One of the nation's leading military ethicists, Louis P. Pojman argues that globalism and cosmopolitanism motivate the need for greater international cooperation based on enforceable international law. The best way to realize the promises of globalism and cogent moral arguments for cosmopolitanism, Pojman contends, is through the establishment of a World Government. In very readable prose, Pojman begins with a description of the growing menace of non-state terrorism on people everywhere, and distinguishes 'old-style' from 'new-style' terrorism. In Chapter 2, he examines the virtues and vices of nationalism, comparing them to the promises and problems of cosmopolitanism. Pojman ultimately argues that enforceable international law which will promote peace and curtail terrorism requires that we endorse a form of 'soft nationalism.' This form of nationalism is ultimately compatible with a limited, republican form of world government. Chapter 3 addresses universal human rights, arguing against the notion that they are an ethnocentric product of Western culture, and providing an overall justification of human rights as correlative to moral duties. Pojman concludes on a hopeful note, characterizing his proposal for a World Government as an effective counter-measure, albeit ambitious and controversial, to terrorism and its causes.

Incorporating the insights of new coeditor Lewis Vaughn, Classics of Philosophy, Third Edition, is the most comprehensive anthology of writings in Western philosophy in print. Spanning 2,500 years of thought, it is ideal for introduction to philosophy and history of philosophy courses. It features more than seventy selections by forty philosophers--along with fragments from the Pre-Socratics--offering students and instructors an extensive and economical collection of the major works of the Western tradition. This volume contains the most important writings from Thales to Rawls; twenty of these are complete works, while the others are judiciously abridged so that little of value to the student is lost. A lucid introduction, including a brief biographical sketch, accompanies each of the featured philosophers.
NEW TO THE THIRD EDITION:
* Selections from philosophers who were not included in the previous edition--Maimonides (Guide for the Perplexed) and Schopenhauer (The World as Will and Representation)--along with Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
* Expanded readings: Aristotle's Posterior Analytics, On the Soul, Metaphysics, and Nicomachean Ethics; Berkeley's Of the Principles of Human Knowledge; and Hume's Treatise on Human Nature
* Review questions for each chapter and illustrated portraits of many philosophers
* A Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/pojman featuring resources for students (self-quizzes, flash cards, chapter review questions, a timeline, and helpful web links) and instructors (brief reading summaries, essay questions, test questions, and PowerPoint-based lecture slides)
Classics of Philosophy, Third Edition, provides students with an extensive view of the major stages of growth in Western philosophy--including its birth with the Pre-Socratics and its contemporary developments--in an accessible format and at an affordable price.

A comprehensive anthology on justice with readings that offer the different theories on the importance and placement of justice in society.The well-argued, accessible articlesencompass classic to contemporary theories and cover both positive and negative.

Two distinguished social and political philosophers take opposing positions in this highly engaging work. Louis P. Pojman justifies the practice of execution by appealing to the principle of retribution: we deserve to be rewarded and punished according to the virtue or viciousness of our actions. He asserts that the death penalty does deter some potential murderers and that we risk the lives of innocent people who might otherwise live if we refuse to execute those deserving that punishment. Jeffrey Reiman argues that although the death penalty is a just punishment for murder, we are not morally obliged to execute murderers. Since we lack conclusive evidence that executing murderers is an effective deterrent and because we can foster the advance of civilization by demonstrating our intolerance for cruelty in our unwillingness to kill those who kill others, Reiman concludes that it is good in principle to avoid the death penalty, and bad in practice to impose it.

A comprehensive anthology on justice with readings that offer the different theories on the importance and placement of justice in society.The well-argued, accessible articlesencompass classic to contemporary theories and cover both positive and negative.

Written by a group of distinguished philosophers, the "Foundations of Philosophy Series" aims to exhibit some of the main problems in the various fields of philosophy at the present stage of philosophical inquiry. This book is written from the viewpoint that although justice is the most important concept in political philosophy, it is also one of the most contested concepts in philosophy. The material presents a philosophical map to navigate the plethora of confusing, competing theories and concepts regarding the importance of justice. Coverage begins with an overview of the concept of justice, arguing that justice is a vital part of political philosophy, which in turn is part of moral philosophy. The book outlines an objectivist view of moral philosophy, which holds that moral principles have universal validity. The author distinguishes between formal and material concepts of justice and discusses the related issues of comparative/noncomparative justice and distributive versus commutative justice. For those in criminal justice professions or philosophical vocations.

The concept of desert, which once enjoyed a central place in political and ethical theory, has been relegated to the margins of much of contemporary theory, if not excluded altogether. Recently a renewed interest in the topic has emerged, and several philosophers have argued that the notion merits a more central place in political and ethical theory. Some of these philosophers contend that justice exists to the extent that people receive exactly what they deserve, while others argue that desert should replace such considerations as rights, need, and equality as the basis for distributions. Still others argue that morality involves a fitting match between one's moral character and a degree of happiness. All of these positions have encountered opposition from egalitarians, libertarians, and those who are skeptical about the coherence of the concept of desert.
The first anthology of its kind, What Do We Deserve? is a balanced collection of readings that brings sharply opposing positions and arguments together and stimulates debate over the meaning and significance of desert in current thought. The book begins with eight classical readings on desert (by Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Smith, Kant, Mill, Sidgwick, and Ross), and later turns to contemporary interpretations of the issue. The selections examine the concept itself, analyze its relationship to the ideas of freedom and responsibility, engage in the debate between John Rawls and his critics on the merits of desert, and, finally, study the wider role and significance of desert in political and ethical theory.