100 Best Utilitarianism Books of All Time

We've researched and ranked the best utilitarianism books in the world, based on recommendations from world experts, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. Learn more

Featuring recommendations from Arianna Huffington, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and 44 other experts.
1

Meditations

One measure, perhaps, of a book's worth, is its intergenerational pliancy: do new readers acquire it and interpret it afresh down through the ages? The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, translated and introduced by Gregory Hays, by that standard, is very worthwhile, indeed. Hays suggests that its most recent incarnation--as a self-help book--is not only valid, but may be close to the author's intent. The book, which Hays calls, fondly, a "haphazard set of notes," is indicative of the role of philosophy among the ancients in that it is "expected to provide a 'design for living.'" And it... more

Arianna HuffingtonI find [this book] so inspirational and instructive, it lives on my nightstand. (Source)

Chip ConleyI have given [this book] away to a number of people. (Source)

Marvin LiaoMy list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make... (Source)

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2

Utilitarianism

This expanded edition of John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism includes the text of his 1868 speech to the British House of Commons defending the use of capital punishment in cases of aggravated murder. The speech is significant both because its topic remains timely and because its arguments illustrate the applicability of the principle of utility to questions of large-scale social policy. less

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3

On Liberty

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780140432077

Published in 1859, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty presented one of the most eloquent defenses of individual freedom in nineteenth-century social and political philosophy and is today perhaps the most widely-read liberal argument in support of the value of liberty. Mill's passionate advocacy of spontaneity, individuality, and diversity, along with his contempt for compulsory uniformity and the despotism of popular opinion, has attracted both admiration and condemnation.
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Nick CleggThe tradition is that it is given to the president of the Liberal Democrats rather than the leader, which is a subtle but important distinction in Lib Dem land. But you’re quite right. The traditions of J. S. Mill are still handed down like some sort of totemic emblem of everything that we’re supposed to still believe in, even now. It’s extraordinary, given it was written in 1859……What we’re... (Source)

A C GraylingOn Liberty is a very important document, and one which, because of the clarity with which one can read it and its brevity, is slightly passed over. (Source)

Peter SingerMill points out that very often, throughout history, people have thought that they were certainly right, and then turned out to be quite wrong. (Source)

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4

Watchmen

This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin.

One of the most influential graphic novels of all time and a perennial bestseller, WATCHMEN has been studied on college campuses across the nation and is considered a gateway title, leading readers to other graphic novels such as V FOR VENDETTA, BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and THE SANDMAN series.
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Recommended by Will Brooker, Evan Goldberg, and 2 others.

Will BrookerWatchmen was originally released in 12 parts, one a month, over a year from 1985 to 1986. There was a film made of it in 2009. And now a controversial prequel series is coming out, done by new writers and artists, which goes back to earlier in the characters’ stories and which has been disavowed by Alan Moore, who created the original. (Source)

Evan GoldbergI often give [this book] to people. (Source)

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5

Practical Ethics

For thirty years, Peter Singer's Practical Ethics has been the classic introduction to applied ethics. For this third edition, the author has revised and updated all the chapters, and added a new chapter addressing climate change, one of the most important ethical challenges of our generation. Some of the questions discussed in this book concern our daily lives. Is it ethical to buy luxuries when others do not have enough to eat? Should we buy meat from intensively reared animals? Am I doing something wrong if my carbon footprint is above the global average? Other questions confront us as... more

Daniël Lakens@CJFerguson1111 I think you'd like Singer's Practical Ethics - if nothing else it is a great book to disagree with. It nicely goes through all these arguments. Maybe other people can recommend alternative viewpoints to read - but I found this book enlightening. (Source)

Will MacAskillWhen I read it, I had already decided to study philosophy as an undergraduate, but when I read I just was so compelled by the thought that philosophical reasoning is of huge importance and can really change the world. (Source)

David EdmondsPractical Ethics came out in 1979, just before I began studying philosophy. I loved its rigour, and I found Peter Singer almost impossible to argue with. I agreed with almost every position he took on every issue. There were chapters on abortion, on animal rights, on how much money we can give to the poor. It’s really the blueprint for everything he’s written subsequently. He is prolific, but if... (Source)

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6

Utilitarianism

A Very Short Introduction

Utilitarianism may well be the most influential secular ethical theory in the world today. It is also one of the most controversial. It clashes, or is widely thought to clash, with many conventional moral views, and with human rights when they are seen as inviolable. Would it, for example, be right to torture a suspected terrorist in order to prevent an attack that could kill and injure a large number of innocent people?

In this Very Short Introduction Peter Singer and Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek provide an authoritative account of the nature of utilitarianism, from its...
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Recommended by Nigel Warburton, and 1 others.

Nigel WarburtonIt covers what you would cover in a university undergraduate course on utilitarianism, but you can read and take it in in four or five hours or so. (Source)

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7
Superintelligence asks the questions: what happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us? Nick Bostrom lays the foundation for understanding the future of humanity and intelligent life.

The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. If machine brains surpassed human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become extremely powerful--possibly beyond our control. As the fate of the...
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Elon MuskWorth reading Superintelligence by Bostrom. We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes. (Source)

Maria RamosRamos will take the summer to examine some of the questions weighing more heavily on humankind as we contemplate our collective future: what happens when we can write our own genetic codes, and what happens when we create technology that is meaningfully more intelligent than us. The Gene: An Intimate History—Siddhartha Mukherjee Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies—Nick Bostrom The... (Source)

Will MacAskillI picked this book because the possibility of us developing human-level artificial intelligence, and from there superintelligence—an artificial agent that is considerably more intelligent than we are—is at least a contender for the most important issue in the next two centuries. Bostrom’s book has been very influential in effective altruism, lots of people work on artificial intelligence in order... (Source)

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8

Utilitarianism

For and Against

A serious and controversial work in which the authors contribute essays from opposite points of view on utilitarian assumptions, arguments and ideals. less
Recommended by David Edmonds, and 1 others.

