Random House New Releases - Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy

Just Babies by Paul Bloom

2013-11-12T00:30:00-05:00

Just Babies The Origins of Good and Evil
Written by Paul Bloom

Hardcover, 288 pages | Crown | Psychology & Psychiatry - Neuropsychology; Psychology & Psychiatry - Child Development; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy | $26.00 | 978-0-307-88684-2 (0-307-88684-0)

A leading cognitive scientist argues that a deep sense of good and evil is bred in the bone.

From Sigmund Freud to Jean Piaget, psychologists have long believed that we begin life as amoral animals. After all, isn't it the role of society—and especially parents—to transform babies from little psychopaths into civilized beings who can experience empathy and shame, and override selfish impulses? In Just Babies, Paul Bloom argues that humans are in fact hardwired with a sense of morality. Drawing upon years of original research at Yale, he shows that babies and toddlers can judge the goodness and badness of others' actions; that they act to soothe those in distress; and that they feel guilt, shame, pride, and righteous anger.

Yet this innate morality is tragically limited. Our natural morality extends toward those in our own group, but this is offset by ingrained dislike, even hatred, of those in different groups. Put simply, we are natural-born bigots. Vivid and intellectually probing, Just Babies argues that it's only through our uniquely human capacity for reason that we can transcend the primitive sense of morality we are born with. This erudite yet accessible book will captivate readers of Steven Pinker, Philip Zimbardo, and Robert Wright.

Just Babies by Paul Bloom

2013-11-12T00:30:00-05:00

Just Babies The Origins of Good and Evil
Written by Paul Bloom

eBook, 288 pages | Crown | Psychology & Psychiatry - Neuropsychology; Psychology & Psychiatry - Child Development; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy | $12.99 | 978-0-307-88686-6 (0-307-88686-7)

From the Hardcover edition.

Just Babies by Paul Bloom

2013-11-12T00:30:00-05:00

Just Babies The Origins of Good and Evil
Written by Paul Bloom

Unabridged Audiobook Download | Random House Audio | Psychology & Psychiatry - Neuropsychology; Psychology & Psychiatry - Child Development; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy | $20.00 | 978-0-385-36708-0 (0-385-36708-2)

From the Hardcover edition.

Soul Repair by Gabriella Lettini

2013-11-05T00:30:00-05:00

Soul Repair Recovering from Moral Injury after War
Written by Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini

Trade Paperback, 176 pages | Beacon Press | Psychology - Psychopathology - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Biography & Autobiography - Military | $15.00 | 978-0-8070-2912-1 (0-8070-2912-2)

The first book to explore the idea and effect of moral injury on veterans, their families, and their communities

Although veterans make up only 7 percent of the U.S. population, they account for an alarming 20 percent of all suicides. And though treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder has undoubtedly alleviated suffering and allowed many service members returning from combat to transition to civilian life, the suicide rate for veterans under thirty has been increasing. Research by Veterans Administration health professionals and veterans’ own experiences now suggest an ancient but unaddressed wound of war may be a factor: moral injury. This deep-seated sense of transgression includes feelings of shame, grief, meaninglessness, and remorse from having violated core moral beliefs.

Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini, who both grew up in families deeply affected by war, have been working closely with vets on what moral injury looks like, how vets cope with it, and what can be done to heal the damage inflicted on soldiers’ consciences. In Soul Repair, the authors tell the stories of four veterans of wars from Vietnam to our current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan—Camillo “Mac” Bica, Herman Keizer Jr., Pamela Lightsey, and Camilo Mejía—who reveal their experiences of moral injury from war and how they have learned to live with it. Brock and Lettini also explore its effect on families and communities, and the community processes that have gradually helped soldiers with their moral injuries.

Soul Repair will help veterans, their families, members of their communities, and clergy understand the impact of war on the consciences of healthy people, support the recovery of moral conscience in society, and restore veterans to civilian life. When a society sends people off to war, it must accept responsibility for returning them home to peace.

