological Purge 175 Relegitimation (3): Th e Rhetoric of Genocide 180 Modernity and Its Discontents 184 Chapter 4: Trust in Violence 187 Violence-- Trust-- Power: Th e Devil and the Little Bishop 187 Auschwitz-- Gulag-- Hiroshima 191 Escalating the Instruments of Violence 196 Modernization and the Gang 205 Demodernization and the Gang 219 The Logic of Terror 231 Macbeth 239 Why the Jews? 242 When the Impossible Becomes Possible 246 Trust in Violence and the Role of Personality 248 Trust in Violence and Self- Trust 250 Chapter 5: Violence and Communication 259 Cola Gentile Speaks 259 Sociology's Silence 261 The Disappearance of the Th ird Party 266 Coping (1): Delegitimation by Criminal Procedure and the Exclusion of the Third Party 274 Coping (2): Th e Authority of the Victim and the Replacement of the Third Party 278 Coping (3): Instrumental Interpretation and the Denial of Communication 280 Excursus: A Brief Th eory of the Desperado, or, Did William Tell Really Liberate Switzerland? 287 Displaying the Instruments of Torture-- Again? 302 Angst and Self- Assurance 305 Polonius, His Will and Testament 309 Notes 313 Bibliography 359

    7 in stock

    £49.50

  • Princeton University Press Made with Words

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisHobbes' extreme political views have commanded so much attention that they have eclipsed his work on language and mind, and on reasoning, personhood, and group formation. This book argues that it was Hobbes who invented the invention of language thesis - the idea that language is a cultural innovation that transformed the human mind.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2008 PROSE Award in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers "This book is the best short introduction to Hobbes's philosophy now available, but it's more than that. It is a meditation on the ways in which language makes politics possible, and on the reasons why language makes politics so difficult. Pettit, one of the world's leading philosophers, brings a fresh eye to the work of one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived, and he opens it up to original insights and challenging new puzzles. Above all, he shows us why Hobbes's view of the human condition as made with words still matters."--David Runciman, author of Political Hypocrisy "It might seem, then, that little more can be said about Hobbes, but Pettit's oblique analysis of the language and reasoning sheds a very distinctive light on Hobbes's political insights, and genuinely adds new ideas to an oft-trampled field. Not only do we get a clearly organized and coherent explanation of the ideas, within a convincing framework as the ideas grow from language itself to the body politic, but we instantly know we're in the hands of a writer who really knows his Hobbes: the arguments move steadily and logically through, supported by (in the best sense) eclectic quotations from the original works (all in English, since some of them originally appeared in Latin)."--Stuart Hannabuss, Library Review "In this brief, clearly written book, Pettit argues that Hobbes believes language is a human invention. With language comes the ability to imaginatively project oneself into the future, to reason, and to contract and coordinate with others... Thus, Pettit maintains that Hobbes's state of nature is not and cannot be precultural, but is rather a condition in which people have culture and language but no government. An interesting implication of Pettit's view is that the common interpretation of Hobbes--that people's selfish untamed nature leads to social conflict--is mistaken: the invention of language and subsequent warping of people's desires are what ultimately cause conflict in the state of nature."--J. H. Spense, Adrian College, for CHOICE "Philip Pettit is pre-eminent among political philosophers for integrating the study of language, of human nature and of such things as the nature of rules an meaning. He has found a kindred spirit in Thomas Hobbes and has written an enjoyable and generous account of Hobbes' remarkably prescient explorations of similar themes... Beautifully clear, consistently interesting."--Simon Blackburn, Times Higher Education "Despite its brevity, this book is dense in its arguments, filled with trenchant phrases, and effective in its recreation of Hobbes' theory as grounded on the invention of language and thereby reason, the bright side of language."--Arlene W. Saxonhouse, European Legacy "Mr. Pettit's brief, incisive study will arouse the attention of political philosophers as well as historians and linguists."--Arnd Bohm, Scriblerian "By inserting Hobbes' philosophy of language into the heart of his theory of human nature and politics, Pettit has not only decisively closed the gap between two usually far too distinct scholarly domains, but he has also adverted to the major concern with language that preoccupied early-modern philosophers in general."--Hannah Dawson, Hobbes StudiesTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Chapter One: Mind in Nature 9 Chapter Two: Minds with Words 24 Chapter Three: Using Words to Ratiocinate 42 Chapter Four: Using Words to Personate 55 Chapter Five: Using Words to Incorporate 70 Chapter Six: Words and the Warping of Appetite 84 Chapter Seven: The State of Second, Worded Nature 98 Chapter Eight: The Commonwealth of Ordered Words 115 Summary 141 Notes 155 References 169 Index 177

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • Perpetual Euphoria

    Princeton University Press Perpetual Euphoria

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisHow has a liberating principle of the Enlightenment - the right to pursue happiness - become the unavoidable and burdensome responsibility to be happy? How did we become unhappy about not being happy - and what might we do to escape this predicament? This book considers these questions.Trade ReviewFinalist for the 25th Annual Translation Prize (Nonfiction), French-American Foundation & Florence Gould Foundation "Perpetual Euphoria is a beautiful essay. Lively, corrosive, brilliant... [W]oven from pure emotion."--Le Journal du Dimanche "A writer who has inherited the mantle of the French moralists' grand tradition."--Le Monde "Pascal Bruckner's essay is a subtle attack, both scholarly and ironic, against the new obligation of being happy."--La Croix "As an essayist in the tradition of Kundera and Montaigne, Bruckner has a bracing knack of distilling the attitudes of the contemporary moment and helping us appraise them anew."--The Age "The happiness-promotion and happiness-backlash schools are locked today in a weird, symbiotic struggle. Weighing in on the side of the anti-happiness underdog is this sublime rhetorical performance by the novelist and philosophe Bruckner, denying serially that the individual has a duty to pursue happiness; that happiness could be a social goal; that happiness is the opposite of boredom, or the absence of suffering, or the fulfillment of plans."--Steven Poole, Guardian "This book is stimulating, sometimes funny, and an antidote to the worship of all that is considered 'cool.'"--Julia Pascal, Independent "[A] brilliant book... Perpetual Euphoria is more than a book. It is a manifesto. It is a work of genius. It is my bible."--Roger Lewis, Daily Mail "Pascal Bruckner ... in this witty, iconoclastic and thoroughly enjoyable polemic he shows how anxious and miserable life becomes when it is ruled by an obsessive preoccupation with feeling happy. Bruckner's range of reference is admirably wide... [Perpetual Euphoria] is studded with arresting thoughts and questions."--John Gray, Literary Review "[Perpetual Euphoria] is a hugely entertaining argument that traces the pursuit of happiness through the French and American revolutions and concludes that we should all relax because it is only through peace of mind that true happiness is found."--Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald "[T]his exciting book explores the vicious paradox that the Enlightenment has left: one is obligated to find happiness and punish oneself if one fails to do so... [T]his book is fun to read."--Choice "Bruckner gives us a nuanced and mature reflection on the nature of happiness in light of past reflections and cultural criticism of the West... [He] is well worth reading, especially since he cannot and has not escaped framing his entire book in the Christian categories of Augustine, Thomas, and Pascal."--Gregory Edward Reynolds, Ordained Servant Online "This lively and acerbic exploration of happiness attacks the assumption that we somehow have a duty to be happy, that to fail to achieve happiness is in effect to fail as a human being, and offers the intriguing alternative view that an interesting but difficult life has more value than a comfortable but trivial one."--Good Book GuideTable of ContentsIntroduction: Invisible Penitence 1 Part I: Paradise Is Where I Am 7 Chapter One: Life as a Dream and a Lie 9 Chapter Two: The Golden Age and After? 27 Chapter Three: The Disciplines of Beatitude 39 Part II: The Kingdom of the Lukewarm, or The Invention of Banality 67 Chapter Four: The Bittersweet Saga of Dullness 69 Chapter Five: The Extremists of Routine 84 Chapter Six: Real Life Is Not Absent 106 Part III: The Bourgeoisie, or The Abjection of Well-Being 129 Chapter Seven: "The Fat, Prosperous Elevation of the Average, the Mediocre" 131 Chapter Eight: What Is Happiness for Some Is Kitsch for Others 149 Chapter Nine: If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Give It Back! 163 Part IV: Unhappiness Outlawed? 181 Chapter Ten: The Crime of Suffering 183 Chapter Eleven: Impossible Wisdom 206 Conclusion: Madame Verdurin's Croissant 227 Index 233

