Judith Jarvis Thomson's Books

Rights, Restitution, and Risk

Essays, in Moral Theory

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

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Rights, Restitution, and Risk

Essays, in Moral Theory

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

Moral theory should be simple: the moral theorist attends to ordinary human action to explain what makes some acts right and others wrong, and we need no microscope to observe a human act. Yet no moral theory that is simple captures all of the morally relevant facts. In a set of vivid examples, stories, and cases Judith Thomson shows just how wide an array of moral considerations bears on all but the simplest of problems. She is a philosophical analyst of the highest caliber who can tease a multitude of implications out of the story of a mere bit of eavesdropping. She is also a master teller of tales which have a philosophical bite. Beyond these pleasures, however, she brings new depth of understanding to some of the most pressing moral issues of the moment, notably abortion. Thomson's essays determinedly confront the most difficult questions: What is it to have a moral right to life, or any other right? What is the relation between the infringement of such rights and restitution? How is rights theory to deal with the imposition of risk?

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286

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Harvard University Press

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ISBN 10

0674769813

ISBN 13

9780674769816

Fact and Value

Essays on Ethics and Metaphysics for Judith Jarvis Thomson

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

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Fact and Value

Essays on Ethics and Metaphysics for Judith Jarvis Thomson

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

A diverse collection of essays, which reflect the breadth of Judith Jarvis Thomson's philosophical work. The diversity of topics discussed in this book reflects the breadth of Judith Jarvis Thomson's philosophical work. Throughout her long career at MIT, Thomson's straightforward approach and emphasis on problem-solving have shaped philosophy in significant ways. Some of the book's contributions discuss specific moral and political issues such as abortion, self-defense, the rights and obligations of prospective fathers, and political campaign finance. Other contributions concern the foundations of moral theory, focusing on hedonism, virtue ethics, the nature of nonconsequentialism, and the objectivity of moral claims. Finally, contributions in metaphysics and epistemology discuss the existence of sets, the structures reflected in conditional statements, and the commitments of testimony. Contributors Jonathan Bennett, Richard L. Cartwright, Joshua Cohen, N. Ann Davis, Catherine Z. Elgin, Gilbert Harman, Barbara Herman, Frances Myrna Kamm, Claudia Mills, T.M. Scanlon, Ernest Sosa

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260

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MIT Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0262024985

ISBN 13

9780262024983

Goodness and Advice

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

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Goodness and Advice

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

How should we live? What do we owe to other people? In Goodness and Advice, the eminent philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson explores how we should go about answering such fundamental questions. In doing so, she makes major advances in moral philosophy, pointing to some deep problems for influential moral theories and describing the structure of a new and much more promising theory. Thomson begins by lamenting the prevalence of the idea that there is an unbridgeable gap between fact and value--that to say something is good, for example, is not to state a fact, but to do something more like expressing an attitude or feeling. She sets out to challenge this view, first by assessing the apparently powerful claims of Consequentialism. Thomson makes the striking argument that this familiar theory must ultimately fail because its basic requirement--that people should act to bring about the "most good"--is meaningless. It rests on an incoherent conception of goodness, and supplies, not mistaken advice, but no advice at all. Thomson then outlines the theory that she thinks we should opt for instead. This theory says that no acts are, simply, good: an act can at most be good in one or another way--as, for example, good for Smith or for Jones. What we ought to do is, most importantly, to avoid injustice; and whether an act is unjust is a function both of the rights of those affected, including the agent, and of how good or bad the act is for them. The book, which originated in the Tanner lectures that Thomson delivered at Princeton University's Center for Human Values in 1999, includes two chapters by Thomson ("Goodness" and "Advice"), provocative comments by four prominent scholars--Martha Nussbaum, Jerome Schneewind, Philip Fisher, and Barbara Herrnstein Smith--and replies by Thomson to those comments.

