For several decades, David Gauthier has been one of the leading philosophers working on practical rationality and deliberation. This book presents a selection of Gauthier's writings on these topics, all but two of which were written after Morals by Agreement (OUP, 1986). They represent Gauthier's most important contributions to the theory of practical reason, moving some distance from the view a first presented in "Reason and Maximization" and developed in a much-reprinted chapter of Morals by Agreement. These essays challenge common misconceptions of Gauthier's revisionist conception of practical rationality, and provide important insights with implications for economic theory.
This volume presents a selection of David Gauthier's writings on Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and the theory of political contractarianism. The eight essays on Hobbes, written over four decades, represent the author's changing understanding of the moral and political theories since the publication of The Logic of Leviathan (OUP, 1969). These include essays on Hobbes on law, challenging influential readings of his legal philosophy, and a previously unpublished piece, 'The True and Only Moral Philosophy', providing a close reading of chapters 13-15 of Leviathan. The four essays on social contract theory include an extended version of 'Political Contractarianism' (1997), Gauthier's well-known 'Public Reason' (1994), and a paper previously available only in French and Spanish translations.
In this book the author argues that moral principles are principles of rational choice. According to the usual view of choice, a rational person selects what is likely to give the greatest expectation of value or utility. But in many situations, if each person chooses in this way, everyone will be worse off than need be. Instead, Professor Gauthier proposes a principle whereby choice is made on an agreed basis of co-operation, rather than according to what would give the individual the greatest expectation of value. He shows that such a principle not only ensures mutual benefit and fairness, thus satisfying the standards of morality, but also that each person may actually expect greater utility by adhering to morality, even though the choice did not have that end primarily in view. In resolving what may appear to be a paradox, the author establishes morals on the firm foundation of reason.
Rousseau is often portrayed as an educational and social reformer whose aim was to increase individual freedom. In this volume David Gauthier examines Rousseau's evolving notion of freedom, where he focuses on a single quest: Can freedom and the independent self be regained? Rousseau's first answer is given in Emile, where he seeks to create a self-sufficient individual, neither materially nor psychologically enslaved to others. His second is in the Social Contract, where he seeks to create a citizen who identifies totally with his community, experiencing his dependence on it only as a dependence on himself. Rousseau implicitly recognized the failure of these solutions. His third answer is one of the main themes of the Confessions and Reveries, where he is made for a love that merges the selves of the lovers into a single, psychologically sufficient unity that makes each 'better than free'. But is this response a chimaera?
David Gauthier is one of the most outstanding and influential philosophers working in moral theory today, and his book Morals by Agreement (1986) has established him as a preeminent defender of contractarian moral theory. This volume brings together a selection of his best essays on contractarianism, many of which have become difficult to find.
This edited volume presents a selection of Gauthier's writings on practical rationality and deliberation. The chapters develop and clarify Gauthier's theory of practical rationality, and draw out insights relevant to economic theory.
Oxford Scholarly Classics brings together a number of great academic works from the archives of Oxford University Press. Reissued in a uniform series design, they will enable libraries, scholars, and students to gain fresh access to some of the finest scholarship of the last century.
Bear can’t imagine a whole winter without her friend, so when Bird migrates south, Bear decides to follow. She’s never left the forest before, but that won’t stop her from crossing oceans and mountains—and sending letters along the way. But a surprise is waiting for Bear on the beach… Richly told in amusing letters and lush illustrations, this adventurous story invites readers to consider just how far they’d go for their friends.
Assorted fruit from forty years' writing, these essays by David Braybrooke discuss (in Part One of the book) a variety of concrete, practical topics that ethical concerns bring into politics: people's interests; their needs as well as their preferences; their work and their commitment to work; their participation in politics and in other group activities. Essays follow on the justice with which theme matters are arranged for and on the common good in which they are consolidated. Justice here inspires a 'departures' approach, which moves from agreement on departures from commutative justice to agreement on measures of distributive justice needed to forestall such departures. Another essay (first published here) radically undermines the odd but entrenched belief that utilitarianism classically licenced, even prescribed, systematically sacrificing the happiness of some people to give others greater pleasure. Part II and Part III of the book concentrate upon the subject of settled social rules, which are devices for securing the objectives treated in Part I. Part II shows that rules are ubiquitous in ethics, since there are no virtues without rules, just as there are no (justified) rules; without virtues. Part Two also shows that rules are as ubiquitous in social phenomena as the causal regularities sought by one school of social science. Part III captures the dialectic of history at least in part by a logical analysis of changes in rules following the onset of quandaries. It then considers how political choices can be both prudent, by keeping within duly considered incremental limits, and yet imaginative enough to escape the recent embarrassments generated by social choice theory. Characteristically versatile in topic and style, Braybrooke offers original light on all theme subjects. One reader has commented, '[His] prose is elegant and always a pleasure to read. Some of the pieces are nothing short of brilliant.' Which did the reader have in mind? Readers may differ (they already have) on just which pieces they would rank highest.
