This book is offered for consideration and critical reflection primarily by political science scholars throughout the world from beginning students to professors emeriti. Neither age nor erudition seems to make much difference in the prevailing assumption that killing is an inescapable part of the human condition that must be accepted in political theory and practice. It is hoped that readers will join in questioning this assumption and will contribute further stepping stones of thought and action toward a nonkilling global future.
This may be the first book in the English language to have the word "nonkilling" in its title. It invites all who study political science throughout the world and other concerned readers to consider seriously the question, "Is a nonkilling society possible?" The book proceeds to offer grounds for taking such a possibility seriously, and explores the implications of such an assumption for political science, for global problem-solving, and for needed new transitional institutions.
Analyzing the concepts of intention and causation in euthanasia, this timely new book explores a broad selection of disciplines, including criminal and medical law, medical ethics, philosophy and social policy and suggests an alternative solution to the one currently used by the courts, based on grading different categories of killing into a formalized justificatory defence. This text explores how culpability, blameworthiness and liability are ascribed and how ascertaining mens rea and actus reus are problematic in an end-of-life decision-making scenario. Williams criticizes the way the courts rely so exclusively on the criminal concepts of intention and causation in such medical scenarios and examines and raises awareness of the inadequate and inappropriate legal framework within in which judges have to operate. Topical and compelling, this significant contribution argues for a more open and honest approach which would, in turn, provide the certainty, consistency and equality required by the law. This is a quintessential read for all students studying medical and healthcare law and the legal aspects of health and medicine.
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, this thought-provoking essay explores the Buddha's teaching to find one prescription: not war, not pacifism but nonviolence.
A scholarly collection of timely essays on the behavioral science of peace With contributions from experts representing a wide variety of scholarly fields (behavioral and social sciences, philosophy, environmental science, anthropology and economics), Peace Ethology offers original essays on the most recent research and findings on the topic of the behavioral science of peace. This much-needed volume includes writings that examine four main areas of study: the proximate causation of peace, the developmental aspects of peace, the function and systems of peace and the evolution of peace. The popular belief persists that, by nature, humans are not pre-disposed to peace. However, archeological and paleontological evidence reveals that the vast majority of our time as a species has been spent in small hunter-gatherer bands that are basically peaceful and egalitarian in nature. The text also reveals that most of the earth’s people are living in more peaceful societies than in centuries past. This hopeful compendium of essays: Contains writings from noted experts from a variety of academic studies Offers a social-psychological perspective on the causation of peaceful behavior Includes information on children’s peacekeeping and peacemaking Presents ideas for overcoming social tension between police and civilians Provides the most recent thinking on the behavioral science of peace Written for students and academics of the behavioral and social sciences, Peace Ethology offers scholarly essays on the development, nature, and current state of peace.
English is used in diplomatic contexts worldwide, including in situations where none of the interlocutors are native-speakers. This ground-breaking volume brings together the perspectives of researchers and practitioners to discuss the needs of those using and learning English for Diplomatic Purposes. Chapter authors use concepts from sociolinguistics, World Englishes, Peace Linguistics and English as a Lingua Franca. Combined with this theoretical background is a pragmatic understanding of the work of diplomacy and the realities of communication, as well as exercises designed to help students, teachers and practicing diplomats reflect on, and develop, their language use. This book represents an important first step in the opening-up of English for Diplomatic Purposes as a distinct field of study and learning, and as such will be required reading for those working and studying in this area.
The present volume brings together 24 authors and 14 disciplines (including anthropology, arts, biology, economics, engineering, geography, health sciences, history, linguistics, mathematics, philosophy, physics, psychology and sociology) to seriously consider the prospects for the realization of nonkilling societies and to challenge each discipline's role in the necessary social and scientific transformation toward a killing-free world--Pub.
Man the Hunted argues that primates, including the earliest members of the human family, have evolved as the prey of any number of predators, including wild cats and dogs, hyenas, snakes, crocodiles, and even birds. The authors' studies of predators on monkeys and apes are supplemented here with the observations of naturalists in the field and revealing interpretations of the fossil record. Eyewitness accounts of the 'man the hunted' drama being played out even now give vivid evidence of its prehistoric significance. This provocative view of human evolution suggests that countless adaptations that have allowed our species to survive (from larger brains to speech), stem from a considerably more vulnerable position on the food chain than we might like to imagine. The myth of early humans as fearless hunters dominating the earth obscures our origins as just one of many species that had to be cautious, depend on other group members, communicate danger, and come to terms with being merely one cog in the complex cycle of life.
