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The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the Man Who Sent Charles I to the Scaffold
by Geoffrey RobertsonCharles I waged civil wars that cost one in ten Englishmen their lives. But in 1649 Parliament was hard put to find a lawyer with the skill and daring to prosecute a king who claimed to be above the law. In the end, they chose the radical lawyer John Cooke, whose Puritan conscience, political vision, and love of civil liberties gave him the courage to bring the king to trial. As a result, Charles I was beheaded, but eleven years later Cooke himself was arrested, tried, and executed at the hands of Charles II.Geoffrey Robertson, a renowned human rights lawyer, provides a vivid new reading of the tumultuous Civil War years, exposing long-hidden truths: that the king was guilty, that his execution was necessary to establish the sovereignty of Parliament, that the regicide trials were rigged and their victims should be seen as national heroes. Cooke’s trial of Charles I, the first trial of a head of state for waging war on his own people, became a forerunner of the trials of Augusto Pinochet, Slobodan Milosevic, and Saddam Hussein. The Tyrannicide Brief is a superb work of history that casts a revelatory light on some of the most important issues of our time.
The Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay on Western Masochism
by Pascal BrucknerWhy the West must overcome its guilty conscience to foster a better global futureFascism, communism, genocide, slavery, racism, imperialism—the West has no shortage of reasons for guilt. And, indeed, since the Holocaust and the end of World War II, Europeans in particular have been consumed by remorse. But Pascal Bruckner argues that guilt has now gone too far. It has become a pathology, and even an obstacle to fighting today's atrocities. Bruckner, one of France's leading writers and public intellectuals, argues that obsessive guilt has obscured important realities. The West has no monopoly on evil, and has destroyed monsters as well as created them—leading in the abolition of slavery, renouncing colonialism, building peaceful and prosperous communities, and establishing rules and institutions that are models for the world. The West should be proud—and ready to defend itself and its values. In this, Europeans should learn from Americans, who still have sufficient self-esteem to act decisively in a world of chaos and violence. Lamenting the vice of anti-Americanism that grips so many European intellectuals, Bruckner urges a renewed transatlantic alliance, and advises Americans not to let recent foreign-policy misadventures sap their own confidence. This is a searing, provocative, and psychologically penetrating account of the crude thought and bad politics that arise from excessive bad conscience.
The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good?
by Michael J. SandelThe world-renowned philosopher and author of the bestselling Justice explores the central question of our time: What has become of the common good?These are dangerous times for democracy. We live in an age of winners and losers, where the odds are stacked in favor of the already fortunate. Stalled social mobility and entrenched inequality give the lie to the American credo that "you can make it if you try". The consequence is a brew of anger and frustration that has fueled populist protest and extreme polarization, and led to deep distrust of both government and our fellow citizens--leaving us morally unprepared to face the profound challenges of our time.World-renowned philosopher Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the crises that are upending our world, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalization and rising inequality. Sandel shows the hubris a meritocracy generates among the winners and the harsh judgement it imposes on those left behind, and traces the dire consequences across a wide swath of American life. He offers an alternative way of thinking about success--more attentive to the role of luck in human affairs, more conducive to an ethic of humility and solidarity, and more affirming of the dignity of work. The Tyranny of Merit points us toward a hopeful vision of a new politics of the common good.
The Tyranny of Opinion: Honor in the Construction of the Mexican Public Sphere
by Pablo PiccatoIn the mid-to-late nineteenth century, as Mexico emerged out of decades of civil war and foreign invasion, a modern notion of honor--of one's reputation and self-worth--became the keystone in the construction of public culture. Mexicans gave great symbolic, social, and material value to honor. Only honorable men could speak in the name of the public. Honor earned these men, and a few women, support and credit, and gave civilian politicians a claim to authority after an era dominated by military heroism. Tracing how notions of honor changed in nineteenth-century Mexico, Pablo Piccato examines legislation, journalism, parliamentary debates, criminal defamation cases, personal stories, urban protests, and the rise and decline of dueling in the 1890s. He highlights the centrality of notions of honor to debates over the nature of Mexican liberalism, describing how honor helped to define the boundaries between public and private life; balance competing claims of free speech, public opinion, and the protection of individual reputations; and motivate politicians, writers, and other men to enter public life. As Piccato explains, under the authoritarian rule of Porfirio Daz, the state became more active in the protection of individual reputations. It implemented new restrictions on the press. This did not prevent people from all walks of life from defending their honor and reputations, whether in court or through violence. The Tyranny of Opinion is a major contribution to a new understanding of Mexican political history and the evolution of Mexican civil society.
