This paper introduces the notion of a “psychologically rich life”: a life characterized by complexity, in which people experience a variety of interesting things, and feel and appreciate a variety...

Emerging research on the subject of happiness-in psychology, economics, and public policy-reawakens and breathes new life into long-standing philosophical questions about happiness. By analyzing this research from a philosophical perspective, Lorraine L. Besser is able to weave together the contributions of other disciplines, and the result is a robust, deeply contoured understanding of happiness made accessible for nonspecialists. This book is the first to thoroughly investigate the fundamental theoretical issues at play in all the major contemporary debates about happiness, (...) and it stands out especially in its critical analysis of empirical research. The book's coverage of the material is comprehensive without being overwhelming. Its structure and pedagogical features will benefit students or anyone studying happiness for the first time: Each chapter opens with an initial overview and ends with a summary and list of suggested readings. (shrink)

This paper proposes the idea of thinking about practical rationality in terms of self-regulation and defends the thesis that self-regulation is a virtue, insofar as we have reason to think it is our highest form of practical rationality. I argue that understanding self-regulation as a virtuous form of practical reasoning is called for given the kinds of limitations we face in developing agency and pursuing our goals, and presents us with several advantages over traditional understandings of practical rationality.

In this reply to comments by Neera Badhwar and Barbara Montero, I examine more deeply the nature of cognitive engagement and how it is distinct from other forms of cognitive activity; revisit the distinction between interesting and boring experiences; and present an analysis of all-things-considered value that illustrates the contributions that the interesting makes. I conclude by considering what all-things-considered value becomes for patients with severe cognitive impairments.

In recent papers, I defend the intrinsic value of the interesting, and the intrinsic disvalue of the boring. My arguments introduce two claims with important implications for discussions of the quality of life. The first is that when it comes to experiences, there’s more value at stake than pleasure alone. The second is that there is value to cognitive engagement itself, even when it is unstructured by desires or reasons. This paper explores the important consequences these conclusions have for how (...) we appraise the quality of life of subjects with dramatically impaired cognitive capacities (such as patients with advanced Alzheimer’s and patients in a persistent vegetive state). I examine whether such groups are capable of experiencing the interesting and, by extension, what degrees of self-awareness are required to experience the kind of cognitive engagement at stake in interesting experiences. (shrink)

In this book_, _Lorraine Besser-Jones develops a eudaimonistic virtue ethics based on a psychological account of human nature. While her project maintains the fundamental features of the eudaimonistic virtue ethical framework—virtue, character, and well-being—she constructs these concepts from an empirical basis, drawing support from the psychological fields of self-determination and self-regulation theory. Besser-Jones’s resulting account of "eudaimonic ethics" presents a compelling normative theory and offers insight into what is involved in being a virtuous person and "acting well." This original contribution (...) to contemporary ethics and moral psychology puts forward a provocative hypothesis of what an empirically-based moral theory would look like. (shrink)

Virtue ethics is on the move both in Anglo-American philosophy and in the rest of the world. This volume uniquely emphasizes non-Western varieties of virtue ethics at the same time that it includes work in the many different fields or areas of philosophy where virtue ethics has recently spread its wings. Just as significantly, several chapters make comparisons between virtue ethics and other ways of approaching ethics or political philosophy or show how virtue ethics can be applied to "real world" (...) problems. (shrink)

In this book, Baggini explores Hume’s life and philosophy in an effort to decipher what contemporary, non-academic, audiences might take away from it about what it means to be human and to live well. This is a daunting project for a couple of reasons. First, in comparison with other major figures in the history of philosophy such as Aristotle, Hume does not himself give much direct guidance on these topics. His writings purport to present analyses of human nature, the influences (...) on it, and the ways in which people tend to respond to each other. The degree to which Hume intended these analyses to inform normative proposals is a question of debate amongst Hume scholars, yet most would agree that Hume’s mission falls... (shrink)

