This book is based upon the doctoral dissertation I wrote at Cambridge, completed in early 1997, and considerably revised since. From those days to the present, many kind and thoughtful individuals have greatly contributed to the process of thought and research that this work has entailed. I owe a debt of deep gratitude to Professor Miles Taylor, of the University of Southampton, who, from my time as a PhD candidate, through the revising of this manuscript for publication, could always be counted upon for insightful counsel and invaluable advice. For all of his help, I am profoundly thankful. I am very grateful to my former supervisor, Dr Gareth Stedman Jones of King’s College, Cambridge, for listening to and critiquing my ideas and arguments, as well as reading the numerous drafts with which I presented him. Gratitude is also owed to Dr Ann Robson, at whose stimulating graduate course at the University of Toronto, the seed of this book was planted and I first became interested in, and in some cases introduced to, many of the people examined within it. From my days at Cambridge, I should like to thank Dr Mike Sewell, Dr Beau Riffenburgh, Dr Derek Beales and Dr Graham Storey, who all provided me with information that I would never have come across on my own. At the University ofWales Swansea, I should like to express my appreciation to my colleagues in the American Studies Department who listened to my paper on this subject and weighed in with their intelligent and perceptive comments. I would especially like to thank Dr Craig Phelan, who has listened to my ideas with a patience that goes beyond the point of collegial courtesy. I am further grateful to the Royal Historical Society for publishing this book, particularly Professor Martin Daunton, Professor Peter Mandler and Mrs Christine Linehan, the executive editor, all of whom have helped improve this work immeasurably. I should also like to thank Bobbie Jo for patiently putting up with this apparently never-ending project. I owe her a major debt of gratitude. It remains to be noted that although this book could never have been started, never mind completed, without the help of everyone named above, they are in no way responsible for any errors or omissions; these are entirely my own. Finally, I should like to thank my parents Dr Neil and Mrs Sheila Campbell, without whose support and attention this book could not have been written. It is to them that this work is dedicated.

The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory is a major new reference work in ethical theory consisting of commissioned essays by leading moral philosophers. Ethical theories have always been of central importance to philosophy, and remain so; ethical theory is one of the most active areas of philosophical research and teaching today. Courses in ethics are taught in colleges and universities at all levels, and ethical theory is the organizing principle for all of them. The Handbook is divided into two parts, mirroring the field. The first part treats meta-ethical theory, which deals with theoretical questions about morality and moral judgment, including questions about moral language, the epistemology of moral belief, the truth aptness of moral claims, and so forth. The second part addresses normative theory, which deals with general moral issues, including the plausibility of various ethical theories and abstract principles of behavior. Examples of such theories are consequentialism and virtue theory. As with other Oxford Handbooks, the twenty-five contributors cover the field in a comprehensive and highly accessible way, while achieving three goals: exposition of central ideas, criticism of other approaches, and putting forth a distinct viewpoint.

Vol. 2 : Cabanis–Destutt de Tracy. - 761 p.

This book appears after almost four decades of study, conferences, discussion, and publication. Over those years, students of “fascism,” as a subject of inquiry, have seen its “essence” change, in the judgments of scholars, from a movement of the “extreme right” into one that was neither of the “right” nor the “left.” We are now told that “Fascist ideology represented a synthesis of organic nationalism with the antimaterialist revision of Marxism.” From a political revolution entirely without any pretense of a rational belief system, we are now told, by those best informed, that “fascism’s ability to appeal to important intellectuals . . . underlines that it cannot be dismissed as . . . irrational. . . . [In] truth, fascism was an ideology just like the others.” Moreover, it has been acknowledged that “Fascism was possible only if based on genuine belief.” In effect, the study of Italian Fascism has delivered itself of significantly altered assessments over the past decades. Where, at one time, Fascism was simply dismissed as a phenomenon understood to be without intellectual substance, a right-wing excrescence that invoked violence and war, it is now more and more regularly understood to be a movement, and a regime, predicated on a reasonably well articulated belief system that engaged the rational commitment of many.

Plants are people too? Not exactly, but in this work of philosophical botany Matthew Hall challenges readers to reconsider the moral standing of plants, arguing that they are other-than-human persons. Plants constitute the bulk of our visible biomass, underpin all natural ecosystems, and make life on Earth possible. Yet plants are considered passive and insensitive beings rightly placed outside moral consideration. As the human assault on nature continues, more ethical behavior toward plants is needed. Hall surveys Western, Eastern, Pagan, and Indigenous thought, as well as modern science and botanical history, for attitudes toward plants, noting the particular resources for plant personhood and those modes of thought which most exclude plants. The most hierarchical systems typically put plants at the bottom, but Hall finds much to support a more positive view of plants. Indeed, some Indigenous animisms actually recognize plants as relational, intelligent beings who are the appropriate recipients of care and respect. New scientific findings encourage this perspective, revealing that plants possess many of the capacities of sentience and mentality traditionally denied them. “All those who depend on plants should critically read Plants as Persons … I highly recommend Plants as Persons as a challenging read for any carnivores, PETA advocates, or emerging academics; the book is thought-provoking for omnivores, medical practitioners, life science enthusiasts, and philosophers … If you are fascinated by plants, you will want this for your personal collection.” — Katie Kamelamela, Economic Botany “Overall, this book is a ‘must read’ for anyone interested in the state of the environment today, whether professionally or as a concerned citizen. It does not simplify the issues but has managed to attain that elusive balance between remaining accessible and readable without sacrificing intellectual range, subtlety and complexity of thought.” — Australian Humanities Review “Dr. Hall does a wonderful job of presenting many layers of research and insight in a very organized way. His introduction outlines the content of his book clearly and each chapter ends with a helpful summary and a smooth transition into the next topic of discussion. There is a lot of information to think about in Plants as Persons. All of it enlightening. Now here is a book that is hard to put down.” — ArtPlantae Today “If you are someone who thought philosophy began and ended with Aristotle and Socrates, then this book will be an eye opener … [it] explains that plants are active, self-directed, and even intelligent. Hall puts forward the view that nature is a communion of subjective, collaborative beings, organizing and experiencing their environment.” — Chicago Botanic Garden “The extension of ethics to the nonhuman, nonanimal is important, and ahead of its time. What a pleasure to experience this well-written, well-researched, interesting approach to applied comparative philosophy. Matthew Hall makes an outstanding contribution to a new and important field of study.” — Christopher Key Chapple, author of Yoga and the Luminous: Patañjali’s Spiritual Path to Freedom

