Download or read book Inherent and Instrumental Values written by G. John M. Abbarno and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 2014-12-10 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essays in this book range broadly over different aspects of value theory and include contributions by Nicholas Rescher, Frances Kamm, Barry Smith, and Jan Narveson. Portions examine the theoretical foundations of values and valuation exploring the rational groundwork for judgments. Other aspects, appealing to value distinctions of inherent, intrinsic, and instrumental, drawn most notably by C. I. Lewis, bring to light matters of aesthetic, social political, ethical, and ontological issues. Throughout Inherent and Instrumental Values, the authors address questions assessing the intrinsic worth of utility of actions and whether manual or professional labor can hold an equal value rating and the implications of this assessment. In other portions of the anthology, authors explore the extent to which such value categories above, help clarify and assess moral issues we encounter in everyday life. Among some analyzed in this book are racism and affirmative action, abortion, euthanasia, homelessness, care, and friendship. The theme of the nature of value and the role of valuation we encounter in the days of our life, provide a basis for examining other aspects of axiology that lie beyond the scope of this work.
Download or read book Contemporary Debates in Political Philosophy written by Thomas Christiano and published by Wiley-Blackwell. This book was released on 2009-05-04 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of 24 essays, written by eminent philosophers and political theorists, brings together fresh debates on some of the most fundamental questions in contemporary political philosophy, including human rights, equality, constitutionalism, the value of democracy, identity and political neutrality. Presents fresh debates on six of the fundamental questions in contemporary political philosophy Each question is treated by a pair of opposing essays written by eminent scholars Lively debate format sharply defines the issues, invites the reader to participate in the exchange of arguments and paves the way for further discussion Will serve as an accessible introduction to the major topics in political philosophy, whilst also capturing the imagination of professional philosophers Offers the unique opportunity to observe leading philosophers engaging in head-to-head debate
Download or read book The Case for Animal Rights written by Tom Regan and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1983 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE argument for animal rights, a classic since its appearance in 1983, from the moral philosophical point of view. With a new preface.
Download or read book The Virtues of Happiness written by Paul Bloomfield and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-05 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As children, we learn life is unfair: bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. So, it is natural to ask, "Why play fairly in an unfair world? If being immoral will get you what you want and you know you can't get caught, why not do it?" The answers, as argued herein, begin by rejecting the idea that morality and happiness are at odds with one another. From this point of view, we can see how immorality undermines its perpetrator's happiness: self-respect is necessary for happiness, and immorality undermines self-respect. As we see how our self-respect is conditional upon how we respect others, we learn to evaluate and value ourselves, and others, appropriately. The central thesis is the result of combining the ancient Greek conception of happiness (eudaimonia) with a modern conception of self-respect. We become happy, we life the best life we can, only by becoming virtuous: by being as courageous, just, temperate, and wise as can be. These are the virtues of happiness. This book explains why it is bad to be bad and good to be good, and what happens to people's values as their practical rationality develops.
Download or read book Ecological Ethics written by Patrick Curry and published by Polity. This book was released on 2011-08-29 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this thoroughly revised and updated second edition of the highly successful Ecological Ethics, Patrick Curry shows that a new and truly ecological ethic is both possible and urgently needed. With this distinctive proposition in mind, Curry introduces and discusses all the major concepts needed to understand the full range of ecological ethics. He discusses light green or anthropocentric ethics with the examples of stewardship, lifeboat ethics, and social ecology; the mid-green or intermediate ethics of animal liberation/rights; and dark or deep green ecocentric ethics. Particular attention is given to the Land Ethic, the Gaia Hypothesis and Deep Ecology and its offshoots: Deep Green Theory, Left Biocentrism and the Earth Manifesto. Ecofeminism is also considered and attention is paid to the close relationship between ecocentrism and virtue ethics. Other chapters discuss green ethics as post-secular, moral pluralism and pragmatism, green citizenship, and human population in the light of ecological ethics. In this new edition, all these have been updated and joined by discussions of climate change, sustainable economies, education, and food from an ecocentric perspective. This comprehensive and wide-ranging textbook offers a radical but critical introduction to the subject which puts ecocentrism and the critique of anthropocentrism back at the top of the ethical, intellectual and political agenda. It will be of great interest to students and activists, and to a wider public.
