Download or read book Utilitarianism A Guide for the Perplexed written by Krister Bykvist and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2009-12-17 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Utilitarianism is the ethical theory advanced by Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill, and Henry Sidgwick and has contributed significantly to contemporary moral and political philosophy. Yet it is not without controversy and is a subject that students can often find particularly perplexing. Utilitarianism: A Guide for the Perplexed offers a concise, yet fully comprehensive introduction to utilitarianism, its historical roots, key themes, and current debates. Krister Bykvist provides a survey of the modern debate about utilitarianism and goes on to evaluate utilitarianism in comparison with other theories, in particular virtue ethics and Kantianism. Bykvist offers a critical examination of utilitarianism, distinguishing problems that are unique to utilitarianism from those that are shared by other moral theories. Focusing on the problems unique to utilitarianism, the book provides a well-balanced assessment of where the theory goes astray and is in need of revision. Geared towards the specific requirements of students who need to reach a sound understanding of utilitarianism, this book serves as an ideal companion to study of this influential and challenging of philosophical concepts.
Download or read book GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED written by E. F. Schumacher and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 1978-05-31 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of the world wide best-seller, Small Is Beautiful, now tackles the subject of Man, the World, and the Meaning of Living. Schumacher writes about man's relation to the world. man has obligations -- to other men, to the earth, to progress and technology, but most importantly himself. If man can fulfill these obligations, then and only then can he enjoy a real relationship with the world, then and only then can he know the meaning of living. Schumacher says we need maps: a "map of knowledge" and a "map of living." The concern of the mapmaker--in this instance, Schumacher--is to find for everything it's proper place. Things out of place tend to get lost; they become invisible and there proper places end to be filled by other things that ought not be there at all and therefore serve to mislead. A Guide for the Perplexed teaches us to be our own map makers. This constantly surprising, always stimulating book will be welcomed by a large audience, including the many new fans who believe strongly in what Schumacher has to say.
Download or read book Bentham A Guide for the Perplexed written by Philip Schofield and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2009-04-15 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bentham: A Guide for the Perplexed presents a clear account of his life and thought, and highlights his relevance to contemporary debates in philosophy, politics, and law. Key concepts and themes, including Bentham's theory of logic and language, his utilitarianism, his legal theory, his panopticon prison, and his democratic politics-together with his views on religion, sex, and torture-are lucidly explored. The book also contains an illuminating discussion of the nature of the text from the perspective of an experienced textual editor.
Download or read book Utilitarianism written by J. J. C. Smart and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1973-01-01 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two essays on utilitarianism, written from opposite points of view, by J. J. C. Smart and Bernard Williams. In the first part of the book Professor Smart advocates a modern and sophisticated version of classical utilitarianism; he tries to formulate a consistent and persuasive elaboration of the doctrine that the rightness and wrongness of actions is determined solely by their consequences, and in particular their consequences for the sum total of human happiness. In Part II Bernard Williams offers a sustained and vigorous critique of utilitarian assumptions, arguments and ideals. He finds inadequate the theory of action implied by utilitarianism, and he argues that utilitarianism fails to engage at a serious level with the real problems of moral and political philosophy, and fails to make sense of notions such as integrity, or even human happiness itself. This book should be of interest to welfare economists, political scientists and decision-theorists.
Download or read book Kant A Guide for the Perplexed written by TK Seung and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2007-05-10 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to fathom, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material. Immanuel Kant's influence and importance are difficult to exaggerate, his Three Critiques - of Pure Reason, of Practical Reason and of Judgment - standing as landmark works in the Western philosophical canon. Anyone interested in or studying philosophy will encounter Kant and hope to reach a detailed understanding of his work. Nevertheless, Kant is far from being an easy or straightforward subject for study. The ideas entailed in his work - and the connections between them - are complex, and the language in which they are expressed is frequently opaque. Kant: A Guide for the Perplexed is the ideal text for anyone finding it difficult to make headway with this key philosopher. It offers a detailed account of each of the three Critiques and the relationship between them. In so doing, it ranges over Kant's epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics and philosophy of religion, and explores his legacy for German Idealism. Valuably, the book provides a way through Kant's often impenetrable prose. Written with students in mind, and tailored to meet their specific needs, this is a reliable, authoritative and illuminating guide to one of the central pillars of modern philosophy.
Download or read book Aristotle A Guide for the Perplexed written by John Vella and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2008-03-15 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than a millennium, Aristotle was regarded as the foremost authority in the western world in nearly every subject. His corpus spans a daunting array of subjects and he made significant contributions to every known field of inquiry in the ancient world. In Aristotle: A Guide for the Perplexed, John Vella explores the historical, philosophical and political context in which aristotle's theories evolved. The book offers a clear and thorough account of the work and thought of this key thinker, providing an outline of his central ideas and the ways in which they have influenced the history of western philosophy. Thematically structured, the book considers all Aristotle's key works and is geared towards the specific requirements of students who need to reach a sound understanding of his theories and ideas.