David EdmondsThis is a book of two halves. The first half is written by a very eminent Australian philosopher and I can’t remember a word of it, but the second half was important to me. I was a pretty pure utilitarian until I read it, and it countered a lot of the influence of Peter Singer. Williams is a critic of utilitarianism – he thinks it is a deeply simplistic way to view the moral world. He gives a... (Source)

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10
Compulsory ujamaa villages in Tanzania, collectivization in Russia, Le Corbusier's urban planning theory realized in Brasilia, the Great Leap Forward in China, agricultural modernization in the Tropics - the 20th century has been racked by grand utopian schemes that have inadvertently brought death and disruption to millions. Why do well-intentioned plans for improving the human condition go tragically awry? less

Marvin LiaoI tend to jump from book to book and may switch if I am interested in some new topic. This is a pleasure for me (which I also do benefit work wise from too). It’s quite a random list because I have eclectic interests (or just scatterbrained most likely) on tech business, AI, general global economy, geopolitics, rising Biotech economy & history. I'm basically 15% to 50% into all these books. (Source)

Venkatesh RaoScott’s book is very important for anybody who wants to have an understanding of how complex modern societies work, why things seem to fail predictably, and what you can do about them, to a limited extent. (Source)

Clare LockhartSeeing Like A State. He’s quite similar to Dewey in a way. He also sees the state as only a mechanism. But he thinks that the way that the state chooses to count, or the way it chooses to see, will inform how it behaves and what kind of animal it becomes. Scott explains, for example, how in France, in early modern times, the state decided to count two things. It decided to count how much salt... (Source)

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11

Reasons and Persons

Challenging, with several powerful arguments, some of our deepest beliefs about rationality, morality, and personal identity, Derek Parfit claims that we have a false view about our own nature. It is often rational to act against our own best interests, he argues, and most of us have moral views that are self-defeating. We often act wrongly, although we know there will be no one with serious grounds for complaint, and when we consider future generations it is very hard to avoid conclusions that most of us will find very disturbing.
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Recommended by Will MacAskill, David Edmonds, and 2 others.

Will MacAskillI would say that Derek Parfit was the most brilliant philosopher of the 20th century. His book Reasons and Persons, especially, has over 10,000 citations. (Source)

David EdmondsReasons and Persons was written in 1984, and Derek Parfit was one of my postgraduate supervisors. One of the blurbs on the back of book says “Reasons and Persons is a work of genius”, and I think it is. It’s an incredibly important book, and one written in a tradition completely different to Bernard Williams, even though the two were friends. Bernard Williams is an essayist and he looks at the... (Source)

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12
Offering a seven-point plan that combines personal philanthropy, local activism and global awareness, Peter Singer argues that we need to change our views on what is involved in living an ethical life if we are to put a stop to poverty throughout the world. less
Recommended by Nigel Warburton, Cassie Knight, and 2 others.

Nigel WarburtonI think the central question in philosophy is, How should we live? And that’s a question about which Peter Singer has a lot to say. (Source)

Cassie KnightBecause it’s a really inspiring read. And it’s very nicely set out in terms of having clear arguments and picking up on things that are often said but not thought about. Peter Singer starts with a simple story – if you are walking past a pond and you see a child floundering and it looks likely that the child will drown, despite the fact that your new shoes may be ruined, you will automatically go... (Source)

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13
A Practical Guide to Mental and Emotional Freedom!
Feeling lost about how to effectively treat disturbing intrusive thoughts? You’re not alone!

This book contains the best advice from a former sufferer of anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts. Inspired by compassion, this book is a gift to fellow casualties of negative thought patterns, destructive behaviours, self-loathers, and those wishing freedom from persistent demons. Only by meeting our demons face-to-face can we hope to prevail and achieve inner peace.

...
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14

Hard Times

"My satire is against those who see figures and averages, and nothing else," proclaimed Charles Dickens in explaining the theme of this classic novel. Published in 1854, the story concerns one Thomas Gradgrind, a "fanatic of the demonstrable fact," who raises his children, Tom and Louisa, in a stifling and arid atmosphere of grim practicality.

Without a moral compass to guide them, the children sink into lives of desperation and despair, played out against the grim background of Coketown, a wretched community shadowed by an industrial behemoth. Louisa falls into a loveless marriage...
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15
This book offers a detailed utilitarian analysis of the ethical issues involved in war.

Utilitarianism and the Ethics of War addresses the two basic ethical questions posed by war: when, if ever, are we morally justified in waging war, and if recourse to arms is warranted, how are we permitted to fight the wars we wage? In addition, it deals with the challenge that realism and relativism raise for the ethical discussion of war, and with the duties of military personnel and the moral challenges they can face. In tackling these matters, the book covers a wide range of...
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16
"Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance" is the world's best-selling guide to bicycle repair and maintenance. From basic repairs like how to fix a flat tire to advanced overhauls of drivetrains and brakes, Lennard Zinn's clearly illustrated guide makes every bicycle repair and maintenance job easy for everyone.

