Contingencies of Value

Contingencies of Value PDF Author: Barbara Herrnstein Smith
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674167858
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
Charges of abandoned standards issue from government offices; laments for the loss of the best that has been thought and said resound through university corridors. While revisionists are perplexed by questions of value, critical theory--haunted by the heresy of relativism--remains captive to classical formulas. Barbara Herrnstein Smith's book confronts the conceptual problems and sociopolitical conflicts at the heart of these issues and raises their discussion to a new level of sophistication. Polemical without being rancorous, Contingencies of Value mounts a powerful critique of traditional conceptions of value, taste, judgment, and justification. Through incisive discussions of works by, among others, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Northrop Frye, Georges Bataille, Jacques Derrida, Richard Rorty, and Jürgen Habermas, Smith develops an illuminating alternative framework for the explanation of these topics. All value, she argues, is radically contingent. Neither an objective property of things nor merely a subjective response to them, it is the variable effect of numerous interacting economies that is, systems of apportionment and circulation of "goods." Aesthetic value, moral value, and the truth-value of judgments are no exceptions, though traditional critical theory, ethics, and philosophy of language have always tried to prove otherwise. Smith deals in an original way with a wide variety of contemporary issues--from the relation between popular and high culture to the conflicting conception of human motives and actions in economic theory and classical humanism. In an important final chapter, she addresses directly the crucial problem of relativism and explains why a denial of the objectivity of value does not--as commonly feared and charged--produce either a fatuous egalitarianism or moral and political paralysis.

Contingencies of Value

Contingencies of Value PDF Author: Barbara Herrnstein Smith
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674167858
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Get Book

Book Description
Charges of abandoned standards issue from government offices; laments for the loss of the best that has been thought and said resound through university corridors. While revisionists are perplexed by questions of value, critical theory--haunted by the heresy of relativism--remains captive to classical formulas. Barbara Herrnstein Smith's book confronts the conceptual problems and sociopolitical conflicts at the heart of these issues and raises their discussion to a new level of sophistication. Polemical without being rancorous, Contingencies of Value mounts a powerful critique of traditional conceptions of value, taste, judgment, and justification. Through incisive discussions of works by, among others, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Northrop Frye, Georges Bataille, Jacques Derrida, Richard Rorty, and Jürgen Habermas, Smith develops an illuminating alternative framework for the explanation of these topics. All value, she argues, is radically contingent. Neither an objective property of things nor merely a subjective response to them, it is the variable effect of numerous interacting economies that is, systems of apportionment and circulation of "goods." Aesthetic value, moral value, and the truth-value of judgments are no exceptions, though traditional critical theory, ethics, and philosophy of language have always tried to prove otherwise. Smith deals in an original way with a wide variety of contemporary issues--from the relation between popular and high culture to the conflicting conception of human motives and actions in economic theory and classical humanism. In an important final chapter, she addresses directly the crucial problem of relativism and explains why a denial of the objectivity of value does not--as commonly feared and charged--produce either a fatuous egalitarianism or moral and political paralysis.

Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity

Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity PDF Author: Richard Rorty
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521367813
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
In this 1989 book Rorty argues that thinkers such as Nietzsche, Freud, and Wittgenstein have enabled societies to see themselves as historical contingencies, rather than as expressions of underlying, ahistorical human nature or as realizations of suprahistorical goals. This ironic perspective on the human condition is valuable on a private level, although it cannot advance the social or political goals of liberalism. In fact Rorty believes that it is literature not philosophy that can do this, by promoting a genuine sense of human solidarity. A truly liberal culture, acutely aware of its own historical contingency, would fuse the private, individual freedom of the ironic, philosophical perspective with the public project of human solidarity as it is engendered through the insights and sensibilities of great writers. The book has a characteristically wide range of reference from philosophy through social theory to literary criticism. It confirms Rorty's status as a uniquely subtle theorist, whose writing will prove absorbing to academic and nonacademic readers alike.

The Value of Virginia Woolf

The Value of Virginia Woolf PDF Author: Madelyn Detloff
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107081505
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
The Value of Virginia Woolf explores the writings of Virginia Woolf from her early texts to her inventive novels.

Science and Moral Imagination

Science and Moral Imagination PDF Author: Matthew J. Brown
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
ISBN: 0822987678
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
The idea that science is or should be value-free, and that values are or should be formed independently of science, has been under fire by philosophers of science for decades. Science and Moral Imagination directly challenges the idea that science and values cannot and should not influence each other. Matthew J. Brown argues that science and values mutually influence and implicate one another, that the influence of values on science is pervasive and must be responsibly managed, and that science can and should have an influence on our values. This interplay, he explains, must be guided by accounts of scientific inquiry and value judgment that are sensitive to the complexities of their interactions. Brown presents scientific inquiry and value judgment as types of problem-solving practices and provides a new framework for thinking about how we might ethically evaluate episodes and decisions in science, while offering guidance for scientific practitioners and institutions about how they can incorporate value judgments into their work. His framework, dubbed “the ideal of moral imagination,” emphasizes the role of imagination in value judgment and the positive role that value judgment plays in science.

