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Here are the voices of London - rich and poor, native and
immigrant, women and men - witnessed by Craig Taylor, an acclaimed
journalist, playwright and writer, who spent five years exploring
the city and listening to its residents. From the woman whose voice
announces the stations on the London Underground to the man who
plants the trees along Oxford Street; from a Pakistani currency
trader to a Guardsman at Buckingham Palace - together, these voices
and many more, paint a vivid, epic and wholly fresh portrait of
Twenty-First Century London.
Acclaimed writer and editor Craig Taylor spent years traversing
every corner of London, getting to know the most interesting of its
residents--the voice of the London Underground, a West End rickshaw
driver, an East End nightclub door attendant, a mounted soldier of
the Queen's Life Guard. Now, in Londoners, this diverse cast of
characters--rich and poor, young and old, native and immigrant, men
and women (and even a Sarah who used to be a George)--shares
indelible tales that capture the city as never before. With candor
and humor, these voices paint a vivid, epic, and wholly original
portrait of twenty-first-century London, scripting the
autobiography of one of the world's greatest cities.
This book argues there can be no theory of ethics and that any
attempt at such a theory ends up distorting the moral phenomena
that it is supposed to explain. It presents clear examples of moral
thought outside moral theorising through literature and
Wittgenstein’s later philosophy. The book’s precise target is
moral theory understood as a theory of right action. The author
begins by arguing against the assumption central to moral theory
that moral judgments are universalizable; that what it is right for
one agent to do in a given situation is what is right for any agent
in that same situation. Rather, moral judgments are essentially
first personal. The author's specific contention here is that our
understanding of moral thought in literature provides grounds for
rejecting the assumption that moral judgments are universalizable.
The author then goes on to argue that there is some determinate and
objective content to ethics connected to recognising another human
being as a limit to our will. He presents several literary examples
that have influenced his thinking about the nature of moral value.
He combines these readings with insights from Wittgenstein’s
later writings to demonstrate the ways in which moral theorising
fails to capture important aspects of moral thought. Moral Thought
Outside Moral Theory will be of interest to scholars and advanced
students working in ethics and moral theory, literature and
philosophy, and Wittgenstein.
This unique collection of essays has two main purposes. The first
is to honour the pioneering work of Cora Diamond, one of the most
important living moral philosophers and certainly the most
important working in the tradition inspired by Ludwig Wittgenstein.
The second is to develop and deepen a picture of moral philosophy
by carrying out new work in what Diamond has called the realistic
spirit. The contributors in this book advance a first-order moral
attitude that pays close attention to actual moral life and
experience. Their essays, inspired by Diamond's work, take up
pressing challenges in Anglo-American moral philosophy, including
Diamond's defence of the concept 'human being' in ethics, her
defence of literature as a source of moral thought that does not
require external sanction from philosophy, her challenge to the
standard 'fact/value' dichotomy, and her exploration of
non-argumentative forms of legitimate moral persuasion. There are
also essays that apply this framework to new issues such as the
nature of love, the connections of ethics to theology, and the
implications of Wittgenstein's thought for political philosophy.
Finally, the book features a new paper by Diamond in which she
contests deep-rooted philosophical assumptions about language that
severely limit what philosophers see as the possibilities in
ethics. Morality in a Realistic Spirit offers a tribute to a great
moral philosopher in the best way possible-by taking up the living
ideas in her work and taking them in original and interesting
directions.
This unique collection of essays has two main purposes. The first
is to honour the pioneering work of Cora Diamond, one of the most
important living moral philosophers and certainly the most
important working in the tradition inspired by Ludwig Wittgenstein.
The second is to develop and deepen a picture of moral philosophy
by carrying out new work in what Diamond has called the realistic
spirit. The contributors in this book advance a first-order moral
attitude that pays close attention to actual moral life and
experience. Their essays, inspired by Diamond's work, take up
pressing challenges in Anglo-American moral philosophy, including
Diamond's defence of the concept 'human being' in ethics, her
defence of literature as a source of moral thought that does not
require external sanction from philosophy, her challenge to the
standard 'fact/value' dichotomy, and her exploration of
non-argumentative forms of legitimate moral persuasion. There are
also essays that apply this framework to new issues such as the
nature of love, the connections of ethics to theology, and the
implications of Wittgenstein's thought for political philosophy.