Lennard Zinn is the world's leading expert on bike maintenance and repair. His friendly step-by-step guide explains the tools you'll need and how to know you've done the job right. The book's two-color interior is easy to read even in a dimly-lit garage or workshop....
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17

On Liberty & Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) is the most important of Britain’s nineteenth-century philosophers. His writings and activities were many and varied. The works reprinted in this volume were first published during a particularly prolific ten-year span, from 1859 to 1869. "On Liberty "(1859), "Considerations on Representative Government" (1861), "Utilitarianism" (1863), and "The Subjection of Women" (1869) are four of his most famous works; they are central pillars on which Mill’s high reputation rests. Also included for the light they shed on Mill and his times are two of his lesser-known works –... more

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18
Introduction by Mary Oliver
Commentary by Henry James, Robert Frost, Matthew Arnold, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Henry David Thoreau
 
The definitive collection of Emerson’s major speeches, essays, and poetry, The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson chronicles the life’s work of a true “American Scholar.” As one of the architects of the transcendentalist movement, Emerson embraced a philosophy that championed the individual, emphasized independent thought, and prized “the splendid labyrinth of one’s own perceptions.” More than any writer of his time,...
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19
'it is only the cultivation of individuality which produces, or can produce, well developed human beings'

Mill's four essays, On Liberty, Utilitarianism, Considerations on Representative Government and The Subjection of Women examine the most central issues that face liberal democratic regimes - whether in the nineteenth century or the twenty-first. They have formed the basis for many of the political institutions of the West since the late nineteenth century, tackling as they do the appropriate grounds for protecting individual liberty, the basic principles of...
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21

Animal Liberation

The Book That Started A Revolution

Since its original publication in 1975, this groundbreaking work has awakened millions of concerned men and women to the shocking abuse of animals everywhere -- inspiring a worldwide movement to eliminate much of the cruel and unnecessary laboratory animal experimentation of years past.

In this newly revised and expanded edition, author Peter Singer exposes the chilling realities of today's "factory forms" and product-testing procedures -- offering sound, humane solutions to what has become a profound environmental and social as...

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23
Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for History

A riveting, original book about the creation of modern American thought.

The Metaphysical Club was an informal group that met in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1872, to talk about ideas. Its members included Oliver Well Holmes, Jr., future associate justice of the United States Supreme Court; William James, the father of modern American psychology; and Charles Sanders Peirce, logician, scientist, and the founder of semiotics. The Club was probably in existence for about nine months. No records were kept. The...
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Recommended by Franklin Foer, and 1 others.

Franklin FoerIt’s a beautifully crafted group biography about the birth of the first American school of philosophy – pragmatism. Pragmatism is an idea about ideas. The gist is to assess theories based on their efficacy. Menand describes ideas as being like microchips or screwdrivers, tools that help us achieve results. That concept sprung from this generation. So, the four figures it tells this birth story... (Source)

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24

Happiness

A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill

In this groundbreaking book, Matthieu Ricard makes a passionate case for happiness as a goal that deserves as least as much energy as any other in our lives.

Wealth? Fitness? Career success? How can we possibly place these above true and lasting well-being? Drawing from works of fiction and poetry, Western philosophy, Buddhist beliefs, scientific research, and personal experience, Ricard weaves an inspirational and forward-looking account of how we can begin to rethink our realities in a fast-moving modern world. With its revelatory lessons and exercises, Happiness...
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Recommended by Richard Branson, Joel Gascoigne, and 2 others.

Richard BransonToday is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. (Source)

Joel GascoigneThe author of this book has sometimes been called the "happiest man in the world". He is a French Biochemist turned Buddhist monk and has been in a unique position to merge science with mindfulness and meditation. The underlying theme of the book is that happiness is indeed within our control, and is much more a skill than something that simply happens to us. One of the biggest revelations for me... (Source)

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25
The American artist John Singer Sargent, widely considered the leading portrait painter of his generation, is celebrated for his paintings of Edwardian era luxury, landscape paintings and Impressionistic masterpieces. Delphi’s Masters of Art Series presents the world’s first digital e-Art books, allowing digital readers to explore the works of great artists in comprehensive detail. This volume presents Sargent’s complete paintings in beautiful detail, with concise introductions, hundreds of high quality images and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)

* The complete oil...
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26
Now in paperback, "The Philosophy Book" explores the history and concepts of philosophy, and demystifies what can often be daunting subject matter.

Are the ideas of Rene Descartes, Mary Wollstonecraft, John Locke, and Thomas Hobbes still relevant today? "The Philosophy Book" unpacks the writings and ideas of more than 100 of history's biggest thinkers, taking you on a journey from Ancient Greece to modern day. Explore feminism, rationalism, idealism, existentialism, and other influential movements in the world of philosophy.

From Socrates to Confucius to Julia Kristeva,...
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27
In What’s the Use? Sara Ahmed continues the work she began in The Promise of Happiness and Willful Subjects by taking up a single word—in this case, use—and following it around. She shows how use became associated with life and strength in nineteenth-century biological and social thought and considers how utilitarianism offered a set of educational techniques for shaping individuals by directing them toward useful ends. Ahmed also explores how spaces become restricted to some uses and users, with specific reference to universities. She notes, however, the potential... more

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28

The Point of View of the Universe

Sidgwick and Contemporary Ethics

What does the idea of taking 'the point of view of the universe' tell us about ethics? The great nineteenth-century utilitarian Henry Sidgwick used this metaphor to present what he took to be a self-evident moral truth: the good of one individual is of no more importance than the good of any other. Ethical judgments, he held, are objective truths that we can know by reason. The ethical axioms he took to be self-evident provide a foundation for utilitarianism. He supplements this foundation with an argument that nothing except states of consciousness have ultimate value, which led him to hold... more