Sir Anthony Kenny's engaging new multi-volume history of Western philosophy now advances into the modern era. The Rise of Modern Philosophy captures the fascinating story of the emergence, from the early sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, of the great ideas and intellectual systems that shaped modern thought. Kenny introduces us to some of the world's most original and influential thinkers and helps us gain an understanding of their famous works. The great minds we meet include Rene Descartes, traditionally seen as the founder of modern philosophy; the great British philosophers Hobbes, Locke, and Hume; continental thinkers such as Spinoza, Liebniz, and Hegel; and the towering figure of Immanuel Kant, who perhaps more than any other made philosophy what it is today. Kenny first tells the story of modern philosophy chronologically: his lively, accessible narrative brings the philosophers to life and fills in the historical and intellectual background to their work. It is ideal as the first thing to read for someone new to this wonderfully creative period. Kenny then backtracks to look closely at each of the main areas of philosophical exploration in this period: knowledge and understanding; the nature of the physical universe; metaphysics (the most fundamental questions there are about existence); mind and soul; the nature and content of morality; political philosophy; and God. The book also features many intriguing and beautiful illustrations which evoke the human and social side of philosophy. Anyone who is interested in the evolution of modern thought will find this a book a treasure.

In this original, bottom-up account of the evolution of contemporary Russia, Alena Ledeneva seeks to reveal how informal power operates. Concentrating on Vladimir Putin's system of governance - referred to as sistema - she identifies four key types of networks: his inner circle, useful friends, core contacts and more diffuse ties and connections. These networks serve sistema but also serve themselves. Reliance on networks enables leaders to mobilise and to control, yet they also lock politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen into informal deals, mediated interests and personalised loyalty. This is the 'modernisation trap of informality': one cannot use the potential of informal networks without triggering their negative long-term consequences for institutional development. Ledeneva's perspective on informal power is based on in-depth interviews with sistema insiders and enhanced by evidence of its workings brought to light in court cases, enabling her to draw broad conclusions about the prospects for Russia's political institutions.

This book offers a controversial new interpretation of Plato’s Apology of Socrates. By paying unusually close attention to what Socrates indicates about the meaning and extent of his irony, David Leibowitz arrives at unconventional conclusions about Socrates’ teaching on virtue, politics,and the gods; the significance of his famous turn from natural philosophy to political philosophy; and the purpose of his insolent “defense speech.” Leibowitz shows that Socrates is not just a colorful and quirky figure from the distant past but an unrivaled guide to the good life – the thoughtful life – who is as relevant today as he was in ancient Athens. On the basis of his fresh understanding of the dialogue as a whole, and of the Delphic oracle story in particular, Leibowitz also attempts to show that the Apology is the key to the Platonic corpus, indicating how many of the disparate themes and apparently contradictory conclusions of the other dialogues fit together.

Why and how do social movements emerge? In which ways are social movements analyzed? Can our understanding be enhanced by new perspectives? Making Sense of Social Movements offers a clear and comprehensive overview of the key sociological approaches to the study of social movements. The author argues that each of these approaches makes an important contribution to our understanding of social movements but that none is adequate on its own. In response he argues for a new approach which draws together key insights within the solid foundations of Pierre Bourdieu's social theory of practice. This new approach transcends the barriers that still often divide European and North American perspectives of social movements, and also those which divide recent approaches from the older 'collective behavior' approach. The result is a theoretical framework that is uniquely equipped for the demands of modern social movement analysis. The clear and concise style of the text, as well as its neat summaries of key concepts and approaches, will make this book invaluable for undergraduate courses. It will also be an essential reference for researchers.

The 21st century, like the 20th century before it, promises to be a time of extraordinary scientific growth and innovation. However, the hope for new cures and explanations about the world is often accompanied by new ethical concerns. This series examines the science behind three current fields of research and explores the implications for future scientific developments. Readers are also introduced to some of the controversies surrounding these subject areas to better understand the risks and benefits associated with modern advances. With sections devoted to significant concepts and thinkers, these books help bring to life the excitement of the discovery process.