Modality, morality and belief are among the most controversial topics in philosophy and few philosophers have shaped these debates as deeply as Ruth Barcan Marcus. Inspired by her work, a distinguished group of philosophers explore these issues, refine and sharpen arguments and develop fresh positions on such topics as possible worlds, moral dilemmas, essentialism and the explanation of actions by beliefs. This collection honours one of the most rigourous and iconoclastic of philosophical pioneers.

A major force in American society, the work ethic has played a pivotal role in U.S. history, affecting cultural, social, and economic institutions. But what is the American work ethic? Not only has it changed from one era to another, but it varies with race, gender, and occupation. Considering such diverse groups as Colonial craftsmen, slaves, 19th century women, and 20th century factory workers, this book provides a history of the American work ethic from Colonial times to the present. Tracing both continuities and differences, the book is divided into sections on the Colonial era, the 19th century and the 20th century and includes chapters on both major occupational groups, such as farmers, factory workers, laborers, and gender, racial, and ethnic minorities.

This approach, which covers all major groups in U.S. history, enables the reader to discern how the work ethic applied to different occupational and ethnic groups over time. The book subjects the work ethic to an analysis based on historical, sociological, economic, and anthropological perspectives and provides an analysis of current thinking about how the work ethic applied to various groups and classes in different historical periods.

Defending Poetry studies the tradition of poetic defence, or apologia, as it has been pursued and developed by three of the twentieth century's leading poet-critics: Joseph Brodsky, Seamus Heaney, and Geoffrey Hill. It begins with an extended introduction to philosophical debates over the ethical value of literature from Plato to Levinas and continues by situating these three poets as in one sense historically continuous with the defences of Horace, Sidney, Coleridge, and Shelley, but also as drastically other. This otherness is bounded on one side by the example of T. S. Eliot's career-long contemplation of the ideal of poetic 'integrity', and on the other by a collective recognition of the twentieth century's great horrors, which seem to corrode all associations of art and the good. Through close readings of the poems and prose essays of Brodsky, Heaney, and Hill, Defending Poetry makes a timely intervention in current debates about literature's ethics, arguing that any ethics of literature ought to take into account not only poetry, but also the writings of poets on the value of poetry.

This book examines the works of major artists between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, as important barometers of individual and collective values toward non-human life. Once viewed as merely representational, these works can also be read as tangential or morally instrumental by way of formal analysis and critical theories. Chapter Two demonstrates the discrimination toward large and small felines in Genesis and The Book of Revelation. Chapter Three explores the cruel capture of free roaming animals and how artists depicted their furs, feathers and shells in costume as symbols of virtue and vice. Chapter Four identifies speciest beliefs between donkeys and horses. Chapter Five explores the altered Dutch kitchen spaces and disguised food animals in various culinary constructs in still life painting. Chapter Six explores the animal substances embedded in pigments. Chapter Seven examines animals in absentia-in the crafting of brushes. The book concludes with the fish paintings of William Merritt Chase whose glazing techniques demonstrate an artistic approach that honors fishes as sentient beings.

This new digital edition of The Trial and Death of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito and Phaedo presents Benjamin Jowett's classic translations, as revised by Enhanced Media Publishing. A number of new or expanded annotations are also included.

Grete Hermann (1901-1984) was a pupil of mathematical physicist Emmy Noether, follower and co-worker of neo-Kantian philosopher Leonard Nelson, and an important intellectual figure in post-war German social democracy. She is best known for her work on the philosophy of modern physics in the 1930s, some of which emerged from intense discussions with Heisenberg and Weizsacker in Leipzig. Hermann's aim was to counter the threat to the Kantian notion of causality coming from quantum mechanics. She also discussed in depth the question of 'hidden variables' (including the first critique of von Neumann's alleged impossibility proof) and provided an extensive analysis of Bohr's notion of complementarity. This volume includes translations of Hermann's two most important essays on this topic: one hitherto unpublished and one translated here into English for the first time. It also brings together recent scholarly contributions by historians and philosophers of science, physicists, and philosophers and educators following in Hermann's steps. Hermann's work places her in the first rank among philosophers who wrote about modern physics in the first half of the last century. Those interested in the many fields to which she contributed will find here a comprehensive discussion of her philosophy of physics that places it in the context of her wider work.

