Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy by John Rawls, edited by Samuel Freeman
“John Rawls’s “Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy,” edited by Barbara Herman, was published in 2000 by Harvard University Press. Rawls there discusses the moral philosophies of Hume, Leibniz, Kant, and Hegel. In the “Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy” . . . he covers Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, Marx, [...]
Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine, edited by Barry C. Smith
“The authors collected in “Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine,” all like (David) Hume great champions of self-improvement, address themselves to questions of subjectivity and taste, quantifiability and pleasure, perception and its objects, the role of knowledge and judgement in perceptual discernment, and the possibility of expertise in the arena of fine wine. They [...]
God and Morality: A Philosophical History, by John E. Hare
“John Hare writes that the purpose of God and Morality “is to look at the role theology, or thinking about God, has played in ethical theory within Western philosophy.” To carry out this purpose, he examines the ethical thought of four philosophers from four different eras: Aristotle, Duns Scotus, Kant, and R. M. Hare. Structuring [...]
What is Good and Why: The Ethics of Well-Being, by Richard Kraut
“What is Good and Why: The Ethics of Well-Being’ is the first book-length contribution to contemporary ethical theory by this highly regarded scholar of ancient philosophy. With it, Richard Kraut joins recent moral philosophers who draw inspiration from ancient Greek philosophy, particularly that of Plato and Aristotle, to advance lines of thinking that challenge utilitarianism [...]
The Bourgeois Virtues, Ethics for an Age of Commerce, by Deirdre N. McCloskey
“I hate the middle class. I am a snob and an ingrate, an erudite ignoramus unappreciative of the market that puts food on my table and books on my shelves. I and my left-wing ilk are responsible for at least one global war, the persistence of poverty and despair among the wretched of the earth, [...]
Experiments in Ethics, by Kwame Anthony Appiah
“What philosophers (have not done), until recently, is take an interest in empirical research about our responses to these or other dilemmas. Now, as philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah describes in his concise yet erudite and engagingly written new book, “Experiments in Ethics,” this is changing.” Read the review at the New York Sun.
Philosophers Behaving Badly, by Nigel Rodgers and Mel Thompson
“Philosophers may lead us in terms of profound ideas, but their personal lives can be quite another matter entirely. As historian Nigel Rodgers and philosopher Mel Thompson write in their marvelous little book, Philosophers Behaving Badly, “a life of reason does not necessarily lead to a reasonable life.” Their portraits of eight philosophers bring home [...]
The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, by Joel Bakan
“We have, over the last three hundred years constructed a remarkably efficient wealth-creating machine, but it is now out of control.” The out-of-control machine to which (Joel) Bakan refers in his highly readable and informative book is the corporation. Few entities are as damaging to the environment as are corporations. Bakan ’s book outlines the [...]
Philosophical Myths of the Fall by Stephen Mulhall
“For readers attuned to these (conversations about humanity’s “fallenness,”) Stephen Mulhall’s “Philosophical Myths of the Fall” will be neither surprising nor counterintuitive. But we should not therefore underestimate the element of scandal in Mulhall’s project, which is to suggest that key canonical figures in modern philosophy - Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Wittgenstein - reinscribe the Christian [...]
Liberty of Conscience, by Martha Nussbaum
“Martha Nussbaum straddles several disciplines, holding appointments in the philosophy department, the law school, and the divinity school at the University of Chicago. In her new book, “Liberty of Conscience” (Basic Books, 406 pages, $27.50), she reminds us that she also straddles cultural and religious traditions, having ancestors who came over on the Mayflower and [...]
Memory: An Anthology, edited by Harriet Harvey Wood and A.S. Byatt
William Maxwell called memory “a form of storytelling … in talking about the past we lie with every breath we draw”. John Stuart Mill thought it “the present consciousness of a past sensation”. The science contributors to this anthology locate the various functions of memory in different areas of the brain. Whatever it may be, [...]
Freedom and Neurobiology, by John Searle
“As Searle disarmingly explains in his introduction to Freedom and Neurobiology, he produced this latest volume by accident. In 2001, he gave two lectures at the Sorbonne and agreed to their publication in French translation, thinking that they would in due course appear in some little-read journal. He was pleasantly surprised when some time later [...]
Describing Inner Experience? Proponent Meets Skeptic, by Russell T. Hurlburt and Eric Schwitzgebel
“A few years ago a psychologist and a philosopher got into an argument over whether we can accurately describe our thoughts. “Yes,” said the psychologist; with training and the help of my special technique, we can accurately describe our thoughts. The philosopher doubted it. To resolve their argument, they recruited a young woman who agreed [...]