    1 in stock

    £22.50

  • Free Market Fairness

    Princeton University Press Free Market Fairness

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisCan libertarians care about social justice? In this title, the author argues that they can and should. Unlike traditional libertarians, he argues that property rights are best defended not in terms of self-ownership or economic efficiency but as requirements of democratic legitimacy.Trade Review"[Free Market Fairness's] aim is to question opposed modes of thought and find a way between them. Saying that his book was written for 'ideologically uncommitted readers,' Mr. Tomasi invites them and others to join him in exploring the ideas he has outlined. It is an invitation well worth accepting, especially in an election year."--Adam Wolfson, Wall Street Journal "An extremely interesting and important project."--Ethics "[I]mportant"--Andrew KoppelmanNotre Dame Philosophical Reviews "In many respects, [Tomasi] is a classical liberal, but he also retains a strong commitment to the worst off in society. He is a supporter of both free-market capitalism and of safety nets. His goal is to combine economic liberty and social justice. In attempting to transcend the standard positions, he should be commended."--Daniel Ben-Ami, Spiked Review of Books "Tomasi is a useful corrective to both Rawls and Hayek."--Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "Brilliant... The heart of Tomasi's book entails serious engagement with John Rawls and his liberal theory of justice as fairness."--Ryan T. Anderson, Weekly Standard "Tomasi takes a significant step beyond classical and some types of social democratic liberalism in an attempt to find common ground... Tomasi's 'market democracy' contributes important insight to the continuing political-economic debate."--Choice "One could hardly imagine John Tomasi's Free Market Fairness coming along at a more opportune time. Stump-speech rhetoric seems to have turned its attention (at least nominally) towards the concept of fairness... The proper role of government is up for debate again... Tomasi offers a clear-headed exploration of these and other issues during a moment of noticeable obtuseness and obfuscation in American politics [as] an accident of timing, incidental to his larger project, which is both ambitious and deeply needed."--Robert Herritt, Policy Review "Free Market Fairness is both an excellent book and an important one. What makes a work of philosophy valuable is not that it arrives at all the right conclusions, but that it asks the right questions, makes us think, and causes us to re-examine our assumptions. Free Market Fairness does all of those things. For this reason, it is appropriate to describe the book as seminal."--John Hasnas, Regulation "John Tomasi has written a spirited, accessible book that successfully argues the classical liberal tradition ... of private economic liberty as a necessary and equal partner with social and political liberties in a free and just democratic society. This integrated, constructive approach ... also recognizes the importance of social justice, a high liberal concept that he redefines by employing the principles of classical liberal thought... Tomasi has provided the intellectual and justificatory framework for classical liberal adherents to robustly explore opportunities in a market-democracy research program."--Thomas A. Hemphill, Journal of Markets and Morality "Free Market Fairness is a fine book that merits promotion, a merit raise, a cohort of graduate students, a fine reputation, and all the other benefits of academic life. The book is well written and well researched. The arguments are clearly stated and well defended. Political thinkers of all stripes will benefit from Tomasi's discussion of classical liberalism and libertarianism."--Mark A. Graber, Review of Politics "A landmark publication in political philosophy."--Res Publica "John Tomasi is to be applauded for endeavoring to restore among contemporary philosophy professors an appreciation of the political and moral virtues of classical economic liberalism, highlighting ... its benefits for all citizens, especially the 'less advantaged,' while distinguishing it from the dogmatic, apolitical libertarianism that tends in practice to weaken support for economic (and hence political) freedom."--David Lewis Schaefer, Society "Tomasi has done us all a service by starting, if not by ending, this important conversation."--John Thrasher, Public Choice "Tomasi presents a powerful vision of 'social justice, American style' ... [and] provides a refreshing framework for thinking about the ability of free markets and limited government to preserve the conditions in which justice can be realized, and it is particularly noteworthy for seeking to engage with egalitarian liberals on their own terms... Tomasi's primary goal is to challenge the existing paradigms for thinking about the relationship between markets and justice. At this task, he emphatically succeeds."--Keith Hankins, Journal of Moral Philosophy "[This book] will be greatly helpful to students of political philosophy and political economy, especially for those whose interests lie in economic inequality and economic Justin."--Sojin Shin, Political Studies ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction xi Chapter 1: Classical Liberalism 1 Property and Equality 1 Market Society 6 America 11 Hayek 16 Classical Liberalism 22 Chapter 2: High Liberalism 27 Property or Equality 27 The Decline of Economic Liberty 32 Rawls 37 The Libertarian Moment 46 Liberalismus Sapiens Sapiens 51 Chapter 3: Thinking the Unthinkable 57 The Great Fact: Economic Growth 57 Populism, Probability, and Political Philosophy 60 Economic Liberty and Democratic Legitimacy 68 Endings, and Beginnings, Too 84 Chapter 4: Market Democracy 87 The Conceptual Space 87 Breaking Ice 99 Market Democracy as a Research Program 103 Institutions 106 The Challenges to Market Democracy 118 Chapter 5: Social Justicitis 123 The Distributional Adequacy Condition 123 Hit Parade: Property and the Poor 127 Hayek's Critique 142 Benadryl for Free-Marketeers 151 Chapter 6: Two Concepts of Fairness 162 Warming up to Market Democracy 162 Applying the Theory 172 The Argument Ipse Dixit 177 Justice as Fairness: Status or Agency? 180 Chapter 7: Feasibility, Normativity, and Institutional Guarantees 197 The Twilight of Left Liberalism? 197 Realistic Utopianism 203 Aims and Guarantees 215 Chapter 8: Free Market Fairness 226 The Difference Principle 226 Fair Equality of Opportunity 237 Political Liberty 247 Generational, Environmental, and International Justice 254 Free Market Fairness as a Moral Ideal 264 Conclusion 267 Notes 273 Bibliography 315 Index 333

