Cities of Words - Pedagogical Letters on a Register of the Moral Life (Paperback, New Ed)

Since Socrates and his circle first tried to frame the Just City in words, discussion of a perfect communal life--a life of justice, reflection, and mutual respect--has had to come to terms with the distance between that idea and reality. Measuring this distance step by practical step is the philosophical project that Stanley Cavell has pursued on his exploratory path. Situated at the intersection of two of his longstanding interests--Emersonian philosophy and the Hollywood comedy of remarriage--Cavell's new work marks a significant advance in this project. The book--which presents a course of lectures Cavell presented several times toward the end of his teaching career at Harvard--links masterpieces of moral philosophy and classic Hollywood comedies to fashion a new way of looking at our lives and learning to live with ourselves.

This book offers philosophy in the key of life. Beginning with a rereading of Emerson's "Self-Reliance," Cavell traces the idea of perfectionism through works by Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche, and Rawls, and by such artists as Henry James, George Bernard Shaw, and Shakespeare. "Cities of Words" shows that this ever-evolving idea, brought to dramatic life in movies such as "It Happened One Night," "The Awful Truth," "The Philadelphia Story," and "The Lady Eve," has the power to reorient the perception of Western philosophy.

General

Imprint:	The Belknap Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	October 2005
First published:	October 2005
Authors:	Stanley Cavell
Dimensions:	235 x 156 x 32mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	480
Edition:	New Ed
ISBN-13:	978-0-674-01818-1
Categories:	Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Ethics & moral philosophy > General Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Modern Western philosophy, c 1600 to the present > Western philosophy, from c 1900 - > General Books > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Ethics & moral philosophy > General Books > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Modern Western philosophy, c 1600 to the present > Western philosophy, from c 1900 - > General Promotions
LSN:	0-674-01818-4
Barcode:	9780674018181

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!