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29
It seems proper that I should prefix to the following biographical sketch some mention of the reasons which have made me think it desirable that I should leave behind me such a memorial of so uneventful a life as mine. I do not for a moment imagine that any part of what I have to relate can be interesting to the public as a narrative or as being connected with myself. But I have thought that in an age in which education and its improvement are the subject of more, if not of profounder, study than at any former period of English history, it may be useful that there should be some record of an... more

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31

Qualitative Utilitarianism

This text offers an interpretation of John Stuart Mill's ethical theory, Qualitatively-Hedonistic Utilitarianism, as well as a discussion, analysis and solution of problems that have arisen in the theory since the initial publication of Utilitarianism in 1861. Topics discussed include Consequentialism, the Desire Theory of Pleasure, the alleged inconsistency of Qualitative Hedonism, and the relation of Qualitatively-Hedonistic Utilitarianism to Libertarianism. less

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32
Peter Singer is often described as the world's most influential philosopher. He is also one of its most controversial. The author of important books such as "Animal Liberation," "Practical Ethics," "Rethinking Life and Death," and "The Life You Can Save," he helped launch the animal rights and effective altruism movements and contributed to the development of bioethics. Now, in "Ethics in the Real World," Singer shows that he is also a master at dissecting important current events in a few hundred words.

In this book of brief essays, he applies his controversial ways of thinking to...
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Recommended by Nigel Warburton, and 1 others.

Nigel WarburtonHe manages, in these essays, to address really deep questions in just two or three pages, often saying more than other people say in a whole book. (Source)

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34
The last few decades seem to have begun what has been called 'the childless revolution'. In developed countries, increasingly people are choosing not to have children. The causes of this 'revolution' are many including the belief that to create a new life is to subject someone unnecessarily, and without their consent, to life's many sufferings including death. This belief and its underlying philosophy is known as anti-natalism. There has been a recent resurgence of this philosophy, with David Benatar's book Better Never To Have Been (2006) as a major catalyst. Anti-natalism can be seen as... more

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35
This volume includes the complete texts of two of John Stuart Mill's most important works, Utilitarianism and On Liberty, and selections from his other writings, including the complete text of his Remarks on Bentham's Philosophy. The selection from Mill's A System of Logic is of special relevance to the debate between those who read Mill as an Act-Utilitarian and those who interpret him as a Rule-Utilitarian.

Also included are selections from the writings of Jeremy Bentham, founder of modern Utilitarianism and mentor (together with James Mill) of John Stuart Mill. Bentham's...
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37

Utilitarianism and Empire

The classical utilitarian legacy of Jeremy Bentham, J. S. Mill, James Mill, and Henry Sidgwick has often been charged with both theoretical and practical complicity in the growth of British imperialism and the emerging racialist discourse of the nineteenth century. But there has been little scholarly work devoted to bringing together the conflicting interpretive perspectives on this legacy and its complex evolution with respect to orientalism and imperialism. This volume, with contributions by leading scholars in the field, represents the first attempt to survey the full range of current... more

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39

On Liberty and Other Essays

Collected here in a single volume for the first time are John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, Utilitarianism, Considerations on Representative Government, and The Subjection of Women. These essays show Mill applying his liberal utilitarian philosophy to a range of issues that remain vital today--the nature of ethics, the scope and limits of individual liberty, the merits of and costs of democratic government, and the place of women in society. In his Introduction John Gray describes these essays as applications of Mill's doctrine of the Art of Life, as set out in A System of Logic. Using the... more

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41
Utilitarianism, the approach to ethics based on the maximization of overall well-being, continues to have great traction in moral philosophy and political thought. This Companion offers a systematic exploration of its history, themes and applications. First it traces the origins and development of utilitarianism via the work of Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Henry Sidgwick, and others. The volume then explores issues in the formulation of utilitarianism, including act versus rule utilitarianism, actual versus expected consequences, and objective versus subjective theories of well-being.... more

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42

Sci-Phi

Science Fiction as Philosophy (Great Courses)

This series of lectures explores philosophy idea as demonstrated in the genre of Science Fiction in popular literature and cinema.

The origins of science fiction are most often thought to trace to Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein,a story born from a night of spooky tale-telling by the fireside that explores scientific, moral, and ethical questions that were of great concern in the 19th century—and that continue to resonate today. And, although novels and short stories built the foundations of science fiction, film and television have emerged as equally powerful,...
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44
This book argues the case for a society organized by private property, individual rights, and voluntary co-operation, with little or no government. David Friedman's standpoint, known as 'anarcho-capitalism', has attracted a growing following as a desirable social ideal since the first edition of The Machinery of Freedom appeared in 1971. This new edition is thoroughly revised and includes much new material, exploring fresh applications of the author's libertarian principles. Among topics covered: how the U.S. would benefit from unrestricted immigration; why prohibition of drugs is... more

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45

The Virtues of Captain America

The first look at the philosophy behind the "Captain America" comics and movies, publishing in advance of the movie release of "Captain America: The Winter Solider" in April 2014.