    1 in stock

    £38.25

  • Liberating Judgment

    Princeton University Press Liberating Judgment

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisExamining the social and political upheavals that characterized the collapse of public judgment in early modern Europe, this book offers a different account of the achievement of liberal democracy and self-government.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2011: Top 25 Books "Casson has written a superb treatment of John Locke... Casson's writing is clear and accessible, and thus appropriate for any level of student already familiar with Locke's work. The book is an excellent contribution to Locke scholarship."--Choice "This is an attractive book, well printed, well bound, and well designed. Its arguments are always interesting, indeed fascinating, its scholarship is often admirable... Professor Casson [has written an] intelligent, ingenious, stimulating, searching and provocative ... piece of work."--Locke StudiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: The Great Recoinage 1 Chapter I: Unsettling Judgment: Knowledge, Belief, and the Crisis of Authority 23 Certain Knowledge and Probable Belief 25 Unsettling Knowledge 34 Unsettling Belief 41 Chapter II: Abandoning Judgment: Montaignian Skeptics and Cartesian Fanatics 53 Montaigne and the Politics of Skepticism 54 Descartes and the Rationalist Dream 63 Young Locke as Skeptic and Absolutist 75 Chapter III: Reworking Reasonableness: The Authoritative Testimony of Nature 92 The Transformation of a Skeptic 97 Precursors to Lockean Reasonableness 103 From Lecture Halls to Laboratories 114 Chapter IV: Forming Judgment: The Transformation of Knowledge and Belief 126 Locke's Political Pedagogy 129 Fanatics and Philosophizers 136 Defining and Redefining Knowledge and Belief 143 Chapter V: Liberating Judgment: Freedom, Happiness, and the Reasonable Self 159 Unrestrained and Restrained Freedoms 160 The Pursuit of True and Solid Happiness 168 The Formation of the Reasonable Self 178 Chapter VI: Enacting Judgment: Dismantling the Divine Certainty of Sir Robert Filmer 185 Preaching Patriarcha from the Pulpit 188 Probable Judgment and the Authority of Scripture 192 The Slavishness of Systems 205 Chapter VII: Authorizing Judgment: Consensual Government and the Politics of Probability 219 The State of Nature as a Realm of Virtue and Convenience 223 From Moral Clarity to Epistemological Confusion 233 Entrusting Judgment to a Shared Authority 238 Prerogative, Public Good, and the Judgment of the People 244 Conclusion: The Great Recoinage Revisited 253 References 263 Index 279

    1 in stock

    £51.00

  • Michael Oakeshotts Skepticism

    Princeton University Press Michael Oakeshotts Skepticism

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe English philosopher Michael Oakeshott (1901-1990) is known as a conservative who rejected philosophically ambitious rationalism and the grand political ideologies of the twentieth century. This title presents an original account of Oakeshott's skepticism about foundations, an account that newly reveals the unity of his thought.Trade Review"During a time when the fragility of things is so palpable, Aryeh Botwinick's re-engagement with the work of Michael Oakeshott is invaluable. He shows us how Oakeshott's skepticism turns sharply back upon itself, how he draws us toward a tacit dimension that is itself both real and fragile, and how, once human anger against the complexity of skepticism is overcome, this stance can provide a live medium from which a generous ethic emerges. Botwinick reads Oakeshott in relation to Hobbes, Wittgenstein, Levinas, and Heidegger, as he also periodically reads Oakeshott against himself. A timely and illuminating study."—William E. Connolly, author of A World of Becoming"The literature on Oakeshott tends to emphasize the independence of his thought and the problem of how to classify him, a problem that Aryeh Botwinick neatly sidesteps by taking an entirely different line. Oakeshott turns out to be in agreement or dialogue with a range of other thinkers, including Nietzsche and Arendt. This is a fresh and rewarding approach that provides a new perspective on Oakeshott's thought and its significance."—Oliver Leaman, University of KentuckyTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments xi Chapter 1: Introduction: Epistemological Backdrop 1 Chapter 2: Metaphysics 29 Chapter 3: Philosophy of Religion and Philosophy of Science 49 Chapter 4: Political Theory 117 Chapter 5: Philosophy of Conversation and Philosophy of Personal Identity 132 Chapter 6: Philosophy of Law and Philosophy of History 194 Notes 223 Index 241

    3 in stock

    £40.50

  • On Settling

    Princeton University Press On Settling

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn a culture that worships ceaseless striving, settling seems like giving up. This title explores the dynamics of this process. It explains why settling is useful for planning, creating trust, and strengthening the social fabric - and why settling is different from compromise and resignation.Trade Review"Mr. Goodin's On Settling is a brief and gentle meditation on a subject that is larger and more controversial than it may at first seem."--Daniel Akst, Wall Street Journal "Goodin's gentle little book is brimming with intelligence, sense, and humanity, and he makes a lot of progress toward understanding a concept that has received far too little attention."--Cass Sunstein, New Republic "[I]t may be of more use than most self-help works on the topic combined... Goodin's argument is liberating."--Oliver Burkeman, Guardian "Goodin's On Settling may be an economical 74 pages plus footnotes and index but, intellectually speaking, is no mere hors d'oeuvre."--Chris Wallace, Canberra Times "This little book is an exercise in settling, not only a discussion of it, for Goodin has a lot more wisdom to share than he can capture in seventy-four pages. But the result of his effort is a manifestly important and worthy contribution to philosophical reflection, and no less so because it settled for being simply that rather than aspiring to say the first or last word on the subject."--David Schmidtz, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "I found this book highly rewarding. Due to its use of history and ordinary language, it is accessible to specialists and non-specialists alike... Goodin gives readers a well-grounded starting point for a conversation on settling--one that I hope is continued."--Harrison P. Frye, Political Studies Review and Political TheoryTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction1 One * Modes of Settling 5 Where This Is Heading 5 Settling Down 7 Settling In 17 Settling Up 20 Settling For 25 Settling One's Affairs 27 Settling On: The Master Notion 27 Two * The Value of Settling 30 Settling as an Aid to Planning and Agency 31 Settling, Commitment, Trust, and Confidence 37 Settling the Social Fabric 44 Three * What Settling Is Not 51 Settling Is Not Just Compromising 52 Settling Is Not Just Conservatism 57 Settling Is Not Just Resignation 60 Four * Settling in Aid of Striving 63 Settling in Order to Strive 64 What Strivings Require Settling, and Why 66 When to Switch between One and the Other, and Why 68 Conclusions 74 Notes 75 References 93 Index 107

