Natural Goodness

Author : Philippa Foot
Publisher : Clarendon Press
Page : 136 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2003-10-02
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780191622915

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Natural Goodness by Philippa Foot Pdf

Philippa Foot has for many years been one of the most distinctive and influential thinkers in moral philosophy. Long dissatisfied with the moral theories of her contemporaries, she has gradually evolved a theory of her own that is radically opposed not only to emotivism and prescriptivism but also to the whole subjectivist, anti-naturalist movement deriving from David Hume. Dissatisfied also with both Kantian and utilitarian ethics, she claims to have isolated a special form of evaluation that predicates goodness and defect only to living things considered as such: she finds this form of evaluation in moral judgements. Her vivid discussion ranges over topics such as practical rationality, erring conscience, and the relation between virtue and happiness, ending with a critique of Nietzsche's immoralism. Natural Goodness is the long-awaited exposition of a highly original approach to moral philosophy, representing a fundamental break away from the assumptions of recent debates. Foot challenges many prominent philosophical arguments and attitudes; hers is not, however, a work of dry theory, but full of life and feeling, written for anyone intrigued by the deepest questions about goodness and human life. This beautifully written book offers a new beginning for moral philosophy.

Author : Alan Levinovitz
Publisher : Beacon Press
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2020-04-07
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780807010884

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Natural by Alan Levinovitz Pdf

Illuminates the far-reaching harms of believing that natural means “good,” from misinformation about health choices to justifications for sexism, racism, and flawed economic policies. People love what’s natural: it’s the best way to eat, the best way to parent, even the best way to act—naturally, just as nature intended. Appeals to the wisdom of nature are among the most powerful arguments in the history of human thought. Yet Nature (with a capital N) and natural goodness are not objective or scientific. In this groundbreaking book, scholar of religion Alan Levinovitz demonstrates that these beliefs are actually religious and highlights the many dangers of substituting simple myths for complicated realities. It may not seem like a problem when it comes to paying a premium for organic food. But what about condemnations of “unnatural” sexual activity? The guilt that attends not having a “natural” birth? Economic deregulation justified by the inherent goodness of “natural” markets? In Natural, readers embark on an epic journey, from Peruvian rainforests to the backcountry in Yellowstone Park, from a “natural” bodybuilding competition to a “natural” cancer-curing clinic. The result is an essential new perspective that shatters faith in Nature’s goodness and points to a better alternative. We can love nature without worshipping it, and we can work toward a better world with humility and dialogue rather than taboos and zealotry.

Author : Arthur M. Melzer
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 329 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2016-01-15
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780226226002

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The Natural Goodness of Man by Arthur M. Melzer Pdf

The true key to all the perplexities of the human condition, Rousseau boldly claims, is the “natural goodness of man.” It is also the key to his own notoriously contradictory writings, which, he insists, are actually the disassembled parts of a rigorous philosophical system rooted in that fundamental principle. What if this problematic claim—so often repeated, but as often dismissed—were resolutely followed and explored? Arthur M. Melzer adopts this approach in The Natural Goodness of Man. The first two parts of the book restore the original, revolutionary significance of this now time-worn principle and examine the arguments Rousseau offers in proof of it. The final section unfolds and explains Rousseau’s programmatic thought, especially the Social Contract, as a precise solution to the human problem as redefined by the principle of natural goodness. The result is a systematic reconstruction of Rousseau’s philosophy that discloses with unparalleled clarity both the complex weave of his argument and the majestic unity of his vision. Melzer persuasively resolves one after another of the famous Rousseauian paradoxes–enlarging, in the process, our understanding of modern philosophy and politics. Engagingly and lucidly written, The Natural Goodness of Man will be of interest to general as well as scholarly readers.

