Preston King – författare

Thomas Hobbes is arguably the greatest of all English philosophers. In the second half of the twentieth century, he has been subject to sustained critical attention. He was capable of powerful argument on virtually any plane, whether logical, scriptural or historical. And he has attracted attention in all these areas and more - to do with questions of historical method, language and linguistics, metaphysics, ethics, law, politics, science and religion.Hobbes has been attended to from a great variety of perspectives - as an ethical positivist and a deontologist, as a bourgeois advocate and a supporter of the aristocracy, as an absolutist and a proponent of parliamentary government, as a `conservative' and a `modern', as an atheist and a believer. The periodical literature on Hobbes is accordingly very rich, but it is also difficult of access. The four volumes of these critical assessments conveniently assemble an important array of material. This ready availability will prove immensely helpful to all students of Hobbes.

A new collection of philosophical biographies of key figures in Black Southern American social and political thoughtFrederick Douglass, Booker Washington and Ida Wells. Thurgood Marshall and Martin King are focused upon, together with Howard Thurman, Richard Wright, Fred Gray and Barbara Jordan. All are important in various ways to the movements this book seeks out. From the perspective of liberation, the two high points in the African-American Odyssey are marked by Emancipation in the nineteenth century and Desegregation in the twentieth. Douglass bestriding the first, King and Marshall the second. The thread of resistance runs through most of these philosophical profiles, and the thread of non-violence, with greater or less force, also runs throughout. This volume assumes a distinction between (a) an earlier period when Afro-America was more cohesive and collectively committed to self-improvement despite the odds, and (b) the contemporary period, beyond desegregation, marked by rates never previously rivaled of suicide, joblessness, imprisonment, despair and alienation, especially among black poor. The life stories and philosophies presented here make fascinating reading.This book is a Special Issue of the leading journal, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy.

Previously published as a special issue of the Critical Review of Social and Political Philosophy, this volume throws light on the place of friendship in politics by connecting theoretical questions to empirical answers.Today, friendship and politics are most commonly viewed as distinct and mutually opposed concerns. Politics tends to be seen as general and impersonal, to do with power and hierarchy. Friendship, by contrast, is conceived as particular and intimate, relating to equality and fraternity. Ancient Greek and Roman thought tended to bring the two together, locating friendship as the moral foundation of the political. But is this view sound? Ought not Friendship to be dismissed by moderns as primitive, inefficient, nepotistic (Freud)? Or ought it to be promoted as a vital moral constraint on power and the consuming egotism of rulers (Plutarch and others)? The contributors seek to answer these questions, directly and indirectly, by supplying: analyses of the conceptcritical reconstructions of some crucial modern accounts (Kierkegaard, Arendt and Schmitt) concrete accounts of the actual play of friendship both within and between states.

A new collection of philosophical biographies of key figures in Black Southern American social and political thoughtFrederick Douglass, Booker Washington and Ida Wells. Thurgood Marshall and Martin King are focused upon, together with Howard Thurman, Richard Wright, Fred Gray and Barbara Jordan. All are important in various ways to the movements this book seeks out. From the perspective of liberation, the two high points in the African-American Odyssey are marked by Emancipation in the nineteenth century and Desegregation in the twentieth. Douglass bestriding the first, King and Marshall the second. The thread of resistance runs through most of these philosophical profiles, and the thread of non-violence, with greater or less force, also runs throughout. This volume assumes a distinction between (a) an earlier period when Afro-America was more cohesive and collectively committed to self-improvement despite the odds, and (b) the contemporary period, beyond desegregation, marked by rates never previously rivaled of suicide, joblessness, imprisonment, despair and alienation, especially among black poor. The life stories and philosophies presented here make fascinating reading.This book is a Special Issue of the leading journal, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy.

This volume was compiled in 1968 to honour the retirement of the eminent political philosopher Professor Michael Oakeshott. Professor Oakeshott, widely regarded as one of the most important conservative intellectuals of the twentieth century, understood the need for political philosophy to conceive experience as a whole, and accordingly sought to address politics both historically and rationally. These essays engage with the common concerns of his major works, opportunistically exploring the ideas of this great thinker further. Moreover, they are a reflection of the contributors' academic interests, variously discussing tradition, the nature of political philosophy, ideology, revolution, education, history and rationalism. As the essays contained within are separate investigations of Oakeshott's ideas, they can be enjoyed both in and out of sequence. This volume will be of value to anyone with an appreciation of political philosophy and its history, and indeed, with an interest in the ideas of Professor Oakeshott himself.

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In this collection, contributors discuss a central theme which is both theoretical and practical - the role of the state in achieving social justice in modern market systems from a socialist perspective. They reject the cult of choice and of rational egoism.

Why should we be tolerant? What does it mean to ‘live and let live’? What ought to be tolerated and what not?Up-and-coming author, Catriona McKinnon presents a comprehensive, yet accessible introduction to toleration in her new book. Divided into two parts, the first clearly introduces and assesses the major theoretical accounts of toleration, examining it in light of challenges from scepticism, value pluralism and reasonableness. The second part applies the theories of toleration to contemporary debates such as female circumcision, French Headscarves, artistic freedom, pornography and censorship, and holocaust denial. Drawing on the work of philosophers, such as Locke, Mill and Rawls, whose theories are central to toleration, the book provides a solid theoretical base to those who value toleration, whilst considering the challenges toleration faces in practice. It is the ideal starting point for those coming to the topic for the first time, as well as anyone interested in the challenges facing toleration today.

In this collection, contributors discuss a central theme which is both theoretical and practical - the role of the state in achieving social justice in modern market systems from a socialist perspective. They reject the cult of choice and of rational egoism.

A school of thought traceable to the political writings of Bodin and Hobbes believes that "order" is the cardinal principle which takes precedence over "justice" - which is reduced to conformity. The main concern of this book is to analyse this tradition through study of its progenitors.

Professor King's concept of the philosophy of history leads him to offer this demonstration of the incoherence, even absurdity, of the notion that the past can have nothing to teach us - whether posed by those who argue that history is "unique" or that it is merely "contextual".

Professor King's concept of the philosophy of history leads him to offer this demonstration of the incoherence, even absurdity, of the notion that the past can have nothing to teach us - whether posed by those who argue that history is "unique" or that it is merely "contextual".

In antiquity, it was not only Aristotle who assumed the people are more to be understood in relation to one another than as individual or solitary constructs. This examination considers the changing attitudes to friendship since antiquity.

Martin Hollis (d.1998) was arguably the most incisive, eloquent and witty philosopher of the social sciences of his time. His work is appreciated and contested here by some of the most eminent of contemporary social theorists. Hollis's philosophy of social action routinely distinguished between understanding (rational) and explanation (causal). He argued that the aptest account of human interaction was to be made in terms of the first. Thus he focused upon the human reasons, for, rather than upon the natural causes of, action.This volume, for the first time, brings together important essays on the work of Hollis, from many different perspectives. These include politics, sociology and economics in general; international relations, rational choice theory, constitutionalism and the rule of law as well as current concerns with relativism, Rousseauist contractarianism, 'dirty hands' and 'buck-passing'.

This title available in eBook format. Click here for more information.Visit our eBookstore at: www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk.

A school of thought traceable to the political writings of Bodin and Hobbes believes that "order" is the cardinal principle which takes precedence over "justice" - which is reduced to conformity. The main concern of this book is to analyse this tradition through study of its progenitors.