As If

As If PDF Author: Kwame Anthony Appiah
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674982193
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
“Appiah is a writer and thinker of remarkable range... [He] has packed into this short book an impressive amount of original reflection... A rich and illuminating book.” —Thomas Nagel, New York Review of Books Idealization is a fundamental feature of human thought. We build simplified models to make sense of the world, and life is a constant adjustment between the models we make and the realities we encounter. Our beliefs, desires, and sense of justice are bound up with these ideals, and we proceed “as if” our representations were true, while knowing they are not. In this elegant and original meditation, Kwame Anthony Appiah suggests that this instinct to idealize is not dangerous or distracting so much as it is necessary. As If explores how strategic untruth plays a critical role in far-flung areas of inquiry: decision theory, psychology, natural science, and political philosophy. A polymath who writes with mainstream clarity, Appiah defends the centrality of the imagination not just in the arts but in science, morality, and everyday life. “Appiah is the rare public intellectual who is also a first-rate analytic philosopher, and the characteristic virtues associated with each of these identities are very much in evidence throughout the book.” —Thomas Kelly, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Why Can't We Be Good?

Why Can't We Be Good? PDF Author: Jacob Needleman
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440629153
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
The widely respected social philosopher embarks on his most gripping and broadly appealing work, asking the ultimate question of human nature: Why do we repeatedly violate our most deeply held values and beliefs? After nearly forty years of weighing humanity's deepest dilemmas-working in settings ranging from university and high school classrooms to corporate offices and hospitals-bestselling author, philosopher, and religious scholar Jacob Needleman presents the most urgent, deeply felt, and widely accessible work of his career. In Why Can't We Be Good? Needleman identifies the core problem that therapists and social philosophers fail to see. He depicts the individual human as a being who knows what is good, yet who remains mysteriously helpless to innerly adopt the ethical, moral, and religious ideas that are bequeathed to him.

As If

As If PDF Author: Kwame Anthony Appiah
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674982193
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
“Appiah is a writer and thinker of remarkable range... [He] has packed into this short book an impressive amount of original reflection... A rich and illuminating book.” —Thomas Nagel, New York Review of Books Idealization is a fundamental feature of human thought. We build simplified models to make sense of the world, and life is a constant adjustment between the models we make and the realities we encounter. Our beliefs, desires, and sense of justice are bound up with these ideals, and we proceed “as if” our representations were true, while knowing they are not. In this elegant and original meditation, Kwame Anthony Appiah suggests that this instinct to idealize is not dangerous or distracting so much as it is necessary. As If explores how strategic untruth plays a critical role in far-flung areas of inquiry: decision theory, psychology, natural science, and political philosophy. A polymath who writes with mainstream clarity, Appiah defends the centrality of the imagination not just in the arts but in science, morality, and everyday life. “Appiah is the rare public intellectual who is also a first-rate analytic philosopher, and the characteristic virtues associated with each of these identities are very much in evidence throughout the book.” —Thomas Kelly, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

LEVELS OF LIVING ESSAYS ON EVERYDAY IDEALS

LEVELS OF LIVING ESSAYS ON EVERYDAY IDEALS PDF Author: HENRY FREDERICK COPE
Publisher: BEYOND BOOKS HUB
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 139

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Book Description


The Power of Ideals

The Power of Ideals PDF Author: William Damon
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199357757
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Cynicism often seems a smarter choice than idealism. There are reasons for this. Politicians have disappointed us time and again; trusted institutions have proven to be self-serving and corrupt; hopes for lasting world peace repeatedly have been dashed; and social inequities persist and increase, unabated by even the grandest of charitable efforts. It is now considered foolish to think that people can be counted on to rise above their narrow self-interests to serve the broader good, or to tell the truth if it does not reflect well on the self. Supporting this bleak view of the human condition is a moral psychology that has taken increasingly cynical turns in recent years. Famous studies have shown that we have an almost unlimited potential for cruelty when placed in the wrong situations. The Power of Ideals presents a different vision, supported by a different kind of evidence. It examines the lives and work of six 20th century moral leaders who pursued moral causes ranging from world peace to social justice and human rights. Using these six cases to illustrate how people can make choices guided by their moral convictions, rather than by base emotion or social pressures, authors William Damon and Anne Colby explore the workings of three virtues: inner truthfulness, humility, and faith. Through their portrayal of the noble lives of moral leaders, the authors argue that all of us--with ordinary lives--can exercise control over important life decisions and pursue ideals that we believe in.