Contemporary Ethical Issues by Walter G. Jeffko

2013-06-11T00:30:00-05:00

Contemporary Ethical Issues A Personalist Perspective (Third Edition)
Written by Walter G. Jeffko

eBook | Humanity Books | Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy | $11.99 | 978-1-61614-732-7 (1-61614-732-6)

Now in a newly revised third edition, this explores a series of compelling moral problems from a personalist perspective influenced by the Scottish philosopher John Macmurray (1891-1976). In many publications spanning fifty years, most notably his Gifford Lectures titled "The Form of the Personal," Macmurray developed a robust personalism that emphasizes the primacy of persons as rational agents. In his
view, self-realization is achieved in community where justice and individual rights are respected. From the background of a liberal Roman Catholic, Walter G. Jeffko utilizes key elements of Macmurray's thought in developing his own philosophical viewpoint, and he relates Macmurray's ideas to those of a wide variety of important philosophers, ethicists, and other notable thinkers, including ecologists and war theorists. New to this third edition is an essay on the moral treatment of civilians in war, including a rigorous critique of Michael Walzer's "supreme emergency" and the communitarianism that grounds it. Many recent Supreme Court decisions are evaluated, as is the threat to our democracy posed by unlimited sums of money in politics, the growing inequality of wealth and income, and the rise of political extremism on the right and its threat to women's rights. Jeffko brings logical precision and a lucid style to the study of ethics, blending powerful scholarship with readability.

Contemporary Ethical Issues by Walter G. Jeffko

2013-06-11T00:30:00-05:00

Contemporary Ethical Issues A Personalist Perspective (Third Edition)
Written by Walter G. Jeffko

Trade Paperback, 480 pages | Humanity Books | Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy | $21.00 | 978-1-61614-731-0 (1-61614-731-8)

Philosophy for a Better World by Floris Van Den Berg

2013-06-04T00:30:00-05:00

Philosophy for a Better World
Written by Floris Van Den Berg

eBook | Prometheus Books | Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Philosophy - Social | $14.99 | 978-1-61614-504-0 (1-61614-504-8)

After reading this book, the world won't look the same. Imagine yourself confined to a wheelchair; or living within the severely constricted lifestyle options of a woman in Saudi Arabia; or being a homosexual in a homophobic society; or a coffee farmer in Ethiopia; or a cow on a factory farm; or growing up impoverished in a developing country; or living 500 years from now when future generations may be negatively impacted by what we do today. This compelling thought experiment invites readers to take a moral journey, which in turn leads to an inconvenient evaluation of the way most of us live. The author proposes a new perspective, called universal subjectivism, which can be adopted by anyone regardless of religious or philosophical orientation. It takes into consideration the universal capacity for suffering and, through raising awareness, seeks to diminish that suffering and increase happiness. With consistent and crystal clear moral reasoning, van den Berg shows that the world can be organized to ensure more pleasure, beauty, justice, happiness, health, freedom, animal welfare, and sustainability. He emphasizes that today the near-term future is our greatest challenge: our affluent western lifestyle will soon exceed the limits of the earth's sustainable capacity and must soon change drastically to ward off a worldwide environmental collapse. Knowing this, we should all reevaluate the daily routines we take for granted: taking the car to work, boarding a plane to a business or vacation destination, eating meat, buying strawberries in winter, or using plastic bags in stores. There are ethical and ecological objections to each of these examples. In fact, if we applied a strict ethical analysis to our lifestyle, almost nothing we do would pass muster. Concluding with an eco-humanist manifesto, this offers much food for thought but, more importantly, an urgent and inspiring call to action.

