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How do we decide what is "good" and what is "bad"? According to the ethical theory of Utilitarianism, to do good is to "always perform that act, of those available, that will bring the most happiness or the least unhappiness." By far the most widely read introduction to this theory, John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism is one of the most important and controversial works of moral philosophy ever written. In this major contribution to ethical history,...
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A disciple of Kant and a significant factor in shaping Nietzsche's thinking, Arthur Schopenhauer worked from the foundation that all knowledge derives from our experience of the world, but that our experience is necessarily subjective and formed by our own intellect and biases: reality, therefore, is but an extension of our own will. In this essay, translated by THOMAS BAILEY SAUNDERS (1860-1928) and first published in English in the 1890s, Schopenhauer...
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Civilization and Its Discontents is one of the last of Freud's books, written in the decade before his death and first published in German in 1929. It is, considered his most brilliant work. In it, he states his views on the broad question of man's place in the world. It seeks to answer several questions fundamental to human society and its organization: What influences led to the creation of civilization? Why and how did it come to be? What determines...
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First published in 1739 to an unenthusiastic British public, Hume's "A Treatise of Human Nature" has since been referred to as one of the most significant books in the history of philosophy. Hume, a Scottish philosopher, claimed that he was attempting to discuss moral issues with a methodical reasoning, and proceeded to do so in this foundational text. Divided into three large sections, Hume begins his work with a discussion of human understanding,...
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2014
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Raymond Geuss is professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Cambridge. His books include Politics and the Imagination and Philosophy and Real Politics (both Princeton).
Why the human and natural world is not as intelligible to us as we think it is
Wishful thinking is a deeply ingrained human trait that has had a long-term distorting effect on ethical thinking. Many influential ethical views depend on the optimistic assumption that, despite...
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Essayist, poet and philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) propounded a transcendental idealism emphasizing self-reliance, self-culture and individual expression. The six essays and one address included in this volume, selected from Essays, First Series (1841) and Essays, Second Series (1844), offer a representative sampling of his views outlining that moral idealism as well as a hint of the later scepticism that colored his thought. In addition...
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Born in the late 5th century AD, Boethius was a Roman statesman and philosopher who would come into the service of the Ostrogothic ruler of Italy, Theodoric the Great. Ultimately, he would rise to the position of magister officiorum, the head of all the government and court services. In 523 A.D., he would find himself accused of treasonous correspondence with Justin I, a charge that would land him in prison and ultimately lead to his execution. During...
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The essential collection of writings by one of the most visionary and daring philosophers of our time Since bursting sensationally into the public consciousness in 1975 with his groundbreaking work Animal Liberation, Peter Singer has remained one of the most provocative ethicists of the modern age. His reputation, built largely on isolated incendiary quotations and outrage-of-the-moment news coverage, has preceded him ever since. Aiming to present...
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This classic exploration of the intellectual life has fully retained its unique value since initial publication in 1904, and is a valuable addition to any discerning reader's collection. No subsequent work fully compares to this rare mixture of personal insight, ethics, taste, psychology, and common sense. Philip Gilbert Hamerton bestowed upon it his long experience as a writer and artist, his enviable breadth of knowledge, and his elegance of literary...
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'The sight of suffering does one good, the infliction of suffering does one more good - this is a hard maxim, but none the less a fundamental maxim, old, powerful, and "human, all-too-human".'
In this daring and insightful work, Nietzsche lays bare the hypocrisies at the foundations of our ideas of morality. Considering ideas of good and evil, guilt and conscience, and law and violence along the way, On the Genealogy of Morals takes the reader on...
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Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) was one of the leading intellectual historians of the twentieth century and the founding president of Wolfson College, University of Oxford. His many books include The Hedgehog and the Fox, The Crooked Timber of Humanity, The Roots of Romanticism, and Against the Current (all Princeton). Henry Hardy, a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, is one of Isaiah Berlin's literary trustees. He has edited several other volumes by Berlin,...
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"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year" Brian O'Connor is professor of philosophy at University College Dublin. He is the author of Adorno and Adorno's Negative Dialectic.
The first book to challenge modern philosophy's case against idleness, revealing why the idle state is one of true freedom
For millennia, idleness and laziness have been regarded as vices. We're all expected to work to survive and get ahead, and devoting energy to anything...
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This book includes several short essays, which debate the upshots of human survival. As an immigrant, I have been in the trenches. I left my home many years ago. During that time, I found myself in situations, which made me questioned the purpose of my existence. After more than two decades of wandering in futility on foreign lands, I am a bit cynical about my prospects. This book assesses the ontology of human survival by referring to real world...
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Como ciudadano del siglo XVII, en Hobbes encontramos una fuerte dualidad y enfrentamiento entre las pasiones y la razón: los seres humanos son animales que, si bien poseen un potente aparato intelectual que les permite convivir gracias al despliegue de un sistema político, se hallan sin embargo sometidos a los avatares del mundo físico. La sociedad es una consecuencia no natural de nuestra evolución: los Estados responden a una creación racional...
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La herramienta ideal para que familias y educadores desarrollen la inteligencia filosófica de los niños
Los niños tienen una extraordinaria capacidad de asombro y una curiosidad prácticamente ilimitada, dos cualidades que los convierten en pequeños grandes filósofos. El niño filósofo es una herramienta clave, tanto en casa como en la escuela, para potenciar esta inteligencia filosófica que les permitirá desenvolverse como ciudadanos activos...
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Is justice best understood as flowing from a social contract, or is there something else going on? How can we explain the many divergent notions of justice throughout history? Is it even possible to give a separate account of justice (as opposed to, say, social convention or morality)?
These are some of the questions considered in A New Theory of Justice. But there are other essays in here, other questions, and other (tentative) answers. Is it possible...
18) On Happiness
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"The body cries out to not be hungry, not be thirsty, not be cold. Anyone who has these things, and who is confident of continuing to have them, can rival the gods for happiness."
This collection features the surviving works of Epicurus, whose insightful discourses range over a vast array of subjects, from family and religion to morality and metaphysics. Behind every discussion lies one guiding principle: the desire to understand how humans can achieve...
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Life goes on quickly in the 21st century. It seems like the majority is living life on autopilot mode. There has been an incredible development in this century. However, I feel no one has stopped to contemplate if their actions are necessary. This is a problem that I have struggled with a lot in my life. One can only contemplate their actions if they are mindful of their existence and accept the void in their life. All these questions and disappointments...
20) What Does It Mean to Be Human?: Reverence for Life Reaffirmed by Responses from Around the World
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In an inspirational act of faith and hope, nearly one hundred contributors-social activists, thinkers, artists and spiritual leaders-reflect with poignant candor on our shared human condition and attempt to define a core set of human values in our rapidly changing society.
Contributors include:
* The Dalai Lama
* Wilma Mankiller
* Oscar Arias
* Jimmy Carter
* Cornel West
* Jack Miles
* Mother Teresa
* Nancy Willard
* Elie Wiesel
* James Earl Jones
*...
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