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205

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Princeton University Press

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ISBN 10

1400824729

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9781400824724

The Trolley Problem Mysteries

By: Frances Myrna Kamm,Judith Jarvis Thomson,Thomas Hurka,Shelly Kagan

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The Trolley Problem Mysteries

By: Frances Myrna Kamm,Judith Jarvis Thomson,Thomas Hurka,Shelly Kagan

A rigorous treatment of a thought experiment that has become notorious within and outside of philosophy - The Trolley Problem - by one of the most influential moral philosophers alive today Suppose you can stop a trolley from killing five people, but only by turning it onto a side track where it will kill one. May you turn the trolley? What if the only way to rescue the five is to topple a bystander in front of the trolley so that his body stops it but he dies? May you use a device to stop the trolley that will kill a bystander as a side effect? The "Trolley Problem" challenges us to explain and justify our different intuitive judgments about these and related cases and has spawned a huge literature. F.M. Kamm's 2013 Tanner Lectures present some of her views on this notorious moral conundrum. After providing a brief history of changing views of what the problem is about and attempts to solve it, she focuses on two prominent issues: Does who turns the trolley and how the harm is shifted affect the moral permissibility of acting? The answers to these questions lead to general proposals about when we may and may not harm some to help others. Three distinguished philosophers - Judith Jarvis Thomson (one of the originators of the trolley problem), Thomas Hurka, and Shelly Kagan - then comment on Kamm's proposals. She responds to each comment at length, providing an exceptionally rich elaboration and defense of her views. The Trolley Problem Mysteries is an invaluable resource not only to philosophers concerned about the Trolley Problem, but to anyone worried about how we ought to act when we can lessen harm to some by harming others and how we can reach a decision about the question.

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273

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Oxford University Press

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ISBN 10

0190247150

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9780190247157

Fact and Value

Essays on Ethics and Metaphysics for Judith Jarvis Thomson

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

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Fact and Value

Essays on Ethics and Metaphysics for Judith Jarvis Thomson

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

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MIT Press

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0262024985

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9780262024983

Rights, Restitution, and Risk

Essays, in Moral Theory

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

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Rights, Restitution, and Risk

Essays, in Moral Theory

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

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Harvard University Press

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0674769813

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9780674769816

Goodness and Advice

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

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Goodness and Advice

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

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Princeton University Press

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1400824729

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9781400824724

The Trolley Problem Mysteries

By: Frances Myrna Kamm,Judith Jarvis Thomson,Thomas Hurka,Shelly Kagan

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The Trolley Problem Mysteries

By: Frances Myrna Kamm,Judith Jarvis Thomson,Thomas Hurka,Shelly Kagan

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273

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Oxford University Press

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0190247150

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9780190247157

Our Lives Before the Law

Constructing a Feminist Jurisprudence

By: Judith A. Baer

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Our Lives Before the Law

Constructing a Feminist Jurisprudence

By: Judith A. Baer

According to Judith Baer, feminist legal scholarship today does not effectively address the harsh realities of women's lives. Feminists have marginalized themselves, she argues, by withdrawing from mainstream intellectual discourse. In Our Lives Before the Law, Baer thus presents the framework for a new feminist jurisprudence--one that would return feminism to relevance by connecting it in fresh and creative ways with liberalism. Baer starts from the traditional feminist premise that the legal system has a male bias and must do more to help women combat violence and overcome political, economic, and social disadvantages. She argues, however, that feminist scholarship has over-corrected for this bias. By emphasizing the ways in which the system fails women, feminists have lost sight of how it can be used to promote women's interests and have made it easy for conventional scholars to ignore legitimate feminist concerns. In particular, feminists have wrongly linked the genuine flaws of conventional legal theory to its basis in liberalism, arguing that liberalism focuses too heavily on individual freedom and not enough on individual responsibility. In fact, Baer contends, liberalism rests on a presumption of personal responsibility and can be used as a powerful intellectual foundation for holding men and male institutions more accountable for their actions. The traditional feminist approach, Baer writes, has led to endless debates about such abstract matters as character differences between men and women, and has failed to deal sufficiently with concrete problems with the legal system. She thus constructs a new feminist interpretation of three central components of conventional theory--equality, rights, and responsibility--through analysis of such pressing legal issues as constitutional interpretation, reproductive choice, and fetal protection. Baer concludes by presenting the outline of what she calls "feminist post-liberalism": an approach to jurisprudence that not only values individual freedoms but also recognizes our responsibility for addressing individuals' needs, however different those may be for men and women. Powerfully and passionately written, Our Lives Before the Law will have a major impact on the future course of feminist legal scholarship.