Noted economist Douglas Vickers reexamines the relationship between economics and moral philosophy. That relationship, once very strong, is again the subject of increasing attention and discussion both within and beyond the academy. Vickers reestablishes the substantial bridges between ethical philosophy and economics. He addresses three main issues: first, the historical means by which economics has consciously surrendered its original association with ethical categories and criteria; second, the need to articulate the appropriate thoughtforms and vocabulary of ethical theory; and third, the illustration of areas in economics where ethical awareness is desirable and should be allowed to exert influence. This work is a major analysis which will be of considerable interest to economists, the business community, government regulators, and all concerned with economic decisionmaking in modern society.

Richard Holton provides a unified account of intention, choice, weakness of will, strength of will, temptation, addiction, and freedom of the will. Drawing on recent psychological research, he argues that, rather than being the pinnacle of rationality, the central components of the will are there to compensate for our inability to make or maintain sound judgments. Choice is understood as the capacity to form intentions even in the absence of judgments of what action is best. Weakness of will is understood as the failure to maintain an intention, or more specifically, a resolution, in the face of temptation--where temptation typically involves a shift in judgment as to what is best, or in the case of addiction, a disconnection between what is judged best and what is desired. Strength of will is the corresponding ability to maintain a resolution, an ability that requires the employment of a particular faculty or skill. Finally, the experience of freedom of the will is traced to the experiences of forming intentions, and of maintaining resolutions, both of which require effortful activity from the agent.

For many individuals, pornography is a troubling and problematic issue. Regardless of how the public views this topic, one thing is clear: Pornography is as prevalent and accessible as smartphones and laptop computers. Indeed, beyond traditional hardcore material, a pornographic sensibility can be seen permeating all aspects of culture from tween and young teen fashions to television and commercially successful films. In fact, pornography is so widespread that more often than not it is taken as a given in our modern social space. We assume all people look at or know about pornography, but to some, the thought of engaging in intellectual discussions about the topic strikes many particularly scholars as beneath them. And yet something this impactful, this definitive of modern culture, needs to be laid open to scrutiny. In The Philosophy of Pornography: Contemporary Perspectives, Lindsay Coleman and Jacob M. Held offer a collection of essays covering a wide range of viewpoints from issues of free speech and porn s role in discrimination to the impact of porn on sexuality. These essays investigate the philosophical implications of pornography as a part of how we now seek to conceive and express our sexuality in contemporary life. Contributors to this volume discuss: .pornography as a component of gender and sexual socialization .ecological understandings of sexually explicit media .subordination, sexualization, and speech .feminism and pornography .pornography s depiction of love and friendship .black women and pornography .playfulness, creativity, and porn s possibilities Because its subject matter sex, gender, interpersonal relationships, and even love is reflective of who we are and what kind of society we want to create, pornography demands serious treatment. So whether one chooses to accept pornography as a fact of modern culture or not, this collection of timely essays represents a variety of voices in the ongoing debate. As such, The Philosophy of Pornography will be of interest to not only those who are engaged in porn studies but also to an audience educated in and conversant with recent trends in philosophy."

This volume features more than 25 papers that were presented at the 2014 Conference of the International Association for the Study of Controversies, IASC, held at the University of Salento, Lecce, Italy. It looks at conflict and conflict resolution from diverse perspectives, including philosophy, psychology, law, and history. Coverage explores the paradox of conflict and examines how discord, whether large or small, international or internal, can be both a source of chaos as well as a foundation for unity, a limitation of potential as well as an entryway to a greater depth of living. Inside, readers will discover thought-provoking answers to such questions as: What are the conditions to ensure that a conflict can be converted into cooperation? If the conflict between interests can be solved by a compromise, what happens when a conflict involves non-negotiable values ? In the management of a conflict, what role is played by argumentation? What are the latest perspectives in conflict management? How does the theory of controversies allows us to recognize and resolve conflicts? By the end of the book, readers will have a better understanding of how conflict can be transcended and how it's possible to redefine the conflicting situation so that what seemed incompatible and locked may, in fact, open a new perspective.

