Social Ethics

A dazzlingly original account of the life and thought of Adam Smith, the greatest economist of all time. In Adam Smith, political philosopher Jesse Norman dispels the myths and caricatures, and provides a far more complex portrait of the man. Offering a highly engaging account of Smith's life and times, Norman explores his work as a whole and traces his influence over two centuries to the present day. Finally, he shows how a proper understanding of Smith can help us address the problems of modern capitalism.

Myshkin was born on a certain day and died on a certain day - and some things happened to him in between. These things presented him with ethical questions, and this book is a record of his attempt to answer those questions. Discovered by his son after Myshkin's death, A Good Life is one man's reckoning with the life he has led and the choices he made. It is at once a philosophical handbook for living and a pause-resisting narrative.

Perhaps the most important work in philosophy after the Allegory of the Cave. Incomparable logic and findings about the things that matter in life with clear, succinct prose.

When Thomas Aquinas addressed the best arguments against God in his masterwork, the Summa Theologica, he listed only two. The first was the problem of evil: How can God—who is perfectly good—exist alongside that which is against Him? His second: Is God needed to explain the world? Patrick Flynn presents the best arguments for God while also addressing the strongest objections. This book is destined to become the apologetic gold standard for defending classical theism against atheistic naturalism.

David Hume (1711-1776) is perhaps best known for his ideas about cause and effect and his criticisms of religion, but he is rarely thought of as a philosopher with practical wisdom to offer. Yet Hume's philosophy is grounded in an honest assessment of nature - human nature in particular. The Great Guide is an engaging and eye-opening account of how Hume's thought should serve as the basis for a complete approach to life. Julian Baggini masterfully interweaves biography with intellectual history and philosophy to give us a complete vision of Hume's guide to life.

Pornography is powerful. Our contemporary culture as been pornified, and it shapes our assumptions about identity, sexuality, the value of women and the nature of relationships. Countless Christian men struggle with the addictive power of porn. But common spiritual approaches of more prayer and accountability groups are often of limited help.

The world can be a confusing place at time, especially when we are confronted with things that appear to contradict the Christian teachings so many of us cherish. When science and theology clash, there can sometimes seem to be no way of finding a compromise, but when we see the difficulties faced by transgender people, the solution requires a combination approach from medical science, philosophy, and theology.

Skeptics believe we don’t need God to understand reality, and that science and reason hold the keys to building a better world. Faith is blind, and there is no credible evidence for God’s existence - especially the God of the Bible. Therefore, science and religious belief are deeply incompatible, and God is no longer relevant to our modern world. But if there is no God, how can our lives have any meaning? How can we make sense of good and evil, truth, justice, beauty, rationality, or even science itself?

Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (46 ce - after 119) was born in Chaeronea, Boeotia, to a wealthy Greek family. He made the most of his varied background and experience as a philosopher, magistrate, ambassador and priest at the Delphic Temple of Apollo, to become one of the most important biographers and essayists of classical Greek and Roman times. Parallel Lives is his best-known text. But Moralia, his collection of essays on a rich variety of subjects, continues to fascinate and educate. Translations by Richard Shilleto.

What is life all about? What are we here for? Is there any meaning or purpose to our existence? Thinkers throughout the centuries have pondered these questions. While the distractions of the modern world prevent many from grappling seriously with such matters, the truth is that humans cannot live without meaning any more than we can live without breathing or eating. Os Guinness invites us to examine our lives and join the great quest for meaning and a life well lived.

Even if you’re stressed, unhappy, or highly anxious in everyday life and have tried fixing it before with books, videos, or even a therapist, don’t worry. You’re not alone and this guide can help you like it helped many others. While most other philosophy books will only cover basics and not go into the underlying human mechanics that actually make you tick and feel what you feel right now, this book actually helps you to get under your own skin and systematically create the habits and tools to create lasting change from the inside-out.

David Cay Johnston has made a name for himself as the defender of the common man, calling out the rich and powerful for cheating the system at the expense of everyone else. Whether he's exposing unjust loopholes in the tax code that help the rich get richer or pointing out how powerful corporations pocket government subsidies at excessive taxpayer expense, Johnston is an eloquent town crier for justice and equality.

For decades, Sherry Turkle has shown how we remake ourselves in the mirror of our machines. Here, she illuminates our present search for authentic connection in a time of uncharted challenges. Growing up in postwar Brooklyn, Turkle searched for clues to her identity in a house filled with mysteries. She mastered the codes that governed her mother's secretive life. She learned never to ask about her absent scientist father—and never to use his name, her name. Before empathy became a way to find connection, it was her strategy for survival.

Every time we think ahead, we are crafting a story. Every daily plan and every political vision, social movement, scientific hypothesis, business proposal, and technological breakthrough starts with “what if?” Linking causes to effects, considering hypotheticals and counterfactuals, asking how other people will react: these are the essence of narrative. So why do we keep overlooking story’s importance to intelligence in favor of logic?

Más allá del bien y del mal, preludio de una filosofía del futuro, es uno de los textos fundamentales de la filosofía del siglo XIX, de Friedrich Nietzsche. Publicado en 1886, Nietzsche atacaba en él lo que consideraba vacuidad moral de los pensadores de su siglo, falta de sentido crítico alguno de los autodenominados moralistas y su pasiva aceptación de la moral heredada judeo-cristiana.

Reparations for slavery have become a reinvigorated topic for public debate over the last decade. Most theorizing about reparations treats it as a social justice project—either rooted in reconciliatory justice focused on making amends in the present; or, they focus on the past, emphasizing restitution for historical wrongs. Olúfemi O. Táiwò argues that neither approach is optimal, and advances a different case for reparations—one rooted in a hopeful future that tackles the issue of climate change head on, with distributive justice at its core.

The age of human rights has been kindest to the rich. Even as state violations of political rights garnered unprecedented attention due to human rights campaigns, a commitment to material equality disappeared. In its place, market fundamentalism has emerged as the dominant force in national and global economies. In this provocative book, Samuel Moyn analyzes how and why we chose to make human rights our highest ideals while simultaneously neglecting the demands of a broader social and economic justice.

Caterina Zanfi, présidente de la Société des amis de Bergson et chercheuse en philosophie au CNRS nous invite à découvrir la philosophie de la vie. Puisant ses racines dans la philosophie allemande du XIXe siècle et plus particulièrement chez Schopenhauer et Nietzsche, ce mouvement émerge au tournant du XXe siècle.

The Stoics knew what made for a good man – and a good life. Four simple virtues empowered them to cope with the end of a relationship, the loss of a job, ill health, and even bereavement. Now you too can discover for yourself what gave them the emotional resilience to make the most of any situation.

Traditional economics measures the ways in which we spend our income, but doesn't attribute worth to the crucial human interactions that give our lives meaning. Clair Brown, an economics professor at U.C. Berkeley and a practicing Buddhist, has developed a holistic model, one based on the notion that quality of life should be measured by more than national income. Brown advocates an approach to organizing the economy that embraces rather than skirts questions of values, sustainability, and equity.