Download or read book The Nature of Human Values written by Milton Rokeach and published by New York : Free Press. This book was released on 1973 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Milton Rokeach's book The Nature of Human Values (1973), and the Rokeach Value Survey, which the book served as the test manual for, occupied the final years of his career. In it, he posited that a relatively few "terminal human values" are the internal reference points that all people use to formulate attitudes and opinions, and that by measuring the "relative ranking" of these values one could predict a wide variety of behavior, including political affiliation and religious belief. This theory led to a series of experiments in which changes in values led to measurable changes in opinion for an entire small city in the state of Washington.
Download or read book Perspectives on Biodiversity written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-10-01 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Resource-management decisions, especially in the area of protecting and maintaining biodiversity, are usually incremental, limited in time by the ability to forecast conditions and human needs, and the result of tradeoffs between conservation and other management goals. The individual decisions may not have a major effect but can have a cumulative major effect. Perspectives on Biodiversity reviews current understanding of the value of biodiversity and the methods that are useful in assessing that value in particular circumstances. It recommends and details a list of components-including diversity of species, genetic variability within and among species, distribution of species across the ecosystem, the aesthetic satisfaction derived from diversity, and the duty to preserve and protect biodiversity. The book also recommends that more information about the role of biodiversity in sustaining natural resources be gathered and summarized in ways useful to managers. Acknowledging that decisions about biodiversity are necessarily qualitative and change over time because of the nonmarket nature of so many of the values, the committee recommends periodic reviews of management decisions.
Download or read book The Value of Humanity in Kant s Moral Theory written by Richard Dean and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-05-11 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The humanity formulation of Kant's Categorical Imperative demands that we treat humanity as an end in itself. Because this principle resonates with currently influential ideals of human rights and dignity, contemporary readers often find it compelling, even if the rest of Kant's moral philosophy leaves them cold. Moreover, some prominent specialists in Kant's ethics have recently turned to the humanity formulation as the most theoretically central and promising principle of Kant'sethics. Nevertheless, it has received less attention than many other aspects of Kant's ethics. Richard Dean offers the most sustained and systematic examination of the humanity formulation to date. He presents an original analysis of what it means to treat humanity as an end in itself, and examinesthe implications both for Kant scholarship and for practical guidance on specific moral issues.
Download or read book The Reasons of Love written by Harry G. Frankfurt and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-01-13 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On Bullshit, a profound meditation on how and why we love In The Reasons of Love, leading moral philosopher and bestselling author Harry Frankfurt argues that the key to a fulfilled life is to pursue wholeheartedly what one cares about, that love is the most authoritative form of caring, and that the purest form of love is, in a complicated way, self-love. Through caring, we infuse the world with meaning. Caring provides us with stable ambitions and concerns, and it shapes the framework of aims and interests within which we lead our lives. Love is a nonvoluntary, disinterested concern for the flourishing of what we love—and self-love, as distinct from self-indulgence, is at heart of this concern. The most elementary form of self-love is no more than the desire to love, and self-love is simply a commitment to finding meaning in our lives.
Download or read book Life s Dominion written by Ronald Dworkin and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-05-11 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Internationally renowned lawyer and philosopher Ronald Dworkin addresses the crucially related acts of abortion and euthanasia in a brilliantly original book that examines their meaning in a nation that prizes both life and individual liberty. From Roe v. Wade to the legal battle over the death of Nancy Cruzan, no issues have opened greater rifts in American society than those of abortion and euthanasia. At the heart of Life's Dominion is Dworkin's inquest into why abortion and euthanasia provoke such controversy. Do these acts violate some fundamental "right to life"? Or are the objections against them based on the belief that human life is sacred? Combining incisive moral reasoning and close readings of indicidual court decisions with a majestic interpretation of the U.S. Constitution itself, Dworkin gives us a work that is absolutely essential for anyone who cares about the legal status of human life.