The Tyranny of Utility: Behavioral Social Science and the Rise of Paternalism
by Gilles Saint-PaulThe general assumption that social policy should be utilitarian--that society should be organized to yield the greatest level of welfare--leads inexorably to increased government interventions. Historically, however, the science of economics has advocated limits to these interventions for utilitarian reasons and because of the assumption that people know what is best for themselves. But more recently, behavioral economics has focused on biases and inconsistencies in individual behavior. Based on these developments, governments now prescribe the foods we eat, the apartments we rent, and the composition of our financial portfolios. The Tyranny of Utility takes on this rise of paternalism and its dangers for individual freedoms, and examines how developments in economics and the social sciences are leading to greater government intrusion in our private lives. Gilles Saint-Paul posits that the utilitarian foundations of individual freedom promoted by traditional economics are fundamentally flawed. When combined with developments in social science that view the individual as incapable of making rational and responsible choices, utilitarianism seems to logically call for greater governmental intervention in our lives. Arguing that this cannot be defended on purely instrumental grounds, Saint-Paul calls for individual liberty to be restored as a central value in our society. Exploring how behavioral economics is contributing to the excessive rise of paternalistic interventions, The Tyranny of Utility presents a controversial challenge to the prevailing currents in economic and political discourse.
The Tyranny of Values and Other Texts
by Carl Schmitt David Pan Samuel Zeitlin Russell BermanWritten during the Weimar Republic, the Nazi era, and the Cold War, this collection of occasional pieces provides an instructive look at the ways in which Carl Schmitt employed his theories in order to make judgments about contemporary historical events and problems. Covering topics such as the political significance of universalism and jurisprudence, the meaning of the partisan, the world-historical significance of the Cold War, the deterioration of metaphysics into "values," the relationship between theoretical concepts and concrete historical situations, and his views on thinkers such as Machiavelli, Bodin, and Rousseau, these essays establish a revealing counterpoint to his more formal work. They react on the one hand directly to contemporary political questions and demonstrate the way in which he saw the immediate historical significance of his ideas. On the other hand, he also feels free to provide in these pieces the kinds of methodological reflections that help us to better understand the particular epistemological framework that makes his thought so unique.
The Tyranny of the Ideal: Justice in a Diverse Society
by Gerald GausIn his provocative new book, The Tyranny of the Ideal, Gerald Gaus lays out a vision for how we should theorize about justice in a diverse society. Gaus shows how free and equal people, faced with intractable struggles and irreconcilable conflicts, might share a common moral life shaped by a just framework. He argues that if we are to take diversity seriously and if moral inquiry is sincere about shaping the world, then the pursuit of idealized and perfect theories of justice--essentially, the entire production of theories of justice that has dominated political philosophy for the past forty years--needs to change.Drawing on recent work in social science and philosophy, Gaus points to an important paradox: only those in a heterogeneous society--with its various religious, moral, and political perspectives--have a reasonable hope of understanding what an ideally just society would be like. However, due to its very nature, this world could never be collectively devoted to any single ideal. Gaus defends the moral constitution of this pluralistic, open society, where the very clash and disagreement of ideals spurs all to better understand what their personal ideals of justice happen to be.Presenting an original framework for how we should think about morality, The Tyranny of the Ideal rigorously analyzes a theory of ideal justice more suitable for contemporary times.
The Tyranny of the Majority: History, Concepts, and Challenges
by Tamás NyirkosTamás Nyirkos provides a timely and essential reassessment of the concept of the "tyranny of the majority" for the study of democracy today. The analysis is divided into three parts: the first discusses the "prehistory" of majority tyranny; the second reviews the elements of the "standard theory" in the modern era; while the third deals with the current "postmodern" challenges to the prevailing order of liberal democracy.Combining different elements of theories dating from the Middle Ages to the present, Nyirkos theorizes that while the term "the tyranny of the majority" may be misleading, the threat that tyrannical governments justify themselves by reference to the majority will remain with us for the foreseeable future. He shows how some of the greatest political philosophers of the past – democrats and antidemocrats alike – shared the same fears about the majoritarian principle. The Tyranny of the Majority will offer all those who read it a better understanding of what is meant not only by this term, but also by related terms like democratic despotism, populism, or illiberal democracy. It will be of interest to scholars of politics and international relations, political philosophy, political theology, and intellectual history.