Using data from the Survey of the Status of Social Studies ( S4), this article describes the instructional decisions and practices of elementary teachers in two neighboring states, one where social studies is tested and another where it is not. We define students’ opportunity to learn within these states as a composite of three variables: time allocations for social studies (teacher reported instructional time), methods for teaching social studies (teacher reported instructional strategies), and content focus (teacher reported content emphases and (...) state-mandated curriculum standards). Our guiding research question for this study was: To what extent do teachers’ perceptions of elementary school social studies instructional practices and content vary between two states with different testing policies for social studies? Initial findings revealed notable differences that could not be explained by testing policies alone. Therefore, we conducted an exploratory content analysis of the elementary social studies curricula in these neighboring states. We uncovered curricular differences that suggest that state standards influence teachers’ decisions in both what and how they choose to teach social studies. However, there were curriculum differences that did not align with S4 instructional methods and content focus output. Thus, we concluded that other factors apart from the curriculum guide teachers’ decision-making. Results provided evidence that students have different opportunities to learn based on (1) state testing policies in social studies, (2) curriculum content, (3) how social studies is delivered (e.g., stand-alone versus integration), and (4) time allocated to social studies. We concluded that these variables constrict or expand students’ opportunity to learn social studies and may influence teachers’ pedagogical and content choices in elementary social studies. (shrink)

"This very important book is original, sweeping, and wise about the relation between education and liberal democracy in the United States. The Pangles reconsider superior ideas from the founding period in a way that illuminates any serious thinking on American education, whether policy-oriented or historical". -- American Political Science Review. "An important and thoughtful book, stimulating for citizens as well as scholars". -- Journal of American History.

This provocative book paved the way for nursing research informed by f eminist scholarship, critical theory, and post-modern thought. Controv ersial then, relevant today.

Dimitri Lorrain est chercheur en sciences humaines (EHESS), spécialisé dans l'étude de l'art et de la littérature (il a publié des articles sur Michel-Ange, Alberti, ainsi que sur l'art des «?nouveaux commanditaires?»). Installé à Francfort-sur-le-Main, il chronique la vie intellectuelle allemande pour la revue Panorama des idées.

This collection of essays, offered in honor of the distinguished career of prominent political philosophy professor Clifford Orwin, brings together internationally renowned scholars to provide a wide context and discuss various aspects of the virtue of “humanity” through the history of political philosophy.

This collection of essays, offered in honor of the distinguished career of prominent political philosophy professor Clifford Orwin, brings together internationally renowned scholars to provide a wide context and discuss various aspects of the virtue of “humanity” through the history of political philosophy.

Ethical naturalists, who reject strong reductivist positions, hold a plausible theory that is a version of realism. In the thesis I provide a critical response to the skeptical attacks levied against these ethical naturalists. In particular, I examine the criticisms that J. L. Mackie and Simon Blackburn have put forward concerning the ethical naturalist's treatment of the concept of supervenience. I argue that the naturalist's position on supervenience can be defended against these criticisms.

Bouddhisme et transhumanisme semblent avoir de nombreux points communs. Des découvertes scientifiques récentes, surtout en matière de neuroscience, semblent confirmer ce que le bouddhisme a découvert et décrit depuis longtemps. Ils ne sont néanmoins pas nécessairement véritablement proches. Le bouddhisme invite à découvrir, pour soi-même, ce que le transhumanisme promet de rendre accessible à chacun par le biais de la technologie, quelles que soient les intentions de l'individu. La confrontation des deux révèle des postulats de base divergents et nous permet (...) de contester certaines affirmations transhumanistes. (shrink)

Mill’s feminism has been the object of many discussions, from the publication of The Subjection of women onward, especially among feminist theory. In this article, my aim is to join the critical assessment of Mill’s feminism by considering it in regard of Harriet Taylor’s own feminist creeds. To do so, I’ll first highlight the importance of women’s emancipation in Mill’s work, as well as the boldness of his defense of women’s equality. Then, I’ll endeavor to show that despite his genuine (...) commitment to women’s social, moral, and political emancipation, his feminism is still shaped by sexist biases, especially regarding women’s part in the family and maternity. I’ll then by able to argue that reading Mill and Taylor together allows to contend that Mill’s feminism limits cannot be ascribed to the prejudices of his era. (shrink)

