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Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics
by Simon BlackburnIt is not only in our dark hours that scepticism, relativism, hypocrisy, and nihilism dog ethics. Whether it is a matter of giving to charity, or sticking to duty, or insisting on our rights, we can be confused, or be paralysed by the fear that our principles are groundless. Many are afraid that in a Godless world science has unmasked us as creatures fated by our genes to be selfish and tribalistic, or competitive and aggressive. Simon Blackburn, author of the best-selling Think, structures this short introduction around these and other threats to ethics. Confronting seven different objections to our self-image as moral, well-behaved creatures, he charts a course through the philosophical quicksands that often engulf us. Then, turning to problems of life and death, he shows how we should think about the meaning of life, and how we should mistrust the sound-bite sized absolutes that often dominate moral debates. Finally he offers a critical tour of the ways the philosophical tradition has tried to provide foundations for ethics, from Plato and Aristotle through to contemporary debates.
Being Good and Being Logical: Philosophical Groundwork for a New Deontic Logic
by James W. ForresterThis work represents an attempt to show that standard systems of deontic logic (taken as attempts to codify normal deontic reasoning) run into a number of difficulties. It also presents a new system of deontic logic and argues that it is free from the shortcomings of standard systems.
Being Good and Being Logical: Philosophical Groundwork for a New Deontic Logic
by James W. ForresterThis work represents an attempt to show that standard systems of deontic logic (taken as attempts to codify normal deontic reasoning) run into a number of difficulties. It also presents a new system of deontic logic and argues that it is free from the shortcomings of standard systems.
Being Good in a World of Need (Uehiro Series in Practical Ethics)
by Larry S. TemkinIn a world filled with both enormous wealth and pockets of great devastation, how should the well-off respond to the world's needy? This is the urgent central question of Being Good in a World of Need. Larry S. Temkin, one of the world's foremost ethicists, challenges common assumptions about philanthropy, his own prior beliefs, and the dominant philosophical positions of Peter Singer and Effective Altruism. Filled with keen analysis and insightful discussions of philosophy, current events, development economics, history, literature, and age-old wisdom, this book is a thorough and sobering exploration of the complicated ways that global aid may incentivize disastrous policies, reward corruption, and foster “brain drains” that hinder social and economic development. Using real-world examples and illuminating thought experiments, Temkin discusses ethical imperialism, humanitarian versus developmental aid, how charities ignore or coverup negative impacts, replicability and scaling-up problems, and the views of the renowned economists Angus Deaton and Jeffrey Sachs, all within the context of deeper philosophical issues of fairness, responsibility, and individual versus collective morality. At times both inspiring and profoundly disturbing, he presents the powerful argument that neglecting the needy is morally impermissible, even as he illustrates that the path towards helping others is often fraught with complex ethical and practical perils. Steeped in empathy, morality, pathos, and humanity, this is an engaging and eye-opening text for any reader who shares an intense concern for helping others in need.
Being Good in a World of Need (Uehiro Series in Practical Ethics)
by Larry S. TemkinIn a world filled with both enormous wealth and pockets of great devastation, how should the well-off respond to the world's needy? This is the urgent central question of Being Good in a World of Need. Larry S. Temkin, one of the world's foremost ethicists, challenges common assumptions about philanthropy, his own prior beliefs, and the dominant philosophical positions of Peter Singer and Effective Altruism. Filled with keen analysis and insightful discussions of philosophy, current events, development economics, history, literature, and age-old wisdom, this book is a thorough and sobering exploration of the complicated ways that global aid may incentivize disastrous policies, reward corruption, and foster “brain drains” that hinder social and economic development. Using real-world examples and illuminating thought experiments, Temkin discusses ethical imperialism, humanitarian versus developmental aid, how charities ignore or coverup negative impacts, replicability and scaling-up problems, and the views of the renowned economists Angus Deaton and Jeffrey Sachs, all within the context of deeper philosophical issues of fairness, responsibility, and individual versus collective morality. At times both inspiring and profoundly disturbing, he presents the powerful argument that neglecting the needy is morally impermissible, even as he illustrates that the path towards helping others is often fraught with complex ethical and practical perils. Steeped in empathy, morality, pathos, and humanity, this is an engaging and eye-opening text for any reader who shares an intense concern for helping others in need.