The Tyranny of the Moderns
by Nadia Urbinati Martin ThomIn a well-reasoned and thought-provoking polemic, respected political theorist Nadia Urbinati explores a profound shift in the ideology of individualism, from the ethical nineteenth-century standard, in which each person cooperates with others as equals for the betterment of their lives and the community, to the contemporary #147;I don't give a damn" maxim. Identifying this #147;tyranny of the moderns" as the most radical risk that modern democracy currently faces, the author examines the critical necessity of reestablishing the role of the individual citizen as a free and equal agent of democratic society.
The U.S. Labor Movement in the 20th and Early 21st Century: A Critical Analysis (Social Movements and Transformation)
by Adam BarringtonThis book provides a critical analysis of the labor movement in the United States in the 20th and early 21st century. It explores ideological trends within the labor movement and its conflicts with capital and the state. It identifies class-collaborationism between the conservative labor bureaucracy and the capitalist class as the primary source of U.S. labor’s precariousness and fragility. It argues that the U.S. labor movement at its most radical and militant stage was an effective force for change against the power structure in the early 20th century. At the opposite end, it also argues that today’s institutionalized labor movement led by the AFL-CIO hinders labor’s historic struggle against capital and aids in the maintenance of the existing capitalist order. The book concludes by assessing the prospects for the future development of militant working-class activism and identifies essential components of an emerging radical labor movement that is capable of effectively challenging the capitalist system in the period ahead.
The UN International Criminal Tribunals: Transition without Justice? (Routledge Research on the United Nations (UN))
by Klaus Bachmann Aleksandar FatićBoth the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) are now about to close. Bachmann and Fatic look back at the achievements and shortcomings of both tribunals from an interdisciplinary perspective informed by sociology, political science, history, and philosophy of law and based upon on two key notions: the concepts of legitimacy and efficiency. The first asks to what extent the input (creation) of, the ICTY and the ICTR can be regarded as legitimate in light of the legal and public debate in the early 1990s. The second confronts the output (the procedures and decisions) of the ICTY and the ICTR with the tasks both tribunals were assigned by the UN Security Council, the General Assembly, and by key organs (the president and the chief prosecutors). The authors investigate to what extent the ICTY and the ICTR have delivered the expected results, whether they have been able to contribute to 'the maintenance of peace', 'stabilization' of the conflict regions, or even managed to provide 'reconciliation' to Rwanda. Furthermore, the book is concerned with how many criminals, over whom the ICTY and the ICTR wield jurisdiction, have actually been prosecuted and at what cost. Offering the first balanced and in depth analysis of the International Criminal Tribunals, the volume provides an important insight into what lessons have been learned, and how a deeper understanding of the successes and failures can benefit the international legal community in the future.
The US "Culture Wars" and the Anglo-American Special Relationship
by David G. HaglundThis book discusses “culture” and the origins of the Anglo-American special relationship (the AASR). The bitter dispute between ethnic groups in the US from 1914–17—a period of time characterized as the “culture wars”—laid the groundwork both for US intervention in the European balance of power in 1917 and for the creation of what would eventually become a lasting Anglo-American alliance. Specifically, the vigorous assault on English “civilization” launched by two large ethnic groups in America (the Irish-Americans and the German-Americans) had the unintended effect of causing America’s demographic majority at the time (the English-descended Americans) to regard the prospect of an Anglo-American alliance in an entirely new manner. The author contemplates why the Anglo-American “great rapprochement” of 1898 failed to generate the desired “Anglo-Saxon” alliance in Britain, and in so doing features theoretically informed inquiries into debates surrounding both the origins of the war in 1914 and the origins of the American intervention decision nearly three years later.
The US Antifascism Reader
by Bill V. Mullen Christopher VialsHow anti-fascism is as American as apple pieSince the birth of fascism in the 1920s, well before the global renaissance of &“white nationalism,&” the United States has been home to its own distinct fascist movements, some of which decisively influenced the course of US history. Yet long before &“antifa&” became a household word in the United States, they were met, time and again, by an equally deep antifascist current. Many on the left are unaware that the United States has a rich antifascist tradition, because it has rarely been discussed as such, nor has it been accessible in one place. This reader reconstructs the history of US antifascism into the twenty-first century, showing how generations of writers, organizers, and fighters spoke to each other over time. Spanning the 1930s to the present, this chronologically-arranged, primary source reader is made up of antifascist writings by Americans and by exiles in the US, some instantly recognizable, others long-forgotten. It also includes a sampling of influential writings from the US fascist, white nationalist, and proto-fascist traditions. Its contents, mostly written by people embedded in antifascist movements, include a number of pieces produced abroad that deeply influenced the US left. The collection thus places US antifascism in a global context.
