Equality and Tradition: Questions of Value in Moral and Political Theory

ISBN-13: 9780199899579 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 352 str.

Samuel Scheffler

Opis

This collection of essays by noted philosopher Samuel Scheffler combines discussion of abstract questions in moral and political theory with attention to the normative dimension of current social and political controversies. In addition to chapters on more abstract issues such as the nature of human valuing, the role of partiality in ethics, and the significance of the distinction between doing and allowing, the volume also includes essays on immigration, terrorism, toleration, political equality, and the normative significance of tradition.

Uniting the essays is a shared preoccupation with questions about human value and values. The volume opens with an essay that considers the general question of what it is to value something - as opposed, say, to wanting it, wanting to want it, or thinking that it is valuable. Other essays explore particular values, such as equality, whose meaning and content are contested. Still others consider the tensions that arise, both within and among individuals, in consequence of the diversity of human values. One of the overarching aims of the book is to illuminate the different ways in which liberal political theory attempts to resolve conflicts of both of these kinds.

Recenzje

Two principal virtues of written philosophy are clarity of presentation and depth of engagement with the subject matter, and few philosophers equal Samuel Scheffler's ability to realize these virtues simultaneously. Equality and Tradition is a collection of Scheffler's recent essays in moral and political philosophy. The book is both a worthy successor to his previous books and collections and an excellent entry point into the most recent literature in these fields.

O autorze

Samuel Scheffler is University Professor; Professor of Philosophy, Law, New York University. He is the author of The Rejection of Consequentialism, Human Morality, and Boundaries and Allegiances.