Being Gorgeous: Feminism, Sexuality and the Pleasures of the Visual (International Library of Cultural Studies)
by Jacki WillsonBeing Gorgeous explores the ways in which extravagance, flamboyance and dressing up can open up possibilities for women to play around anarchically with familiar stereotypical tropes of femininity. This is protest through play – a pleasurable misbehaviour that reflects a feminism for the twenty-first century. Jacki Willson discusses how, whether through pastiche, parody, or pure pleasure, artists, artistes and indeed the spectators themselves can operate in excess of the restrictive images which saturate our visual culture. By referring to a wide spectrum of examples, including Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, Matthew Barney, Dr Sketchy's, Audacity Chutzpah, Burly Q and Carnesky's Ghost Train, Being Gorgeous demonstrates how contemporary female performers embody, critique and thoroughly relish their own representation by inappropriately re-appropriating femininity.
Being Gorgeous: Feminism, Sexuality and the Pleasures of the Visual
by Jacki WillsonBeing Gorgeous explores the ways in which extravagance, flamboyance and dressing up can open up possibilities for women to play around anarchically with familiar stereotypical tropes of femininity. This is protest through play - a pleasurable misbehaviour that reflects a feminism for the twenty first century. Willson discusses how, whether through pastiche, parody, or pure pleasure, artists, artistes and indeed the spectators themselves can operate in excess of the restrictive images which saturate our visual culture. By referring to a wide spectrum of examples, including Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, Matthew Barney, Dr Sketchy's, Audacity Chutzpah, Burly Q and Carnesky's Ghost Train, Being Gorgeous demonstrates how contemporary female performers embody, critique and thoroughly relish their own representation by inappropriately re-appropriating femininity.
Being Guilty: Freedom, Responsibility, and Conscience in German Philosophy from Kant to Heidegger
by Guy ElgatWhat can guilt, the painful sting of the bad conscience, tell us about who we are as human beings? How can it be explained or justified? Being Guilty seeks to answer these questions through an examination of the views of Kant, Schelling, Schopenhauer, Paul Rée, Nietzsche, and Heidegger on guilt, freedom, responsibility, and conscience. The concept of guilt has not received sufficient attention from scholars working in the history of German philosophy. What's more, even individual thinkers whose conceptions of guilt have been researched have not been studied fully within their historical contexts. Guy Elgat redresses both these scholarly lacunae to show how these philosophers' arguments can be more deeply grasped once read in their historical context, a history that should be read as proceeding dialectically. Thus, in Kant, Schelling, and Schopenhauer, we find variations on the idea that guilt for specific actions we perform is justified because the human agent is guilty in his very being--a guilt for which he is responsible. In contrast, in Rée and Nietzsche, these ideas are rejected and guilt is seen as rarely justified but rather explainable through human psychology. Finally, in Heidegger, we find a near synthesis of the views of the previous philosophers, as he argues we are guilty in our very being yet are not responsible for this guilt. In the process of unfolding the trajectory of these evolving conceptions of guilt, the philosophers' views on these and many other issues are explored in depth, and through them Elgat articulates an entirely new approach to guilt.
Being Guilty: Freedom, Responsibility, and Conscience in German Philosophy from Kant to Heidegger
by Guy ElgatWhat can guilt, the painful sting of the bad conscience, tell us about who we are as human beings? How can it be explained or justified? Being Guilty seeks to answer these questions through an examination of the views of Kant, Schelling, Schopenhauer, Paul Rée, Nietzsche, and Heidegger on guilt, freedom, responsibility, and conscience. The concept of guilt has not received sufficient attention from scholars working in the history of German philosophy. What's more, even individual thinkers whose conceptions of guilt have been researched have not been studied fully within their historical contexts. Guy Elgat redresses both these scholarly lacunae to show how these philosophers' arguments can be more deeply grasped once read in their historical context, a history that should be read as proceeding dialectically. Thus, in Kant, Schelling, and Schopenhauer, we find variations on the idea that guilt for specific actions we perform is justified because the human agent is guilty in his very being--a guilt for which he is responsible. In contrast, in Rée and Nietzsche, these ideas are rejected and guilt is seen as rarely justified but rather explainable through human psychology. Finally, in Heidegger, we find a near synthesis of the views of the previous philosophers, as he argues we are guilty in our very being yet are not responsible for this guilt. In the process of unfolding the trajectory of these evolving conceptions of guilt, the philosophers' views on these and many other issues are explored in depth, and through them Elgat articulates an entirely new approach to guilt.
