Description
Book SynopsisExplores the nature of the self and its response to legal commands. This book looks first at the ubiquity of legal coercion and then discusses basic values, stressing the preeminence of individual identity and human dignity over the more traditional liberal preoccupations.
Trade Review"Scholars seeking to infuse prevailing liberal normative commitments with postmodern insights into the shifting foundations of moral belief should find the central argument interesting and provocative, and a valuable though challenging contribution to liberal theory."--Choice "Harmful Thoughts is indeed a significant contribution that many will find original, challenging, and commendable."--Metapsychology Review "Harmful Thoughts is a rich and imaginative book. It is filled with insights and fascinating arguments. Theoretically minded lawyers and political theorists will read it with profit and enjoyment."--Ethics "Harmful Thoughts is a rich and imaginative book. It is filled with insights and fascinating arguments. Theoretically minded lawyers and political theorists will read it with profit and enjoyment."--Ethics
Table of ContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE: COERCION AND COMMUNICATION 1. LAW, COMMUNITY, AND COMMUNICATION 13 2. DECISION RULES AND CONDUCT RULES: ON ACOUSTIC SEPARATION IN CRIMINAL LAW 37 3. IN DEFENSE OF DEFIANCE 94 PART TWO: BASIC VALUES 4. CONCEPTIONS OF CHOICE AND CONCEPTIONS OF AUTONOMY 125 5. DEFENDING DIGNITY 150 6. HARMFUL THOUGHTS 172 PART THREE: BOUNDARIES OF SELF 7. RESPONSIBILITY AND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE SELF 199 8. INTERPRETING OFFICIAL SPEECH 246 9. THE VALUE OF OWNERSHIP 264 INDEX 303