    1 in stock

    £29.75

  • The Closed Commercial State

    Princeton University Press The Closed Commercial State

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisPresents an account of Johann Gottlieb Fichte's Closed Commercial State, a major early nineteenth-century development of Rousseau and Kant's political thought. This book shows how Fichte reformulated Rousseau's constitutional politics and radicalized the economic implications of Kant's social contract theory with his defense of the right to work.Trade Review"Nakhimovsky's book is rewarding to read. Not only does it give a rich, vivid description of the issues and contending forces at a time when the future of the European nation-state system hung in the balance; it also calls into question some pervasive assumptions about the rise of capitalism."--Michael Rosen, The Nation "The [book] is a fascinating and always judicious account of a world of argument over whether and how European states could pursue economic vitality without destroying themselves and the rest of the world in the process... Nakhimovsky's lucid and engaging book is an invaluable contribution to that project, as well as to the broader study of the history of political and international thought and the contemporary resonances of historical debates."--Jennifer Pitts, Perspectives on Politics "As Nakhimovsky has brilliantly demonstrated, there is much for contemporary readers to be inspired by in Fichte's basic intuition that policies of public finance might be used not merely to regulate local economies and promote world peace but also to realize a robust and demanding conception of justice."--Frederick Neuhouser, Notre Dame Philosophical ReviewsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Perpetual Peace and Fichte's Theory of the State 15 Herder's Letter 15 Perpetual Peace and Power Politics 17 The Citizen of Frejus and the Philosopher of Konigsberg 22 The Citizen of Frejus, the Philosopher of Konigsberg, and the Professor at Jena 35 Toward The Closed Commercial State 61 Chapter 2: Commerce and the European Commonwealth in 1800 63 Gentz's Review 63 Perpetual Peace and The Closed Commercial State 65 Fichte's History of Commerce 74 Prussia and the Anglo-French Debate of 1800 84 Fichte's Contribution to the Debate 98 Chapter 3: R epublicanization in Theory and Practice 103 Fichte's Proposal 103 Fichte's Implementation Strategy 106 The Closed Commercial State and the Political Economy of Prussian Reform 115 Fichte's Moral Challenge Continued 126 Chapter 4: Fichte's Political Economy of the General Will 130 Hestermann's Review 130 Open Commercial State versus Closed Commercial State 134 Needs and Rights in Fichte's Theory of Property 143 The Transcendental Industrialism of The Closed Commercial State 157 Conclusion 166 Bibliography 177 Index 195

    3 in stock

    £36.00

  • Lectures on the History of Moral and Political

    Princeton University Press Lectures on the History of Moral and Political

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisStarting with a chapter centered on Plato, but also discussing the pre-Socratics as well as Aristotle, this book moves to social contract theory as discussed by Hobbes, Locke, and Hume, and then continues with chapters on Kant, Hegel, and Nietzsche.Trade Review"What this collection provides ... is a very idiosyncratic tour of the history of moral and political philosophy. The tour is very selective as to where it stops, and when it does stop it is equally selective in the sights it shows. And so it's not a tour I'd recommend to a complete newcomer to the area. But for the experienced traveler in this intellectual terrain, the sights on the tour are, almost without exception, well worth the extended stop provided."--Peter Stone, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books "Wolff's closing intellectual biography is, as I mentioned above, excellent. It provides an overview of the rest of Cohen's work that is useful and interesting even to those already familiar with it."--Clare Chambers, Philosophical QuarterlyTable of ContentsEditor's Preface vii Acknowledgments xi Part One Lectures 1 Chapter 1 Plato and His Predecessors 3 Chapter 2 Hobbes 65 Chapter 3 Locke on Property and Political Obligation 103 Chapter 4 Hume's Critique of Locke on Contract 120 Chapter 5 Kant's Ethics 138 Chapter 6 Hegel: Minds, Masters, and Slaves 183 Chapter 7 Nietzsche 201 Part Two Papers 245 Chapter 8 Bourgeois and Proletarians 247 Chapter 9 T he Workers and the Word: Why Marx Had the Right to Think He Was Right 268 Chapter 10 R eply to Elster on "Marxism, Functionalism, and Game Theory" 284 Chapter 11 Review of Karl Marx, by Allen W. Wood 298 Chapter 12 Reason, Humanity, and the Moral Law 305 Part Three Memoir 325 Chapter 13 G. A. Cohen: A Memoir, Jonathan Wolff 327 Works Cited 345 Index 355

    10 in stock

    £37.80

  • The Pursuit of Laziness

    Princeton University Press The Pursuit of Laziness

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisWe think of the Enlightenment as an era dominated by ideas of progress, production, and industry - not an era that favored the lax and indolent individual. But was the Enlightenment only about the unceasing improvement of self and society? This title examines moral, political, and economic treatises of the period.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2012 "For Saint-Amand, the heroes of his book are figures of resistance. In their non-productivity, they provide a glimpse of a new ethics of freedom that runs counter to the demands of the bourgeois capitalist order... It is hard not to be seduced by his argument."--Jeremy Jennings, Times Higher Education Supplement "[An] intriguing little book."--Jeremy Jennings, Times Higher Education "I relished Pierre Saint-Amand's short, beguiling volume The Pursuit of Laziness for its astutely subversive take on Enlightenment workaholism. Saint-Amand concentrates on Enlightenment figures like the artist Chardin, who painted someone blowing a large bubble with a straw, or Joseph Joubert, who thought that lying in bed a lot was ideal for the writing life."--Robert Crawford, Sunday Herald (Glasgow) "Until now, extreme laziness has rarely featured as the cornerstone of a substantive rereading of the Enlightenment project as a whole. Saint-Amand focuses primarily on Diderot's and Rousseau's defense of the idle life as a kind of secular bliss. The author makes a strong case for distinguishing the utilitarian program of calculation and task efficiency from aesthetic reveries and world-open stance of philosophers... Exceedingly well researched, [The Pursuit of Laziness] fills an important lacuna in understanding Enlightenment attitudes and literary practices and brings to light several overlooked sources that give pause to the predominant understanding of the Enlightenment ethos. Penned in French, this work is now available in an admirably clear and readable translation."--ChoiceTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Idle Nation Chapter 1: The Surprises of Laziness 17 Marivaux Chapter 2: Chardin's Slowness 38 Chapter 3: The Great Project of an Idle Life 51 Rousseau Chapter 4: Paradox of the Idler 76 Diderot Chapter 5: Philosophy on the Pillow 100 Joubert Epilogue: Toward Moderation 119 Notes 125 Bibliography 143 Index 151

