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A decent life : morality for the rest of us / Todd May.

By: Publisher: Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2019Description: viii, 212 pages ; 23 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780226609744
  • 022660974X
Subject(s): LOC classification:
  • BJ1012 .M385 2019
Contents:
Altruism or decency? -- Decency toward those around us -- Widening the circle: more distant others -- Widening the circle: nonhuman animals -- Politics and decency -- Our stories and our values -- Rules for moral decency that should be followed strictly and without exception.
Summary: You're probably never going to be a saint. Even so, let's face it: you could be a better person. We all could. But what does that mean for you? In a world full of suffering and deprivation, it's easy to despair-and it's also easy to judge ourselves for not doing more. Even if we gave away everything we own and devoted ourselves to good works, it wouldn't solve all the world's problems. It would make them better, though. So is that what we have to do? Is anything less a moral failure? Can we lead a fundamentally decent life without taking such drastic steps? Todd May has answers. He's not the sort of philosopher who tells us we have to be model citizens who display perfect ethics in every decision we make. He's realistic: he understands that living up to ideals is a constant struggle. In A Decent Life, May leads readers through the traditional philosophical bases of a number of arguments about what ethics asks of us, then he develops a more reasonable and achievable way of thinking about them, one that shows us how we can use philosophical insights to participate in the complicated world around us. He explores how we should approach the many relationships in our lives-with friends, family, animals, people in need-through the use of a more forgiving, if no less fundamentally serious, moral compass. With humor, insight, and a lively and accessible style, May opens a discussion about how we can, realistically, lead the good life that we aspire to. A philosophy of goodness that leaves it all but unattainable is ultimately self-defeating. Instead, Todd May stands at the forefront of a new wave of philosophy that sensibly reframes our morals and redefines what it means to live a decent life.
Holdings
Item type Current library Shelving location Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Book Book NMC Library Stacks BJ1012 .M385 2019 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 33039001486793

Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-209) and index.

Altruism or decency? -- Decency toward those around us -- Widening the circle: more distant others -- Widening the circle: nonhuman animals -- Politics and decency -- Our stories and our values -- Rules for moral decency that should be followed strictly and without exception.

You're probably never going to be a saint. Even so, let's face it: you could be a better person. We all could. But what does that mean for you? In a world full of suffering and deprivation, it's easy to despair-and it's also easy to judge ourselves for not doing more. Even if we gave away everything we own and devoted ourselves to good works, it wouldn't solve all the world's problems. It would make them better, though. So is that what we have to do? Is anything less a moral failure? Can we lead a fundamentally decent life without taking such drastic steps? Todd May has answers. He's not the sort of philosopher who tells us we have to be model citizens who display perfect ethics in every decision we make. He's realistic: he understands that living up to ideals is a constant struggle. In A Decent Life, May leads readers through the traditional philosophical bases of a number of arguments about what ethics asks of us, then he develops a more reasonable and achievable way of thinking about them, one that shows us how we can use philosophical insights to participate in the complicated world around us. He explores how we should approach the many relationships in our lives-with friends, family, animals, people in need-through the use of a more forgiving, if no less fundamentally serious, moral compass. With humor, insight, and a lively and accessible style, May opens a discussion about how we can, realistically, lead the good life that we aspire to. A philosophy of goodness that leaves it all but unattainable is ultimately self-defeating. Instead, Todd May stands at the forefront of a new wave of philosophy that sensibly reframes our morals and redefines what it means to live a decent life.

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