After introducing the early work of philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Cicero, Machiavelli, and Kant on the matter, this book critically examines the literature over the past four decades on the topic of posthumous harm.

This chapter contains sections titled: The Pirate and Performance‐Enhancing Drugs Life and Times Performance‐Enhancing Drugs The Paternalistic Argument The Argument from the Harm Principle The Argument from Distorted Values The Argument from the Prisoner's Dilemma Why r‐EPO Should Continue to be Banned The Pirate's False Treasure Notes.

_Uncovers clues regarding the inner life of Machiavelli's political leaders._.

Raymond Angelo Belliotti's Roman Philosophy and the Good Life provides an accessible picture of these major philosophical influences in Rome and details the crucial role they played during times of major social upheaval. Belliotti demonstrates the contemporary relevance of some of the philosophical issues faced by the Romans, and offers ways in which today's society can learn from the Romans in our attempt to create meaningful lives.

_Dante’s Deadly Sins_ is a unique study of the moral philosophy behind Dante’s master work that considers the _Commedia_ as he intended, namely, as a practical guide to moral betterment. Focusing on _Inferno_ and _Purgatorio_, Belliotti examines the puzzles and paradoxes of Dante’s moral assumptions, his treatment of the 7 deadly sins, and how 10 of his most powerful moral lessons anticipate modern existentialism. Analyzes the moral philosophy underpinning one of the greatest works of world culture Summarizes the _Inferno_ and (...) _Purgatorio_, while underscoring their moral implications Explains and evaluates Dante’s understanding of the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ and the ultimate role they play as the basis of human transgression. Provides a detailed discussion of the philosophical concepts of moral desert and the law of _contrapasso_, using character case studies within Dante’s work Connects the poem’s moral themes to our own contemporary condition. (shrink)

Belliotti unravels the paradoxes of human existence to reveal paths for crafting meaningful, significant, valuable, even important lives. He argues that human life is not inherently absurd; examines the implications of mortality; contrasts subjective and objective meaning, and evaluates contemporary renderings of meaningful human lives.

This book reconstructs the cornerstones of Jesus's moral teachings about how to lead a good, even exemplary, human life. It does so in a way that is compatible with the most prominent, competing versions of the historical Jesus. The work also contrast Jesus' understanding of the best way to lead our lives with that of Friedrich Nietzsche. Both Jesus and Nietzsche were self-consciously moral revolutionaries. Jesus refashioned the imperatives of Jewish law to conform to what he was firmly convinced was (...) the divine will. Nietzsche aspired to transvalue the dominant values of his time in service of a higher vision. The interplay of these radical versions of the good human life, seasoned with critical commentary from the sciences and humanities, opens lines of inquiry that can help us answer that enduring, paramoun t question, "How should we live our lives?". (shrink)

Deepens our understanding of power through a survey of how its dynamics have been understood from ancient times to the present. Frequently understood in simplistic and often highly negative terms, the concept of power has proven to be both uncommonly intriguing and maddeningly elusive. In Power, Raymond Angelo Belliotti begins by fashioning a general definition of power that is refined enough to capture the numerous types of power in all their multifaceted complexity. He then proceeds in a series (...) of discrete yet thematically connected meditations to explore the meaning of power in ancient, modern, and contemporary thought. In grappling with the critical questions surrounding the accumulation, distribution, and exercise of personal and social power, this work allows us to confront fundamental questions of who we are and how we might live better lives. “Power is an impressive project for its breadth and insight. Belliotti offers an exhaustive discussion of the philosophical notion of power, which deepens the reader’s understanding of power and provides a ‘powerful’ tool for assessing the proper uses of and abuses of social and dyadic power relations. The book is rich with material, expertly organized, and written in a clear and accessible style.” — Kimberly Blessing, Buffalo State, The State University of New York. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: The Paradox of Virgil Summary of the Paradox of Virgil The Strange Case of Cato “The Perfect Stoic” Dante's Decision Dante and Conflict.

Heroism and Wisdom is an interdisciplinary work dissecting the lives, philosophies, and works of fourteen historically significant Italian figures to examine the topics of Italian history, culture, and moral psychology of notions such as practical wisdom, heroism, authenticity, honor, will to power, and leading a meaningful human life.