In "The Virtues of Captain America," philosopher and long-time comics fan Mark D. White argues that the core principles, compassion, and judgment exhibited by the 1940's comic book character Captain America remain relevant to the modern world. Simply put, "Cap" embodies many of the classical virtues that have been important to us since the days of the ancient Greeks: honesty, courage, loyalty,...
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46
Mysticism is Evelyn Underhill's seminal work on the subject. The book is divided into two parts, "The Mystic Fact" and "The Mystic Way." In the first part Underhill explores the theological, psychological, and philosophical underpinnings of mysticism from a historical perspective. In the second part Underhill examines the application of mysticism in one's life as a means for spiritual growth. Evelyn Underhill's Mysticism is both a fantastic introduction to the search for spirituality through mysticism and an almost encyclopedic examination of the subject. less

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47
Utilitarianism - a philosophy based on the principle of the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people - has been hugely influential over the past two centuries. Beyond ethics or morality, utilitarian assumptions and arguments abound in modern economic and political life, especially in public policy. An understanding of utilitarianism is indeed essential to any understanding of contemporary society. Understanding Utilitarianism presents utilitarianism very much as a living tradition. The book begins with a summary of the classical utilitarianism of the eighteenth and nineteenth... more

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48

Technology and Justice

Originally published in 1986, the six essays that comprise Technology and Justice offer absorbing reflections on the extent to which technology has shaped the way we live now. George Grant, one of Canada’s most influential philosophers, explores the fate of traditional values in modern education, social behaviour, and religion, and offers his insights into some of the most contentious ethical deliberations of the past half-century.

In essays ranging in content from classical philosophy to the morals of euthanasia, Technology and Justice showcases Grant’s...
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49

Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals ranks alongside Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics as one of the most profound and influential works in moral philosophy ever written. In Kant's own words its aim is to search for and establish the supreme principle of morality, the categorical imperative. This edition presents the acclaimed translation of the text by Mary Gregor, together with an introduction by Christine M. Korsgaard that examines and explains Kant's argument. less
Recommended by Adrian Moore, and 1 others.

Adrian MooreNo one could claim that it is an easy read, but it lays out the fundamental principles of Kant’s moral philosophy (Source)

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50
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was a British philosopher, political economist, civil servant, and Member of Parliament. An advocate of utilitarianism, he was one of the most influential liberal thinkers of the 19th century. less

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51
Trade fear for courage on the journey toward stillness and your true self.

The Hidden Unknown Truth is intended to show you how to live your life connected to your own inner power. It is a spiritual how-to guide designed to lead you to awareness and acceptance of thoughts and actions that create fear and anxiety, which cuts you off from your true inner voice.

Learn exactly how to forgive others and cultivate a grateful perspective to awaken your spirit. The meditation practice will calm your body and mind, allowing a deeper inspiration and guiding power to flow through...
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52
From the ethicist the New Yorker calls “the most influential living philosopher,” a new way of thinking about living ethically

Peter Singer’s books and ideas have been disturbing our complacency ever since the appearance of Animal Liberation. Now he directs our attention to a new movement in which his own ideas have played a crucial role: effective altruism. Effective altruism is built upon the simple but profound idea that living a fully ethical life involves doing the "most good you can do." Such a life requires an unsentimental view of charitable giving: to...
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53
The new commandments according to Rethinking Life and Death.
--If you must take human life, take responsibility for the consequences of your decisions.
--All human life is not of equal worth; treat beings in accordance to the ethical situation at hand.
--Respect a person's desire to live or die.
A profound and provocative work, Rethinking Life and Death, in the tradition of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, examines the ethical dilemmas that confront us as we near the twenty-first century.
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54

Collective Choice and Social Welfare

Hardbound. This book is concerned with the study of collective preference, in particular with the relationship between the objectives of social action and the preferences and aspirations of society's members. Professor Sen's approach is based on the assumption that the problem of collective choice cannot be satisfactorily discussed within the confines of economics. While collective choice forms a crucial aspect of economics, the subject pertains also to political science, the theory of the state, and to the theory of decision procedures. The author has therefore used material from these... more

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55
The Blackwell Guide to Mill's Utilitarianism volume is an ideal commentary for students on Mill's classic essay.

Contains the complete text of Utilitarianism and twelve related essays.
Essays cover the background to Mill's classic essay, analyses of the arguments, and contemporary debates within the utilitarian tradition.
Also includes a case study demonstrating the application of utilitarian theory to military or non-violent responses to terrorism.
Each contribution is an original essay written by a specialist at the cutting edge of philosophical...
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56

Marx

A Very Short Introduction

Karl Marx is one of the most influential philosophers of all time, whose theories have shaped and directed political, economic, and social thought for 150 years. Considering Marx's life and impact, renowned philosopher Peter Singer identifies the central vision that unifies Marx's thought, enabling us to grasp Marx's views as a whole. Presenting Marx as a philosopher primarily concerned with human freedom, rather than as an economist or a social scientist, Singer explains Marx's key ideas on alienation, historical materialism, and the economic theory of Capital, in plain English.
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57

A Treatise of Human Nature

A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), David Hume's comprehensive attempt to base philosophy on a new, observationally grounded study of human nature, is one of the most important texts in Western philosophy. It is also the focal point of current attempts to understand 18th-century philosophy. The Treatise first explains how we form such concepts as cause and effect, external existence, and personal identity, and to form compelling but unconfirmable beliefs in the entities represented by these concepts. It then offers a novel account of the passions, explains freedom and necessity as they... more

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58
Better Never to Have Been argues for a number of related, highly provocative, views: (1) Coming into existence is always a serious harm. (2) It is always wrong to have children. (3) It is wrong not to abort fetuses at the earlier stages of gestation. (4) It would be better if, as a result of there being no new people, humanity became extinct. These views may sound unbelievable--but anyone who reads Benatar will be obliged to take them seriously. less