The US-China-Russia Triangle: An Evolving Historiography (Global Power Shift)
by S. Mahmud AliThis book analyses international relations between the USA, China, and Russia and provides an overview of how the US-China-Russia triangle has evolved over time. Based on a forensic examination of primary documentation from US archives, the author illustrates how the US strategic perspectives on Chinese–Russian relations have developed since the late-19th century. The author demonstrates how US relations with the Russian and Chinese empires began expanding into greater sophistication and complexity in the 19th century, reflecting changing US concerns, priorities, and preferences vis-à-vis Sino-Russian dynamics which themselves, too, were evolving in parallel and, in some instances, in an interactive fashion. The book analyses US perceptions of Sino-Russian interactions in ways which, from the US perspective, affected US interests, either positively or negatively.
The UberReader: SELECTED WORKS OF AVITAL RONELL
by Avital Ronell Diane Davis"Avital Ronell has put together what must be one of the most remarkable critical oeuvres of our era... Zeugmatically yoking the slang of pop culture with philosophical analysis, forcing the confrontation of high literature and technology or drug culture, Avital Ronell produces sentences that startle, irritate, illuminate. At once hilarious and refractory, her books are like no others."--Jonathan Culler, Diacritics For twenty years Avital Ronell has stood at the forefront of the confrontation between literary study and European philosophy. She has tirelessly investigated the impact of technology on thinking and writing, with groundbreaking work on Heidegger, dependency and drug rhetoric, intelligence and artificial intelligence, and the obsession with testing. Admired for her insights and breadth of field, she has attracted a wide readership by writing with guts, candor, and wit. Coyly alluding to Nietzsche's "gay science," The ÜberReader presents a solid introduction to Avital Ronell's later oeuvre. It includes at least one selection from each of her books, two classic selections from a collection of her early essays (Finitude's Score), previously uncollected interviews and essays, and some of her most powerful published and unpublished talks. An introduction by Diane Davis surveys Ronell's career and the critical response to it thus far. With its combination of brevity and power, this Ronell "primer" will be immensely useful to scholars, students, and teachers throughout the humanities, but particularly to graduate and undergraduate courses in contemporary theory.
The Ugliness of Moses Mendelssohn: Aesthetics, Religion & Morality in the Eighteenth Century (Routledge Jewish Studies Series)
by Leah HochmanThe Ugliness of Moses Mendelssohn examines the idea of ugliness through four angles: philosophical aesthetics, early anthropology, physiognomy and portraiture in the eighteenth-century. Highlighting a theory that describes the benefit of encountering ugly objects in art and nature, eighteenth-century German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn recasts ugliness as a positive force for moral education and social progress. According to his theory, ugly objects cause us to think more and thus exercise—and expand—our mental abilities. Known as ugly himself, he was nevertheless portrayed in portraits and in physiognomy as an image of wisdom, gentility, and tolerance. That seeming contradiction—an ugly object (Mendelssohn) made beautiful—illustrates his theory’s possibility: ugliness itself is a positive, even redeeming characteristic of great opportunity. Presenting a novel approach to eighteenth century aesthetics, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of Jewish Studies, Philosophy and History.
