Alison Assiter is Professor of Feminist Theory at the University of the West of England, UK. Her previous publications include The Limitations of Althusserianism, Pluto Press, 1990 Enlightened Women, Routledge, 1996 and Revisiting Universalism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).

"A remarkable book! Alison Assiter writes with passion and refinement of the history of modern philosophy's contributions to an understanding of our troubled world. She revives Soren Kierkegaard both as a general philosopher and as a guide to a moral politic that both thinks and feels." - Charles Lemert, The John C. Andrus Professor of Sociology, Wesleyan University, USA

• Introduction; 1. The Metaphysical Assumptions of the Classical Liberal; 2. Human Rights and Fundamentalism.; 3. Some Limitations of the Discourse of Human Rights.; 4. Autonomy and "Evil'.; 5. The Beginnings of an Alternative Metaphysic and Ethics; 6. Natural Needs; 7. Metaphysics and Morality; 8. Love for Family, Friends and Close Associates; Conclusion; References/Notes; Index.

Alison Assiter is Professor of Feminist Theory at the University of the West of England, UK. Her previous publications include The Limitations of Althusserianism, Pluto Press, 1990 Enlightened Women, Routledge, 1996 and Revisiting Universalism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).

"A remarkable book! Alison Assiter writes with passion and refinement of the history of modern philosophy's contributions to an understanding of our troubled world. She revives Soren Kierkegaard both as a general philosopher and as a guide to a moral politic that both thinks and feels." - Charles Lemert, The John C. Andrus Professor of Sociology, Wesleyan University, USA

• Introduction; 1. The Metaphysical Assumptions of the Classical Liberal; 2. Human Rights and Fundamentalism.; 3. Some Limitations of the Discourse of Human Rights.; 4. Autonomy and "Evil'.; 5. The Beginnings of an Alternative Metaphysic and Ethics; 6. Natural Needs; 7. Metaphysics and Morality; 8. Love for Family, Friends and Close Associates; Conclusion; References/Notes; Index.