This work is an introductory treatment of issues and options in social and bioethics which center on the end of life. Moreland and Geisler have attempted to simplify and summarize various end-of-life topics without being simplistic or caricaturing different viewpoints, even though the authors' own viewpoints are made perfectly clear. A comprehensive bibliography, glossary, and subject and author index make this a valuable textbook as well as a resource for further study. The major purpose of this book is to make the reader think more clearly and deeply about the important issues discussed between its covers. Beginning the work is an essay that introduces the dilemma of ethical decisions. The following chapters separately discuss the situations of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, suicide, capital punishment, and war. The discussion concludes with a chapter of practical and theoretical guidance for making ethical decisions. A glossary, subject index, author index, and selected bibliography for each chapter make this a valuable text. This important work will not only appeal to experienced philosophers, but also to students of moral philosophy, theology, and ethics.

The first of its kind, this anthology in the burgeoning field of technology ethics offers students and other interested readers 32 chapters, each written in an accessible and lively manner specifically for this volume. The chapters are conveniently organized into five parts: I. Perspectives on Technology and its Value II. Technology and the Good Life III. Computer and Information Technology IV. Technology and Business V. Biotechnologies and the Ethics of Enhancement A hallmark of the volume is multidisciplinary contributions both (1) in "analytic" and "continental" philosophies and (2) across several hot-button topics of interest to students, including the ethics of autonomous vehicles, psychotherapeutic phone apps, and bio-enhancement of cognition and in sports. The volume editors, both teachers of technology ethics, have compiled a set of original and timely chapters that will advance scholarly debate and stimulate fascinating and lively classroom discussion. Downloadable eResources (available from www.routledge.com/9781032038704) provide a glossary of all relevant terms, sample classroom activities/discussion questions relevant for chapters, and links to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entries and other relevant online materials. Key Features: Examines the most pivotal ethical questions around our use of technology, equipping readers to better understand technology's promises and perils. Explores throughout a central tension raised by technological progress: maintaining social stability vs. pursuing dynamic social improvements. Provides ample coverage of the pressing issues of free speech and productive online discourse.

This classic collection of essays, first published in 1979, has had an enduring influence on philosophical work on the nature of law and its relation to morality. Raz begins by presenting an analysis of the concept of authority and what is involved in law's claim to moral authority. He then develops a detailed explanation of the nature of law and legal systems, presenting a seminal argument for legal positivism. Within this framework Raz then examines the areas of legal thought that have been viewed as impregnated with moral values - namely the social functions of law, the ideal of the rule of law, and the adjudicative role of the courts.
The final part of the book is given to understanding the proper moral attitude of a citizen towards the law. Raz examines whether the citizen is under a moral obligation to obey the law and whether there is a right to dissent. Two appendices, added for the revised edition, develop Raz's views on the nature of law, offering a further dialogue with the work of Hans Kelsen, and a reply to Robert Alexy's criticisms of legal positivism.
This revised edition makes accessible one of the classic works of modern legal philosophy, and represents an ideal companion to Raz's new collection, Between Authority and Interpretation.

The principal aim of this volume is to elucidate what freedom, sovereignty, and autonomy mean for Nietzsche and what philosophical resources he gives us to re-think these crucial concepts. A related aim is to examine how Nietzsche connects these concepts to his thoughts about life-affirmation, self-love, promise-making, agency, the 'will to nothingness', and the 'eternal recurrence', as well as to his search for a 'genealogical' understanding of morality.
These twelve essays by leading Nietzsche scholars ask such key questions as: Can we reconcile his rejection of free will with his positive invocations of the notion of free will? How does Nietzsche's celebration of freedom and free spirits sit with his claim that we all have an unchangeable fate? What is the relation between his concepts of freedom and self-overcoming?
The depth in which these and related issues are explored gives this volume its value, not only to those interested in Nietzsche, but to all who are concerned with the free will debate, ethics, theory of action, and the history of philosophy.