Download or read book The Concept Of Morals written by W T Stace and published by Hassell Street Press. This book was released on 2021-09-09 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Download or read book Understanding Human Values written by Milton Rokeach and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-06-30 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents theoretical, methodological, and empirical advances in understanding, and also in the effects of understanding, individual and societal values.
Download or read book The Ethics of Authenticity written by Charles Taylor and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-06 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Charles Taylor is a philosopher of broad reach and many talents, but his most striking talent is a gift for interpreting different traditions, cultures and philosophies to one another...[This book is] full of good things.” —New York Times Book Review Everywhere we hear talk of decline, of a world that was better once, maybe fifty years ago, maybe centuries ago, but certainly before modernity drew us along its dubious path. While some lament the slide of Western culture into relativism and nihilism and others celebrate the trend as a liberating sort of progress, Charles Taylor calls on us to face the moral and political crises of our time, and to make the most of modernity’s challenges. “The great merit of Taylor’s brief, non-technical, powerful book...is the vigor with which he restates the point which Hegel (and later Dewey) urged against Rousseau and Kant: that we are only individuals in so far as we are social...Being authentic, being faithful to ourselves, is being faithful to something which was produced in collaboration with a lot of other people...The core of Taylor’s argument is a vigorous and entirely successful criticism of two intertwined bad ideas: that you are wonderful just because you are you, and that ‘respect for difference’ requires you to respect every human being, and every human culture—no matter how vicious or stupid.” —Richard Rorty, London Review of Books
Download or read book Thinking through Philosophy written by Chris Horner and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2000-09-21 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chris Horner and Emrys Westacott present a clear and accessible introduction to some of the central problems of philosophy through challenging and stimulating the reader to think beyond the conventional answers to fundamental questions. No previous knowledge is assumed, and in lively and provocative chapters the authors invite the reader to explore questions about the nature of science, religion, ethics, politics, art, the mind, the self, knowledge and truth. Each chapter includes inset boxes providing links to classic philosophy texts on the issues discussed. In addition, the book relates the adventure of philosophy to some of the key principles of critical thinking.
Download or read book Dictionary of Global Bioethics written by Henk ten Have and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-05-26 with total page 1063 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Dictionary presents a broad range of topics relevant in present-day global bioethics. With more than 500 entries, this dictionary covers organizations working in the field of global bioethics, international documents concerning bioethics, personalities that have played a role in the development of global bioethics, as well as specific topics in the field.The book is not only useful for students and professionals in global health activities, but can also serve as a basic tool that explains relevant ethical notions and terms. The dictionary furthers the ideals of cosmopolitanism: solidarity, equality, respect for difference and concern with what human beings- and specifically patients - have in common, regardless of their backgrounds, hometowns, religions, gender, etc. Global problems such as pandemic diseases, disasters, lack of care and medication, homelessness and displacement call for global responses.This book demonstrates that a moral vision of global health is necessary and it helps to quickly understand the basic ideas of global bioethics.
Download or read book Nature s Contributions to People On the Relation Between Valuations and Actions written by Marie Stenseke and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Valuing Ecosystem Services written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2005-05-14 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nutrient recycling, habitat for plants and animals, flood control, and water supply are among the many beneficial services provided by aquatic ecosystems. In making decisions about human activities, such as draining a wetland for a housing development, it is essential to consider both the value of the development and the value of the ecosystem services that could be lost. Despite a growing recognition of the importance of ecosystem services, their value is often overlooked in environmental decision-making. This report identifies methods for assigning economic value to ecosystem servicesâ€"even intangible onesâ€"and calls for greater collaboration between ecologists and economists in such efforts.