Finally, the book features a new paper by Diamond in which she
contests deep-rooted philosophical assumptions about language that
severely limit what philosophers see as the possibilities in
ethics. Morality in a Realistic Spirit offers a tribute to a great
moral philosopher in the best way possible-by taking up the living
ideas in her work and taking them in original and interesting
directions.
'Beautifully woven' Sunday Times 'Extraordinary city stories ...
ambitious and entertaining ... [Taylor] does a fine job of telling
the New York story' Guardian A symphony of contemporary New York
told through the magnificent words of its people - from the
best-selling author of Londoners. In the first twenty years of the
twenty-first century, New York City has been convulsed by terrorist
attack, blackout, hurricane, recession, social injustice, and
pandemic. New Yorkers weaves the voices of some of the city's best
talkers into an indelible portrait of New York in our time - and a
powerful hymn to the vitality and resilience of its people. Vibrant
and bursting with life, New Yorkers explores the nonstop hustle to
make it; the pressures on new immigrants, people of colour, and the
poor. It captures the strength of an irrepressible city that - no
matter what it goes through - dares call itself the greatest in the
world. Drawn from millions of words, hundreds of interviews, and
six years in the making, New Yorkers is a grand portrait of an
irrepressible city and a hymn to the vitality and resilience of its
people.
While Hume remains one of the most central figures in modern
philosophy his place within Enlightenment thinking is much less
clearly defined. Taking recent work on Hume as a starting point,
this volume of original essays aims to re-examine and clarify
Hume's influence on the thought and values of the Enlightenment.
Ronald Blythe's 1969 book Akenfield - a moving portrait of English
country life told in the voices of the farmers and villagers
themselves - is a modern classic. In 2004, writer and reporter
Craig Taylor returned to the village in Suffolk on which Akenfield
was based. Over the course of several months, he sought out locals
who had appeared in the original book to see how their lives had
changed, he met newcomers to discuss their own views, and he
interviewed Ronald Blythe himself, now in his eighties. Young
farmers, retired orchardmen and Eastern European migrant workers
talk about the nature of farming in an age of computerization and
encroaching supermarkets; commuters, weekenders and retirees
discuss the realities behind the rural idyll; and the local priest,
teacher and more describe the daily pleasures and tribulations of
village life. Together, they offer a panoramic and revealing
portrait of rural English society at a time of great change.
Moralism involves the distortion of moral thought, the distortion
of reflection and judgement. It is a vice, and one to which many -
from the philosopher to the media pundit to the politician - are
highly susceptible. This book examines the nature of moralism in
specific moral judgements and the ways in which moral philosophy
and theories about morality can themselves become skewed by this
vice. This book ranges across a wide range of topics: the problem
of the demandingness of morality; the conflict between moral and
other values; the contrast between the practice of moral philosophy
and other modes of moral thought or reflection; moralism in the
media; and, moralism in the public discussion of literature and
art. This highly original and provocative book will be of interest
to students of philosophy, psychology, theology and media, and to
anyone who takes a serious interest in contemporary morality.
While Hume remains one of the most central figures in modern
philosophy his place within Enlightenment thinking is much less
clearly defined. Taking recent work on Hume as a starting point,
this volume of original essays aims to re-examine and clarify
Hume's influence on the thought and values of the Enlightenment.
First full English translation of a major text, narrating the
adventures of the Jouvencel whilst interweaving them with advice on
military tactics and strategies. Le Jouvencel is one of the most
important and revealing sources for the study of medieval warfare
and chivalry. It tells the story of a poor young soldier whose
skill at arms enables him to rise through the ranks and eventually
marry a foreign princess. Jean de Bueil (1406-1477 wrote the book
around 1466, following his retirement from military service,
drawing heavily upon his own experiences as one of the most
prominent French soldiers of the fifteenth century. The pages of Le
Jouvencel are filled with unusually detailed descriptions of
military campaigns, sieges and battles, capturing the tactics,
weapons and everyday life of the soldier with a vivid eye for
detail. Many of the characters, places and events described in the
apparently fictional story were actually inspired by recent
history, as was revealed in a Commentary written just a few years
after Bueil's death by one of his squires, Guillaume Tringant. Jean
de Bueil wrote Le Jouvencel to provide future generations of
soldiers and military leaders with advice on chivalry, knighthood
and the art of warfare. As a result, this remarkable chivalric
narrative offers a window into the martial culture of French
soldiers during the final stages of the Hundred Years War. This
first English translation is presented with an introduction to the
text and to Jean de Bueil, and explanatory notes.