    1 in stock

    £40.50

  • How We Hope

    Princeton University Press How We Hope

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisPresents a novel account of hope, the motivational resources it presupposes, and its function in our practical lives. This title contends that hoping for an outcome means treating certain feelings, plans, and imaginings as justified, and that hope thereby involves sophisticated reflective and conceptual capacities.Trade Review"Inspired by her work with terminally ill cancer patients, Martin provides a valuable analysis of hope that makes excellent use of the tools of analytic philosophy, recent work in neuropsychology, and the philosophies of Immanuel Kant and Gabriel Marcel."--Choice "[A] short but substantial tome... Anyone who is interested in the ethics of hope will find a great deal of valuable insight in this book."--Ben Sherman, Philosophy in Review "Martin not only insightfully advances the philosophical literature on hope, but also, maybe more importantly, provides substantial food for thought to anyone whose philosophical interests encompass desires and motivations."--Rachel Fredericks, Mind "Martin's work is a timely and instructive contribution to a rapidly expanding literature on hope."--Aaron D. Cobb, Journal of Moral PhilosophyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix INTRODUCTION What Is Hope? 1 Questions about Hope 1 The Orthodox Definition and Its Critics 4 Hope as a Syndrome 6 The Incorporation Analysis 7 Summary of Chapters 8 CHAPTER 1 Beyond the Orthodox Definition of Hope 11 The Orthodox Definition in the Modern Period 11 The Orthodox Definition in Recent Philosophy 13 Challenge Cases 14 First Analysis: Luc Bovens and Mental Imaging 17 Second Analysis: Ariel Meirav and External Factors 19 Third Analysis: Philip Pettit and Cognitive Resolve 20 Final Analysis: Incorporation 24 Hopeful Thoughts: Fantasy 25 Hopeful Feelings: Anticipation 29 Summary 34 CHAPTER 2 Incorporation 35 Understanding Mental States through Their Fundamental Norms 36 Two Constraints on Reasons 38 Normative Governance Requires Deliberative Responsiveness 38 Deliberation Constrains Reasons 41 The Licensing Stance 44 The Transparency of Doxastic Deliberation to Evidence 46 Putting Transparency and Deliberation Constrains Reasons Together 48 Practical Deliberation about the Licensing Stance 48 The Other Part of the Incorporation Element: Treating Desire as a Practical Reason 52 The Inadequacy of Monist Theories of Motivation 54 The Dualist Theory: Subrational and Rational Motivational Representations 58 Hope as Incorporation 61 Hoping and End-Setting 64 Cases: Hoping without End-Setting 66 The End-Setting Conception's Inability to Accommodate These Cases 67 Conclusion: A Unified Theory of Hope and the Worry about Excessive Reflectiveness 69 CHAPTER 3 Suicide and Sustenance 72 Virtue and Sustenance 72 The First Extreme: Aquinas and Irascible Hope 75 The Thomistic "Inner Cathedral" 76 The Concupiscible and Irascible Passions 77 The Second Extreme: Calhoun and Seconding Practical Commitment 82 Hopeful Fantasies and Sustenance 85 Contingent Sustenance 91 An Example: "Self-Help" and Self-Sabotage 94 Summary 96 CHAPTER 4 Faith and Sustenance without Contingency 98 Chief Plenty Coups and Unimaginable Hope 98 Kant on the Highest Good and Morally Obligatory Hope 101 The Transformation of Hope into Faith 105 Marcel's Hope 108 Grounding Hope in Love 111 The Possibility of Secular Faith 114 Summary 117 CHAPTER 5 Normative Hope 118 Strawson and the Reactive Attitudes 118 Mapping the Territory: Interpersonal Relations 121 Gratitude, Disappointment, and Normative Hope 125 Hope for the Vicious 136 Summary 140 CONCLUSION Human Passivity, Agency, and Hope 141 Index 147

    1 in stock

    £37.80

  • Emergency Politics

    Princeton University Press Emergency Politics

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisLooking at how emergencies in the past and present have shaped the development of democracy, the author argues that democracies must resist emergency's pull to focus on life's necessities (food, security, and bare essentials) because these tend to privatize and isolate citizens rather than bring us together on behalf of hopeful futures.Trade ReviewCo-Winner of the 2012 David Easton Award, Foundations of Political Theory Section of the American Political Science Association "[A] remarkable book... Honig's careful work enriches our understanding of democratic politics."--William Corlett, Law and Politics Book Review "Creatively engaging with many debates in democratic theory, [Honig] is at her best reinterpreting unconventional texts like biblical parables or the legal history of the Red Scare."--Choice "Emergency Politics nicely combines theory with insightful analyses of historical and contemporary events... This is a timely and important book that should be read by anyone interested in the current state of democratic theory and practice. It is a cogent argument for an agonistic conception of democracy, based on insightful theoretical and empirical analyses."--Lasse Thomassen, Journal of PoliticsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments xi Preface xv Introduction: Surviving 1 Chapter One: Beginnings 12 Chapter Two: Emergence 40 Chapter Three: Decision 65 Chapter Four: Orientation 87 Chapter Five: Proximity 112 Aftermath 139 Notes 143 Bibliography 181 Index 193

    1 in stock

    £25.20

  • Why Tolerate Religion

    Princeton University Press Why Tolerate Religion

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisAddresses the enduring puzzles in political philosophy and constitutional theory - why is religion singled out for preferential treatment in both law and public discourse? Why is a Sikh boy permitted to wear his ceremonial dagger to school while any other boy could be expelled for packing a knife?Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013 "A model of clarity and rigour and at points strikingly original, this is a book that anyone who thinks seriously about religion, ethics and politics will benefit from reading."--John Gray, New Statesman "A slim volume, deeply conversant with the literature in law and philosophy, and by turns bold, bracing and bruising, Why Tolerate Religion? should command the attention of anyone interested in the place of faith in the public arena."--Glenn C. Altschuler, Jerusalem Post "Although this is a rather bold and provocative thesis, Leiter's approach is highly nuanced and painstakingly thorough, as he patiently walks readers through each definition, consideration, and possible objection. The overall effect is a very impressively argued case."--Library Journal "Why Tolerate Religion? is a closely argued and thought-provoking examination of questions that will only become more important in our increasingly multicultural world."--Adam Kirsch, Barnes & Noble Review "Overall, Leiter's judicious and penetrating volume is an excellent example of how philosophy can be brought to bear on practical issues of the day."--Alex Miller, Morning Star "Why Tolerate Religion? is a readable book that exposes several tenuous assumptions underlying the predominant justifications for religious exemptions. At the same time, it provides a fresh and intuitive framework for analyzing conscience-based objections to facially neutral laws that should appeal to legal practitioners, jurists, and philosophers alike."--Harvard Law Review "Students and scholars likely will be citing Leiter's clear and powerful arguments for many years."--Choice "[E]legant and accessible ... straightforward and clear. Readers will find the book engaging and thought-provoking; yet Leiter's discussion is nonetheless philosophically sophisticated, incorporating nuanced considerations from legal theory, meta-ethics, and political philosophy. Most importantly, Leiter's book provides a sound basis for pursuing these crucial matters further."--Scott F Aikin, Philosophers' Magazine "Leiter's book is ... very readable and it avoids technical jargon as much as possible. It works very well as a challenge to those who are sympathetic to conceding some exemptions from generally applicable laws because of religious beliefs, because the burden of justifying such exemptions is placed squarely on those who propose them."--Desmond M. Clarke, Jurisprudence "[C]ompelling read ... makes for a fresh and lively contribution to this ongoing debate."--Journal of Applied Philosophy "Why Tolerate Religion? has a certain beauty in its brevity, austerity and aspiration to analytical rigor."--Russell Blackford, Free Inquiry "It is highly recommended to all those interested in the relationship between religion and the state. It will certainly leave its readers with much to ponder."--Jakub Urbaniak, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae "Brian Leiter's new book aims to be accessible to scholars outside of philosophy as well as to 'educated laypeople'. In my view, he succeeds in this endeavor. His book is very readable, and avoids unnecessary technicalities. The question Leiter addresses in his book ... is of interest not only to academic philosophers, but to everyone who is curious about questions concerning the societal function and role of religion, toleration, minority rights, and conscience."--Martin Sticker, Zeitschrift fuer philosophische LiteraturTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter I Toleration 5 Chapter II Religion 26 Chapter III Why Tolerate Religion? 54 Chapter IV Why Respect Religion? 68 Chapter V The Law of Religious Liberty in a Tolerant Society 92 Notes 135 Selected Bibliography 175 Index 181