Interest in ethics within the field of public administration has grown steadily since the late 1970s. Harold Gortner focuses on public administration ethics theory and how it applies to the lives of managers operating in the middle ranges of public bureaucracy. Using a general review of the literature on public administration ethics and a comparison of that literature to the real-life experiences of civil service managers, he categorizes the literature and measures its relevance to the thought processes, decisions, and actions of individuals within a bureaucracy.

According to Gortner, the literature on public administration can be divided into five meaningful categories: philosophical discussions of ethics; professional aspects of ethics; personal characteristics and their influence on ethics; organizational dynamics and their influence on ethics; and legal aspects of ethics. Because an understanding of these five approaches to public administration is helpful in understanding the arguments that are presented, each is discussed at some length within the volume. Gortner then examines these categories in light of the real-life experiences of public managers, thereby helping the reader to understand which of the various ethical arguments are most meaningful to practicing managers, and why those particular approaches are useful or applicable to their ethical dilemmas. Gortner's effort to balance theory and practice will interest scholars and practitioners of public administration alike.

Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field. Its broad purview includes work being done at the intersections of ethical theory with metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. The essays included in the series provide an excellent basis for understanding recent developments in the field; those who would like to acquaint themselves with the current state of play in metaethics would do well to start here.

This is the first philosophy textbook in moral psychology, introducing students to a range of philosophical topics and debates such as: What is moral motivation? Do reasons for action always depend on desires? Is emotion or reason at the heart of moral judgment? Under what conditions are people morally responsible? Are there self-interested reasons for people to be moral? Moral Psychology: A Contemporary Introduction presents research by philosophers and psychologists on these topics, and addresses the overarching question of how empirical research is (or is not) relevant to philosophical inquiry.

Rightness as Fairness provides a uniquely fruitful method of 'principled fair negotiation' for resolving applied moral and political issues that requires merging principled debate with real-world negotiation.

Albert Camus was a formative artist, writer and public figure whose work defies conventional labels, and whose legacy is controversial but substantial. His distinctive contribution to modern ethical and political thought remains far from settled. Camus and the Challenge of Political Thought comprehensively yet concisely explores how Camus's compelling ideas of absurdity and rebellion emerged, how his complex political engagements and positions developed, and how his conception of an ethics of limits and measure retains a vital, contemporary resonance in an era of unsettling global politics. Drawing upon the full range of Camus's notebooks, novels, plays and philosophical essays, Hayden shows Camus to be an original political thinker of human dignity and freedom whose life and work sought to navigate between the twin dangers of idealistic optimism and nihilistic despair.

The whole field of drug research has become a minefield of sensitive issues with the opponents entrenched at opposite extremes taking pot shots at each other. The attacks made on drug research and the pharmaceutical industry in particular have become so venomous that an attempt needed to be made to provide a balanced ethical appraisal of the situation. Neither pro- nor antagonists are fully right, but some common grounds need to be found. The author believes that this commons grounds resides in the religious and philosophical foundations on which western industrial society has been built.

Since World War II, there have been many changes in our nation due to shifts in our philosophy of man and moral law. The Soul of a Nation is a series of essays on these critical transformations in our society. This book will be of interest to citizens and scholars who question our society s political drift in recent years. The Soul of a Nation was written not only for scholars and students, but for their parents and elders as well."

This book introduces in an accessible way how CSR and its reporting are being used to address problems of corruption and tax evasion or tax avoidance. It discusses the efforts, both of organizations and governments to integrate these issues into CSR practices and the developments that have occurred at the levels of national and international legislation. The book analyses governments efforts to compel or try to induce companies to have practices more in line with what is expected of them in terms of combating corruption and paying their fair share. The book is suitable for students of CSR and Business Ethics, practitioners and researchers on CSR and corporate issues.