A reluctant Aidan, recently returned home to Corenwald after three years in the Feechiefen Swamp, learns of a new party of Aidanites who believes he is the destined king to overthrow the tyrant King Darrow.

This book is a collection of secondary essays on America's most important philosophic thinkers—statesmen, judges, writers, educators, and activists—from the colonial period to the present. Each essay is a comprehensive introduction to the thought of a noted American on the fundamental meaning of the American regime.

Economist, philosopher, civil servant, and politician, John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) made his mark as a liberal in Victorian society. His major works--System of Logic and Principles--as well as his famous essays--"On Liberty" and "Women"--reveal his extraordinary skill at clarifying difficult political and philosophical problems. Based on a detailed assessment of the influences on Mill's life, William Thomas traces the main ethical, economic, and psychological doctrines explored in his work and offers an unusual interpretation of the origins and development of Mill's (...) philosophy. (shrink)

Thomas clarifies his basic criticism of Yeager's book, Ethics as Social Science, emphasizing his concern about lack of clarity of argument rather than style. Thomas discusses the role of ethical standards in contextual moral reasoning and defends Rand's rejection of ethical altruism against criticisms that it represents a "corner solution" or an unrealistic slippery-slope argument.