Being Happy (Penguin Great Ideas)
by n/a Epicurus'It is impossible to live the pleasant life without also living sensibly, nobly and justly'The ancient Greek philosopher and teacher Epicurus argued that pleasure - not sensual hedonism, but the absence of pain or fear - is the highest goal of life. His hugely influential lessons on happiness are a call to appreciate the joy of being alive.One of twenty new books in the bestselling Penguin Great Ideas series. This new selection showcases a diverse list of thinkers who have helped shape our world today, from anarchists to stoics, feminists to prophets, satirists to Zen Buddhists.
Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond
by Henry WinklerHenry Winkler, launched into prominence by his role as 'The Fonz' in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is.Brilliant, funny, and widely-regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it’s simply not the case, he’s really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you.Since the glorious era of Happy Days fame, Henry has endeared himself to a new generation with roles in such adored shows as Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, and Barry, where he’s revealed himself as an actor with immense depth and pathos, a departure from the period of his life when he was so distinctly typecast as 'The Fonz', he could hardly find work.Filled with profound heart, charm, and self-deprecating humor, Being Henry is a memoir about so much more than a life in Hollywood and the curse of stardom. It is a meaningful testament to the power of sharing truth and kindness and of finding fulfillment within yourself.
Being-Here: Placemaking in a World of Movement (EASA Series #35)
by Annika LemsExploring the lifeworlds of Halima, Omar and Mohamed, three middle-aged Somalis living in Melbourne, Australia, the author discusses the interrelated meanings of emplacement and displacement as experienced in people’s everyday lives. Through their experiences of displacement and placemaking, Being-Here examines the figure of the refugee as a metaphor for societal alienation and estrangement, and moves anthropological theory towards a new understanding of the crucial existential links between Sein (Being) and Da (Here).
Being Heumann: The Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
by Judith Heumann Kristen JoinerA story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn't built for all of us and of one woman's activism--from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington--Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann's lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy Heumann began her struggle for equality early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a "fire hazard" to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license, to leading the section 504 sit-in that led to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Judy's actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people around the globe.Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann's memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.
Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir Of A Disability Rights Activist (PDF)
by Kristen Joiner Judith HeumannFrom fighting for educational access as a young person, to laying the foundation of the Americans with Disabilities Act as an activist, to ultimately working in Washington to establish disability rights as human rights, Judy's story will inspire readers to continue to fight for an accessible world for all. Paralyzed from polio and raised by her Holocaust surviving parents, Judy Heumann's fight for equal access began early in life. She fought her high school, who initially denied her a diploma because of her inability to participate in gym; she fought her college who described her as "a fire hazard;" and she filed a lawsuit against the New York City school system, who denied her a teacher's license because of her paralysis, which she won. As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare in San Francisco to demand protection for disabled peoples' rights, and organized what would be the longest takeover of a federal building in U.S. history. Judy's story is a powerful reminder of the hard-fought battle to lay the groundwork for disability rights: the right to receive an education, have a job, ensure mobility access, and to just be human. Her memoir is a call to action for us to continue to fight for equal rights for all.
Being Human: How to become the person you were meant to be
by Steve Chalke'Your life is precious - a precious gift. It is sacred; every moment of it. The opportunity to live rather than sleepwalk through our days belongs to us. This book is a call to wake up. It is a call to each one of us; to wake up, to live before we die.'It's easy to sleepwalk through life without ever really considering what we're here for. But life presents us with continual opportunities to wake up - and to think about not just what we do with our lives, but who we become while living them. Ultimately it is the story that we believe about ourselves, our lives and the world around us that will shape us - for better or for worse. So where do we find a good story - a convincing narrative that makes sense of it all?Steve Chalke suggests that Jesus' good news about the kingdom of God - a practical, lived-out expression of God's plans for the world - is the best story for us to find ourselves in. Each one of us is called to be part of the drama of the coming kingdom, and it's in this that we find a practical spirituality that helps shape our lives into everything we were meant to be.
