Thinking of Answers Questions in the Philosophy of Everyday Life

by Grayling, A. C.

• ISBN13: 9780802719720
• ISBN10: 0802719724
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-08-03
• Publisher: Walker Books

Summary

Scintillating and thought-provoking essays by one of the world's leading intellectuals.In his acclaimed columns in the LondonTimesandProspect, A. C. Grayling often responds to provocative questions posed by editors and readers. These questions serve as the basis for the essays inThinking of Answers, among them searching examinations of the following: Are human beings especially prone to self-deception? If beauty existed only in the eye of the beholder, would that make it an unimportant quality? Are human rights political? Can ethics be derived from evolution by natural selection? If both sides in a conflict passionately believe theirs is a just cause, does this mean the idea of justice is empty? Does being happy make us good? And does being good make us happy?As in his previous books on philosophy for the general public, includingMeditations for the HumanistandLife, Sex and Ideas, rather than presenting a set of categorical answers, Grayling offers suggestions for how to think about every aspect of the question at hand and arrive at one's own conclusion. Nobody can readThinking of Answerswithout being fully engaged, for Grayling challenges with his intellect and inspires with his humanity.

Author Biography

A. C. Grayling is professor of philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He has been a regular contributor to the Times, Financial Times, Observer, Independent on Sunday, Economist, New Statesman, and Prospect, and frequently appears on radio and television, including Newsnight and CNN. He is a fellow of the World Economic Forum at Davos, and advises on many committees, from drug testing at work to human rights groups. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Happiness and the Good	p. 5
Morality and Empathy	p. 7
Friendship	p. 10
The Moral and the Ethical	p. 14
The Entitlement to Moralise	p. 16
Ethics and Darwin	p. 22
Human Rights and Politics	p. 25
Poverty	p. 27
Is Beauty Subjective?	p. 30
Proving a Negative	p. 32
Body and Soul	p. 34
Knowledge of Harm	p. 36
Justice as Inspiration	p. 38
Apology and History	p. 40
Social Evils	p. 42
Fear of Illness and Death	p. 45
Celebrity	p. 47
Health and Appearance	p. 49
Abstinence and Fasting	p. 51
Adornment	p. 54
Drugs and Laws	p. 56
Laughter	p. 58
Praise	p. 60
God	p. 65
Mortification	p. 67
Remorse	p. 71
Ethics in Business	p. 76
Profit	p. 81
Science and Religion	p. 84
Democracy	p. 92
History	p. 95
Love	p. 102
Stendhal on Love	p. 104
Science and Rationality	p. 110
Education and the Internet	p. 113
Knowing That and Knowing How	p. 116
Robots	p. 118
Gender and Sex	p. 121
Gender and Research	p. 123
Scientific Literacy	p. 126
Personal Identity	p. 128
Brain and Mind	p. 131
Climate Change	p. 134
Ape and Man	p. 137
Synecology	p. 140
Longevity	p. 142
Water	p. 145
Stem Cells	p. 151
Cities	p. 153
Unconscious Knowledge	p. 156
Political Rhetoric	p. 160
Hope	p. 163
Renaissance Portraits	p. 166
Shock Art	p. 169
The Byzantine Idea	p. 171
Free Speech and Political Correctness	p. 175
Altruism	p. 180
Plastic Surgery	p. 182
Appearance	p. 187
Education	p. 189
Intelligence Pills	p. 192
Genius	p. 194
Symbols	p. 196
Employment	p. 202
Confucius	p. 203
The Moral Worth of Truth	p. 208
Relativism	p. 211
Doing Ill to the Bad	p. 214
Smoking	p. 216
Hypocrisy	p. 221
Parental Rights	p. 225
Money	p. 227
Shakespeare the Thinker	p. 231
Shakespeare's Humanism	p. 236
Haste and Speed	p. 241
Protest	p. 243
Philosophy in Education	p. 245
Goodness	p. 248
Human Beings	p. 252
Travelling	p. 256
Civil Liberties	p. 259
A Good World	p. 262
A New Ten Commandments	p. 267
Taking Action	p. 272
Waste	p. 275
Change	p. 277
Happiness	p. 279
Sport	p. 282
Philosophy	p. 285
Enlightenment	p. 287
Evil	p. 293
Prudery	p. 296
Inarticulacy	p. 298
The Case of Ashley X	p. 301
Contrarianism	p. 304
Authority	p. 311
Eccentricity	p. 313
Religion	p. 315
Existence	p. 321
Self-Deception	p. 323
The Meaning of Life	p. 325
Index	p. 329
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.