On Some of Life's Ideals

On Some of Life's Ideals PDF Author: William James
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ethics
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description


Presidential Temperament

Presidential Temperament PDF Author: Ray Choiniere
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780960695461
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 596

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Book Description
Twenty of the American Presidents were Guardians, fourteen were Artisans, eight were Rationalists, and none were Idealists. Half of them did what was sanctioned by law, the rest did what would get the job done, with or without legal authority. Their inborn temperament and acquired methods for getting results pre-determined their results before, during, and after their presidency. The authors say temperament dominates circumstances in determining presidential behaviour, in war and peace, in prosperity and depression, in domestic and foreign politics.

The Edgar Cayce Ideals Workbook

The Edgar Cayce Ideals Workbook PDF Author: Kevin J. Todeschi
Publisher: ARE Press
ISBN: 087604934X
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
There are dozens of self-help books on the market, but this is the only one based on the use of "ideals" as described in the Edgar Cayce readings. According to Cayce, ideals are forceful motivating factors in our lives. They are at work whether we realize it or not. This workbook contains informative text, delightful exercises, and revealing self-quizzes. The exercises are fun to do, and the results can last a lifetime. With this book, you can create a new life destination filled with joy and fulfillment.

How Will You Measure Your Life? (Harvard Business Review Classics)

How Will You Measure Your Life? (Harvard Business Review Classics) PDF Author: Clayton M. Christensen
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
ISBN: 1633692574
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description
In the spring of 2010, Harvard Business School’s graduating class asked HBS professor Clay Christensen to address them—but not on how to apply his principles and thinking to their post-HBS careers. The students wanted to know how to apply his wisdom to their personal lives. He shared with them a set of guidelines that have helped him find meaning in his own life, which led to this now-classic article. Although Christensen’s thinking is rooted in his deep religious faith, these are strategies anyone can use. Since 1922, Harvard Business Review has been a leading source of breakthrough ideas in management practice. The Harvard Business Review Classics series now offers you the opportunity to make these seminal pieces a part of your permanent management library. Each highly readable volume contains a groundbreaking idea that continues to shape best practices and inspire countless managers around the world.

The Burden of Better

The Burden of Better PDF Author: Heather Creekmore
Publisher: ACU Press/Leafwood Publishers
ISBN: 9781684264704
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description


Greek Ideals and Modern Life

Greek Ideals and Modern Life PDF Author: Sir R. W. Livingstone
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1787202577
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
This book represents a collection of lectures delivered between October 1-4, 1934 by the author, Sir Richard Winn Livingstone, on the Charles Martin Foundation at Oberlin College, Ohio. The book was first published a year later in 1935. Sir Livingstone was then President of Corpus Christi College at the University of Oxford. “The title of these lectures is Greek Ideals and Modern Life. They are a plea for Greek studies—not as a field of scholarship, not as a mental discipline, not even as the key to one of the two greatest literatures of Europe, but as indispensable to the spiritual life of our civilization. They are based on three assumptions: first, that Huxley was right in his belief that ‘no human being, and no society composed of human beings, ever did, or ever will, come to much, unless their conduct was governed and guided by the love of some ethical ideal’; second, that the chief weakness of this age is a vague mind and a feeble grasp, so far as ethical ideals are concerned; and third, that Greece offers us a corrective of our errors and a guide in our uncertainties.”