In this significant addition to moral theory, George Harris challenges a view of the dignity and worth of persons that goes back through Kant and Christianity to the Stoics. He argues that we do not, in fact, believe this view, which traces any breakdowns of character to failures of strength. When it comes to what we actually value in ourselves and others, he says, we are actually far more Greek than we are Christian. At the most profound level, we value ourselves as natural organisms, as animals, rather than as godlike ...
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In this significant addition to moral theory, George Harris challenges a view of the dignity and worth of persons that goes back through Kant and Christianity to the Stoics. He argues that we do not, in fact, believe this view, which traces any breakdowns of character to failures of strength. When it comes to what we actually value in ourselves and others, he says, we are actually far more Greek than we are Christian. At the most profound level, we value ourselves as natural organisms, as animals, rather than as godlike beings who transcend nature. The Kantian-Christian-Stoic tradition holds that if we are fully able to realize our dignity as Kantians, Christians or Stoics we would be better, stronger people, and therefore less vulnerable to character breakdown. This text offers an opposing view, that sometimes character breaks down not because of some shortcoming in it but because of what is good about it, because of the very virtues and features that give us our dignity. If dignity can make us fragile and vulnerable to breakdown, then breakdown can be benign as well as harmful, and thus the concepts of human dignity embedded in the tradition leading up to Kant are deeply mistaken. Harris proposes a foundation of belief in human dignity in what we can actually know about ourselves, rather than in metaphysical or theological fantasy. Having gained this knowledge, we can understand tha source of real strength.
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Add this copy of Dignity and Vulnerability: Strength and Quality of to cart. $7.48, good condition, Sold by Bookmarc's rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from La Porte, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by University of California Press.
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Good in Very Good jacket. BR6-A first edition (complete numberline) hardcover book in good condition in very good dust jacket. Dust jacket has some wrinkling, chipping and crease on the edges and corners, some scattered scratches, dents and rubbing, light discoloration and shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, a few scattered dents and scratches, some scattered writing and marking, light discoloration and shelf wear. 9.5"x6.5", 148 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed.
Add this copy of Dignity and Vulnerability to cart. $22.97, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by University of California Press.
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Add this copy of Dignity and Vulnerability: Strength and Quality of to cart. $51.14, new condition, Sold by Richard J. Park, Bookseller rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Leawood, KS, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by University of California Press.
Add this copy of Dignity & Vulnerability? Strength & Quality of to cart. $57.37, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by University of California Press.
