Balanced Wonder
Balanced Wonder

Author: Jan B. W. Pedersen

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2019-10-15

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 149858778X

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In Balanced Wonder: Experiential Sources of Imagination, Virtue, and Human Flourishing, Jan B. W. Pedersen digs deep into the alluring topic of wonder and argues in a scholarly yet accessible way that the experience of wonder, when balanced, serves as a strong contributor to human flourishing. Along the way, Pedersen describes seven properties of wonder and shows how wonder it is distinct from other altered states, including awe, horror, the sublime, curiosity, amazement, admiration, and astonishment. Examining the contribution of both emotion and imagination in the experience of wonder--—filtered through the Neo-Aristotelian work of philosophers Douglas Rasmussen, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Martha Nussbaum--—Pedersen also makes it clear that wonder may contribute to human flourishing in various ways, such as the widening of perception, extension of moral scope or sensitivity, a wondrous afterglow, openness, humility, an imaginative attitude, reverence, and gratitude. Importantly, for wonder to act as a strong contributor to human flourishing one needs to wonder at the right thing, in the right amount, in at the right time, in the right way, and for the right purpose.

Nussbaum’s Politics of Wonder
Nussbaum’s Politics of Wonder

Author: Jeremy Bendik-Keymer

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-01-26

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1350076090

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In an unconventionally written book that challenges the literary imagination of its readers, Jeremy Bendik-Keymer explores how wonder is central to Martha C. Nussbaum's normative project. Nussbaum's work is opposed to the emotional and political conditions of 'narcissism' – the tendency to seek to control the wills of others in order to defend oneself against perceived vulnerabilities. Our capacity for wondering is important for growing beyond narcissism. Bendik-Keymer elaborates a politics of wonder that is consistent with understanding this idea. Taking issue with understandings of wonder viewing it as an emotion of surprise or delight, he develops an alternate tradition finding wonder in concert with the freedom of imagination found by degrees within much of human understanding. The result is a constructive rereading of Nussbaum's oeuvre, surprising for how it disencumbers her work of some falsehoods surrounding anxiety and anger and for the ways it implies an egalitarian politics of relational autonomy more socialist than liberal. Misty Morrison's visual inquiry accompanies the book creating space for the reader to wonder. Morrison paints and prints how families involve wonder, starting with moments in her child's life when she wonders what they might see. Nussbaum's Politics of Wonder is an important contribution to the philosophy of wonder and is crucial for understanding the work of a leading philosopher.

Human Flourishing: Volume 16, Part 1
Human Flourishing: Volume 16, Part 1

Author: Ellen Frankel Paul

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1999-01-28

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9780521644716

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The essays in this volume examine the nature of human flourishing and its relationship to a variety of other key concepts in moral theory. Some of them trace the link between flourishing and human nature, asking whether a theory of human nature can allow us to develop an objective list of goods that are of value to all agents, regardless of their individual purposes or aims. Some essays look at the role of friendships or parent-child relationships in a good life, or seek to determine whether an ethical theory based on human flourishing can accommodate concern for others for their own sake. Other essays analyze the function of families or other social-political institutions in promoting the flourishing of individuals. Still others explore the implications of flourishing for political theory, asking whether considerations of human flourishing can help us to derive principles of social justice.

Wonder and Education
Wonder and Education

Author: Anders Schinkel

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-11-12

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1350071919

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Many people, whether educators or not, will agree that an education that does not inspire wonder is barren. Wonder is commonly perceived as akin to curiosity, as stimulating inquiry, and as something that enhances pleasure in learning, but there are many experiences of wonder that do not have an obvious place in education. In Wonder and Education, Anders Schinkel theorises a kind of wonder with less obvious yet fundamental educational importance which he calls 'contemplative wonder'. Contemplative wonder disrupts frameworks of understanding that are taken for granted and perceived as natural and draws our attention to the world behind our constructions, sparking our interest in the world as something worth attending to for its own sake rather than for our purposes. It opens up space for the consideration of (radical) alternatives wherever it occurs, and in many cases is linked with deep experiences of value; therefore, it is not just important for education in general, but also, more specifically, for moral and political education.

I Wonder
I Wonder

Author: Marian Bantjes

Publisher: The Monacelli Press, LLC

Published: 2018-09-25

Total Pages: 117

ISBN-13: 1580935192

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From typographic illustrator Marian Bantjes, I Wonder will make you think in new ways about art, design, beauty, and popular culture. This unique presentation features the elaborately crafted word pictures of Marian Bantjes, the most inventive and creative typographic illustrator of our time. Whether intricately hand-drawn or using computer illustration software, Bantjes's work crosses the boundaries of time, style, and technology. There is, however, another side to Bantjes's visual work: her thoughtful treatises on art, design, beauty, and popular culture that add a deeper dimension to the decorative nature of her best-known work. These reflections cover the cult of Santa, road-side advertising, photography and memory, the alphabet's letterforms, heraldry, and stars. Bantjes's writing style ranges from the playful to the confrontational, but it is always imbued with perspicacity, insight, and a sense of fun. Intended to inspire creatives of any persuasion, this is more than a collection of ideas: Bantjes has meticulously illustrated every page of the book in her inimitable style to create an accessible work of art that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Quirky, poignant, astute, funny--this beautiful book presents a compelling collection of observations on visual culture and design. In Stefan Sagmeister's telling words, Bantjes's work is his "favorite example of beauty facilitating the communication of meaning." This paperback edition is expanded with a new essay from the author.

A Garden of Vipers
A Garden of Vipers

Author: Jack Kerley

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2006-06-22

Total Pages: 561

ISBN-13: 1101212268

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When a young reporter is viciously murdered, Mobile, Alabama detectives Carson Ryder and Harry Nautilus find themselves drawn into the dealings of the wealthy Kincannon family, philanthropic socialites with ties to Ryder—and to his journalist girlfriend. Then Ryder is abducted—with no clues as to who did it or why. Digging to uncover the truth that could lead him to his partner, Nautilus discovers a web of connections between the dead reporter, an enigmatic behind-the-scenes powerbroker, and the Kincannons’ own dark secrets. The question quickly becomes: What would the perfect family do to protect an image of perfection? The answer: Whatever it takes.