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295

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Princeton University Press

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ISBN 10

1400823331

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9781400823338

In Pursuit of Privacy

Law, Ethics, and the Rise of Technology

By: Judith Wagner DeCew

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In Pursuit of Privacy

Law, Ethics, and the Rise of Technology

By: Judith Wagner DeCew

Judith Wagner DeCew provides a solid philosophical foundation for legal discussions of privacy by articulating and unifying diverse arguments on the right to privacy and on how it should be guaranteed in various contemporary contexts. Philosophers and legal theorists tend either to define privacy narrowly or to abandon privacy as conceptually incoherent, she claims. In order to assess how far privacy should extend, and determine how the wide range of specific cases can be reconciled, DeCew surveys the history of the notion of privacy as it first evolved in American tort law and constitutional law and then analyzes current characterizations. In different contexts, privacy has been defined on the basis of information, autonomy, property, and intimacy. DeCew's broader claim is that privacy has fundamental value because it allows us to create ourselves as individuals, offering us freedom from judgment, scrutiny, and the pressure to conform. Feminist theorists often view privacy as a tool for shielding abuses. DeCew responds to this feminist critique of privacy, as well as addressing the issues of abortion and of gay and lesbian sexuality in the context of specific landmark legal cases. In discussions of Roe v. Wade, Bowers v. Hardwick, and the Hart/Devlin debates on decriminalization of homosexuality and prostitution, DeCew applies her broad theory to sexual and reproductive privacy, anti-sodomy laws, and the legislation and enforcement of morals. She finally discusses the intersection of privacy with public safety concerns, such as drug testing, and in light of new communication technologies, such as caller ID.

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216

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Cornell University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1501721240

ISBN 13

9781501721243

Law and Ethics in Nursing and Health Care

By: Judith Hendrick

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Law and Ethics in Nursing and Health Care

By: Judith Hendrick

Provides an overview of the British legal and ethical issues that nurses and other health professionals come across. Hendrick (Oxford Brookes U.) discusses the relationship between law and ethics and how at times they overlap or diverge. Chapters include case studies, theoretical discussion, possible outcomes, and a summary of how the legal and ethical approaches compare. They also examine the patient-client relationship (confidentiality, consent, responsibility and accountability) as well as the relationship between the law, codes of practice, and health care circulars. The book includes guidelines from professional bodies. Distributed in the US by ISBS. c. Book News Inc.

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276

Publisher

Nelson Thornes

Published Date

ISBN 10

0748733213

ISBN 13

9780748733217

Historical and Multicultural Encyclopedia of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States

By: Judith A. Baer

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Historical and Multicultural Encyclopedia of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States

