The good-enough life

How an acceptance of our limitations can lead to a more fulfilling life and a more harmonious societyWe live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this comp...

The grateful dead and philosophy

The great guide

Invaluable wisdom on living a good life from one of the Enlightenment's greatest philosophersDavid 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 ph...

The idea of prison abolition

An incisive and sympathetic examination of the case for ending the practice of imprisonmentDespite its omnipresence and long history, imprisonment is a deeply troubling practice. In the United States and elsewhere, prison conditions are inhumane, prisoners are treated without dignity, and sentenc...

The internet is not what you think it is

An original deep history of the internet that tells the story of the centuries-old utopian dreams behind it—and explains why they have died todayMany think of the internet as an unprecedented and overwhelmingly positive achievement of modern human technology. But is it? In The Internet Is Not Wha...

The kantian religion

A historical inquiry into Kantian philosophy as a form of philosophical religionKantian philosophy is typically viewed as providing a universal theory of knowledge and morality based on timeless principles retrieved from the human mind. In The Kantian Religion, Ian Hunter offers a starkly differe...

The meaning of life

A thought-provoking guide to one of the greatest questions we will ever face - what is the meaning of life? It may seem useless, silly, or overwhelming to ponder the meaning of life. In truth, it is essential to ask ourselves this question in order to define and work towards a more meaningful exi...

The moral fool

Justice, equality, and righteousness—these are some of our greatest moral convictions. Yet in times of social conflict, morals can become rigid, making religious war, ethnic cleansing, and political purges possible. Morality, therefore, can be viewed as pathology-a rhetorical, psychological, and ...

The moral nexus

A new way of understanding the essence of moral obligationThe Moral Nexus develops and defends a new interpretation of morality—namely, as a set of requirements that connect agents normatively to other persons in a nexus of moral relations. According to this relational interpretation, moral deman...

The order of people

Human classifications: An examination of underlying epistemologies, ambiguities, and politics that reveals how concepts such as race, ethnicity, and ancestry are employed in the life sciences today.

The pathologies of individual freedom

This is a penetrating reinterpretation and defense of Hegel's social theory as an alternative to reigning liberal notions of social justice. The eminent German philosopher Axel Honneth rereads Hegel's Philosophy of Right to show how it diagnoses the pathologies of the overcommitment to individual...

The philosophical foundations of social work

Social work rests on complex philosophical assumptions that should be central to practice, education, and training. Frederic G. Reamer explores how these issues bear on the purpose, methods, and perspectives of social work and their far-reaching implications. This second edition is revised and up...

The philosophy of the mòzĭ

Mohism was an ancient Chinese philosophical movement founded in the fifth century BCE by the charismatic artisan Mòzi, or "Master Mo." Its practitioners advanced a consequentialist ethics, along with fascinating political, logical, and epistemological theories, that set the terms of philosophical...

The pivotal generation

An eminent philosopher explains why we owe it to future generations to take immediate action on global warmingClimate change is the supreme challenge of our time. Yet despite growing international recognition of the unfolding catastrophe, global carbon emissions continue to rise, hitting an all-t...

The possibility of altruism

Just as there are rational requirements on thought, there are rational requirements on action. This book defends a conception of ethics, and a related conception of human nature, according to which altruism is included among the basic rational requirements on desire and action.

The quest for god and the good

Diana Lobel takes readers on a journey across Eastern and Western philosophical and religious traditions to discover a beauty and purpose at the heart of reality that makes life worth living. Guided by the ideas of ancient thinkers and the insight of the philosophical historian Pierre Hadot, The ...

The self-emptying subject

The Self-Emptying Subject engages Christian mystical theology, modern philosophy, and contemporary theories of the subject to theorize an ethics of self-emptying, or kenosis, that reveals the immanence of a dispossessed life “without a why.”

The seven deadly sins 3.0

The authors open a debate about ethics, science, scepticism, and hypocrisy.

The state

A major new account of the state and its importance by a leading political philosopherThe future of our species depends on the state. Can states resist corporate capture, religious zealotry, and nationalist mania? Can they find a way to work together so that the earth heals and its peoples prospe...

The story is in our bones

A dominant, human-centered worldview has brought us to the brink of social, ecological, and climate collapse. Braiding poetic storytelling, deep cultural and climate justice analyses, and knowledge of Earth-centered cultures, The Story is in Our Bones opens a portal to restoration and justice bey...

The summons of love

We are conditioned to think that love heals wounds, makes us happy, and gives our lives meaning. When the opposite occurs and love causes fracturing, disenchantment, and existential turmoil, we suffer deeply, especially if we feel that love has failed us or that we have failed to experience what ...

The two greatest ideas

Two simple yet tremendously powerful ideas that shaped virtually every aspect of civilizationThis book is a breathtaking examination of the two greatest ideas in human history. The first is the idea that the human mind can grasp the universe. The second is the idea that the human mind can grasp i...