This book proposes a taxonomy of jurisprudence and legal practice, based on the discourse theory of Jacques Lacan. In the anglophone academy, the positivist jurisprudence of H.L.A. Hart provides the most influential account of law. But just as positivism ignores the practice of law by lawyers, even within the academy, the majority of professors are also not pursuing Hart's positivist project. Rather, they are engaged in policy-oriented scholarship - that tries to explain law in terms of society's collective goals - (...) or in doctrinal legal scholarship - that does not try to describe what law is, or to supply justifications for it - but which examines the 'internal' logic of law. Lacan's discourse theory has the power to differentiate the various roles of the practicing lawyer and the legal scholar. It is also able to explain the striking lack of communication between diverse schools of legal scholarship and between legal academia and the legal profession. Although extremely influential in Europe and South America, Lacanian theory remains largely unexplored outside of the field of comparative literature. In taking up the jurisprudential ramifications of Lacan's work, _The Four Lacanian Discourses_ thus constitutes an original contribution to current theoretical and practical understandings of law. (shrink)

Entre l’œuvre de Hobbes et celle de Bentham, la proximité conceptuelle est grande : l’un et l’autre semblent réfléchir depuis un vocabulaire partagé. Suivre cette proximité conduit notamment à révéler l’importance, dans leurs théories politiques respectives, de la règle de majorité, déterminante dans le processus qui permet de constituer le peuple. Hobbes transforme l’accord majoritaire à l’entrée en société en unanimité proclamée, tandis que Bentham fait de la règle de majorité l’outil permettant de donner une consistance immanente à l’unité du (...) peuple. L’usage qu’ils font de la règle de majorité permet ainsi de préciser les rapports que chacun conçoit entre peuple et multitude et, de là, de concevoir une voie anglo-saxonne de penser positivement la multitude. (shrink)

Que les seuls régimes politiques légitimes soient les démocraties représentatives contemporaines a acquis la force d’une évidence. Pourtant, à leurs origines, ces régimes représentatifs n’avaient pas vocation à être démocratiques : leurs fondateurs les avaient même imaginés pour prévenir l’émergence de formes de gouvernement démocratique. Partant de cet oubli, l’article propose de revenir sur l’histoire de l’association de la démocratie et de la représentation, des révolutions américaine et française à la première moitié du xix e siècle. S’attachant plus particulièrement aux (...) usages de la notion de démocratie et de ses dérivés (« démocrate », « démocratique »), il s’attache à mettre en évidence la manière dont celle-ci, d’abord figure repoussoir dans l’ordre politique, est finalement devenue « maître-mot ». (shrink)

Faisant de la démocratie représentative la forme idéalement la meilleure de gouvernement, la pensée politique de Mill se distingue d’abord en tant qu’elle dépasse l’alternative généralement posée entre régime représentatif et démocratie directe. Néanmoins, la forme de gouvernement qu’il élabore pose un certain nombre de problèmes, puisque les principes sur lesquels elle repose, principe de compétence d’une part, principe de participation d’autre part, sont, au moins a priori, difficilement conciliables. Cet article entend montrer que le système politique pensé par Mill, (...) loin d’être contradictoire, nous donne des outils solides pour penser les démocraties représentatives. (shrink)

On trouve dans les écrits de Mill une légitimation circonstanciée de la révolution. Ce que doivent considérer celles et ceux que tente l’affrontement armé, c’est la nature des circonstances historiques, mais aussi leur propre force et leur degré de maturité politique, de manière à évaluer l’opportunité et la justice de la violence révolutionnaire. Il s’agira ici d’examiner les tensions et les évolutions de la pensée de Mill à l’égard de la « révolution », comme idée politique, comme événement historique, aussi (...) bien que comme processus long de transformation individuelle ou collective. (shrink)