Values, Virtues, and Vices, Italian Style is an interdisciplinary study that examines the lives and work of four historical figures: Caesar, Dante, Machiavelli, or Garibaldi, as well as Italian culture and the moral psychology of pride, arrogance, justification, excuse, repentance, and the concept of honor.

This book is an interdisciplinary work that weaves literary interpretation, legal theory, and philosophical doctrine about sex and love into a coherent mosaic in the context of two of Shakespeare’s plays: The Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure. In the process, the work advances literary interpretations of the plays including character studies of some of the main protagonists. The aim is partly theoretical but mostly practical: to demonstrate what we can learn about living a robustly meaningful and significant human (...) life by taking Shakespeare’s work seriously from contemporary philosophical and legal vantage points. Shakespeare does not reveal a tightly defined moral system that he is trying to urge upon his audience. Instead, Shakespeare challenges his audience to struggle with moral complexity as they confront conflicting elements surrounding legal and moral issues presented in his work and within the souls of his characters. His issues and their conflicts are also ours. Much of Shakespeare’s work consists of raising weighty questions inextricably connected to the human condition and inviting his audience to ponder possible answers. The philosophical lessons about living our lives meaningfully and significantly that we can derive from Shakespeare are simple yet powerful. (shrink)

Happiness Is Overrated highlights the greatest thinking on the concept of happiness from classical philosophers such as Plato, to contemporary sociologists and psychologists. It includes practical advice on how to attain happiness, but argues that happiness is not the greatest personal good. Ultimately, the greatest personal good is realized in leading a robustly meaningful, valuable life.

This chapter contains sections titled: Purgatory in a Nutshell The Journey Continues Ante‐Purgatory: Late Repentants Gate of Purgatory The First Three Terraces: Misdirected Love The Fourth Terrace: Deficient Love of the Good The Final Three Terraces: Excessive Love of Secondary Goods Dante's Existential Lessons in Purgatory.

This chapter contains sections titled: Dante and Existentialism Jean‐Paul Sartre and Hell Dante's Ten Existential Lessons Individualism and Community Personal Strategies.

This book examines core concerns of human life. What is the relationship between a meaningful life and theism? Why are some human beings radically adrift, without radical foundations, and struggling with hopelessness? Is the cosmos meaningless? Is human life akin to the ancient Myth of Sisyphus? What is the role of struggle and suffering in creating meaning? How do we discover or create value? Is happiness overrated as a goal of life? How, if at all, can we learn to die (...) meaningfully? (shrink)

The trial of Dmitri Karamazov embodies Dostoevsky’s general legal and moral philosophy. This book explains and critically analyses such notions as the rule of law, the adversary system of adjudication, the principle of universal moral responsibility, the plausibility of unconditional love, and the contours of human nature. The ballast for conclusions about all these ideas is an understanding of the relationship between individuals and their communities.

This chapter contains sections titled: Dante's Mission The Journey Begins Vestibule (Ante‐Hell): The Indecisive Neutrals Upper Hell: Sins of Unrestrained Desire (the Wolf) River Styx, Walls of the City of Dis Lower Hell: Sins of Malice Leading to Violence (the Lion) Lower Hell: Sins of Malice Leading to Fraud (the Leopard) Dante's Existential Lessons in Hell.

This chapter contains sections titled: The Notion of Desert The Contrapasso The Problem of Proportionality First Case Study: Francesca Second Case Study: Brutus and Cassius Third Case Study: Epicurus Dante's Moral Conception.

Jesus the Radical connects the lessons of six parables of the New Testament with moral issues examined by leading contemporary philosophers. The book demonstrates how deeply opposed is Jesus’ radical moral message to the dominant moral understandings of our time.

This chapter contains sections titled: Historical Background Superbia (Pride) Invidia (Envy) Ira (Wrath) Acedia (Sloth) Avaritia (Avarice) Gula (Gluttony) Luxuria (Lust) The Antidote: Righteous Love The Bridge to Salvation.

This book places Machiavelli in historical context but argues that his understanding of moral conflicts is well ahead of his time. Instead of arguing for the autonomy of politics, as is commonly supposed, Machiavelli grapples with the special problems of role-differentiated morality, where the duties of public office often conflict with the demands of conventional morality.