Philosophy for a Better World by Floris Van Den Berg

2013-06-04T00:30:00-05:00

Philosophy for a Better World
Written by Floris Van Den Berg

Trade Paperback, 290 pages | Prometheus Books | Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Philosophy - Social | $23.00 | 978-1-61614-503-3 (1-61614-503-X)

The Turbulent Universe by Paul Kurtz

2013-04-16T00:30:00-05:00

The Turbulent Universe
Written by Paul Kurtz

eBook | Prometheus Books | Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Science - Philosophy & Social | $11.99 | 978-1-61614-736-5 (1-61614-736-9)

In his final book, the late Paul Kurtz outlines his personal vision for a planetary ethics inspired by scientific wisdom. Blending realism and optimism, he lays out the basic principles of an ethical approach that he calls humanist eupraxsophy--that is, the application of practical moral choices inspired by scientific wisdom. Emphasizing the dramatic character of the biosphere, human affairs, and the physical universe itself, Kurtz has structured the book in terms of an operatic scenario, with an overture, intermezzo, nine acts, and a grand finale. Citing the emergence of a new planetary civilization, he proposes the development of a planetary ethics based on universal human rights, free scientific inquiry unfettered by dogma, an attitude of exuberance toward human potentials, and courage and determination in the face of the daunting challenges of our time. Kurtz concludes on an enthusiastic note: there is meaning to be found in creative human endeavors as well as a sense of awe and profound reverence inspired by the spectacle of the enormous universe and the prospects for the human adventure.

The Turbulent Universe by Paul Kurtz

2013-04-16T00:30:00-05:00

The Turbulent Universe
Written by Paul Kurtz

Trade Paperback, 310 pages | Prometheus Books | Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Science - Philosophy & Social | $20.00 | 978-1-61614-735-8 (1-61614-735-0)

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

2013-02-12T00:30:00-05:00

The Righteous Mind Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Written by Jonathan Haidt

Trade Paperback, 528 pages | Vintage | Psychology & Psychiatry - Social Psychology; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Political Science - Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism | $16.00 | 978-0-307-45577-2 (0-307-45577-7)

As America descends deeper into polarization and paralysis, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has done the seemingly impossible—challenged conventional thinking about morality, politics, and religion in a way that speaks to everyone on the political spectrum. Drawing on his twenty five years of groundbreaking research on moral psychology, he shows how moral judgments arise not from reason but from gut feelings. He shows why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians have such different intuitions about right and wrong, and he shows why each side is actually right about many of its central concerns. In this subtle yet accessible book, Haidt gives you the key to understanding the miracle of human cooperation, as well as the curse of our eternal divisions and conflicts. If you’re ready to trade in anger for understanding, read The Righteous Mind.

Soul Repair by Gabriella Lettini

2012-11-06T00:30:00-05:00

Soul Repair Recovering from Moral Injury after War
Written by Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini

Hardcover, 174 pages | Beacon Press | Psychology - Psychopathology - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Biography & Autobiography - Military | $24.95 | 978-0-8070-2907-7 (0-8070-2907-6)

Soul Repair by Gabriella Lettini

2012-11-06T00:30:00-05:00

Soul Repair Recovering from Moral Injury after War
Written by Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini

eBook | Beacon Press | Psychology - Psychopathology - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Biography & Autobiography - Military | $24.95 | 978-0-8070-2908-4 (0-8070-2908-4)

The Republic by Plato

2012-10-30T00:30:00-05:00

The Republic The Complete and Unabridged Jowett Translation
Written by Plato

eBook, 416 pages | Vintage | Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy | $5.99 | 978-0-345-80369-6 (0-345-80369-8)

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)Toward the end of the astonishing period of Athenian creativity that furnished Western civilization with the greater part of its intellectual, artistic, and political wealth, Plato wrote The Republic, his discussion of the nature and meaning of justice and of the ideal state and its ruler. All subsequent European thinking about these subjects owes its character, directly or indirectly, to this most famous (and most accessible) of the Platonic dialogues. Although he describes a society that looks to some like the ideal human community and to others like a totalitarian nightmare, in the course of his description Plato raises enduringly relevant questions about politics, art, education, and the general conduct of life.Translated by A. D. Lindsay

Social and Political Philosophy by Ronald Santoni

2012-09-12T00:30:00-05:00

Social and Political Philosophy Readings From Plato to Gandhi
Written by John Somerville and Ronald Santoni

eBook, 560 pages | Anchor | Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy | $11.99 | 978-0-307-82635-0 (0-307-82635-X)

An anthology of basic statements by the most influential social and political philosophers of Western civilization. Includes Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Mill, Marx and Engels, Hitler, Gandhi, and others.

