What book are you reading right now?
- Thread starter Squeek
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Dozens (I have problems), but focusing on finishing this one (at least for this week).
Justice Beyond Borders: A Global Political Theory
(As with all works I read, merely reading does not, of course, equal endorsement of content/arguments. I read everything critically, even when--I hope especially when--I'm in agreement with or sympathetic to the arguments/views put forth in a volume, and there exist no one thinker, historically or presently, of which I fully agree with every aspect of his/her thought).
Justice Beyond Borders: A Global Political Theory
(As with all works I read, merely reading does not, of course, equal endorsement of content/arguments. I read everything critically, even when--I hope especially when--I'm in agreement with or sympathetic to the arguments/views put forth in a volume, and there exist no one thinker, historically or presently, of which I fully agree with every aspect of his/her thought).
Personal Identity 3rd Edition
Never an intense area of focus of study for me, this is a great up to date (first edition was published in 1989) review of this fascinating, complex, and important problem that is in depth without being inscrutable (at least if one has some background in philosophic inquiry, is familiar with the requisite terminology, and is not afraid of following the logic of rigorous argumentation that can be both quite abstract and technical).
Not "just" an overview (of which a good overview of an irreducibly complex philosophical problem such as this is quite an accomplishment in itself), Noonan also puts forth his views on several issues to contrast with other leading ones, and develops his own theory, especially in the last 2 chapters, on the main issue of what, or who, exactly we creatures or beings are, which he labels "a version of the complex view...the hybrid view" and further states that he is "in a sense a psychological-continuity theorist". (My admittedly not fully developed views lean towards his).
The best thing I can say for this work is that it does what all great philosophical analysis should do: it makes one want to explore the relevant areas in more depth. As such, I have already been digging through my shelves to find relevant works and journal articles cited, and I already ordered another work which takes up a counter alternative than the one argued for in this book but that has been gaining some traction as of late (and of which I'm semi-skeptical of for a variety of reasons), animalism. That work is this one which I can't wait to read for a challenge to my own admittedly still coalescing views on this deeply fascinating and important subject.
Never an intense area of focus of study for me, this is a great up to date (first edition was published in 1989) review of this fascinating, complex, and important problem that is in depth without being inscrutable (at least if one has some background in philosophic inquiry, is familiar with the requisite terminology, and is not afraid of following the logic of rigorous argumentation that can be both quite abstract and technical).
Not "just" an overview (of which a good overview of an irreducibly complex philosophical problem such as this is quite an accomplishment in itself), Noonan also puts forth his views on several issues to contrast with other leading ones, and develops his own theory, especially in the last 2 chapters, on the main issue of what, or who, exactly we creatures or beings are, which he labels "a version of the complex view...the hybrid view" and further states that he is "in a sense a psychological-continuity theorist". (My admittedly not fully developed views lean towards his).
The best thing I can say for this work is that it does what all great philosophical analysis should do: it makes one want to explore the relevant areas in more depth. As such, I have already been digging through my shelves to find relevant works and journal articles cited, and I already ordered another work which takes up a counter alternative than the one argued for in this book but that has been gaining some traction as of late (and of which I'm semi-skeptical of for a variety of reasons), animalism. That work is this one which I can't wait to read for a challenge to my own admittedly still coalescing views on this deeply fascinating and important subject.
I can't recommend enough, even if I might be biased.
An oldie but a goldie:
Now I'm reading the work I mentioned in my earlier post.
Persons, Animals, Ourselves
In this work, as mentioned before (in my earlier post), the author defends animalism. He briefly states his objective as:
"The proposition that is to be the topic of assessment in this book can be formulated thus:
(A) Each of us is identical with, is one and the same thing as, an animal.
About (A) we need, basically, to decide two things. The first is what content, or implications, (A) has. The second is whether (A) is true."
The author has a somewhat unique way of presenting his argument(s), and that, coupled with the small print (even for an academic title) and use of logical notation (by page 12 we already have [A&~P] cases, which, granted, is not very complex, but skipping ahead randomly to page 53 and we have complex examples of this type of propositional logic with the use of symbols that I can not render on a regular keyboard), as well as my somewhat unfamiliarity with the specific issues involved in this work, and this one will take me awhile! I'm excited for the journey, however.
Persons, Animals, Ourselves
In this work, as mentioned before (in my earlier post), the author defends animalism. He briefly states his objective as:
"The proposition that is to be the topic of assessment in this book can be formulated thus:
(A) Each of us is identical with, is one and the same thing as, an animal.
About (A) we need, basically, to decide two things. The first is what content, or implications, (A) has. The second is whether (A) is true."
The author has a somewhat unique way of presenting his argument(s), and that, coupled with the small print (even for an academic title) and use of logical notation (by page 12 we already have [A&~P] cases, which, granted, is not very complex, but skipping ahead randomly to page 53 and we have complex examples of this type of propositional logic with the use of symbols that I can not render on a regular keyboard), as well as my somewhat unfamiliarity with the specific issues involved in this work, and this one will take me awhile! I'm excited for the journey, however.
RCBinTN
Headphoneus Supremus
Decided on a break from John le Carre and found
this author. Quite good ... similar style to Lee Child.
I hate philosophy and read books only for fun
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes
Picking this up again for lighter, more "summer reading" for when I'm too tired for more demanding material (like when I'll be dozing off at the dock on our lake property this weekend). Still, of course, very interesting and important material to know, and it's exciting to be living in these times when new methods of scientific inquiry (genomics in this instance) are illuminating our human origins more clearly than ever before. I've been reading about hominid/human origins since I was a teen in the 90's and it's incredible, almost exhilarating, how much the field has advanced since then (and especially since my parent's time, when books like The Naked Ape or Origins were runaway best sellers, some of which I grabbed from their bookshelf and looked at/read as a child, which probably inculcated my lifelong interest/quiet passion in the science of human origins).
The foreword, btw, was written by the author of the downright magisterial The Gene: An Intimate History which is simply one of the best popular science books I have ever read and highly recommended for anyone wanting to know more about the science of genetics. It is both introductory and comprehensive as well as very well written.
Have a good weekend everyone, and happy reading
, whatever material you choose! 
Picking this up again for lighter, more "summer reading" for when I'm too tired for more demanding material (like when I'll be dozing off at the dock on our lake property this weekend). Still, of course, very interesting and important material to know, and it's exciting to be living in these times when new methods of scientific inquiry (genomics in this instance) are illuminating our human origins more clearly than ever before. I've been reading about hominid/human origins since I was a teen in the 90's and it's incredible, almost exhilarating, how much the field has advanced since then (and especially since my parent's time, when books like The Naked Ape or Origins were runaway best sellers, some of which I grabbed from their bookshelf and looked at/read as a child, which probably inculcated my lifelong interest/quiet passion in the science of human origins).
The foreword, btw, was written by the author of the downright magisterial The Gene: An Intimate History which is simply one of the best popular science books I have ever read and highly recommended for anyone wanting to know more about the science of genetics. It is both introductory and comprehensive as well as very well written.
Have a good weekend everyone, and happy reading
, whatever material you choose! Users who are viewing this thread
