In theclosing decades of the eighteenth century, the newly independent colonies along the mid-Atlantic coast of North America commenced an unprecedented public debate concerning the principles of civil government. The debate culminated in 1787 with the Philadelphia convention where the United States Constitution was drafted and adopted. After rati

It is always appropriate to ask whether an expedient foreign policy is morally justifiable, just as it is always appropriate to ask whether a morally defensible policy is consistent with the national interest. The ongoing dialogue between morality and realpolitik gives much of foreign policy debate its characteristic bite. In this collection of essays, a distinguished group of philosophers, political theorists, and lawyers- including Russell Hardin and Marshall Cohen-explore these contrasting themes. In essays that are at once insightful and accessible, noted political thinkers examine the tension of the conflicting demands of morality and national self-interest in the context of the foundations of international order, the possession and use of nuclear weapons, recourse to war, and the prospects for peace. A final postscript addresses the question of the responsibility of intellectuals in the national foreign policy debate. This book will appeal to scholars and students in any discipline dealing with international affairs as well as to lay readers who wish to explore the implications of taking morality and reason seriously in foreign policy.

How is women's conception of self affected by the caregiving responsibilities traditionally assigned to them and by the personal vulnerabilities imposed on them? If institutions of male dominance profoundly influence women's lives and minds, how can women form judgments about their own best interests and overcome oppression? Can feminist politics s

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415904714

This book offers an account of moral subjectivity and moral reflection designed to meet the needs of feminism as well as other emancipatory movements. Diana Tietjens Meyers argues that impartial reason - the approach to moral reflection which has dominated 20th-century Anglo-American philosophy and judicial reasoning - is inadequate for addressing real world injustices. Dealing with problems of group-based social exclusion requires empathy with others. But empathy often becomes distorted by prejudicial attitudes which may be publicly condemned but continue to be transmitted through cultural figurations. Meyers argues that it is a mistake to view the moral subject as independent, transparent and rational. Instead, she presents a picture of a heterogeneous and pluralistic subject, one that is defined by ties to other people, liable to misunderstand its own motives, and in need of a repertory of strategies for purposes of moral reflection.

In theclosing decades of the eighteenth century, the newly independent colonies along the mid-Atlantic coast of North America commenced an unprecedented public debate concerning the principles of civil government. The debate culminated in 1787 with the Philadelphia convention where the United States Constitution was drafted and adopted. After rati

How is women's conception of self affected by the caregiving responsibilities traditionally assigned to them and by the personal vulnerabilities imposed on them? If institutions of male dominance profoundly influence women's lives and minds, how can women form judgments about their own best interests and overcome oppression? Can feminist politics survive in face of the diversity of women's experience, which is shaped by race, class, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, as well as by gender? Exploring such questions, leading feminist thinkers have reinvigorated work on the concept of self and personal identity, as demonstrated by the discussions in this insightful volume.The concerns that animate feminist scholarship have prompted feminist philosophers to sideline the theme of individualism and to focus on the theme of intersubjectivity. In conceptualizing the self, the contributors to this volume highlight emotional bonds among people, the stories people tell one another, and the systems of categories and behavioral norms that unite and divide groups of people. Topics addressed include sexual violence and the self, the social self and autonomy, the narrative self and integrity, self-ownership and the body, forgetting yourself and your race, group membership and personal identity, grief and gender, sympathy and women's diversity, emotion and emancipatory epistemology, and dependency and justice. This volume will be important reading for students of feminist theory, ethics, and social and political philosophy.