Author : Tara Brach
Publisher : Sounds True
Page : 151 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2021-06-15
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 9781683647140

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Trusting the Gold by Tara Brach Pdf

A beautifully illustrated gift book to help us uncover and trust the innate goodness in ourselves and others. We receive so many messages from our culture meant to divide us from one another or turn us against ourselves. Yet when we stop judging, stop avoiding, stop trying to resist that which makes us afraid or ashamed, we open to our true nature—a boundless field of awareness that is innately fearless and loving. This recognition of our essential human goodness may be the most radical act of healing we can take. “The gold of our true nature can never be tarnished,” says Tara Brach. “In the moments of remembering and trusting this basic goodness of our Being, we open to happiness, peace, and freedom.” In Trusting the Gold, Tara draws from more than four decades of experience as a meditation teacher and psychologist to share her most valuable practices for reconnecting with the beauty of our humanity—from timeless Buddhist wisdom to techniques adapted to the specific challenges of our modern age. Here you’ll explore three pathways of remembering and living from your full aliveness: • Opening to the Truth of the present moment • Turning toward Love in any situation • Resting in the Freedom of our natural, radiant awareness “Even in the midst of our deepest emotional suffering, self-compassion is the pathway that will carry us home,” Dr. Brach writes. “What a joy to pause and behold our basic goodness, and to see how it shines through each of us. Seeing that secret beauty, we fall in love with all of life.”

Author : Mark Wynn
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 213 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2002-11-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781134638222

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God and Goodness by Mark Wynn Pdf

First Published in 2004. God and Goodness takes the experience of value as a starting point for natural theology. Mark Wynn argues that theism offers our best understanding of the goodness of the world, especially its beauty and openness to the development of richer and more complex material forms. We also see that the world's goodness calls for a moral response: commitment to the goodness of the world represents a natural extension of the trust to which we aspire in our dealings with human beings. Wynn argues that the goodness of the world provides a glimpse into what we should mean by 'God'. Here, he seeks to recover the mediaeval sense that the goodness of the world offers an image of the goodness of God, not simply in relation to the world, but in itself. This book will be an invaluable read for those interested in natural theology and philosophy of religion.

Author : Richard Carrier
Publisher : AuthorHouse
Page : 446 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2005-02-23
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781452059266

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Sense and Goodness Without God by Richard Carrier Pdf

If God does not exist, then what does? Is there good and evil, and should we care? How do we know what’s true anyway? And can we make any sense of this universe, or our own lives? Sense and Goodness answers all these questions in lavish detail, without complex jargon. A complete worldview is presented and defended, covering every subject from knowledge to art, from metaphysics to morality, from theology to politics. Topics include free will, the nature of the universe, the meaning of life, and much more, arguing from scientific evidence that there is only a physical, natural world without gods or spirits, but that we can still live a life of love, meaning, and joy.

Author : Thomas Fitz Randolph Mercein
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 1855
Category : Ethics
ISBN : UCAL:$B285753

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Natural Goodness; Or, Honour to Whom Honour is Due ... by Thomas Fitz Randolph Mercein Pdf

Author : Andrew Newman
Publisher : Neighbourhood Books
Page : 36 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2017-02-25
Category : Nature stories
ISBN : 1943750114

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The Tree of Goodness by Andrew Newman Pdf

This timeless, rhyming story asks a simple but profound questions: What makes a tree good? Children explore this concept through the many beautiful aspects of a tree's nature, and in the end, learn a lesson about their own self-worth.

Author : George Herbert Palmer
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2023-04-06
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9783368349431

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The Nature of Goodness by George Herbert Palmer Pdf

Reproduction of the original.

Author : Eknath Easwaran
Publisher : Nilgiri Press
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 1996
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780915132911

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Original Goodness by Eknath Easwaran Pdf

"Patience, mercy, peacemaking, simplicity, humility. When we cultivate these qualities our life will become immensely rich. Beneath all our layers of ignorance, we can uncover our essential nature: our Original Goodness. According to the ""Perennial Philosophy"" found in all religions, this divine essence can be realized, and is the supreme goal in life. This unbroken awareness of the presence of God in all creatures is the mark of the mystic. For one who grasps these principles with an open heart, life takes fire with purpose."