Download or read book The Historical Critical Method A Guide for the Perplexed written by David R. Law and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2012-04-19 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to one of the core methods of approaching biblical texts.
Download or read book Thinking Through Utilitarianism written by Andrew T. Forcehimes and published by Hackett Publishing. This book was released on 2019-11-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thinking Through Utilitarianism: A Guide to Contemporary Arguments offers something new among texts elucidating the ethical theory known as Utilitarianism. Intended primarily for students ready to dig deeper into moral philosophy, it examines, in a dialectical and reader-friendly manner, a set of normative principles and a set of evaluative principles leading to what is perhaps the most defensible version of Utilitarianism. With the aim of laying its weaknesses bare, each principle is serially introduced, challenged, and then defended. The result is a battery of stress tests that shows with great clarity not only what is attractive about the theory, but also where its problems lie. It will fascinate any student ready for a serious investigation into what we ought to do and what is of value.
Download or read book The Methods of Ethics written by Henry Sidgwick and published by Gale and the British Library. This book was released on 1874 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Western Esotericism A Guide for the Perplexed written by Wouter J. Hanegraaff and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-02-14 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western esotericism has been a pervasive presence in Western culture from late antiquity to the present day, but until recently it was largely ignored by scholars and surrounded by misconceptions and prejudice. This accessible guide provides readers with the basic knowledge and tools that will allow them to find their way in this bewildering but fascinating field. What is it that unites phenomena as diverse as ancient gnosticism and hermetism, the "occult sciences" of astrology, alchemy, and magic, rosicrucianism, as well as Christian theosophy, occultism, spiritualism, and the contemporary New Age spiritualities? What can the study of them teach us about our common cultural and intellectual heritage, and what is it that makes them relevant to contemporary concerns? How do we distinguish reliable historical knowledge from legends and fictions about esoteric traditions? These and many other questions are answered clearly and succinctly, so that the reader can find his way into the labyrinth of Western esotericism and out of it again.
Download or read book Quantum written by Jim Al-Khalili and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2012-10-25 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Schrodinger's cat to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, this book untangles the weirdness of the quantum world. Quantum mechanics underpins modern science and provides us with a blueprint for reality itself. And yet it has been said that if you're not shocked by it, you don't understand it. But is quantum physics really so unknowable? Is reality really so strange? And just how can cats be half-alive and half-dead at the same time? Our journey into the quantum begins with nature's own conjuring trick, in which we discover that atoms -- contrary to the rules of everyday experience -- can exist in two locations at once. To understand this we travel back to the dawn of the twentieth century and witness the birth of quantum theory, which over the next one hundred years was to overthrow so many of our deeply held notions about the nature of our universe. Scientists and philosophers have been left grappling with its implications every since.
Download or read book Theological Method A Guide for the Perplexed written by Paul L. Allen and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-06-28 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theological Method: A Guide for the Perplexed is a book that introduces the reader to the practice of doing theology. It provides a historical survey of key figures and concepts that bear on an understanding of difficult methodological issues in Christian theology. Beginning with a description of philosophical themes that affect the way theology is done today, it summarizes the various theological methods deployed by theologians and churches over two millennia of Christian thought. The book uncovers patterns in the theological task of relating biblical texts with beliefs and doctrines, according to historically conditioned theological and cultural priorities. The book's highlights include a discussion of Augustine's epoch-making De doctrina Christiana. Also receiving close attention is the relationship between philosophy and theology during the Middle Ages, the meaning of sola scriptura for the Protestant Reformers, the methods of key interpreters of doctrine in the nineteenth century and the theological priorities of the 'Radical Orthodoxy' movement.
Download or read book Forms and Limits of Utilitarianism written by David Lyons and published by Oxford : Clarendon Press. This book was released on 1965 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forms and Limits of Utilitarianism
Download or read book Adorno s Practical Philosophy written by Fabian Freyenhagen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-25 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique exploration of Adorno's ethics, defending his challenging views about how to live in an evil world.
Download or read book Mill A Guide for the Perplexed written by Sujith Kumar and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-01-31 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A student's guide to the life and thought of John Stuart Mill, one of the most widely read and studied thinkers in political philosophy.
Download or read book Sikhism A Guide for the Perplexed written by Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-06-06 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sikhism's short but relatively eventful history provides a fascinating insight into the working of misunderstood and seemingly contradictory themes such as politics and religion, violence and mysticism, culture and spirituality, orality and textuality, public sphere versus private sphere, tradition and modernity. This book presents students with a careful analysis of these complex themes as they have manifested themselves in the historical evolution of the Sikh traditions and the encounter of Sikhs with modernity and the West, in the philosophical teachings of its founders and their interpretation by Sikh exegetes, and in Sikh ethical and intellectual responses to contemporary issues in an increasingly secular and pluralistic world. Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed serves as an ideal guide to Sikhism, and also for students of Asian studies, Sociology of Religion and World Religions.
Download or read book The Data of Ethics written by Herbert Spencer and published by . This book was released on 1879 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
