This volume presents twelve original papers on constructivism - some sympathetic, others critical - by a distinguished group of moral philosophers. 'Kantian constructivism holds that moral objectivity is to be understood in terms of a suitably constructed social point of view that all can accept. Apart from the procedure of constructing the principles of justice, there are no moral facts.' So wrote John Rawls in his highly influential 1980 Dewey lectures 'Kantian Constructivism in Moral Theory'. Since then there has been much discussion of constructivist understandings, Kantian or otherwise, both of morality and of reason more generally. Such understandings typically seek to characterize the truth conditions of propositions in their target domain in maximally metaphysically unassuming ways, frequently in terms of the outcome of certain procedures or the passing of certain tests, procedures or tests that speak to the distinctively practical concerns of deliberating human agents living together in societies. But controversy abounds over the interpretation and the scope as well as the credibility of such constructivist ideas. The essays collected here reach to the heart of this contemporary philosophical debate, and offer a range of new approaches and perspectives.

Maine de Biran's work has had an enormous influence on the development of French Philosophy - Henri Bergson called him the greatest French metaphysician since Descartes and Malebranche, Jules Lachelier referred to him as the French Kant, and Royer-Collard called him simply 'the master of us all' - and yet the philosopher and his work remain unknown to many English speaking readers. From Ravaisson and Bergson, through to the phenomenology of major figures such as Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Michel Henry, and Paul Ricoeur, Biran's influence is evident and acknowledged as a major contribution. The notion of corps propre, so important to phenomenology in the twentieth century, originates in his thought. His work also had a huge impact on the distinction between the virtual and the actual as well as the concepts of effort and puissance, enormously important to the development of Deleuze's and Foucault's work. This volume, the first English translation of Maine de Biran in nearly a century, introduces Anglophone readers to the work of this seminal thinker. The Relationship Between the Physical and the Moral in Man is an expression of Biran's mature 'spiritualism' and philosophy of the will as well as perhaps the clearest articulation of his understanding of what would later come to be called the mind-body problem. In this text Biran sets out forcefully his case for the autonomy of mental or spiritual life against the reductive explanatory power of the physicalist natural sciences. The translation is accompanied by critical essays from experts in France and the United Kingdom, situating Biran's work and its reception in its proper historical and intellectual context.

In Juridification of Religion? Helge Arsheim and Pamela Slotte explore the extent to which developments currently taking place at the interface between law and religion in domestic, regional and international law can be conceptualized as instances of larger, multidimensional processes of juridification. The book relies on an expansive notion of juridification, departing from the narrower sense of juridification as the gradually increasing "colonization of the lifeworld" proposed by Jurgen Habermas in his Theory of Communicative Action (1987). More specifically, the book adapts the multidimensional notion of juridification outlined by Anders Molander and Lars Christian Blichner (2008), developing it into a more context-specific notion of juridification that is attendant to the specific nature of religion as a subject matter for law.

John Cottingham explores central areas of Descartes's rich and wide-ranging philosophical system, including his accounts of thought and language, of freedom and action, of our relationship to the animal domain, and of human morality and the conduct of life. He also examines ways in which his philosophy has been misunderstood. The Cartesian mind-body dualism that is so often attacked is only a part of Descartes's account of what it is to be a thinking, sentient, human creature, and the way he makes the division between the mental and the physical is considerably more subtle, and philosophically more appealing, than is generally assumed. Although Descartes is often considered to be one of the heralds of our modern secular worldview, the 'new' philosophy which he launched retains many links with the ideas of his predecessors, not least in the all-pervasive role it assigns to God (something that is ignored or downplayed by many modern readers); and the character of the Cartesian outlook is multifaceted, sometimes anticipating Enlightenment ideas of human autonomy and independent scientific inquiry, but also sometimes harmonizing with more traditional notions of human nature as created to find fulfilment in harmony with its creator.

The objective of this book is to introduce a new theory of leadership. Traditionally, leadership is understood as the ability of charismatic personalities to create a following and to achieve significant results against great odds. This study takes a different point of departure. Author Armin Klesing asks two questions: How can the response behavior to events be calibrated through the right persons, and what does it take to actively create a new budget? This leads to the elegant concept of "temporality of leadership," which describes the proper calibration of societies, cultures, states, businesses, armies, and whatever else lends itself to be described as a time-dependent chain process in fields of dynamic perturbations. The author blends philosophy, self-development, history, current affairs, and business building to describe the potential implications of this novel approach. Armin Klesing is a chemical physicist, a musician, a husband and father, a global traveler, and a business leader. He currently lives in a small village between Frankfurt and Dusseldorf, Germany. This is his first book. Publisher's website: http: //sbprabooks.com/ArminKlesing

Fresh from his latest escapade, the benevolent spirit known as Bean is back in a new endeavor. But this time he is faced with what could be the end of humanity as we know it ...After his successful intervention in the life and family of an autistic child, Bean meets up with an acquaintance from the past. Called Leader, this acquaintance is the entity-in-charge for billions of blood-sucking creatures. He's also on the verge of changing his lifestyle, leaving his plasmaholic followers in need of management. Leader turns to Bean for help. But in their quest, Leader and Bean meet the epitome of evil in the cradle of Western civilization: Lili-It, and her henchman, Whoever. This duo wants nothing less than the complete annihilation of civilization in preparation for the rebirth of immorality. It falls upon Bean and Leader to thwart those insidious plans. Together, with a cadre of determined allies, both human and spirit, Bean and Leader prepare to meet Lili-It in a final conflict, where a fusion of physical and spiritual forces join in a place called Armageddon. And in this battle, there can be only one winner ...P AX expands the boundaries of human imagination and creates an intriguing and altogether fascinating alternate world.

With the seemingly insurmountable pressures placed on families today, many parents lack the spiritual foundation and practical knowledge to chart a clear-cut course in child-rearing. Parents question whether nurturing their children's souls is even possible in the fast-paced materialistic culture in which we live. Utilizing the insight that springs from her knowledge of Torah wisdom, her personal experiences and the experiences of those she has counseled, Slovie Jungreis-Wolff, a longtime parenting coach and advisor to young couples and families teaches in detail how to approach the entire gamut of issues, with a special emphasis on strengthening the child's morality and character. Parents will learn how to:
- Instill "simchas hachayim," "true joy," in their children
- Value "chessed," kindness, in a self-absorbed world
- Create a "mikdash me'at," a home filled with calm and reflection
- Teach children gratitude and appreciation
- And much more...
From discipline to sibling rivalry to effective communication skills, this book offers unique concepts and pragmatic ideas that can be understood and applied to both Jewish and non-Jewish households.