The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition: A Compendium of Knowledge from the Classical Islamic World
by Elias Muhanna Shihab al-Din al-NuwayriFor the first time in English, a catalog of the world through fourteenth-century Arab eyes--a kind of Schott's Miscellany for the Islamic Golden Age An astonishing record of the knowledge of a civilization, The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition catalogs everything known to exist from the perspective of a fourteenth-century Egyptian scholar and litterateur. More than 9,000 pages and thirty volumes--here abridged to one volume, and translated into English for the first time--it contains entries on everything from medieval moon-worshipping cults, sexual aphrodisiacs, and the substance of clouds, to how to get the smell of alcohol off one's breath, the deliciousness of cheese made from buffalo milk, and the nesting habits of flamingos. Similar works by Western authors, including Pliny's Natural History, have been available in English for centuries. This groundbreaking translation of a remarkable Arabic text--expertly abridged and annotated--offers a look at the world through the highly literary and impressively knowledgeable societies of the classical Islamic world. Meticulously arranged and delightfully eclectic, it is a compendium to be treasured--a true monument of erudition.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Ultimate Art of War: A Step-by-Step Illustrated Guide to Sun Tzu's Teachings
by Antony CumminsThis is the most accessible edition of Art of War ever produced, with the text broken down into digestible individual lessons, unique teaching illustrations to clarify the text, and step-by-step commentary that draws on the full range of recent translations and ancient commentators.Composed in the 5th century BC, Sun Tzu's Art of War is the earliest-known treatise on military strategy, and is still hugely popular around the world for its perceptive tactical advice to commanders on how to win at war with minimal bloodshed. Aimed at all those who want to study the text in depth, this is the first step-by-step guide to the famous treatise, breaking down the 13 chapters of the original into 200 easily digested lessons, from 'do not press a desperate enemy' to 'control your troops through bond of loyalty' to 'when you are weak, beware attack', all accompanied by comprehensive commentary and clarified with around 250 illustrations. Making the lessons even more memorable and easy to understand, the black/red illustrations include strategic diagrams, evocative line drawings and beautiful calligraphy. This ultimate guide to Art of War includes the classic 1910 translation by Lionel Giles and commentary that takes into account all academic interpretations of the text, highlighting differences between modern translations as well as the perspectives of historical Chinese commentators. No other edition compares and contrasts the viewpoints of different contemporary translators, or explains exactly what each section of this often enigmatic text actually means.
The Ultimate Daily Show and Philosophy
by William Irwin Jason HoltSavor moments of Zen like never before, with our Senior Philosophical CorrespondentsThe Ultimate Daily Show and Philosophy is revised, expanded, and updated to probe deeper than ever before the philosophical significance of the quintessential "fake" news show of the 21st century.Features significant revisions and updates from the first 2007 editionIncludes discussion of both The Daily Show and its spin-off, The Colbert ReportReveals why and how The Daily Show is philosophically engaging and significantShowcases philosophers at their best, discussing truth, knowledge, reality, and the American WayFaces head on tough and surprisingly funny questions about politics, religion, and power
The Ultimate Defense: A Practical Plan to Prevent Man's Self-Destructio
by Fredric F. ClairThe utter extinction fo mankind by atomic warfare is a horrifying possibility-if not a probability-whether we face it or not. The Ultimate Defense diagnoses this most crucial problem of our generation and presents a practical plan for solving it.The ethical, pan-humanistic presentation of the author not only reveals a logical plan but also a specific plan. Through its strong personal effect upon the reader, each individual becomes aware of his responsibility for the situation and why it is necessary for him to contribute to its solution.Ringing with sincerity, the author's message extracts the very essence, the basic moral core that units all religions and reveals the identical ethics at the heart of all of them.This is no theoretical treatise on ethics, nor does it advocate any cult or creed. Based on a study of comparative religion, it brings into common focus, with burning brightness, the rays of light that emanate from all religions. The result is a central core of truth that shows not only how to prevent annihilation, but even more important, HOW TO LIVE.
The Ultimate Enhancement of Morality (SpringerBriefs in Ethics)
by Vojin RakićThis book deals with good, evil, happiness and morally enhanced post-humans. It offers a succinct historical elaboration of philosophical stances towards morality and happiness, focusing on Kant's ideas in particular. Human augmented ethical maturity in a futuristic version of Kant’s Ethical Commonwealth implies, among else, voluntary moral bio-enhancement (VMBE); consequently, more happiness – as morality and happiness are in a circularly supportive relationship; ultimate morality (UM). UM is in its own way a universal morality. In line with the contention that Kant’s vision of the (not immediate but more distant) future of humanity is one of a cosmopolitan moral order in which humans act virtuously in the broadest possible community, that is, humanity, it is justified to conclude that successful VMBE is conducive to Kant’s vision. In this context the book is of great interest to a broad audience, such as those interested in VMBE and novel conceptions of morality, and those with an interest in the historical development of morality and happiness, in philosophy (specifically, ethics) and in post-humanity.
