Book picks similar to
The Problematics of Moral and Legal Theory by Richard A. Posner
law
ethics
philosophy
jurisprudence
Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth
Mirza Tahir Ahmad - 1998
The underlying theme of the book is that the belief in a divine power, the Creator, is not in contradiction with the acceptance of scientific rationale.
Libertarian Anarchy: Against the State
Gerard Casey - 2012
The state is considered necessary for the provision of many things, but primarily for peace and security. In this provocative book, Gerard Casey argues that social order can be spontaneously generated, that such spontaneous order is the norm in human society and that deviations from the ordered norms can be dealt with without recourse to the coercive power of the state.Casey presents a novel perspective on political philosophy, arguing against the conventional political philosophy pieties and defending a specific political position, which he identifies as 'libertarian anarchy'. The book includes a history of the concept of anarchy, an examination of the possibility of anarchic societies and an articulation ofthe nature of law and order within such societies. Casey presents his specific form of anarchy, undergirded by a theory of human action that prioritises liberty, as a philosophically and politically viable alternative to the standard positions in political theory."
Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation
Ronald Reagan - 1984
President while he held office. With new photos and all new supporting materials, the original work by President Reagan shines with a timeless, poetic beauty. At a time when concerted efforts are being made to excise President Reagan's legacy from history, his prophetic view of the sanctity of human life, and his commitment to the "integrity of the human person" stands as a beacon of moral leadership. Contributions from Wanda Franz, Ph.D., President of the National Right to Life Committee; Brian P. Johnston, California Commissioner on Aging; and the Honorable William Clark, Chief of Staff to then-Governor Reagan, National Security Advisor to the President, Secretary of the Interior, and the man whom Edmund Morris, official Reagan biographer, called, "the most important member of both Reagan administrations, and the man spiritually closest to the President."
Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction
Jonathan Barnes - 1982
In this book, Jonathan Barnes examines Aristotle's scientific researches, his discoveries in logic and his metaphysical theories, his work in psychology and in ethics and politics, and his ideas about art and poetry, placing his teachings in their historical context.About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
On the Genealogy of Morals
Friedrich Nietzsche - 1887
Nietzsche rewrites the former as a history of cruelty, exposing the central values of the Judaeo-Christian and liberal traditions - compassion, equality, justice - as the product of a brutal process of conditioning designed to domesticate the animal vitality of earlier cultures. The result is a book which raises profoundly disquieting issues about the violence of both ethics and interpretation. Nietzsche questions moral certainties by showing that religion and science have no claim to absolute truth, before turning on his own arguments in order to call their very presuppositions into question. The Genealogy is the most sustained of Nietzsche's later works and offers one of the fullest expressions of his characteristic concerns. This edition places his ideas within the cultural context of his own time and stresses the relevance of his work for a contemporary audience.
The Sexual Contract
Carole Pateman - 1988
The sexual contract is ignored and thus men's patriarchal right over women is also glossed over. No attention is paid to the problems that arise when women are excluded from the original contract but incorporated into the new contractual order.One of the main targets of the book is those who try to turn contractarian theory to progressive use, and a major thesis of the book is that this is not possible. Thus those feminists who have looked to a more "proper" contract- one between genuinely equal partners, or one entered into without any coercion- are misleading themselves. In the author's words, "In contract theory universal freedom is always a hypothesis, a story, a political fiction. Contract always generates political right in the forms of domination and subordination." Thus the book is also aimed at mainstream political theorists, and socialist and other critics of contract theory.The author offers a sweeping challenge to conventional understandings- of both left and right- of actual contracts in everyday life: the marriage contract, the employment contract, the prostitution contract, and the new surrogate mother contract. By bringing a feminist perspective to bear on the contradictions and paradoxes surrounding women and contract, and the relation between the sexes, she is able to shed new light on fundamental political problems of freedom and subordination.
The Complexity of Cooperation: Agent-Based Models of Competition and Collaboration
Robert Axelrod - 1991
He is a leader in applying computer modeling to social science problems. His book The Evolution of Cooperation has been hailed as a seminal contribution and has been translated into eight languages since its initial publication. The Complexity of Cooperation is a sequel to that landmark book. It collects seven essays, originally published in a broad range of journals, and adds an extensive new introduction to the collection, along with new prefaces to each essay and a useful new appendix of additional resources. Written in Axelrod's acclaimed, accessible style, this collection serves as an introductory text on complexity theory and computer modeling in the social sciences and as an overview of the current state of the art in the field.The articles move beyond the basic paradigm of the Prisoner's Dilemma to study a rich set of issues, including how to cope with errors in perception or implementation, how norms emerge, and how new political actors and regions of shared culture can develop. They use the shared methodology of agent-based modeling, a powerful technique that specifies the rules of interaction between individuals and uses computer simulation to discover emergent properties of the social system. The Complexity of Cooperation is essential reading for all social scientists who are interested in issues of cooperation and complexity.