Moralism involves the distortion of moral thought, the distortion
of reflection and judgement. It is a vice, and one to which many -
from the philosopher to the media pundit to the politician - are
highly susceptible. This book examines the nature of moralism in
specific moral judgements and the ways in which moral philosophy
and theories about morality can themselves become skewed by this
vice. This book ranges across a wide range of topics: the problem
of the demandingness of morality; the conflict between moral and
other values; the contrast between the practice of moral philosophy
and other modes of moral thought or reflection; moralism in the
media; and, moralism in the public discussion of literature and
art. This highly original and provocative book will be of interest
to students of philosophy, psychology, theology and media, and to
anyone who takes a serious interest in contemporary morality.
A radical re-interpretation of the chivalric biography of
Boucicaut. The Livre des fais du bon messire Jehan le Maingre
(1409) is one of the most famous chivalric biographies of the
Middle Ages. It presents Jean II Le Meingre, known as Boucicaut
(1366-1421), as an ideal knight and role model, and has frequently
been seen by modern scholars as a last-ditch effort to defend
traditional chivalric values that were supposedly in decline. Here,
however, Craig Taylor argues that the biography is a much more
complex and interesting text, fusing traditional notions of
chivalry with the most fashionable new ideas in circulation at the
French court at the start of the fifteenth century. Rather than a
nostalgic criticism of contemporary knighthood, it should be seen
as a showcase of the latest ideas on chivalry, written to renew the
enthusiasm of the great French princes for a man who was in grave
danger of falling out of favour: its purpose was to celebrate and
to defend a beleaguered Boucicaut against his critics at the royal
court, and to explain his actions as governor of Genoa, his failed
crusading enterprises in the Eastern Mediterranean and his
unsuccessful efforts to broker a solution to the Papal Schism.
CRAIG TAYLOR is a Reader in Medieval History at the University of
York; he was Director of its Centre for Medieval Studies from 2010
to 2011 and from 2014 to 2017.
This sourcebook collects together for the first time in English the
major documents relating to the life and contemporary reputation of
Joan of Arc. Also known as La Pucelle, she led a French Army
against the English in 1429, arguably turning the course of the war
in favour of the French king Charles VII. The fact that she
achieved all of this when just a seventeen-year-old peasant girl
highlights the magnitude of her achievements and also opens up
other ways of looking at her story. For many, Joan represents the
voice of ordinary people in the fifteenth century; the victims of
high politics and warfare that devastated France. Her story ended
tragically in 1431 when she was put on trial for heresy and sorcery
by an ecclesiastical court and was burned at the stake. This book
shows how the trial, which was organised by her enemies, provides
an important window into late medieval attitudes towards religion
and gender, as Joan was effectively persecuted by the established
Church for her supposedly non-conformist views on spirituality and
the role of women. Presented within a contextual and critical
framework, this book encourages scholars and students to rethink
this remarkable story. It will be invaluable reading for those
working in the fields of medieval society and heresy, as well as
the Hundred Years' War. -- .
Craig Taylor's study examines the wide-ranging French debates on
the martial ideals of chivalry and knighthood during the period of
the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). Faced by stunning military
disasters and the collapse of public order, writers and
intellectuals carefully scrutinized the martial qualities expected
of knights and soldiers. They questioned when knights and
men-at-arms could legitimately resort to violence, the true nature
of courage, the importance of mercy, and the role of books and
scholarly learning in the very practical world of military men.
Contributors to these discussions included some of the most famous
French medieval writers, led by Jean Froissart, Geoffroi de Charny,
Philippe de Mezieres, Honorat Bovet, Christine de Pizan, Alain
Chartier and Antoine de La Sale. This interdisciplinary study sets
their discussions in context, challenging modern, romantic
assumptions about chivalry and investigating the historical reality
of debates about knighthood and warfare in late medieval France.