    1 in stock

    £40.50

  • Princeton University Press How to Win an Election

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisA Roman guide for campaigning. It is suitable for politicians and those who enjoys watching them try to manipulate their way into office.Trade ReviewA New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice (8/5/2012) "Were he alive today, no doubt, Quintus would be making big bucks as a political consultant... Speaking to us from a distance of more than two millenniums, Quintus Cicero's words are incisive and revelatory: They remind us that, when it comes to that strange beast known as politics, human nature hasn't changed very much since then. The past, that's right, isn't even past."--Nick Owchar, Los Angeles Times "How to Win an Election ... is a timely new edition for the US 2012 campaign... Most reviewers of How to Win an Election have been struck by its modernity."--Mary Beard, New York Review of Books "Two thousand years ago, Quintus Tullius Cicero gave his elder brother, Marcus, an unusually frank guide to winning votes--and, on the principle that democracy's brutal essentials have changed little over the centuries, Princeton University Press has now brought out How to Win an Election... [The book] shows that a campaigner's concerns have remained just as constant as the debate about whether any democracy is ever democratic enough."--Peter Stothard, Wall Street Journal "Just in time for the primaries and the big showdown in November comes the wisdom of the ancients, in this case from Quintus Tullius Cicero, younger brother of Marcus, the greatest ancient Roman orator--perhaps the greatest of all time--who, more than two thousand years ago, ran for the highest office in the Roman Republic."--Steve Levingston, WashingtonPost.com's Political Bookworm blog "The pamphlet of Quintus Cicero is filled with savvy political soundbites, still relevant today... Some things never change."--Maggie Galehouse, HoustonChronicle.com's Bookish blog "[Quintus Cicero's] How to Win an Election is a quick, punchy, and thoroughly entertaining read, cleanly translated by Philip Freeman, chairman of the classics department at Luther College."--John Kass, Chicago Tribune "The advice holds up. These candidates must have classics scholars on staff, because a close read of Cicero reveals they're following his counsel."--David Weigel, Slate "Besides the fact that this small book contains such time-worn advice as 'promise everything to everybody' to the value of being a social chameleon, I learned that sexual scandals were fodder for upending an opponent's political campaign even as far back as 64 B.C. Well, as they say, mutatione rerum magis, tanto magis stetisse ('the more things change, the more they stay the same'), or something like that."--Guardian.co.uk's GrrlScientist blog "I just hope my opponent in the next campaign doesn't get a copy."--James Carville, Foreign Affairs "There is solace at hand in this little book, which takes only a few minutes to read... Translated (the Latin text appears on facing pages) and put in context by Philip Freeman, whose biography of Julius Caesar was widely praised, the letter is cynical, worldly wise, and oddly reassuring."--John Wilson, Christianity Today "One of the more entertaining books of this campaign season comes to us from 2,000 years ago... [C]icero's memo accurately describes today's politics."--Joshua Rothman, Boston Globe's Ideas page blog Brainiac "The release of [How to Win an Election] was no doubt timed to coincide with this year's U.S. presidential election and as campaigning unfolds it's hard not to see some of Quintus' advice in practice... This text has an almost whimsical quality and bluntly lays out what has been all but established practice in politics for--as the book proves--millennia."--Prague Post "A quick and fairly broad sketch of Roman politics in Cicero's era."--Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed "Candidates, voters and dedicated observers of this vaunted political ritual would do well to take a deep breath and pick up a copy of How to Win an Election... At once a validation of how we humans choose our leaders and cunning in the way of Machiavelli's The Prince, Quintus Cicero's words of wisdom, filtered through the fluid new translation by Philip Freeman, are sobering and more than a little deliciously self-serving."--Carol Herman, Washington Times "In 64 B.C., Cicero wrote his older brother a letter of advice guiding him on how to win his race for consul. Nearly 3,000 years later, it remains stunningly relevant, and it emerges as key evidence that some things never change, like political trickery, tactics of manipulation, the art of making a sale... It is a book that reads as if it were written by David Axelrod or Karl Rove, who incidentally provides a glowing blurb on the back cover of one of the editions."--David Masciotra, Daily Beast "The primer, subtitled An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians, written more than 2,000 years ago by Quintus Tullius Cicero for his brother Marcus Cicero, the famed orator, who was a candidate for consul of Rome in 64 B.C., but you would have to be a resident of Mars or maybe Pluto not to see its modern relevance... Quintus Cicero shows himself to be a master political strategist of oppositional research, organization, and turnout. The little book, translated from Latin to vernacular English by Philip Freeman, should remain on the desks of office-seekers for the next four years, its principles underlined."--Suzanne Fields, Washington Times "Suffice it to say that today's political advisors could learn a lot from reading advice, now almost 2,100 years old, to an aspiring politician."--Bruce Whiteman, Wapsipinicon AlamanacTable of ContentsIntroduction vii A Note on the Translation xxiii How to Win an Election 1 The Results of the Election 87 Glossary 89 Further Reading 97

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • The Happiness Philosophers  The Lives and Works

    Princeton University Press The Happiness Philosophers The Lives and Works

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"Schultz's ... overview of William Godwin, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Henry Sidgwick is a combination of biographies of the four Utilitarian philosophers and an overview of their philosophies. In each chapter, these two parts mesh well because, as Schultz points out, 'one needs the work and the lives' to understand a philosopher's writings fully. It also works well because of the diversity of writings on the topic of ethics, freedom, belief, and epistemology... Schultz does a wonderful job of combining each thinker's biography with their philosophical development."--Library JournalTable of ContentsPrologue ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 The Adventures of William Godwin 9 2 Jeremy Bentham's Dream 53 3 John Stuart Mill and Company 111 4 Henry Sidgwick and Beyond 218 Epilogue 343 Notes 347 Index 403

