Search results for ""Author Lars Svendsen""

Surveillance cameras. Airport security lines. Barred shop windows. We see manifestations of societal fears every day, and daily news reports on the latest household danger or raised terror threat level continually stoke our sense of impending doom. In "A Philosophy of Fear", Lars Svendsen explores the underlying ideas and issues behind this powerful emotion, as he investigates how and why fear has insinuated itself into every aspect of modern life. Svendsen delves into science, politics, sociology and literature to explore the nature of fear. He discusses the biology behind the emotion, from the neuroscience underlying our fight or flight' instinct to how fear induces us to take irrational actions in our attempts to minimize risk. The book then turns to the political and social realms, investigating the role of fear in the philosophies of Machiavelli and Hobbes, the rise of the modern risk society, and how fear has eroded social trust. The political use of fear in the ongoing War on Terror also comes under Svendsen's probing gaze, as he investigates whether we can ever disentangle ourselves from the continual state of alarm that defines our age. Svendsen ultimately argues for the possibility of a brighter, less fearful future that is marked by a triumph of humanist optimism. An incisive and thought-provoking meditation, "A Philosophy of Fear" pulls back the curtain that shrouds dangers both imagined and real, forcing us to confront our fears and why we hold to them.

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This book is a comprehensive investigation of lying in everyday life. What exactly is a lie, and how does lying differ from related phenomena such as ‘bullshit’ or being truthful? Lars Svendsen also investigates the ethics of lying – why is lying almost always morally wrong, and why is lying to one’s friends especially bad? The book concludes by looking at lying in politics, from Plato’s theory of the ‘noble lie’ to Donald Trump. Svendsen’s conclusion is that, even though we all occasionally lie, we are for the most part trustworthy. Trusting others makes you vulnerable, and you will be duped from time to time, but that is – all things considered – preferable to living in a constant state of distrust.

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Loneliness is a difficult subject to address, because it has such negative connotations. But the truth is that wherever there are people, there is loneliness: everyone is lonely at some point in their lives. You can belonely in a crowd or at home, outdoors or in an empty church, and countless songs have been written about the condition. For many people, loneliness can significantly impact their quality of life and their physical and mental health. At the same time, our best moments can come when we are alone, and this can tell us something important about our place in the world. But what exactly is loneliness? Who does it affect? Why does it occur, linger and disappear? Lars Svendsen investigates both the positive and the negative sides of loneliness in this thoughtful new book. Drawing on the latest research in the fields of philosophy, psychology and the social sciences, A Philosophy of Loneliness explores the different kinds of loneliness, the philosophy of emotions, why some people are lonelier than others, and the psychological and social characteristics that dispose people to loneliness. Svendsen looks at the role of friendship and love in our lives and argues that our main problem is not that there is too much loneliness in modern societies, but rather that there is too little solitude. This hugely important book is essential reading for all those who want to know more about this complex and profound state of being.

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A profound, philosophical exploration of the nature of hope.

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Despite the overuse of the word in movies, political speeches, and news reports, “evil” is generally seen as either flagrant rhetoric or else an outdated concept: a medieval holdover with no bearing on our complex everyday reality. In A Philosophy of Evil, however, acclaimed philosopher Lars Svendsen argues that evil remains a concrete moral problem: that we’re all its victims, and all guilty of committing evil acts.”It’s normal to be evil,” he writes—the problem is, we’ve lost the vocabulary to talk about it.Taking up this problem—how do we speak about evil?—A Philosophy of Evil treats evil as an ordinary aspect of contemporary life, with implications that are moral, practical, and above all, political. Because, as Svendsen says, “Evil should neither be justified nor explained away—evil must be fought.”

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