The Ultimate Guide to Yin Yang
by Antony CumminsThe first book to fully explore and explain the concept of yin yang, breaking it down in easy-to-follow terms for all those interested in Daoism, alternative medicine, martial arts and other Eastern fields of study. Illustrated with striking red/black graphics that make the concepts more accessible.The concept of yin yang can be found in some of the oldest writing in the world. It is fundamental to Chinese thought and the route to understanding most Chinese practices, from Traditional Chinese Medicine to Daoism and feng shui. It also offers us ways of enhancing our own lives, establishing greater balance not only in our own environment but also in the wider world if we can work with other people to follow nature's flow. The central question of the book is "What is yin yang?" Step by step, with plenty of helpful illustrations and graphics, it explores the history and changing uses of yin yang - not forgetting the pronunciation and spelling (why yinyang is actually better than yin yang). The book also makes suggestions for working with yin yang, from observing the landscape to get a sense of the ebb and flow of energy through the world, to studying the patterns of nature in order to take what you need but not too much, to approaching sex as a cosmic ritual. After reading this book, readers will understand how to position themselves so that yin yang fills their lives with abundance - how to be in the right place at the right time.
The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy: Hogwarts for Muggles (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series #7)
by William Irwin Gregory BasshamA philosophical exploration of the entire seven-book Harry Potter series Harry Potter has been heralded as one of the most popular book series of all time and the philosophical nature of Harry, Hermione, and Ron's quest to rid the world of its ultimate evil is one of the many things that make this series special. The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy covers all seven titles in J.K. Rowling's groundbreaking series and takes fans back to Godric's Hollow to discuss life after death, to consider what moral reasoning drove Harry to choose death, and to debate whether Sirius Black is a man or a dog. With publication timed to coincide with the release of the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1), this book will be the definitive guide for all fans looking to appreciate the series on a deeper level. Covers a range of intriguing topics such as the redemption of Severus Snape, the power of love, and destiny in the wizarding world Gives you a new perspective on Harry Potter characters, plot lines, and themes Makes a perfect companion to the Harry Potter books and movies Packed with interesting ideas and insights, The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy is an ideal companion for anyone interested in unraveling the subtext and exploring the greater issues at work in the story.
The Ultimate Medicine: Dialogues with a Realized Master
by Robert Powell Sri Nisargadatta MaharajThe Ultimate Medicine is not for those who like their spirituality watered down, but for serious students searching for awareness. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981) lived and taught in a small apartment in the slums of Bombay. A realized master of the Tantric Nath lineage, he supported himself and his family by selling cheap goods in a small booth on the streets outside his tenement for many years. His life exemplified the concept of absolute nonduality of being. In this volume, Maharaj shares the highest truth of nonduality in his own unique way. His teaching style is abrupt, provocative, and immensely profound, cutting to the core and wasting little effort on inessentials. His terse but potent sayings are known for their ability to trigger shifts in consciousness, just by hearing or reading them."The point is that man freed from his fetters is morality personified. Such a man therefore does not need any moralistic injunctions in order to live righteously. Free a man from his bondage and thereafter everything else will take care of itself. On the other hand, man in his unredeemed state cannot possibly live morally, no matter what moral teaching he is given. It is an intrinsic impossibility, for his very foundation is immorality. That is, he lives a lie, a basic contradiction: functioning in all his relationships as the separate entity he believes himself to be, whereas in reality no such separation exists. His every action therefore does violence to other 'selves' and other 'creatures,' which are only manifestations of the unitary consciousness. So Society had to invent some restraints in order to protect itself from its own worst excesses and thereby maintain some kind of status quo. The resulting arbitrary rules, which vary with place and time and therefore are purely relative, it calls 'morality,' and by upholding this man-invented 'idea' as the highest good-oftentimes sanctioned by religious 'revelation' and scriptures-society has provided man with one more excuse to disregard the quest for liberation or relegate it to a fairly low priority in his scheme of things."
The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy
by William Irwin Robert Arp Kevin S. DeckerEnlightenment from the South Park gang faster than you can say, "Screw you guys, I'm going home"!The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy: Respect My Philosophah! presents a compilation of serious philosophical reflections on the twisted insights voiced by characters in TV's most irreverent animated series.Offers readers a philosophically smart and candid approach to one of television's most subversive and controversial shows as it enters its 17th seasonDraws sharp parallels between the irreverent nature of South Park and the inquiring and skeptical approach of Western philosophyJourneys deep beyond the surface of the show's scatological humor to address the perennial questions raised in South Park and the contemporary social and political issues that inspire each episodeUtilizes familiar characters and episodes to illustrate such philosophical topics as moral relativism, freedom of expression, gay marriage, blasphemy, democracy, feminism, animal ethics, existential questions, and much moreIt's a Bigger, Longer & Uncut version of the highly acclaimed South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today--and is guaranteed to be much funnier than killing Kenny