This is an ideal introduction to moral philosophy for beginning students and general readers, dealing with the philosophical theories which often lie behind everyday opinions and inviting the reader to examine those theories thoroughly. Using numerous examples and diagrams, Professor Bond guides the reader through the key problems of theoretical ethics seeking to outline a substantial view of morality in universal practical reason, he concludes in an attempt to show that a viable universal morality can only relate to the thriving, flourishing or well-being of individuals in a community.
This book brings together international experts from a wide variety of disciplines, in order to understand the impact that digital technologies have had on our well-being as well as our understanding of what it means to live a life that is good for us. The multidisciplinary perspective that this collection offers demonstrates the breadth and importance of these discussions, and represents a pivotal and state-of-the-art contribution to the ongoing discussion concerning digital well-being. Furthermore, this is the first book that captures the complex set of issues that are implicated by the ongoing development of digital technologies, impacting our well-being either directly or indirectly. By helping to clarify some of the most pertinent issues, this collection clarifies the risks and opportunities associated with deploying digital technologies in various social domains. Chapter 2 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
"[Being Human] is one of the few books that begins to integrate theological narratives with scientific ones, looking for a compelling correlation between them where modern and religious sensibilities might both be affirmed. This is a unique work."—Bron Taylor, Professor and Director of Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, and author of Ecological Resistance Movements: The Global Emergence of Radical and Popular Environmentalism. "Being Human succeeds at accounting for people's conception of humaness and human's relationship with nature—no easy task, but one that is a crucial starting point for any discussion of environmental ethics."—Kay Read, Associate Professor of Comparative Ethics and Native American Religions, DePaul University, and author of Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos "Anna Peterson's Being Human is a stellar work of integration. Peterson argues that the ideology of human exceptionalism and disconnection from the rest of nature is a major source of social and ecological harm. She draws together cultural constructionist, Asian, Native American, feminist and evolutionary thought to present a view of the human as both an integral part of nature and a creator of culture, called to develop an ethic of interrelationality for the sake of the wellbeing of the whole earth community."—Rosemary Radford Ruether, Garrett Theological Center, author of Gaia and God: An Ecofeminist Theology of Earth Healing. "In the postmodern academic climate of slice-and-dice, take-no-prisoners 'analysis,' and 'critical theory,' Anna Peterson's book is a welcome breath of fresh air. She positions her discussion as a development of—rather than a deconstructive triumph over—earlier work in the field of environmental philosophy. Peterson takes up the themes that are absolutely central to the field—the nature of nature, human nature, and the appropriate relationship between the two. Her conclusions are well-informed, well-reasoned, reasonable, and last but not least, beautifully and engagingly expressed."—Baird Callicott, Professor of Philosophy and Religion Studies, University of North Texas, and author of Earth's Insights: A Multicultural Survey of Ecological Ethics from the Mediterranean Basin to the Australian Outback (California, 1997), In Defense of the Land: Essays in Environmental Philosophy, and Beyond the Land Ethic: More Essays in Environmental Philosophy. "Peterson challenges us to think critically about the ideas about nature and humanity that shape our ethical behavior. She also brings into critical dialogue insights from a wide variety of religious traditions—Buddhist, Taoist, Navaho, Koyukon, Catholic and Protestant. Peterson helps us think creatively and critically about the task of comparative ethics, and the imperatives of environmental ethics. This book is a must-read for any one concerned with environmental ethics and with comparative ethics."—Sharon Welch, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and author of A Feminist Ethic of Risk, Sweet Dreams in America: Making Ethics and Spirituality Work, and Communities of Resistance and Solidarity: A Feminist Theology of LIberation.
The connection between environment and health has been well studied and documented, particularly by the World Health Organization. This volume makes the connection explicit in a broad review of human rights and legal issues. The book integrates perspectives from a wide range of disciplines.
What is good, how do we know, and how important is it? Kraut reorients these questions around the notion of what causes human beings to flourish. Extending his argument to include plants and animals, Kraut applies a general principle to the entire living world: what is good for complex organisms consists in the exercise of their natural powers.
Basic needs fulfilment is fundamental to becoming human and reaching one’s potential. Extending the BUCET list proposed by Susan Fiske - which includes belonging, understanding, control/competence, autonomy, self-enhancement, trust, purpose and life satisfaction - this book demonstrates that the fulfilment of basic needs predicts adult physical and mental health, as well as sociality and morality. The authors suggest that meeting basic needs in childhood vitally shapes one’s trajectory for self-actualization, and that initiatives aimed at human wellbeing should include a greater emphasis on early childhood experience. Through contemporaneous and retrospective research in childhood, the authors argue that basic need-fulfilment is key to the development of the self and the possibility of reaching one’s full potential. This book will be of interest to scholars of human wellbeing and societal flourishing, as well as to health workers and educators.
What is the goal of public health promotion today? If the leading causes of mortality nowadays are primarily attributable to lifestyle behaviors, is the purpose of research to develop the power to change those behaviors, in the same way that science has been able to control infectious diseases? Or is the quest for effective behavior modification techniques antithetical to the idea of promoting well-being defined in terms of individual autonomy, dignity, and integrity. An Ethic for Health Promotion explores these questions.
This text aims to bring bioethics and health care squarely into the 21st century. "The book shows how environmental decline relates to human health and to health care practices in the US and other industrialized countries."
Does human well-being consist in pleasure, the satisfaction of desires, or some set of goods such as knowledge, friendship, and accomplishment? Does being moral contribute to well-being, and is there a conflict between people's self-interest and the moral demands on them? Are the values ofwell-being and of morality measurable? Are such values objective? What is the relation between such values and the natural world? And how much can philosophical theory help us in our answers to these and similar questions? Issues such as these provide the focus for much of the work of JamesGriffin, White's Professor of Moral Philosophy at Oxford, in whose honour Well-Being and Morality has been prepared. They are also among the main topics of these fourteen new essays by an international array of leading philosophers. Professor Griffin himself provides a further discussion of centralthemes in his thought, specially written in response to contributions to this volume.