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59

Law, Liberty, and Morality

"The three lectures collected in this slim but important volume resume a controversy that has been one of the recurrent themes of legal philosophy: is it the function of law to enforce the moral convictions of a community, or is the function of law a more limited one..." W. Friedmann, Natural Law Forum less

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60
This carefully edited collection is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents.
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was an English philosopher, political economist and civil servant. John Stuart Mill is considered to be one of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and feminism, who contributed greatly to social theory, political theory and political economy.
Contents:
The Autobiography
Utilitarianism
The Subjection of Women
On Liberty
Principles of Political Economy
A System Of Logic, Ratiocinative...
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61

Utilitarianism and Other Essays

Clear, eloquent and profound, Mill's Utilitarianism has had an enormous influence on moral philosophy and is the idea introduction to ethics.

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was a reformer who applied the test of utility to the law and politics of his day. Legislators must aim at 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number,' and Bentham explained in minute detail how they might achieve it. John Stuart Mill (1806-73), whose education at the hands of a Benthamite father had ended in emotional collapse, thought Bentham's ideal of human happiness too narrow and set out to reconcile...

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63

The Broken Wings

This is the exquisitely tender story of love that beats desperately against the taboos of Oriental tradition. With great sensitivity, Gibran describes his passion as a youth for Selma Karamy, the girl of Beirut who first unfolded to him the secrets of love. But it is a love that is doomed by a social convention which forces Selma into marriage with another man. Portraying the happiness and infinite sorrow of his relationship with Selma, Gibran at the same time probes the spiritual meaning of human existence with profound compassion. **Lightning Print On Demand Title less
Recommended by Kaci Lambe Kai, and 1 others.

Kaci Lambe KaiThe Broken Wings by Kahlil Gibran shook me someplace deep. (Source)

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64
For over 2000 years, philosophy has been our best guide to the experience of being human, and the true nature of reality. From Aristotle, Plato, Epicurus, Confucius, Cicero and Heraclitus in ancient times to 17th century rationalists Descartes, Leibniz and Spinoza, from 20th-century greats Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Baudrillard and Simone de Beauvoir to contemporary thinkers Michael Sandel, Peter Singer and Slavoj Zizek, 50 PHILOSOPHY CLASSICS explores key writings that have shaped the discipline and had an impact on the real world. Philosophy can no longer be confined to academia, and 50... more

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65

On Christian Doctrine

"There are certain rules for the interpretation of Scripture which I think might with great advantage be taught to earnest students of the word, that they may profit not only from reading the works of others who have laid open the secrets of the sacred writings, but also from themselves opening such secrets to others. These rules I propose to teach to those who are able and willing to learn." With these words Saint Augustine (354-430 AD) began one of the finest theological treatments ever written on reading and interpreting Holy Scripture. Pastors, monks, and educated laypersons cherished De... more

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66

Utilitarianism and Beyond

A volume of studies of utilitarianism considered both as a theory of personal morality and a theory of public choice. All but two of the papers have been commissioned especially for the volume, and between them they represent not only a wide range of arguments for and against utilitarianism but also a first-class selection of the most interesting and influential work in this very active area. There is also a substantial introduction by the two editors. The volume will constitute an important stimulus and point of reference for a wide range of philosophers, economists and social theorists. less

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67

Suffering and Moral Responsibility

In this original study, Jamie Mayerfeld undertakes a careful inquiry into the meaning and moral significance of suffering. Understanding suffering in hedonistic terms as an affliction of feeling, he addresses difficulties associated with its identification and measurement. He then turns to an examination of the duty to relieve suffering: its content, its weight relative to other moral considerations, and the role it should play in our lives.

Among the claims defended in the book are that suffering needs to be distinguished from both physical pain and the frustration of desire, that...
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68
Mill was one of the most important British philosophers of the nineteenth century; his Utilitarianism is a pivotal work in ethical thought. This book, written specifically for students coming to Mill - and perhaps philosophy - for the first time, will be an ideal guide.
Mill on Utilitarianism introduces and assesses:
* Mill's life and the background of Utilitarianism
* the ideas and text of Utilitarianism
* the continuing importance of Mill's work to philosophy
This is the first book dedicated to Utilitarianism itself. Concisely written and engaging, it is perfect...
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69
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment. Hume is often grouped with John Locke, George Berkeley, and a handful of others as a British Empiricist.
Beginning with his A Treatise of Human Nature (1739), Hume strove to create a total naturalistic "science of man" that examined the psychological basis of human nature. In stark opposition to the...
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70

The Methods of Ethics

This Hackett edition, first published in 1981, is an unabridged and unaltered republication of the seventh (1907) edition as published by Macmillan and Company, Limited.

From the forward by John Rawls:

In the utilitarian tradition Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900) has an important place. His fundamental work, The Methods of Ethics (first edition 1874, seventh and last edition 1907, here reprinted), is the clearest and most accessible formulation of what we may call 'the classical utilitarian doctorine.' This classical doctrine holds that the ultimate moral end of social...
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Recommended by Peter Singer, and 1 others.