Political Evil by Alan Wolfe

2012-09-04T00:30:00-05:00

Political Evil What It Is and How to Combat It
Written by Alan Wolfe

Trade Paperback, 352 pages | Vintage | Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; History - World | $16.00 | 978-0-307-47301-1 (0-307-47301-5)

A timely, eye-opening examination of political evil, a concept widely misunderstood and desperately in need of clarification in our ever more chaotic world.

In an age of genocide, terrorism, ethnic cleansing, and torture, evil threatens us in ways radically different from tsunamis and financial panics. Nature unleashes its wrath and people rush to help the victims. Evil shows its face and we are paralyzed over how to respond.
It was not always this way. During the twentieth century, thinkers as diverse as Hannah Arendt, Reinhold Niebuhr, Arthur Koestler, and George Orwell made evil central to everything they wrote. Acclaimed political scientist Alan Wolfe argues that in an age of partisan blame-assigning, therapeutic excuse-making, and theological question-dodging, we need to get serious about the problem of evil once again. While there will always be something incomprehensible about evil, we are very much capable of understanding and combating the use of evil means to obtain political ends.
Looking at examples of political evil around the globe—in the Middle East, Darfur, the Balkans, and at home in the West—Wolfe shows us how seemingly small distinctions can make an immense difference in international response. And he makes clear that much-needed change can be initiated with a shift in how we talk and think about political evil. At once impassioned and pragmatic, Political Evil sheds essential light on the creation of policy and on a concrete path to a more practicable and just future.

The Republic and Other Works by Benjamin Jowett

2012-06-27T00:30:00-05:00

The Republic and Other Works
Written by Plato
Translated by Benjamin Jowett

eBook, 560 pages | Anchor | Philosophy - Ancient; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Political Science - Civics | $7.99 | 978-0-307-82300-7 (0-307-82300-8)

A compilation of the essential works of Plato in one paperback volume: The Republic, The Symposium, Parmenides, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo.

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

2012-03-13T00:30:00-05:00

The Righteous Mind Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Written by Jonathan Haidt

Hardcover, 448 pages | Pantheon | Psychology & Psychiatry - Social Psychology; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Political Science - Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism | $28.95 | 978-0-307-37790-6 (0-307-37790-3)

Why can’t our political leaders work together as threats loom and problems mount? Why do people so readily assume the worst about the motives of their fellow citizens? In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of our divisions and points the way forward to mutual understanding.

His starting point is moral intuition—the nearly instantaneous perceptions we all have about other people and the things they do. These intuitions feel like self-evident truths, making us righteously certain that those who see things differently are wrong. Haidt shows us how these intuitions differ across cultures, including the cultures of the political left and right. He blends his own research findings with those of anthropologists, historians, and other psychologists to draw a map of the moral domain, and he explains why conservatives can navigate that map more skillfully than can liberals. He then examines the origins of morality, overturning the view that evolution made us fundamentally selfish creatures. But rather than arguing that we are innately altruistic, he makes a more subtle claim—that we are fundamentally groupish. It is our groupishness, he explains, that leads to our greatest joys, our religious divisions, and our political affiliations. In a stunning final chapter on ideology and civility, Haidt shows what each side is right about, and why we need the insights of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians to flourish as a nation.

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

2012-03-13T00:30:00-05:00

The Righteous Mind Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Written by Jonathan Haidt

eBook, 384 pages | Vintage | Psychology & Psychiatry - Social Psychology; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Political Science - Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism | $11.99 | 978-0-307-90703-5 (0-307-90703-1)

Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas

2011-10-19T00:30:00-05:00

Passion of the Western Mind
Written by Richard Tarnas

eBook, 560 pages | Ballantine Books | Philosophy; Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Philosophy - Reference | $11.99 | 978-0-307-80452-5 (0-307-80452-6)