Life Contingencies

Life Contingencies PDF Author: E. F. Spurgeon
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107648092
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 511

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Book Description
The 1922 volume was, in turn, created as the replacement for the Institute of Actuaries Textbook, Part Three.

The Contingency Theory of Organizations

The Contingency Theory of Organizations PDF Author: Lex Donaldson
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780761915744
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
This volume presents a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the theories, evidence and methodological issues of contingency theory - one of the major theoretical lenses used to view organizations.

Theory of Interest and Life Contingencies, with Pension Applications

Theory of Interest and Life Contingencies, with Pension Applications PDF Author: Michael M. Parmenter
Publisher: ACTEX Publications
ISBN: 1566983339
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description


Contingency Management for Substance Abuse Treatment

Contingency Management for Substance Abuse Treatment PDF Author: Nancy M. Petry
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136699457
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
Isn’t it unethical to pay people to do what they should be doing anyway? Won’t patients just sell the reinforcers and buy drugs? Others didn’t get prizes for not using. Why should they? The concerns surrounding Contingency Management (CM) are many and reflect how poorly understood and rarely utilized this evidence-based treatment model is in practice settings. Despite being identified as the most efficacious intervention for substance use disorders, a significant gap persists between research and practice, at the client’s expense. Nancy Petry, an experienced researcher and consultant for organizations such as the National Institute of Health, has begun to fill this gap by authoring the first clinician-oriented text that focuses on CM protocol development and implementation. In this well-organized and clear book she provides a foundation for understanding CM and details how to design and implement a program that can work for any clinician, whether he or she works for a well-funded program or not. She also addresses realistic concerns such as: How to describe CM to eligible and ineligible patients How to calculate the costs of CM interventions How to solicit donations and raise funds to support CM interventions How to stock a prize cabinet and keep track of prizes Over 50 charts, worksheets, and tables are provided to help the clinician pinpoint exactly which behaviors to target, brainstorm how to reinforce change, and develop a treatment plan that incorporates cost, length of treatment, and method for determining patient compliance. Included with the book is a CD-ROM of editable logs, forms, tables, and worksheets for personal use. More than just filling a void, Dr. Petry provides all of the tools clinicians require to successfully apply a novel treatment in practice.

Competing Values Leadership

Competing Values Leadership PDF Author: Kim S. Cameron
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1847201563
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
Both the framework and the book make notable contributions to both theory and practice. The book will be of value to scholars and organization leaders in understanding the concepts of value creation and organizational effectiveness. It will be an aid to consultants in conceptualizing strategies for organizations and in counselling leaders on how to operationalize the concepts in their organizations. S.R. Mohnot, Global Business Review This is a very readable and excellently presented volume. It will interest anyone concerned with organizational effectiveness and the competing values model. Economic Outlook and Business Review I recommend this book to anyone wishing to understand and practice leadership. Leadership is often treated in mutually-exclusive categories, such as Theory X vs. Theory Y, managers vs. leaders, transactional vs. transformative, initiation vs. consideration, etc. The Competing Values Framework presented in this book transcends these dualities. It features eight competing but complementary values that are critical for managing today s complex and pluralistic organizations. The framework emphasizes the need for balance among the eight leadership roles, and an appreciation of the context, timing, and contingencies when the leadership roles facilitate and inhibit collective endeavors. I have followed the development and testing of the Competing Values Framework over the years. It makes important contributions to both theory and practice. It stimulates positive learning outcomes for students and managers. Andrew H. Van de Ven, University of Minnesota, US Creating value in a firm is an enormously complex endeavor. Yet, despite its complexity, value creation is the objective of every enterprise, every worker, and every leader. The Competing Values Framework can help leaders understand more deeply and act more effectively. In the first book to comprehensively present this framework, the authors discuss its core elements and focus attention on rethinking the notion of value. They emphasize specific tools and techniques leaders can use to institute sustainable change. The Competing Values Framework was developed in response to the need for a broadly applicable model that would foster successful leadership, improve organizational effectiveness, and promote value creation. It helps leaders think differently about value creation and shows them how to clarify purpose, integrate practices, and lead people. Named one of the 40 most important frameworks in the history of business, it has been studied and tested in organizations for more than 25 years. Currently used by hundreds of firms around the world, the Competing Values Framework serves as a map, an organizing mechanism, a sense-making device, a source of new ideas, and a learning system. This accessible resource will be of great use to organizational scholars interested in the concepts of value creation, organizational effectiveness, and competing values; to leaders and managers interested in enhancing and creating value in their organizations; and to change agents and consultants who use the Competing Values Framework as part of their intervention strategies or who are looking to help improve organizations.

Practicing Relativism in the Anthropocene

Practicing Relativism in the Anthropocene PDF Author: Barbara Herrnstein Smith
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781785420702
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description