Praise of Theory

Praise of Theory

Author: Hans-Georg Gadamer

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 9780300073102

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This collection of speeches and essays clarifies Gadamer's thoughts on the power of language, the social role and influence of science, and the idea of reason. He argues that the theoretical pursuit of truth is valuable for its own sake, and devalued when pursued explicitly for practical purposes.


Psychological Perspectives on Praise

Psychological Perspectives on Praise

Author: Eddie Brummelman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-07-20

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1000166333

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Praise is perhaps the most widely used technique to influence others. When used appropriately, praise can motivate people, make them feel better, and improve their social relationships. Often, however, praise fails to work as intended and may even cause harm. Psychological Perspectives on Praise reviews and integrates psychological theory and research to provide an overarching perspective on praise. With contributions from leading scholars in the field, this book amalgamates diverse theoretical and empirical perspectives on praise. The book starts with providing an overview of prominent theories that seek to explain the effects of praise, including self-enhancement theory, self-verification theory, attribution theory, and self-determination theory. It then discusses several lines of empirical research on how praise impacts competence and motivation, self-perceptions (e.g., self-esteem and narcissism), and social relationships. It does so in a range of contexts, including children’s learning at school, employees’ commitment at work, and people’s behavior within romantic relationships. The book concludes by showing how praise can be understood in its developmental and cultural context. Revealing that praise is a message rich in information about ourselves and our social environments, this book will be of interest to social, organizational, personality, developmental, and educational psychologists; students in psychology and related disciplines; and practitioners including teachers, managers, and counselors who use praise in their daily practice.


In Praise of Desire

In Praise of Desire

Author: Nomy Arpaly

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0199348162

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Joining the ancient debate over the roles of reason and appetite in the moral mind, In Praise of Desire takes the side of appetite. The book makes the claim that acting for moral reasons, acting in a praiseworthy manner, and acting out of virtue amount to nothing more than acting out of intrinsic desires for the right or the good, correctly conceived. In Praise of Desire shows that a desire-centered moral psychology can be richer than philosophers commonly think, accommodating the full complexity of moral life.


In Praise of Blame

In Praise of Blame

Author: George Sher

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 0195187423

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Blame is an unpopular & neglected notion that goes against the grain of a therapeutically-orientated culture & has received relatively little philosophical attention. George Sher discusses questions about the nature, normative status & the relation to character of blame, arguing that it is inseparable from morality itself.


In Praise of Copying

In Praise of Copying

Author: Marcus Boon

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0674047834

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This book is devoted to a deceptively simple but original argument: that copying is an essential part of being human, that the ability to copy is worthy of celebration, and that, without recognizing how integral copying is to being human, we cannot understand ourselves or the world we live in. In spite of the laws, stigmas, and anxieties attached to it, the word “copying” permeates contemporary culture, shaping discourse on issues from hip hop to digitization to gender reassignment, and is particularly crucial in legal debates concerning intellectual property and copyright. Yet as a philosophical concept, copying remains poorly understood. Working comparatively across cultures and times, Marcus Boon undertakes an examination of what this word means—historically, culturally, philosophically—and why it fills us with fear and fascination. He argues that the dominant legal-political structures that define copying today obscure much broader processes of imitation that have constituted human communities for ages and continue to shape various subcultures today. Drawing on contemporary art, music and film, the history of aesthetics, critical theory, and Buddhist philosophy and practice, In Praise of Copying seeks to show how and why copying works, what the sources of its power are, and the political stakes of renegotiating the way we value copying in the age of globalization.