The tyranny of the ideal

In his provocative new book, The Tyranny of the Ideal, Gerald Gaus lays out a vision for how we should theorize about justice in a diverse society. Gaus shows how free and equal people, faced with intractable struggles and irreconcilable conflicts, might share a common moral life shaped by a just...

The undiscovered dewey

The Undiscovered Dewey explores the profound influence of evolution and its corresponding ideas of contingency and uncertainty on John Dewey's philosophy of action, particularly its argument that inquiry proceeds from the uncertainty of human activity. Dewey separated the meaningfulness of inquir...

The virtues of our vices

The hidden value of some of our everyday vicesAre there times when it's right to be rude? Can we distinguish between good and bad gossip? Am I a snob if I think that NPR listeners are likely to be better informed than devotees of Fox News? Does sick humor do anyone any good? Can I think your beli...

The well-rounded life

An engaging and enlightening book about why having many different pursuits can vastly improve our well-beingIt’s good to be well-rounded. When you do a lot of different things, when you work on expanding your horizons, when you dive into the fascinating diversity of the world around you, your lif...

The wisdom of frugality

Why philosophers have advocated simple living for 2,500 years—and why we ignore them at our perilFrom Socrates to Thoreau, most philosophers, moralists, and religious leaders have seen frugality as a virtue and have associated simple living with wisdom, integrity, and happiness. But why? And are ...

Think least of death

From Pulitzer Prize-finalist Steven Nadler, an engaging guide to what Spinoza can teach us about life’s big questionsIn 1656, after being excommunicated from Amsterdam’s Portuguese-Jewish community for “abominable heresies” and “monstrous deeds,” the young Baruch Spinoza abandoned his family’s im...

Throwing the moral dice

From deconstruction to feminism to ecological thought, some of today’s most influential thinkers consider the challenge that contingent life poses to the broad claims of ethics. In doing so, they reshape the most debated concepts of moral philosophy.

Tolerance among the virtues

In a pluralistic society such as ours, tolerance is a virtue—but it doesn't always seem so. Some suspect that it entangles us in unacceptable moral compromises and inequalities of power, while others dismiss it as mere political correctness or doubt that it can safeguard the moral and political r...

Tourism ethics

This book remains the most in-depth large-scale introductory text on ethics as applied to tourism. This new edition has been reworked and updated to take into account important works published since the first edition, including new references on ethics and tourism ethics, and to engage more with ...

Toward a feminist ethics of nonviolence

Toward a Feminist Ethics of Nonviolence brings together major feminist thinkers to debate Cavarero’s call for a postural ethics of nonviolence and a sociality rooted in bodily interdependence.Toward a Feminist Ethics of Nonviolence brings together three major feminist thinkers—Adriana Cavarero,...

Trust, responsibility, and digital governance

A new approach to the ethics and politics of digital systems, grounded in the capacities of individuals, groups, and organisations to critically assess and actively shape these technologies.

Truth and truthfulness

What does it mean to be truthful? What role does truth play in our lives? What do we lose if we reject truthfulness? No philosopher is better suited to answer these questions than Bernard Williams. Writing with his characteristic combination of passion and elegant simplicity, he explores the valu...

Ultimate questions

How to live meaningfully in the face of the unknowableWe human beings had no say in existing—we just opened our eyes and found ourselves here. We have a fundamental need to understand who we are and the world we live in. Reason takes us a long way, but mystery remains. When our minds and senses a...

Unhappy families

Adam Ferner's short, engaging book explores the ethical and political dimensions of parenthood, childcare and reproduction, and the dominant ethos of the family, in a world riven by conflict, inequality and the absence of hope.

Utopianism for a dying planet

How the utopian tradition offers answers to today’s environmental crisesIn the face of Earth’s environmental breakdown, it is clear that technological innovation alone won’t save our planet. A more radical approach is required, one that involves profound changes in individual and collective behav...

Utopophobia

A leading political theorist’s groundbreaking defense of ideal conceptions of justice in political philosophyThroughout the history of political philosophy and politics, there has been continual debate about the roles of idealism versus realism. For contemporary political philosophy, this debate ...

Virtue ethics in the conduct and governance of social science research

This edited collection focuses on the virtue theory and the ethics of social science research.

Way too cool

Follows the hollowing-out of "coolness" in modern American culture and its reflection of a larger evasion of race, racism, and ethics now common in neoliberal society

What do you want out of life?

A short guide to living well by understanding better what you really value—and what to do when your goals conflictWhat do you want out of life? To make a lot of money—or work for justice? To run marathons—or sing in a choir? To have children—or travel the world? The things we care about in life—f...

What kind of creatures are we?

Noam Chomsky is widely known and deeply admired for being the founder of modern linguistics, one of the founders of the field of cognitive science, and perhaps the most avidly read political theorist and commentator of our time. In these lectures, he presents a lifetime of philosophical reflectio...