"[This] magnificent critical survey, with its inherent respect for both the 'Westt's mainstream high culture' and the 'radically changing world' of the 1990s, offers a new breakthrough for lay and scholarly readers alike....Allows readers to grasp the big picture of Western culture for the first time."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Here are the great minds of Western civilization and their pivotal ideas, from Plato to Hegel, from Augustine to Nietzsche, from Copernicus to Freud. Richard Tarnas performs the near-miracle of describing profound philosophical concepts simply but without simplifying them. Ten years in the making and already hailed as a classic, THE PASSION OF THE WESERN MIND is truly a complete liberal education in a single volume.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Random House New Releases - Philosophy - Ethics & Moral Philosophy

Just Babies by Paul Bloom

Just Babies The Origins of Good and EvilWritten by Paul Bloom

Just Babies by Paul Bloom

Just Babies The Origins of Good and EvilWritten by Paul Bloom

Just Babies by Paul Bloom

Just Babies The Origins of Good and EvilWritten by Paul Bloom

Soul Repair by Gabriella Lettini

Soul Repair Recovering from Moral Injury after WarWritten by Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini

Contemporary Ethical Issues by Walter G. Jeffko

Contemporary Ethical Issues A Personalist Perspective (Third Edition)Written by Walter G. Jeffko

Contemporary Ethical Issues by Walter G. Jeffko

Contemporary Ethical Issues A Personalist Perspective (Third Edition)Written by Walter G. Jeffko

Philosophy for a Better World by Floris Van Den Berg

Philosophy for a Better World Written by Floris Van Den Berg

Philosophy for a Better World by Floris Van Den Berg

Philosophy for a Better World Written by Floris Van Den Berg

The Turbulent Universe by Paul Kurtz

The Turbulent Universe Written by Paul Kurtz

The Turbulent Universe by Paul Kurtz

The Turbulent Universe Written by Paul Kurtz

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

The Righteous Mind Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and ReligionWritten by Jonathan Haidt

Soul Repair by Gabriella Lettini

Soul Repair Recovering from Moral Injury after WarWritten by Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini

Soul Repair by Gabriella Lettini

Soul Repair Recovering from Moral Injury after WarWritten by Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini

The Republic by Plato

The Republic The Complete and Unabridged Jowett TranslationWritten by Plato

Social and Political Philosophy by Ronald Santoni

Social and Political Philosophy Readings From Plato to GandhiWritten by John Somerville and Ronald Santoni

Political Evil by Alan Wolfe

Political Evil What It Is and How to Combat ItWritten by Alan Wolfe

The Republic and Other Works by Benjamin Jowett

The Republic and Other Works Written by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

The Righteous Mind Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and ReligionWritten by Jonathan Haidt

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

The Righteous Mind Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and ReligionWritten by Jonathan Haidt

Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas

Passion of the Western Mind Written by Richard Tarnas

Just Babies The Origins of Good and Evil
Written by Paul Bloom

Just Babies The Origins of Good and Evil
Written by Paul Bloom

Just Babies The Origins of Good and Evil
Written by Paul Bloom

Soul Repair Recovering from Moral Injury after War
Written by Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini

Contemporary Ethical Issues A Personalist Perspective (Third Edition)
Written by Walter G. Jeffko

Contemporary Ethical Issues A Personalist Perspective (Third Edition)
Written by Walter G. Jeffko

Philosophy for a Better World
Written by Floris Van Den Berg

Philosophy for a Better World
Written by Floris Van Den Berg

The Turbulent Universe
Written by Paul Kurtz

The Turbulent Universe
Written by Paul Kurtz

The Righteous Mind Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Written by Jonathan Haidt

Soul Repair Recovering from Moral Injury after War
Written by Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini

Soul Repair Recovering from Moral Injury after War
Written by Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini

The Republic The Complete and Unabridged Jowett Translation
Written by Plato

Social and Political Philosophy Readings From Plato to Gandhi
Written by John Somerville and Ronald Santoni

Political Evil What It Is and How to Combat It
Written by Alan Wolfe

The Republic and Other Works
Written by Plato
Translated by Benjamin Jowett

The Righteous Mind Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Written by Jonathan Haidt

The Righteous Mind Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Written by Jonathan Haidt

Passion of the Western Mind
Written by Richard Tarnas