Adam Smith's theory on morals provides the philosophical bedrock for his future works on economics, including his most famous book The Wealth of Nations. Published in 1759, this work sees Smith follow the lead of his tutor and mentor Francis Hutcheson. He divides his ethical examinations into four broad categories: ethics and virtue; private rights and natural liberties; rights of the family; and state and individual rights. Although lesser known compared to Adam Smith's later works, The Theory of Moral Sentiments is an influential work of philosophy in its own right, with the greatest effect being upon its author.

When Michael Walzer's Spheres of Justice was published ten years ago, the front page of The New York Times Book Review hailed the work as "an imaginative alternative to the current debate over distributive justice". Now in Thick and Thin, Walzer revises and extends his arguments in Spheres of Justice, framing his ideas about justice, social criticism, and national identity in light of the new political world that has arisen in the past decade. Walzer focuses on two different but interrelated kinds of moral argument: maximalist and minimalist, thick and thin, local and universal. According to Walzer the first, thick type of moral argument is culturally connected, referentially entangled, detailed, and specific; the second, or thin type, is abstract, ad hoc, detached, and general. Thick arguments play the larger role in determining our views about domestic justice and in shaping our criticism of local arrangements. Thin arguments shape our views about justice in foreign places and in international society. The book begins with an account of minimalist argument, then examines two uses of maximalist arguments, focusing on distributive justice and social criticism. Walzer then discusses minimalism with a qualified defense of self-determination in international society, and concludes with a discussion of the (divided) self capable of this differentiated moral engagement. Walzer's highly literate and fascinating blend of philosophy and historical analysis will appeal not only to those interested in the polemics surrounding Spheres of justice but also to intelligent readers who are more concerned with getting the arguments right.

This second of a two-volume work provides a new understanding of Western subjectivity as theorized in the Augustinian Rule. A theopolitical synthesis of Antiquity, the Rule is a humble, yet extremely influential example of subjectivity production. In these volumes, Jodra argues that the Classical and Late-Ancient communitarian practices along the Mediterranean provide historical proof of a worldview in which the self and the other are not disjunctive components, but mutually inclusive forces. The Augustinian Rule is a culmination of this process and also the beginning of something new: the paradigm of the monastic self as protagonist of the new, medieval worldview. In the previous volume, Jodra gave us the Mediterranean backstory to Augustine's Rule. In this volume two, he develops his solution to socialism, through a kind of Augustinian communitarianism for today, in full. These volumes therefore restore the unity of the Hellenistic and Judaic world as found by the first Christians, proving that the self and the other are two essential pieces in the construction of our world.

This collection brings together two of Schopenhauer's most respected works, wherein the philosopher shares his views on life and what he believes to be follies of human behavior. Writing with incisive poise and a great sense of humor, Schopenhauer introduces the various ideas present in his pessimistic philosophy. Holding the usual goals of life - money, position, material and sexual pleasures - in low regard, he explains how the cultivation of one's individuality and mind are far better pursuits, albeit those that most people neglect. Rather than simply criticize the state of humanity, Schopenhauer uses wit and lively argument to convince the reader of the value in his outlook. The practice of an ordinary life and career is thereby demonstrated as spiritually draining, in contrast to concentration upon a wise mind and strong body, plus a moderated or even ascetic approach to material things.

The Reading Augustine series presents short, engaging books offering personal readings of St. Augustine of Hippo's contributions to western philosophical, literary, and religious life. Mark Clavier's On Consumer Culture, Identity, The Church and the Rhetorics of Delight draws on Augustine of Hippo to provide a theological explanation for the success of marketing and consumer culture. Augustine's thought, rooted in rhetorical theory, presents a brilliant understanding of the experiences of damnation and salvation that takes seriously the often hidden psychology of human motivation. Clavier examines how Augustine's keen insight into the power of delight over personal notions of freedom and self-identity can be used to shed light on how the constant lure of promised happiness shapes our identities as consumers. From Augustine's perspective, it is only by addressing the sources of delight within consumerism and by rediscovering the wellsprings of God's delight that we can effectively challenge consumer culture. To an age awash with commercial rhetoric, the fifth-century Bishop of Hippo offers a theological rhetoric that is surprisingly contemporary and insightful.