By: Judith A. Baer

eproductive rights refers to a range of claims concerning whether, when and how to have children. Beneath this clear statement lays the most contentious political, legal, and cultural issue in America today. Involving the self, the family, and the State, women's reproductive rights generates much impassioned argument but painfully little agreement. Topics and authors take on diverse and often clashing positions, highlighting this issue's complex and highly charged nature. Arranged alphabetically by topic, articles representing racial and ethnic groups' experiences figure prominently, as do the effects of age, class, education, health, religion, and sexual preference on childbearing and -rearing practices, in and out of wedlock. It also includes articles on laws, court cases, political attitudes, prominent activists, and technological advances as they relate to reproductive rights. Entries are written by highly regarded scholars, are cross-referenced, and conclude with suggested further readings. Designed to introduce and inform the reader to this extremely difficult topic, Baer's ecumenical approach exposes us to a variety of opinions from support for current abortion policies to the building movement for fetal rights. Only reasoned opinions supported by hard evidence are included, and no attempt was made to mute the often incommensurable opinions expressed within. This book will be a valuable resources for students, scholars, and any person interested in learning about the multiplicity of perspectives on this important issue that is at the heart of our current culture wars.

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273

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Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0313011079

ISBN 13

9780313011078

Equality under the Constitution

Reclaiming the Fourteenth Amendment

By: Judith A. Baer

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Equality under the Constitution

Reclaiming the Fourteenth Amendment

By: Judith A. Baer

The principle of equality embedded in the Declaration of Independence and reaffirmed in the Constitution does not distinguish between individuals according to their capacities or merits. It is written into these documents to ensure that each and every person enjoys equal respect and equal rights. Judith Baer maintains, however, that in fact American judicial decisions have consistently denied individuals the form of equality to which they are legally entitled—that the courts have interpreted constitutional guarantees of equal protection in ways that undermine the original intent of Congress. In Equality under the Constitution, Baer examines the background, scope, and purpose of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment and the history of its interpretation by the courts. She traces the development of the idea of equality, drawing on the Bill of Rights, Congressional records, the Civil War amendments, and other sections of the Constitution. Baer discusses many of the significant equal-protection cases decided by the Supreme Court from the time of the amendment’s ratification, including decisions on reverse discrimination, age discrimination, the rights of the disabled, and gay rights. She concludes with a theory of equality more faithful to the history, language, and spirit of the Constitution.

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391

Publisher

Cornell University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1501722751

ISBN 13

9781501722752

Observing Bioethics

By: Renee C. Fox,Judith P. Swazey

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Observing Bioethics

By: Renee C. Fox,Judith P. Swazey

Based on original primary and extensive secondary source materials, the book views bioethics as a complex phenomenon that is not only related to advances in modern biology, medicine, and biotechnology, but also to the fundamental values and beliefs and larger moral and existential questions which American society has been collectively grappling in its courts, legislatures, and media. Although they center their analysis on U.S. bioethics, the authors also trace the field's international spread, including case studies of bioethics in France and Pakistan - two of the many societies in which it has developed. While recognizing the intellectual, moral and sociological importance of American bioethics, they are critical of certain of its characteristics, and concerned about their implications-especially the problems of thinking socially, culturally, and internationally that have existed since bioethics' inception; the field's "tenuous interdisciplinarity"; and the extent to which the "culture wars" on the larger American scene have recently penetrated it.

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401

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195365550

ISBN 13

9780195365559

Bioethics as Practice

By: Judith Andre

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Bioethics as Practice

By: Judith Andre

Andre examines the field of bioethics from an insider's point of view, exploring the questions that have dominated the field and encouraging students and practitioners to move beyond end-of-life issues to address issues in the routine practice of medicine.

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276

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Univ of North Carolina Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807855839

ISBN 13

9780807855836

Normativity

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

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Normativity

By: Judith Jarvis Thomson

Judith Jarvis Thomson's Normativity is a study of normative thought. She brings out that normative thought is not restricted to moral thought. Normative judgments divide into two sub-kinds, the evaluative and the directive; but the sub-kinds are larger than is commonly appreciated. Evaluative judgments include the judgments that such and such is a good umbrella, that Alfred is a witty comedian, and that Bert answered Carol's question correctly, as well as the judgment that David is a good human being. Directive judgments include the judgment that a toaster should toast evenly, that Edward ought to get a haircut, and that Frances must move her rook, as well as the judgment that George ought to be kind to his little brother. Thomson describes how judgments of these two sub-kinds interconnect and what makes them true when they are true. Given the extensiveness of the two sub-kinds of normative judgment, our everyday thinking is rich in normativity, and moreover, there is no gap between normative and factual thought. The widespread suspicion of the normative is therefore in large measure due to nothing deeper than an excessively narrow conception of what counts as a normative judgment.