Author : Richard W. Wrangham
Publisher : Pantheon
Page : 402 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781101870907

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The Goodness Paradox by Richard W. Wrangham Pdf

"Highly accessible, authoritative, and intellectually provocative, a startlingly original theory of how Homo sapiens came to be: Richard Wrangham forcefully argues that, a quarter of a million years ago, rising intelligence among our ancestors led to a unique new ability with unexpected consequences: our ancestors invented socially sanctioned capital punishment, facilitating domestication, increased cooperation, the accumulation of culture, and ultimately the rise of civilization itself. Throughout history even as quotidian life has exhibited calm and tolerance[,] war has never been far away, and even within societies violence can be a threat. The Goodness Paradox gives a new and powerful argument for how and why this uncanny combination of peacefulness and violence crystallized after our ancestors acquired language in Africa a quarter of a million years ago. Words allowed the sharing of intentions that enabled men effectively to coordinate their actions. Verbal conspiracies paved the way for planned conflicts and, most importantly, for the uniquely human act of capital punishment. The victims of capital punishment tended to be aggressive men, and as their genes waned, our ancestors became tamer. This ancient form of systemic violence was critical, not only encouraging cooperation in peace and war and in culture, but also for making us who we are: Homo sapiens"--

Author : Richard Kraut
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 301 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2009-07-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780674027084

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What Is Good and Why by Richard Kraut Pdf

What is good, how do we know, and how important is it? Kraut reorients these questions around the notion of what causes human beings to flourish. Extending his argument to include plants and animals, Kraut applies a general principle to the entire living world: what is good for complex organisms consists in the exercise of their natural powers.

Author : Jermo van Nes
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2022
Category : Economic anthropology
ISBN : 9783030846909

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Relational Anthropology for Contemporary Economics by Jermo van Nes Pdf

This open access book offers a multidisciplinary dialogue on relational anthropology in contemporary economics. A particular view of the human being is often assumed in economic models, but seldom acknowledged let alone explicated. Addressing this neglected area of research in economic studies, altogether the contributors touch upon the importance and potential of virtues, the notions of freedom and self-love, the potential of simulation models, the dialectics of love, and questions of methodology in constructing a relational anthropology for contemporary economics. The overall result is a highly informative and constructive dialogue, establishing inter alia a research agenda for future collaborative and multidisciplinary study.

Author : Hugh White
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 0198187300

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Nature, Sex, and Goodness in a Medieval Literary Tradition by Hugh White Pdf

'Nature' is a highly important term in the ethical discourse of the Middle Ages and, as such, a leading concept in medieval literature. This book examines the moral status of the natural in writings by Alan of Lille, Jean de Meun, John Gower, Geoffrey Chaucer, and others, showinghow-particularly in the erotic sphere-the influences of nature are not always conceived as wholly benign. Though medieval thinkers often affirm an association of nature with reason, and therefore with the good, there is also an acknowledgement that the animal, the pre-rational, the instinctivewithin human beings may be validly considered natural. In fact, human beings may be thought to be urged almost ineluctably by the force of nature within them towards behaviour hostile to reason and the right.

Author : Philippa Foot
Publisher : Clarendon Press
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2002-10-17
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780191530982

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Moral Dilemmas by Philippa Foot Pdf

Moral Dilemmas is the second volume of collected essays by the eminent moral philosopher Philippa Foot. It fills the gap between her famous 1978 collection Virtues and Vices (now reissued) and her acclaimed monograph Natural Goodness, published in 2001. Moral Dilemmas presents the best of Professor Foot's work from the late 1970s to the 1990s. In these essays she develops further her influential critique of the 'non-cognitivist' approaches that have dominated moral philosophy over the last fifty years. She shows why it is a mistake to think of morality in terms of special psychological states, expressed in special kinds of judgement and a special 'moral' kind of language. Instead she portrays thoughts about the goodness of human will and action as a particular case of the evaluation of other operations of human beings, and indeed of all living things. Among other topics, she discusses the nature of moral judgement, practical rationality, and the conflict of virtue with desire and self-interest. Moral Dilemmas, alongside Professor Foot's other two books, completes the summation of her distinctive and lasting contribution to twentieth-century moral philosophy.