In Praise of Reason

In Praise of Reason

Author: Michael P. Lynch

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2012-03-16

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 0262300346

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A spirited defense of the relevance of reason for an era of popular skepticism over such matters as climate change, vaccines, and evolution. Why does reason matter, if (as many people seem to think) in the end everything comes down to blind faith or gut instinct? Why not just go with what you believe even if it contradicts the evidence? Why bother with rational explanation when name-calling, manipulation, and force are so much more effective in our current cultural and political landscape? Michael Lynch's In Praise of Reason offers a spirited defense of reason and rationality in an era of widespread skepticism—when, for example, people reject scientific evidence about such matters as evolution, climate change, and vaccines when it doesn't jibe with their beliefs and opinions. In recent years, skepticism about the practical value of reason has emerged even within the scientific academy. Many philosophers and psychologists claim that the reasons we give for our most deeply held views are often little more than rationalizations of our prior convictions. In Praise of Reason gives us a counterargument. Although skeptical questions about reason have a deep and interesting history, they can be answered. In particular, appeals to scientific principles of rationality are part of the essential common currency of any civil democratic society. The idea that everything is arbitrary—that reason has no more weight than blind faith—undermines a key principle of a civil society: that we owe our fellow citizens explanations for what we do. Reason matters—not just for the noble ideal of truth, but for the everyday world in which we live.


Hegel's Theory of Responsibility

Hegel's Theory of Responsibility

Author: Mark Alznauer

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-02-19

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 1107078121

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The first book-length treatment of a central concept in Hegel's practical philosophy - the theory of responsibility. This theory is both original and radical in its emphasis on the role and importance of social and historical conditions as a context for our actions.


In Praise of Love

In Praise of Love

Author: Alain Badiou

Publisher: New Press/ORIM

Published: 2012-11-27

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13: 1595588892

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The renowned French philosopher’s “ode to love’s power to unite in the face of eternity, and its optimism in the face of pain” (Publishers Weekly). In a world rife with consumerism, where online dating promises risk-free romance and love is all too often seen as a mere variant of desire and hedonism, Alain Badiou believes that love is under threat. Taking to heart Rimbaud’s famous line “love needs reinventing,” In Praise of Love is the celebrated French intellectual’s passionate treatise in defense of love. For Badiou, love is an existential project, a constantly unfolding quest for truth. This quest begins with the chance encounter, an event that forever changes two individuals, challenging them “to see the world from the point of view of two rather than one.” This, Badiou believes, is love’s most essential transforming power. Through thought-provoking dialogue edited from a conversation between Badiou and Truong, a vibrant cast of thinkers are invoked: Kierkegaard, Plato, de Beauvoir, Proust, and more, create a new narrative of love in the face of twenty-first-century modernity. Moving, zealous, and wise, Badiou’s “paean to the anticapitalist, antiessentialist, unifying power of love” urges us not to fear it but to see it as a magnificent undertaking that compels us to explore others and to move away from an obsession with ourselves (Publishers Weekly). “Finally, the cure for the pornographic, utilitarian exchange of favors to which love has been reduced in America. Alain Badiou is our philosopher of love.” —Simon Critchley, author of The Faith of the Faithless


In Praise of Natural Philosophy

In Praise of Natural Philosophy

Author: Nicholas Maxwell

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2017-02-24

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 0773549056

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In Praise of Natural Philosophy argues for a transformation of both science and philosophy, so that these two distinct domains of thought become one: natural philosophy. This in turn has far-reaching consequences for the whole academic enterprise. It transpires that universities need to be reorganized so that they become devoted to seeking and promoting wisdom by rational means – as opposed to just acquiring knowledge. Modern science began as natural philosophy. What today we call science and philosophy, in Newton's time formed one integrated enterprise: to improve our knowledge and understanding of the universe. Profound discoveries were made. And then natural philosophy died. It split into science and philosophy. But the two fragments are defective shadows of the glorious unified endeavour of natural philosophy. Rigour, sheer intellectual good sense, and decisive argument demand that we put the two together again, and rediscover the immense merits of the integrated enterprise of natural philosophy. This requires an intellectual revolution, with profound consequences for how we understand the universe, do both science and philosophy, and tackle global problems. A comprehensive addition to discussions about the purposes of academia, In Praise of Natural Philosophy has dramatic implications for the fate of our world.


Responsible Belief

Responsible Belief

Author: Rik Peels

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0190608110

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This book develops and defends a theory of responsible belief. The author argues that we lack control over our beliefs, but that we can nonetheless influence them. It is because we have intellectual obligations to influence our beliefs that we are responsible for them.