Primate Visions: Gender, Race, and Nature in the World of Modern Science
Donna J. Haraway - 1989
Haraway's discussions of how scientists have perceived the sexual nature of female primates opens a new chapter in feminist theory, raising unsettling questions about models of the family and of heterosexuality in primate research.
Democracy for the Few
Michael Parenti - 1974
DEMOCRACY FOR THE FEW is a provocative interpretation of American Government that you have likely not been exposed to in elementary school, high school, or other college courses, and certainly not in the mass media. This textbook shows how democracy is repeatedly violated by corporate oligopolies, but how popular forces have fought back and occasionally made gains in spite of the system. By focusing on the relationship between economic power and political power, discussing actual government practices and policies, conspiracies, propaganda, fraud, secrecy and other ploys of government and politics, this book stands apart in its analysis of how US Government works.
Introduction to Marx, Engels, Marxism
Vladimir Lenin - 1987
Brief collection of the basic ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin.
Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice
Jack Donnelly - 1989
Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice is just such a book.... Donnelly's interpretations are clear and argued with zest.--American Political Science ReviewThis wide-ranging book looks at all aspects of human rights, drawing upon political theory, sociology, and international relations as well as international law.... [Jack Donnelly] deals successfully with two of the principal challenges to the notion of the universality of human rights: the argument that some non-Western societies are not subject to Western norms, and the claim that economic development may require the sacrifice of some human rights.--Foreign AffairsIn a thoroughly revised edition of Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice (more than half of the material is new), Jack Donnelly elaborates a theory of human rights, addresses arguments of cultural relativism, and explores the efficacy of bilateral and multilateral international action. Entirely new chapters address prominent post-Cold War issues including humanitarian intervention, democracy and human rights, Asian values, group rights, and discrimination against sexual minorities.
An Introduction to Political Philosophy
Jonathan Wolff - 2006
Jonathan Wolff looks at the works of Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, and Rawls (among others), examining how the debates between philosophers have developed, and searching for possible answers to these provocative questions. His final chapter looks at more recent issues, particularly feminist political theory.
Law and Revolution
Harold J. Berman - 1983
Out of this upheaval came the Western idea of integrated legal systems consciously developed over generations and centuries.Harold J. Berman describes the main features of these systems of law, including the canon law of the church, the royal law of the major kingdoms, the urban law of the newly emerging cities, feudal law, manorial law, and mercantile law. In the coexistence and competition of these systems he finds an important source of the Western belief in the supremacy of law.Written simply and dramatically, carrying a wealth of detail for the scholar but also a fascinating story for the layman, the book grapples with wideranging questions of our heritage and our future. One of its main themes is the interaction between the Western belief in legal evolution and the periodic outbreak of apocalyptic revolutionary upheavals.Berman challenges conventional nationalist approaches to legal history, which have neglected the common foundations of all Western legal systems. He also questions conventional social theory, which has paid insufficient attention to the origin of modem Western legal systems and has therefore misjudged the nature of the crisis of the legal tradition in the twentieth century.
So Help Me God
Larry D. Thompson - 2004
Lord “The courtroom drama and testimony are brilliantly conceived and carried out…a thoughtful, complex and timely novel, a compelling story one is loath to put aside to do one’s daily work.”—Galveston Daily News "So Help Me God is not only a page-turner but a warning as well. Through a deft, fascinating storyline Larry D. Thompson shows us what can happen here if we're not careful."—Ed Gorman“So Help Me God is an exciting legal thriller that takes the reader on a sizzling ride as a courtroom becomes the battlefield over one of the most controversial social issues of our time. Not since the Scopes Monkey Trial has a man of religion and a man of ideas clashed so dramatically and brilliantly in a courtroom.” –Junius Podrug, award winning author of Presumed Guilty“I don’t think I have ever read anything quite so compelling. Everything was woven together beautifully and could only have been done so by someone who had actually lived through similar experiences in the courtroom.”—pennyterk.com“Move over John Grisham!”—Denton A. Cooley, MD, world-renowned pioneer heart surgeon“Seldom does a first effort at courtroom fiction find itself in the class of such notables as Inherit the Wind, The Verdict, and The Rainmaker. But Larry Thompson’s So Help Me God belongs there. I predict it will become a modern day classic courtroom tale.”—Jim Perdue, Sr., nationally renowned trial lawyer and author of I Remember Atticus“I hated to finish that last page of So Help Me God…the courtroom scenes are both realistic and spell-binding.”—Hartley Hampton, past president of the Texas Trial Lawyers AssociationAbout the AuthorA veteran Texas trial lawyer, LARRY D. THOMPSON has drawn upon decades of experience in the courtroom to produce his first novel, So Help Me God. Thompson, a one-time journalism major who used his talent for writing to excel at the University of Texas School of Law, is now managing partner of the Houston trial firm he founded. Recently honored by Texas Monthly Magazine as a "Texas Super Lawyer," he is the proud father of three grown children, an active golfer, SCUBA diver, runner, and outdoor enthusiast. His biggest inspiration both in life and literature is his late brother, best-selling author Thomas Thompson.