humanism /'hju:meniz(e)m/ n. an outlook or system of thought concerned with human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Albert Einstein, Isaac Asimov, E.M. Forster, Bertrand Russell, and Gloria Steinem all declared themselves humanists. What is humanism and why does it matter? Is there any doctrine every humanist must hold? If it rejects religion, what does it offer in its place? Have the twentieth century's crimes against humanity spelled the end for humanism?On Humanism is a timely and powerfully argued philosophical defence of humanism. It is also an impassioned plea that we turn to ourselves, not religion, if we want to answer Socrates' age-old question: what is the best kind of life to lead? Although humanism has much in common with science, Richard Norman shows that it is far from a denial of the more mysterious, fragile side of being human. He deals with big questions such as the environment, Darwinism and 'creation science', euthanasia and abortion, and then argues that it is ultimately through the human capacity for art, literature and the imagination that humanism is a powerful alternative to religious belief.Drawing on a varied range of examples from Aristotle to Primo Levi and the novels of Virginia Woolf and Graham Swift, On Humanism is a lucid and much needed reflection on this much talked about but little understood phenomenon.

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Product Description: LET US BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWAL OF OUR MINDS.

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Product Description: The experiences of a representative sample of public servants, members of Parliament, and informed observers of the control systems of New Zealand’s public management model adopted in the early 1990s are examined in this book. Revealed is a trend that is moving away from the tradition of delivering public services through a centralized bureaucracy...read more

Product Description: Was the bombing of Belgrade morally justified as an attempt to halt "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo? Should Western states have tried to prevent the slaughter in Rwanda? Are there, indeed, genuinely universal 'human rights' which could justify such interventions, or is the upholding of such rights simply the imposition of culturally specific values on other cultures? Is national sovereignty a necessary and legitimate impediment to intervention, or are we seeing the emergence of a "new international order" in which national boundaries are less significant? These and related ethical and political questions are addressed from a wide variety of perspectives by the contributors to this book...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: In the world of industry and management producing 'intangible products' poses unique challenges. This book provides a comprehensive framework on these unique management issues and looks into the special characteristics of services and conditions necessary for success in the management of service organizations This classic book, as relevant as ever and updated, provides a set of ideas which has proved its power and validity beyond the fads of the moment, over an extended period of time...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Despite the continuing dominance of market relations and market forces in contemporary society, there remain fundamental questions about the ethical acceptability of markets and their effects. This collection, based on the 1998 conference of the Society for Applied Philosophy, brings philosophical analysis and argument to bear on these questions...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: The second edition of this accessible book features a new chapter on Nietzsche and an entirely new Part III that covers contemporary utilitarianism, rights-based ethical theories, contractarian ethics and virtue ethics, and recent debates between realism and anti-realism in ethics...read more

Product Description: This work on equality addresses two themes: autonomy and equality. Norman argues for a reconciliation of the two as complementary values, rejecting autonomy as being too individualistic, seeing it instead as co-operative control. He also covers feminism, socialism, politics and citizenship...read more

Can war ever be justified? Why is it wrong to kill? In this new book Richard Norman looks at these and other related questions, and thereby examines the possibility and nature of rational moral argument. Practical examples, such as the Gulf War and the Falklands War, are used to show that, while moral philosophy can offer no easy answers, it is a worthwhile enterprise that sheds light on many pressing contemporary problems. (view table of contents)

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