Being Human: How our biology shaped world history
by Lewis Dartnell'Illuminating' TIM MARSHALL'Refreshing' THOMAS HALLIDAYA mind-expanding, revolutionary journey across time that shows how our biology has determined human history for the first time. This book will change how you see the world.We’re a wonder of evolution, capable of incredible feats. But we’re also deeply flawed. Our bodies and minds often break, fail, and hinder us. To be human is to live with this extraordinary contradiction. So, to understand the course humanity has taken – from prehistoric times through the age of empire and into the modern era – we must understand who, and what, we are.Being Human is history made flesh. From the epidemic that brought Europe’s peasants freedom, to the health deficiency which gave rise to the world’s largest criminal organisation, to the cognitive biases that led to military catastrophes in Crimea and Iraq, we see how our unique nature shaped our relationships, economies and societies – and, importantly, how it continues to impact human progress today.'This book is quite literally wonderful' ED CONWAY'A wild ride' TIM HARFORD'A gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller' JO MARCHANT
Being Human: A new lens for our cultural conversations
by Jo Frost Peter Lynas'Being Human masterfully reorientates us towards the only story that ultimately makes sense of who we are ... A remarkably timely book' Justin Brierley'Practical, prayerful and ambitious. A Gospel-infused, wide-angle lens on contemporary society.'Jill Duff, Anglican Bishop of Lancaster'A valuable toolkit for church leaders, to help them build confidence in their members, to share the story of Jesus and his kingdom.'Les Isaac OBE, President, Ascension Trust'A great book about one of the most important but confusing questions of our time.'Professor Iain Provan, author of Cuckoos in our Nest: Truth and Lies about Being HumanWho am I? Does my life matter? What will make me happy?In different ways and at different moments we all ask life's big questions about what it means to be human. But in our fast-paced, rapidly changing and often exhausting society, our cultural stories struggle to provide us with good answers. Whether on issues of gender identity or AI, climate change or racial injustice, our individual solutions to life's big challenges can often end in deep division and broken relationships. But there is another way. Being Human offers a new lens - a new way to engage with our cultural conversations using four key aspects of humanity: significance, connection, presence and participation. Digging into the foundations of our cultural stories, authors Jo Frost and Peter Lynas expose the cracks in our culture's understanding of what it means to be human. By contrasting our cultural narratives with the story of the Bible, we can see how cultural truths have been fractured and isolated from the fullness and richness of who God is and who God created us to be, and come to recognise that only in Jesus can we live truly fully human lives. Being Human is a refreshingly clear and engaging guide for everyone who wants to live out and share the good, true and beautiful biblical vision of what it is to be human. Peter and Jo co-lead the Being Human project, an initiative from the Evangelical Alliance, helping everyday Christians live out and share the biblical vision of what it means to be human.
Being Human: Psychological and Philosophical Perspectives
by Richard GrossRichard Gross turns his expert eye to the psychology of human nature in a contemplative account encompassing cognition, consciousness, language, time perception, sense of mortality and human society. This book will help you to consider the unique aspects of being human and to understand the biological underpinnings for the intriguing and distinct behaviours and experiences common to human beings.The book is enhanced throughout by: - its logical arrangement of topics, with key questions, issues for additional focus and reflection points highlighted throughout- useful chapter introductions and summaries to provide clarity and insight- diagrams to help explain difficult concepts- detailed selection of references and useful sources including works from the fields of psychology, philosophy, religion and literatureThis book is essential reading for students of psychology and related disciplines as well as general readers seeking insights into one of the most enduring questions to have faced humankind throughout history.
Being Human: Psychological and Philosophical Perspectives
by Richard GrossRichard Gross turns his expert eye to the psychology of human nature in a contemplative account encompassing cognition, consciousness, language, time perception, sense of mortality and human society. This book will help you to consider the unique aspects of being human and to understand the biological underpinnings for the intriguing and distinct behaviours and experiences common to human beings.The book is enhanced throughout by: - its logical arrangement of topics, with key questions, issues for additional focus and reflection points highlighted throughout- useful chapter introductions and summaries to provide clarity and insight- diagrams to help explain difficult concepts- detailed selection of references and useful sources including works from the fields of psychology, philosophy, religion and literatureThis book is essential reading for students of psychology and related disciplines as well as general readers seeking insights into one of the most enduring questions to have faced humankind throughout history.
Being Human: Psychological Perspectives on Human Nature
by Richard GrossWhile there may be no one single characteristic that differentiates humans as a species, it is the combination of differences from other species that makes us unique. The new edition of Being Human examines the psychology of being human through exploring different psychological traditions alongside philosophy and evolutionary theory, covering themes such as culture, cognition, language, morality, and society. Our nature – or ‘essence’ – is something that has preoccupied human beings throughout our history, beginning with philosophy and religion, and continuing through the biological, social, and psychological sciences. Being Human begins by describing some of the major philosophical accounts of human nature, from Ancient Greek philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, to major British and Continental philosophers, such as Locke and Nietzsche. The book considers religious accounts of human nature, with their focus on the nature of good and evil, and scientific accounts of genetics and the brain, which underpin the distinctively human cognitive ability of language. Attention then turns to the ideas of the behaviourists, such as Skinner, Freud, and other psychodynamic psychologists, and humanistic-phenomenological psychologists, such as Maslow. Finally, human culture is discussed as the ultimate defining characteristic of human beings: culture represents our ‘natural habitat’ and what defines us as a species. This updated second edition includes increased coverage of social psychology and has a broader scope, in order to identify the defining characteristics of human beings. With reference to current psychological research and philosophical material, this is fascinating reading for students of psychology, philosophy, and the social sciences.