    1 in stock

    £40.50

  • The Individualists

    Princeton University Press The Individualists

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"The Individualists is a superb work of intellectual history. Anyone wishing to understand a modern political denomination encompassing such diverse creatures as the anarchist Albert Jay Nock, the priestess of capitalism Ayn Rand, the politician Rand Paul and the billionaire philanthropist Charles Koch ought to have a copy on his shelf."---Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal"One of the best guides you’ll find to the libertarian universe."---Jesse Walker, Reason"Zwolinski and Tomasi’s historical survey of the libertarian movement, warts and all, is uncommonly honest and comprehensive. Purely as exegesis, the book is without peer, and anyone who wants to know what libertarianism is should run, not walk, to pick it up."---Matt McManus, Jacobin"Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi [are] both committed libertarians who are appalled at the movement’s turn toward a harder-edged conservatism. . . . As they see it, libertarianism once had a left-of-center valence—and could still reclaim it"---Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker"If there is one lesson to take away from The Individualists, it’s that the meaning of libertarianism has always been contested and in flux, a movement more capacious than it is often given credit for. . . . [It] doesn’t shy away from the ugly parts of libertarianism, but it highlights much more that libertarians can take pride in."---Jacob Grier, Washington Examiner"Some books become good friends. They not only stimulate our minds, but they also speak to our very souls. The Individualists . . . is such a book. . . excellent, wisely written, and beautifully crafted.”"---Bradley J. Birzer, Law & Liberty"This represents the key division running through the delightful new book The Individualists, a fabulous intellectual history from Matt Zwolinksi and John Tomasi, two sympathetic biographers of the ideology who nonetheless acknowledge that their co-ideologists can be a bit impractical, even zany. . . . The Individualists is a clarifying work that both explains and demonstrates how libertarianism operates as a coherent philosophy and how it differs from other members of its philosophical family. Its authors write with a palpable love of ideas and even of the sometimes-goofy, often-curmudgeonly characters who propagated them—and who find the idea of a driver’s license a license to totalitarianism."---Tal Fortgang, Commentary

    7 in stock

    £27.00

  • Confucianism as a World Religion

    Princeton University Press Confucianism as a World Religion

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisFrom ancient Confucian temples, to nineteenth-century archives, to the testimony of people interviewed by the author throughout China over a period of more than a decade, this book traces the birth and growth of the idea of Confucianism as a world religion.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2014 Best Book Award, Sociology of Religion Section of the American Sociological Association Winner of the 2014 Best First Book in the History of Religions Award, American Academy of Religion One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013 "[T]his admirable book presents a fascinating, well-researched, historical account of the establishment of Confucianism as a world religion in tandem with the emergence of comparative religion as a discipline. Sun's keen sense of history serves her equally well as she turns to contemporary issues... This well written book is strongly recommended not only for China specialists, but also for anyone seeking to understand the world's creeds and rituals... An outstanding book."--Choice "Confucianism as a World Religion is destined to become a classic, especially in Confucian studies and comparative religion... [T]his text is likely to be very popular in graduate seminars on comparative religion, Confucianism, and the sociology of religion. More of an introduction to Confucianism may be necessary for a full understanding of what Sun is up to, but this book is certainly one of the most important English-language texts on Confucianism."--Andrew Stuart Abel, American Journal of Sociology "Anna Sun's book makes an important contribution to the analysis of the contested claims about the meaning of Confucianism by boldly moving the site of this debate to actual conditions on the ground in contemporary China. Written in accessible, elegant prose, this book is well suited for courses on Chinese religion, Confucianism, or the emergence of World Religions as a discourse."--Thomas Wilson, Journal of Chinese Religions "The religiosity of Confucianism poses a challenge to all people who study Chinese religion and culture. Anna Sun takes on this challenge admirably and clears up certain hurdles and barriers that prevent us from finding an adequate answer... Sun's scholarly effort is a most welcome contribution to our understanding of historical and contemporary construction and reconstruction of Confucianism in China and beyond."--Xinzhong Yao, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies "Confucianism as a World Religion adds important new dimensions to our knowledge of Confucianism, and Anna Sun effectively places her book at the intersection of historical and sociological research, an approach that will surely inspire future studies."--Hang Lin, Journal of Chinese Political ScienceTable of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xvii Introduction: Confusions over Confucianism 1 Part I: The Puzzle of Classification: How Did Confucianism Become a World Religion? Chapter 1: Four Controversies over the Religious Nature of Confucianism: A Brief History of Confucianism 17 Chapter 2: The Making of a World Religion: Confucianism and the Emergence of Comparative Religion as a Discipline in the Nineteenth Century 45 Chapter 3: The Confucianism as a Religion Controversy in Contemporary China 77 Part II: The Problem of Methodology: Who Are the Confucians in China? Chapter 4: Confucianism as a World Religion: The Legitimation of a New Paradigm 97 Chapter 5: Counting Confucians through Social Scientific Research 110 Chapter 6: To Become a Confucian: A New Conceptual Framework 120 Part III: The Reality of Practices: Is Confucianism a Religion in China Today? Chapter 7: The Emerging Voices of Women in the Revival of Confucianism 137 Chapter 8: The Contemporary Revival and Reinvention of Confucian Ritual Practices 153 Chapter 9: The Politics of the Future of Confucianism 173 Notes 185 Bibliography 215 Index 233

    1 in stock

    £46.75

  • A World without Why

    Princeton University Press A World without Why

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisWishful thinking is a deeply ingrained human trait that has had a long-term distorting effect on ethical thinking. This title ranges over such topics as the concepts of intelligibility, authority, democracy, and criticism; the place of theology in ethics; tragedy and comedy; and the struggle between realism and our search for meaning.Trade Review"Geuss is a unique voice in contemporary philosophy, and this book is ideal for anyone interested in intellectual history."--David Gordon, Library Journal "In A World Without Why, Raymond Geuss brings his caustic intelligence to many of themes and figures that have occupied his career."--Alex Sager, Marx & Philosophy "In these 13 essays, well-known critical philosopher Geuss ranges over a very wide field of topics--politics, ethics, cultural formations, history, ancient literary and philosophical works, and criticism itself... [S]tudents can read some of these essays with profit, such as the discussion of when obscurity of speech might be best."--Choice "This book leaves a lasting impression. Geuss is a great writer and a very thoughtful human being who has resisted quite valiantly the conventions of his discipline and his times. This is no 'grim' outlook at all, but rather hopeful, and one can only hope that Geuss himself agrees."--Laurie M. Johnson, European LegacyTable of ContentsPreface ix 1. Goals, Origins, Disciplines 1 2. Vix intellegitur 22 3. Marxism and the Ethos of the Twentieth Century 45 4. Must Criticism Be Constructive? 68 5. The Loss of Meaning on the Left 91 6. Authority: Some Fables 112 7. A Note on Lying 135 8. Politics and Architecture 144 9. The Future of Theological Ethics 163 10. Did Williams Do Ethics? 175 11. The Wisdom of Oedipus and the Idea of a Moral Cosmos 195 12. Who Was the First Philosopher? 223 13. A World without Why 231 Notes 237 Index 257