This book presents an edition of two treatises that examine the
legal issues that arose during the Hundred Years War, namely the
laws governing the succession to the French crown, English claims
to territories within France, and the responsibility for the
breeches of various treaties and truces. The first treatise, Pour
ce que plusieurs, was written in 1464 by a French diplomat and
administrator, Guillaume Cousinot, and is most famous for its part
in establishing the myth that the royal succession in France was
determined by a otiose law code of the Franks, the Salic Law. The
second is an English response to these arguments, A declaracion of
the trew and dewe title of Henrie VIII, written during the reign of
Henry VIII (1509-1547). The declaracion provides valuable evidence
of English reactions to the rhetoric and propaganda generated by
the French crown at the end of the middle ages.
First English translation of the chivalric biography of one of
France's leading figures of the middle ages. Jean le Meingre,
Marechal Boucicaut (1364-1421), was the very flower of chivalry.
From his earliest years at the royal court in Paris, he
distinguished himself in knightly pursuits: sorties against
seditious French nobles, ceremonial jousts against the English
enemy, crusading in Tunisia and Prussia, the composition of courtly
verses, and the establishment of a chivalric order for the defence
of ladies, the Order of the Enterprise of the White Lady of
theGreen Shield. He was named Marshal of France at the age of only
27. His chivalric biography, finished in 1409, is one of the most
important accounts of the life of a knight from the Middle Ages.
Whilst full of praise, it isalso highly partisan and carefully
selective; it glosses over the darker, much less successful, side
of his career - in particular his participation in the catastrophic
Nicopolis crusade (1396) and his governorship of Genoa, whichcame
to an end shortly after the completion of the biography, when a
rebellion forced him to leave the city, five years before his
capture at the battle of Agincourt in 1415 and death in England in
1421. This first English translation makes available to a wider
audience a text that sheds light on the history of France, on
crusading in Prussia and the Mediterranean, and on the complicated
politics of Italy and the papacy during the Great Schism. It isa
highly important contribution to our understanding of chivalric
mentalities and attitudes in late-medieval France. It is presented
with an introduction and notes. Dr CRAIG TAYLOR is Reader in
Medieval History at theUniversity of York; JANE H.M. TAYLOR is
Emeritus Professor of French at Durham University.
New approaches to the political culture of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, considering its complex relation to monarchy
and state. The essays collected here celebrate mark the
distinguished career of Professor W. Mark Ormrod, reflecting the
vibrancy and range of his scholarship on the structures,
personalities and culture of ruling late medieval England.
Encompassing political, administrative, Church and social history,
the volume focusses on three main themes: monarchy, state and
political culture. For the first, it explores Edward III's
reactions to the deaths of his kinfolk and cases of political
defamation across the fourteenth century. The workings of the
"state" are examined through studies of tax and ecclesiastical
records, the Court of Chivalry, fifteenth-century legislation, and
the working practicesof the privy seal clerk, Thomas Hoccleve.
Finally, separate discussions of collegiate statutes and the
household ordinances of Cecily, duchess of York consider the
political culture of regulation and code-making.
Craig Taylor's study examines the wide-ranging French debates on
the martial ideals of chivalry and knighthood during the period of
the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). Faced by stunning military
disasters and the collapse of public order, writers and
intellectuals carefully scrutinized the martial qualities expected
of knights and soldiers. They questioned when knights and
men-at-arms could legitimately resort to violence, the true nature
of courage, the importance of mercy, and the role of books and
scholarly learning in the very practical world of military men.
Contributors to these discussions included some of the most famous
French medieval writers, led by Jean Froissart, Geoffroi de Charny,
Philippe de Mezieres, Honorat Bovet, Christine de Pizan, Alain
Chartier and Antoine de La Sale. This interdisciplinary study sets
their discussions in context, challenging modern, romantic
assumptions about chivalry and investigating the historical reality
of debates about knighthood and warfare in late medieval France.
Over the last 20 years, New York City has been convulsed by
enormous challenges: terrorist attack, blackout, hurricane,
recession, pandemic. New Yorkers is a grand portrait of the
irrepressible city and a hymn to the vitality and resilience of its
people. Craig Taylor spent years meeting New Yorkers - rich and
poor, old and young, native and immigrant - and getting them to
share indelible true tales. Here are the voices of those who propel
the city each day - subway conductor, nurse, bodega cashier,
electrician who keeps the lights on at the top of the Empire State
Building - as well as unforgettable glimpses of the city, from the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade by a balloon handler to the Statue
of Liberty by one of its security guards. New Yorkers captures the
strength of the city that - no matter what it goes through - dares
call itself the greatest in the world.
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