Being Human: Psychological Perspectives on Human Nature
by Richard GrossWhile there may be no one single characteristic that differentiates humans as a species, it is the combination of differences from other species that makes us unique. The new edition of Being Human examines the psychology of being human through exploring different psychological traditions alongside philosophy and evolutionary theory, covering themes such as culture, cognition, language, morality, and society. Our nature – or ‘essence’ – is something that has preoccupied human beings throughout our history, beginning with philosophy and religion, and continuing through the biological, social, and psychological sciences. Being Human begins by describing some of the major philosophical accounts of human nature, from Ancient Greek philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, to major British and Continental philosophers, such as Locke and Nietzsche. The book considers religious accounts of human nature, with their focus on the nature of good and evil, and scientific accounts of genetics and the brain, which underpin the distinctively human cognitive ability of language. Attention then turns to the ideas of the behaviourists, such as Skinner, Freud, and other psychodynamic psychologists, and humanistic-phenomenological psychologists, such as Maslow. Finally, human culture is discussed as the ultimate defining characteristic of human beings: culture represents our ‘natural habitat’ and what defines us as a species. This updated second edition includes increased coverage of social psychology and has a broader scope, in order to identify the defining characteristics of human beings. With reference to current psychological research and philosophical material, this is fascinating reading for students of psychology, philosophy, and the social sciences.
Being Human, Being Migrant: Senses of Self and Well-Being (EASA Series #23)
by Anne Sigfrid GrønsethMigrant experiences accentuate general aspects of the human condition. Therefore, this volume explores migrant’s movements not only as geographical movements from here to there but also as movements that constitute an embodied, cognitive, and existential experience of living “in between” or on the “borderlands” between differently figured life-worlds. Focusing on memories, nostalgia, the here-and-now social experiences of daily living, and the hopes and dreams for the future, the volume demonstrates how all interact in migrants’ and refugees’ experience of identity and quest for well-being.
Being Human During COVID-19
by Paul Martin Stevienna De SailleCutting across disciplines from science and technology studies to the arts and humanities, this thought-provoking collection engages with key issues of social exclusion, inequality, power and knowledge in the context of COVID-19. The authors use the crisis as a lens to explore the contours of contemporary societies and lay bare the ways in which orthodox conceptions of the human condition can benefit a privileged few. Highlighting the lived experiences of marginalized groups from around the world, this is a boundary-spanning critical intervention to ongoing debates about the pandemic. It presents new ways of thinking in public policy, culture and the economy, and points the way forward to a more equitable and inclusive human future.
Being Human During COVID-19
by Paul Martin, Stevienna de Saille, Kirsty Liddiard and Warren PearceCutting across disciplines from science and technology studies to the arts and humanities, this thought-provoking collection engages with key issues of social exclusion, inequality, power and knowledge in the context of COVID-19. The authors use the crisis as a lens to explore the contours of contemporary societies and lay bare the ways in which orthodox conceptions of the human condition can benefit a privileged few. Highlighting the lived experiences of marginalized groups from around the world, this is a boundary-spanning critical intervention to ongoing debates about the pandemic. It presents new ways of thinking in public policy, culture and the economy, and points the way forward to a more equitable and inclusive human future.
Being Human in a Consumer Society (Classical and Contemporary Social Theory)
by Alejandro Néstor MartínezThis book offers a new perspective on sociological studies of the consumer society, introducing neglected normative questions relating to the good life and human flourishing - subjects more commonly discussed in fields of moral, political, and social philosophy. With attention to a wide range of subjects, including postemotional law and responsibility, dehumanised consumption and prosumerism, fashion, embodiment, conspicuous consumption, and sustainability, this book analyzes the structural and cultural transformations that can be identified in consumer society. It also offers a critical - but not pessimistic - view of the important question of whether consumption is leading to an increasing isolation, individualization or commodification of human beings, suggesting an analytical framework for understanding consumer culture and human praxis. Bringing together work from across disciplines by scholars in the US, Europe, and the UK to engage with questions concerning our globalized and globalizing world, where consumerism is a keystone for understanding our contemporary culture and its social structures, Being Human in a Consumer Society will appeal to scholars and students of sociology, social theory, and contemporary philosophy.