    1 in stock

    £37.80

  • The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State

    Princeton University Press The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisTells the story behind the popular call for the establishment of the shari'a - the law of the traditional Islamic state - in the modern Muslim world. This book gives us the sweeping history of the traditional Islamic constitution - its noble beginnings, its downfall, and the renewed promise it could hold for Muslims and Westerners alike.Trade ReviewOne of Economist's Best Books for 2008 Winner of the 2008 PROSE Award in Government and Politics, Association of American Publishers "The growing clamor for a return to Shari'a law in the Muslim world has often been met with alarm by the West. But Feldman remains coolheaded, placing the movement in a historical context and suggesting that its ideal of 'a just legal system, one that administers the law fairly,' is an understandable goal in a region dominated by unchecked oligarchies."--New Yorker "In a short but masterful exposition, The Fall and Rise of The Islamic State, Noah Feldman seeks to answer a question that puzzles most Western observers: Why do so many Muslims demand the 'restoration' of a legal system that most Occidentals associate with 'medieval' punishments such as amputation for theft and stoning for sexual transgressions?"--Malise Ruthven, New York Review of Books "In a short, incisive and elegant book, [Feldman] lays out for the non-specialist reader some of the forms that Islamic rule has taken over the centuries, while also stressing the differences between today's politican Islam and previous forms of Islamic administration."--The Economist "[A] concise and thoughtful history of the evolution of the Islamic legal system from the time of the first caliphs (the successors to the prophet Muhammad) to our own...Feldman thinks that the restoration of the authority of sharia in modern Muslim-majority nations might be the only way for them to move beyond their current democracy deficits...Feldman is not so naive as to give them a free pass. Nor does he ignore the democratic deficiencies of the two nations, Iran and Saudi Arabia, that have sharia as the law of the land. While saying that principles of sharia will have to become part of the constitutional fabric of modern Islamic states, he adds that this will work only if Islamists find new institutions to give life to sharia."--Jay Tolson, U.S. News & World Report "Whether you agree or disagree with Professor Feldman about what constitutes an Islamic state, you will most likely be captivated by the author's scholarly reflections."--Abdullahi A. Gallab, Journal of Law & Religion "A thoughtful meditation on the history, ideals, and revival of sharia--the divine law governing Muslim society... It is abundantly clear that fresh models of governance in some Muslim nations will be required to build genuine consensus, afford legal justice, and guarantee peace and security... Feldman predicts success for those countries which can 'develop new institutions that would find their own original and distinctive way of giving real life to the ideals of Islamic law.' ... A persuasive and readable book on a complex topic."--Joseph Richard Preville, Christian Science Monitor "Feldman condemns the autocracies in many Muslim countries but argues that sharia is not to blame. On the contrary, he says, in the traditional Sunni constitutional order, sharia was interpreted by an independent class of scholars who served as a check on tyrrany, preventing rulers from exploiting religion to justify their political positions."--Washington Post Book World "Feldman can be an illuminating analyst ... on the subject of the marginalization of legal scholars and its consequences for the development of despotisms with an Islamic face."--Commentary "Feldman argues that legislators seeking implementation of a sharia-based rule of law can play the role of earlier scholars in taming executive autocracy... [Offers] wide-ranging discussions and nuanced reasoning."--L. Carl Brown, Foreign Affairs "[An] excellent contribution to the ongoing discussion on Islam and secular states."--Abdulkader Tayob, International Affairs "A study of the recrudescence of 'Islamist' thought, which advocates the return to a shari'a state... The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State is profound, intelligent, and free of all the hysterical pronouncements one often associates with both the defenders and antagonists of that idea."--Arnold Ages, Chicago Jewish Star "This is a fascinating book for the counselor and statesperson, and is a sequel to a former book dealing with Islam and democracy."--Imtiaz Jafar, New York Law Journal "Powerfully argued and original... [T]his book has the considerable merit of seeing inside the Islamist mentality."--Anthony Black, Political Studies Review "The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State provide[s] an accessible and engaging account of the institutional struggles and changes which befall Islamic constitutionalism from the Ottoman era to the present... [T]he book intended for both academic and non-academic audiences makes a valuable contribution to the existing literature on Islamic law and constitutionalism."--Shadi Mokhtari, Law and Politics Book Review "Feldman's book is well worth considering, as it captures much of the current discourse within Islamist movements, particularly as many grapple with the sort of political evolution outlined here."--Anthony Smith, New Zealand International Review "Perhaps no other Western writer has more deeply probed the bitter struggle in the Muslim world between the forces of religion and law and those of violence and lawlessness as Noah Feldman. His scholarship had defined the stakes in the Middle East today."--World Book IndustryTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 PART I: What Went Right? 17 PART II: Decline and Fall 57 PART III: The Rise of the New Islamic State 103 Conclusion 147 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 153 NOTES 155 INDEX 177

    2 in stock

    £12.34

  • Speech Matters  On Lying Morality and the Law

    Princeton University Press Speech Matters On Lying Morality and the Law

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisTo understand one another as individuals and to fulfill the moral duties that require such understanding, we must communicate with each other. We must also maintain protected channels that render reliable communication possible, a demand that, Seana Shiffrin argues, yields a prohibition against lying and requires protection for free speech. This boTrade Review"In her provocative, densely argued and important new book, philosopher Seana Valentine Shiffrin argues that Kant has been misinterpreted... Shiffrin's concern in the punningly titled Speech Matters is to show how telling the truth is fundamental to maintaining the cherished goal of freedom of speech."--Andrew Hadfield, Times Higher Education "Thoughtful and thought provoking."--Choice "As compelling defense of sincere communication, Shiffrin's book deserves to be read and contemplated not just by academics interested in the morality of communication, not just by lawyers concerned with the bounds of free speech, but by anyone struggling to define her duties to herself and others in a world awash in lies."--Leslie Kendrick, Harvard Law ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 CHAPTER ONE Lies and the Murderer Next Door 5 CHAPTER TWO Duress and Moral Progress 47 CHAPTER THREE A Thinker-Based Approach to Freedom of Speech 79 CHAPTER FOUR Lying and Freedom of Speech 116 CHAPTER FIVE Accommodation, Equality, and the Liar 157 CHAPTER SIX Sincerity and Institutional Values 182 Index 225

    2 in stock

    £31.50

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