Ted Williams breathes life into Camus' Sisyphus; Billy Martin's competitiveness recalls Niccolo Machiavelli's take on politics; Satchel Paige echoes wisdom Marcus Aurelius; and DiMaggio's personality cry out for resolution that Nietzsche's doctrine of perspectivism might have given. The book offers a very practical application of Western philosophy by examining these icons of American sport and culture"--Provided by publisher.

The Godfather describes the existential conflict between two sets of values partially constituting competing prescriptive and descriptive visions of the world: a nineteenth-century Sicilian perspective grounded in honor and the accumulation of power within a fixed family order and a twentieth-century American perspective celebrating individualism and commercial success. Neither the film nor the book upon which it is based concludes that one of these sets of values is inherently superior.However, the two sets of values coalesce uneasily in the same cultural (...) setting, and their conflict is irresolvable. Ultimately, the Sicilian perspective must wither away in the United States because, unlike the old country, the new world lacks its sustaining cultural conditions. This reading interprets The Godfather as, among other things, a commentary on the transformation of personal identity within the Sicilian immigrant experience. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: The Historical Context The Life of Dante Later Writings The Commedia Dante's Death Aims of this Book Dante as Moral Philosopher.

The author accepts a conventional moral dilemma: Either we have a firm, rational foundation for our judgments about right and wrong, or we drown in a merciless sea of historical and sociological relativism. He advances and defends “new transcendental arguments” that supposedly demonstrate that we cannot rationally deny some propositions that are necessary for reasoning itself. If these propositions cannot be rejected rationally then they should be embraced as justified and true. As such, they can provide a firm, rational foundation (...) for our judgments about right and wrong. (shrink)

Society is at a crossroads. Interconnected systems, radical transparency, and rapidly increasing sophistication in skills, communications, and technologies provide a unique context for fostering social innovation at a planetary scale. We argue that unprecedented rates of systemic social change are possible for co-creating a future where humans and all life can thrive. Yet, this requires innovation in the conceptions, practice, teaching, and researching of social innovation itself to reimagine what it is and can be. As a multidisciplinary group of academics, (...) practitioners, and educators, we integrate our perspectives on social innovation and humanistic management to suggest the notion of systemic social innovation. We introduce the concept of “transformative collaboration” as central to facilitating systemic social innovation and propose a multilevel model for accelerating systems change. We then develop an integrated framework for conceptualizing systemic social innovation. Four levels of social impact are identified, and these levels are bracketed with a call for transforming individual consciousness at the micro level and new collective mindsets at the macro level. Blooom is presented as a case study to illustrate transformative collaboration, demonstrate the role of mindset shift in practice, and introduce four key ingredients to systemic social innovation. Finally, a call to action is issued for social innovation practice, teaching, and research. Most importantly, we seek to inspire and accelerate systemic social innovation that enables the flourishing of every human being and all life on earth. (shrink)

This book explores the pervasiveness of poetry's impact on philosophy and, conversely, how philosophy has sometimes resisted or denied poetry's influence.

These essays, written in the spirit of Goethe’s Epimetheus who "traces the quick deed to the dim realm of form-combining possibilities", display the depth and breadth of Tallis’s fascination with our lives. Whether discussing philosophical "hardy perennials" like time, or a mundane artefact like ink, Tallis challenges us to think differently about who we are and why we are. The first part of the book – Analysis – dives into the deep-end to explore some of the big questions in philosophy: (...) perception, knowledge and belief; time; the relationship between mathematics and reality; and probability and causation. The middle section – Tetchy Interludes – takes a wry look at some aspects of contemporary art; stupidity (including the author’s own); and Christmas. The third part – Celebration – is more experimental in both its subject matter and treatment. It celebrates the complexity of ordinary, everyday consciousness by contemplating the miracle of speech, artefacts that have transformed our lives (and what they reveal about our cognition) such as the wheel, the sail, and ink; and ‘snapshots’ of the author’s own consciousness on an ordinary day, of past consciousness, as captured in historical memory. Notwithstanding their diversity in theme and style, these essays share the common aim of discovering and celebrating the submerged riches in the "quick deeds" of our everyday lives and perceptions. (shrink)