The beauty bible for a new generation: in this invaluable natural guide, illustrated with black-and-white drawings and thirty-two pages of color photos, internationally acclaimed nutrition and natural beauty expert David Wolfe offers proven strategies designed to improve appearance, vitality, and health from the inside out. Each year, women absorb five pounds of toxins using common beauty products. Wolfe, one of America’s foremost nutrition experts, argues that you shouldn’t have to trade good health for exceptional beauty. There are safe, effective, and most importantly, natural ways to enjoy glowing skin and gorgeous hair. In The Beauty Diet, he offers these solutions for cleansing and nourishing the body, slowing the aging process, and transforming your health from the inside out so that your beauty radiates like never before. Grounded in science and based on a foundation of rejuvenation and the enjoyment of life, The Beauty Diet is a guide to unleashing the potential for beauty within you. Wolfe explains how the human body chemically reacts to various elements of nutrition, physical activity, and sleep—information you can use to look and feel better instantly. Natural, toxin-free beauty is not only the best way to achieve lasting beauty, it is the only way. Under Wolfe’s guidance, learn the simple dietary and lifestyle changes like implementing organic superfoods and detoxifying through proper mineralization—balancing your acid and alkaline levels that have lasting results. Featuring simple, clean recipes for delicious meals and smart tips for using natural resources such as cryotherapy, activated charcoal, probiotics, and more, The Beauty Diet is the ultimate resource for the healthiest route to radiant beauty.
Positive conceptions of ‘healthy aging’ are rightly displacing negative ageist perceptions of older members of our society. Nevertheless, at some stage, most elderly citizens will require some form of assistance from other members of society. When the body or mind begins to fail, a legitimate need for intervention and care will arise. This second volume on Aging discusses this theme.
Salt marshes and mangrove forests, the intertidal wetlands of the world's coastlines, provide key ecological services to all areas of the globe. This cutting-edge, richly illustrated book introduces the essential elements of coastal wetlands and their applications. The book opens by introducing coastal oceanography, the physical features of wetlands, their ecology, and human impacts upon them, giving all students the necessary background for wetlands studies. It then presents detailed case studies from around the world with extensive illustrations, supplying a wider, global-scale picture of wetlands geomorphology and biodiversity. The final chapters discuss some unique applications of coastal wetlands, including geological monitoring, uses in biotechnology and agriculture, and various experimental mesocosms. This is ideal as supplementary reading to support students on a wide range of earth and life science courses, from environmental science, ecology and palaeoecology to geomorphology and geography. It will also be a valuable interdisciplinary reference for researchers.
International law presents a conceptual riddle. Why comply with it when there is no world government to enforce it? The United States has a long history of skepticism towards international law, but 9/11 ushered in a particularly virulent phase of American exceptionalism, as the US drifted away from international institutions and conventions. Although American politicians and their legal advisors are often the public face of this attack, the root of this movement is a coordinated and deliberate attack by law professors hostile to its philosophical foundations, including Eric Posner, Jack Goldsmith, Adrian Vermeule, and John Yoo. In a series of influential writings, they have claimed that since states are motivated primarily by self-interest, compliance with international law is nothing more than high-minded talk. These abstract arguments provide a foundation for dangerous legal conclusions: that international law is largely irrelevant to determining how and when terrorists can be captured or killed; that the US President alone should be directing the War on Terror without significant input from Congress or the judiciary; that US courts should not hear lawsuits alleging violations of international law; and that the US should block any international criminal court with jurisdiction over Americans. These polemical accounts have ultimately triggered America's pernicious withdrawal from international cooperation. In The Assault on International Law, Jens David Ohlin exposes the mistaken assumptions of these "New Realists," in particular their impoverished utilization of rational choice theory. In contrast, he provides an alternate vision of international law based on an innovative theory of human rationality. According to Ohlin, rationality requires that agents follow through on their plans and commitments even when faced with opportunities for defection, as long as the original plan was beneficial for the agent. Seen in the light of this planning theory of rational agency, international law is the product of nation-states cooperating to escape a brutish State of Nature-a result that is not only legally binding but also in each state's self-interest.
This book explores the ethical and political implications of the debate between Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas on the question of Place. It relates their debate to larger disagreements concerning ontology and ethics, the status of humanism, and the relationship between worldliness and transcendence. Ultimately, in an epoch characterized by tribalism and globalization, the Heidegger-Levinas debate illuminates the need for a contemporary politics of place that enables human beings to dwell and practice hospitality.
First published in 2004. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE SOCIAL CONTRACT IN MODERN POLITICAL THOUGHT? The concept of a social contract has been central to political thought since the seventeenth century. Contract theory has been used to justify political authority, to account for the origins of the state, and to provide foundations for moral values and the creation of a just society. In The Social Contract from Hobbes to Rawls, leading scholars from Britain and America survey the history of contractarian thought and the major debates in political theory which surround the notion of the social contract. The book examines the critical reception to the ideas of thinkers including Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel and Marx, and includes the more contemporary ideas of John Rawls and David Gauthier. It also incorporates discussions of international relations theory and feminist responses to contractarianism. Together, the essays provide a comprehensive introduction to theories and critiques of the social contract within a broad political theoretical framework.
The Nevada Review is a journal dedicated to Nevada: it aims to enhance understanding of the state as a geographical, social, and political unit and a microcosm of the West in the broader historical and political development of the United States. Recognizing the distinctive geological, environmental, social and ethnographic characteristics of Nevada, the Review seeks contributions that examine these features and investigate how they have contributed to the shape of its political institutions, demographic profile, and cultural mores. To this end, the Review encompasses studies from a broad range of disciplines and perspectives, including, but not limited to, history, political science, economics, and literary criticism and also accepts literary contributions of short fiction that concern Nevada, its people, and their way of life.
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