Peter SingerI said, in my review of Derek Parfit’s On What Matters for the Times Literary Supplement, that it was the most significant work on ethics written since The Methods of Ethics. That’s consistent with The Methods of Ethics being the greatest work. Parfit himself said that The Methods of Ethics contains more true statements about ethics than any other work: it builds on the work of other great... (Source)

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72

The Principal Upanishads

"His translation is faithful and economical and it is embedded in notes and explanations which clarify the meaning, wherever it might be ambiguous for a western reader." — The Times (London) Literary Supplement.
"The translation is both faithful and graceful, and the exposition is authentic, instructive, and attractive; they often shed new light on old concepts and bring out their significance in the perspective of modern Western thought." — S. J. Chatterjee, Philosophy East and West.
Generations of seekers have turned to the Upanishads as a source of timeless...
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74
Related Motion seems to be, as suggested by the words Attraction and Repulsion, Gravitation, Chemical Affinity, and so forth, the ground-fact of inorganic Nature. And it seems also to be the ground and foundation of Life. The protoplasmic jelly moves towards or away from substances in its neighborhood, and this appears to be its fundamental property. The most primitive cellular organisms act in the same way. Some seek light, others flee from it. Paramecium is drawn towards slightly acid substances, and flies from alkalies. Actynophrys is attracted by starch; and so on.1 There appears to be a... more

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76
Most people now realise that economic growth, however desirable, will not solve all our problems. Instead, we need a philosophy and a science which encompasses a much fuller range of human need and experience.

This book argues that the goal for a society must be the greatest possible all round happiness, and shows how each of us can become more effective creators of happiness, both as citizens and in our own organisations.

Written with Richard Layard's characteristic clarity, it provides hard evidence that increasing happiness is the right aim, and that it can be...
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77
Jeremy Bentham's work on The Principles of Morals and Legislation emerges from its historic roots in hedonism and teleology as a scientific attempt to assess the moral content of human action by focusing on its results or consequences. Proceeding from the assumption that human beings desire pleasure (and avoid pain), Bentham's unique perspective, known as utilitarianism, is used to construct a fascinating calculus for determining which action to perform when confronted with situations requiring moral decision-makingthe goal of which is to arrive at the "greatest happiness of the greatest... more

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78

Why Read Mill Today?

John Stuart Mill is one of the greatest thinkers of the nineteenth century. But does he have anything to teach us today? His deep concern for freedom of the individual is thought by some to be outdated and inadequate to the cultural and religious complexities of twenty first century life. In this succinct and shrewd book, John Skorupski argues that Mill is a profound and inspiring social and political thinker from whom we still have much to learn. He reflects on Mill's central arguments in his most famous works, including "Utilitarianism" and "On Liberty", and traces their implications for... more

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79

The Subjection of Women

..".John Mill disagrees with the argument that women are naturally less good at some things than men, and should therefore be discouraged or forbidden from doing them. Mill Thought that men simply don't know what women are capable of, because we have never let them try - nobody can not make a statement without evidence. We can't stop women from trying things because they might not be able to do them. An argument based on speculative physiology is just that, speculation..." less

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80

Will to Power

The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche

Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE]
ACE #1

Will to Power: The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche is 24 lectures, 30 minutes each lecture on 12 audio cds.
Course No. 415 is taught by Kathleen M. Higgins and Robert Solomon.

Part 1 (6 CDs with 54 page booklet)
and
Part 2 (6 CDs with 48 page booklet)
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81

The Basic Writings

On Liberty/The Subjection of Women/Utilitarianism

The writings of John Stuart Mill have become the cornerstone of political liberalism. Collected for the first time in this volume are Mill's three seminal and most widely read works: "On Liberty, The Subjection of Women, and Utilitarianism," A brilliant defense of individual rights versus the power of the state, "On Liberty" is essential reading for anyone interested in political thought and theory. As Bertrand Russell reflected, "On Liberty remains a classic . . . the present world would be better than it is, if Mill's] principles were more respected." This Modern Library Paperback Classics... more

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82
R.M. Hare was one of the most important ethical theorists of the 20th century, and one of his graduate students, Peter Singer, became famous for his writings on animals and personhood. Singer now says that he endorses Hare's "two-level utilitarianism," and he has invoked the theory's distinction between "critical thinking" and thinking in terms of "intuitive level rules" in response to certain objections to his conclusions on several issues. Hare, however, never published a systematic treatment of how his theory applies to issues in animal ethics, and he avoided the concept of... more

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83
Must we fight terrorism with terror, match assassination with assassination, and torture with torture? Must we sacrifice civil liberty to protect public safety?


In the age of terrorism, the temptations of ruthlessness can be overwhelming. But we are pulled in the other direction too by the anxiety that a violent response to violence makes us morally indistinguishable from our enemies. There is perhaps no greater political challenge today than trying to win the war against terror without losing our democratic souls. Michael Ignatieff confronts this challenge head-on, with the...
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84
Pornography first developed in western Europe during the late eighteenth century in tandem with the rise of utilitarianism, the philosophical position that stresses the importance of something's usefulness over its essence. Through incisive readings of Sade, Flaubert, Lawrence, and Bret Easton Ellis, Frances Ferguson here shows how pornography—like utilitarian social structures—diverts our attention from individual identities to actions and renders more clearly the social value of such actions through concrete literary representations. less

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85
This guide outlines concepts and principles of philosophy in an easy-to-understand format.

Topics covered include: - metaphysics, parts I & II - mind-body problems - theoretical divisions - language games - common-sense realisms - causal theories - and much more...

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86

Who Controls America?