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283

Publisher

Open Court

Published Date

ISBN 10

0812699513

ISBN 13

9780812699517

Analyzing Moral Issues

By: Judith A. Boss

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Analyzing Moral Issues

By: Judith A. Boss

Analyzing Moral Issues combines the appeal and strengths of the moral issues approach with a solid foundation in moral theory and moral reasoning. In addition to providing an overview of some of the major moral issues in our society, this text gives students the hands-on skills necessary to recogniz

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916

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McGraw-Hill Humanities, Social Sciences & World Languages

Published Date

ISBN 10

0767401611

ISBN 13

9780767401616

Moral Relativism and Moral Objectivity

By: Gilbert Harman,Judith Jarvis Thomson

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Moral Relativism and Moral Objectivity

By: Gilbert Harman,Judith Jarvis Thomson

Do moral questions have objective answers? In this great debate, Gilbert Harman explains and argues for relativism, emotivism, and moral scepticism. In his view, moral disagreements are like disagreements about what to pay for a house; there are no correct answers ahead of time, except in relation to one or another moral framework. Independently, Judith Jarvis Thomson examines what she takes to be the case against moral objectivity, and rejects it; she argues that it is possible to find out the correct answers to some moral questions. In her view, some moral disagreements are like disagreements about whether the house has a ghost. Harman and Thomson then reply to each other. This important, lively accessible exchange will be invaluable to all students of moral theory and meta-ethics.

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225

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Published Date

ISBN 10

0631192093

ISBN 13

9780631192091

Culture of Prejudice

Arguments in Critical Social Science

By: Judith C. Blackwell,Murray E. G. Smith,John S. Sorenson

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Culture of Prejudice

Arguments in Critical Social Science

By: Judith C. Blackwell,Murray E. G. Smith,John S. Sorenson

The principal theme of the book is that social science is at its best, and most exciting, when it confronts and refutes "cultures of prejudice"—intricate systems of beliefs and attitudes that sustain many forms of social oppression and that are, themselves, sustained by ignorance and fear of the unknown and the unfamiliar.

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361

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University of Toronto Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1442600039

ISBN 13

9781442600034

Presidential Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 1991-2000

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Presidential Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 1991-2000

Founded in 1900 to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly activity in philosophy, to facilitate the professional work and teaching of philosophers, and to represent philosophy as a discipline, the American Philosophical Association (APA) has from a few hundred members to more than ten thousand, now being one of the largest philosophical societies in the world and the only American philosophical society not devoted to a single special school or philosophical approach. In 1999, in anticipation of its centennial, the APA authorized philosopher Richard T. Hull to collect and publish the presidential addresses delivered over the course of the first hundred years of the APA. This is the tenth volume in the series, which covers addresses given between 1991 and 2000. Each presidential address is accompanied by a photo and biography of the author , a chronology of the APA, a list of presidents per decade, a list of universities and colleges closely associated with each president, and name and subject indexes. Distinguished philosophers represented in this volume include Annette Baier, Stuart Hampshire, Judith Thompson, Stanley Cavell, Mary Mothersill, Elliott Sober, Martha Nussbaum, and many others. This unique record of the development and leadership of American philosophy during the twentieth century will complement the libraries of both professional philosophers and interested non-professionals and it provides an excellent resource for students and professionals alike to trace the history of special interest areas in philosophy. An eleventh volume of commissioned essays, covering each decade of The Association's first hundred years, is planned. This will include essays that comment on the philosophical trends represented in each of the decades of the APA's first century.

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768

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ISBN 10

0985974818

ISBN 13

9780985974817

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