While Congress wrestles with possible Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election, a far more dangerous group of American citizens go unnoticed as they whittle away middle class liberties and freedoms. No, it’s not the much-maligned super wealthy, the top one-tenth of one percent money earners. The ultra-rich, like Gates, Buffett, and Zuckerberg are relatively open and vocal about their agenda’s. But those who actually control America trade in deceit and sleight of hand. When they do speak, they use the language of Patriots. But their actions reveal a hideous hidden agenda designed... more

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87

We love to see superheroes fight, whether to protect innocent people from supervillains or to save the world. But superheroes also fight each other, and if we can look past the energy blasts and earth-shattering punches, we can find serious disagreements over principles and ethics. This was certainly the case when Captain America and Iron Man went head-to-head over liberty and security in Marvel Comics’ epic Civil War storyline, a fictional allegory to post-9/11 America (as well as the basis for the third Captain America film).



In his latest book, Mark D. White,...

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88

Anscombe's Intention

A Guide

Written against the background of her controversial opposition to the University of Oxford's awarding of an honorary degree to Harry S. Truman, Elizabeth Anscombe's Intention laid the groundwork she thought necessary for a proper ethical evaluation of actions like the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The devoutly Catholic Anscombe thought that these actions made Truman a murderer, and thus unworthy of the university's honor-but that this verdict depended on an understanding of intentional action that had been widely rejected in contemporary moral philosophy.... more

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89

Society and Solitude (An Essay)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.
Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay, Nature. Following this...
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90
Alan Ryan's provocative introduction lays out the central issues debated by John Stuart Mill's many interpreters; in addition, it assesses Mill's historical significance and provides a brief account of his life. In recent years, scholars have increasingly focused on the connection between On Liberty and Mill's other writings. This Norton Critical Edition brings together three major essays that illustrate Mill's liberal political philosophy over the course of his life: "The Spirit of the Age" (1831), On Liberty (1859), and The Subjection of Women (1869). Related excerpts from John Stuart... more

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91
The purpose of this Introduction is to sketch our approach to the study of value, morality and action, and to show the place we assign it in the system of human knowledge. 1. VALUE, MORALITY AND ACTION: FACT, THEORY, AND METATHEORY We take it that all animals evaluate some things and some processes, and that some of them learn the social behavior patterns we call 'moral principles', and even act according to them at least some of the time. An animal incapable of evaluating anything would be very short-lived; and a social animal that did not observe the accepted social behavior patterns would... more

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92
One of the world’s most influential philosophers here considers the ethical issues surrounding globalization. Peter Singer discusses climate change, the role of the World Trade Organization, human rights and humanitarian intervention, and foreign aid, showing how a global ethic rather than a nationalistic approach can provide illuminating answers to important problems.

The book encompasses four main global issues: climate change, the role of the World Trade Organization, human rights and humanitarian intervention, and foreign aid. Singer addresses each vital issue from an ethical...
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Recommended by Dani Rodrik, and 1 others.

Dani RodrikThis is a relatively small book but with a very big idea. (Source)

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94
One of the leading ethical thinkers of the modern age, Peter Singer has repeatedly been embroiled in controversy. Protesters in Germany closed down his lectures, mistakenly thinking he was advocating Nazi views on eugenics. Conservative publisher Steve Forbes withdrew generous donations to Princeton after Singer was appointed professor of bioethics. His belief that infanticide is sometimes morally justified has appalled people from all walks of life. Peter Singer Under Fire gives a platform to his critics on many contentious issues. Leaders of the disability rights group Not Dead Yet... more

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95
This is a paperback edition of a major contribution to the field, first published in hard covers in 1977. The book outlines a general theory of rational behaviour consisting of individual decision theory, ethics, and game theory as its main branches. Decision theory deals with a rational pursuit of individual utility; ethics with a rational pursuit of the common interests of society; and game theory with an interaction of two or more rational individuals, each pursuing his own interests in a rational manner. less

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96
Stoicism 3 Book Box SetThis book includes:


Stoicism: Mastery - Mastering The Stoic Way of Life
Self-Discipline: 32 Small Changes to Create a Life Long Habit of Self-Discipline, Laser-Sharp Focus, and Extreme Productivity
Emotional Intelligence: 21 Most Effective Tips and Tricks on Self Awareness, Controlling Your Emotions, and Improving Your EQ
Stoicism may be an ancient philosophy, but it is one that has even more relevance to our daily lives now that we are in the modern world. Too often we find that we aren't able to control our lives,...
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97
A National Science Foundation Award-Winning Author bumped into The Order of Skull and Bones when analyzing America less

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98
The eleventh edition of this renowned, topically organized anthology provides a superb balance of historical selections and recent material. The text covers reason and religious belief, human knowledge, mind and its place in nature, determinism, free will and responsibility, and morality and its critics in five parts with careful attention to opposing points of view. less

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99

Well-Being and Death

Well-Being and Death addresses philosophical questions about death and the good life: what makes a life go well? Is death bad for the one who dies? How is this possible if we go out of existence when we die? Is it worse to die as an infant or as a young adult? Is it bad for animals and fetuses to die? Can the dead be harmed? Is there any way to make death less bad for us? Ben Bradley defends the following views: pleasure, rather than achievement or the satisfaction of desire, is what makes life go well; death is generally bad for its victim, in virtue of depriving the victim of more... more

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100

The Poverty of Liberalism

Addressing himself not only to radical thinkers but to liberal thinkers as well, Robert Paul Wolff, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, provides here an examination of four concepts central to liberal political concerns: Liberty, Tolerance, Loyalty, and Power. With distinctive precision of thought, Wolff shows how deeply liberals are dedicated to what is for him the “moral disaster” of American politics and for them “stability,” “moderation,” and “the end of ideology.” We need, Wolff states, an ideal of society more exalted than the mere acceptance of opposed interests... more

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