A Man Without Principle

Jonathan Dancy presents a long-awaited exposition and defence of particularism in ethics, a view with which he has been associated for twenty years. He argues that the traditional link between morality and principles, or between being moral and having principles, is little more than a mistake. The possibility of moral thought and judgement does not in any way depend on an adequate supply of principles. Dancy grounds this claim on a form of reasons-holism, holding that what is a reason in one case need not be any reason in another, and maintaining that moral reasons are no different in this respect from others. He puts forward a distinctive form of value-holism to go with the holism of reasons, and he gives a detailed discussion, much needed, of the currently popular topic of 'contributory' reasons. Opposing positions of all sorts are summarized and criticized. Ethics Without Principles is the definitive statement of particularist ethical theory, and will be required reading for all those working on moral philosophy and ethical theory.

"[The author] traces the full arc of Thoreau’s life, from his early days in the intellectual hothouse of Concord, when the American experiment still felt fresh and precarious, and 'America was a family affair, earned by one generation and about to pass to the next.' By the time he died in 1862, at only forty-four years of age, Thoreau had witnessed the transformation of his world from a community of farmers and artisans into a bustling, interconnected commercial nation. What did that portend for the contemplative individual and abundant, wild nature that Thoreau celebrated? Drawing on Thoreau’s copious writings, published and unpublished, [the author] presents a Thoreau vigorously alive in all his quirks and contradictions: the young man shattered by the sudden death of his brother; the ambitious Harvard College student; the ecstatic visionary who closed Walden with an account of the regenerative power of the Cosmos. We meet the man whose belief in human freedom and the value of labor made him an uncompromising abolitionist; the solitary walker who found society in nature, but also found his own nature in the society of which he was a deeply interwoven part. And, running through it all, Thoreau the passionate naturalist, who, long before the age of environmentalism, saw tragedy for future generations in the human heedlessness around him."--

An entertaining, illustrated adaptation of Ray Dalio’s Principles, the #1 New York Times bestseller that has sold more than two million copies worldwide. Principles for Success distills Ray Dalio’s 600-page bestseller, Principles: Life & Work, down to an easy-to-read and entertaining format that’s acces­sible to readers of all ages. It contains the key elements of the unconven­tional principles that helped Dalio become one of the world’s most suc­cessful people—and that have now been read and shared by millions worldwide—including how to set goals, learn from mistakes, and collaborate with others to produce exceptional results. Whether you’re already a fan of the ideas in Princi­ples or are discovering them for the first time, this illustrated guide will help you achieve success in having the life that you want to have.

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The classic #1 New York Times bestseller that answers the age-old question Why is incompetence so maddeningly rampant and so vexingly triumphant? The Peter Principle, the eponymous law Dr. Laurence J. Peter coined, explains that everyone in a hierarchy—from the office intern to the CEO, from the low-level civil servant to a nation’s president—will inevitably rise to his or her level of incompetence. Dr. Peter explains why incompetence is at the root of everything we endeavor to do—why schools bestow ignorance, why governments condone anarchy, why courts dispense injustice, why prosperity causes unhappiness, and why utopian plans never generate utopias. With the wit of Mark Twain, the psychological acuity of Sigmund Freud, and the theoretical impact of Isaac Newton, Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull’s The Peter Principle brilliantly explains how incompetence and its accompanying symptoms, syndromes, and remedies define the world and the work we do in it.

The most important characteristic that is needed to be successful in any leadership position – whether it’s in business, church, or your community - is the ability to work with people. Relationships are at the heart of every positive human experience. John C.Maxwell, a master communicator and relational expert, makes learning about relationships accessible to everyone in Winning With People. Within this book, Maxwell has translated decades of experience into 25 People Principles that anyone can learn. In Winning With People, Maxwell divides these principles into sections based off different questions we must ask ourselves such as: Readiness: Are we prepared for relationships? Connection: Are we willing to focus on others? Trust: Can we build mutual trust? Investment: Are we willing to invest in others? Synergy: Can we create a win-win relationship? Each section contains guiding People Principles. Some are intuitive, such as The Lens Principle: Who We Are Determines How We See Others. Others may go against your instincts, such as The Confrontation Principle: Caring for People Should Precede Confronting People. The most sophisticated leaders and salespeople will pick up on skills that will make them even better, and relational novices will learn skills that can transform them into relational dynamos.

Stanley Fish is an equal opportunity antagonist. A theorist who has taken on theorists, an academician who has riled the academy, a legal scholar and political pundit who has ruffled feathers left and right, Fish here turns with customary gusto to the trouble with principle. Specifically, Fish has a quarrel with neutral principles. The trouble? They operate by sacrificing everything people care about to their own purity. And they are deployed with equal highmindedness and equally absurd results by liberals and conservatives alike. In this bracing book, Fish argues that there is no realm of higher order impartiality--no neutral or fair territory on which to stake a claim--and that those who invoke one are always making a rhetorical and political gesture. In the end, it is history and context, the very substance against which a purportedly abstract principle defines itself, that determines a principle's content and power. In the course of making this argument, Fish takes up questions about academic freedom and hate speech, affirmative action and multiculturalism, the boundaries between church and state, and much more. Sparing no one, he shows how our notions of intellectual and religious liberty--cherished by those at both ends of the political spectrum--are artifacts of the very partisan politics they supposedly transcend. The Trouble with Principle offers a provocative challenge to the debates of our day that no intellectually honest citizen can afford to ignore.

For some people, having it all is never enough. Salem Prescott “Buzz” Williamson III, Chairman and CEO of The Vantage Holding Group, can’t understand how to limit his ambitions. He might have been born with better instincts, but his belief in The Golden Rule crumbled after the tragic death of his beautiful younger sister, Patricia Marie. Without her to serve as his moral compass, Salem has become increasingly skewed and misguided, concerned only with stroking his ego and acquiring worldly goods. This miserable and selfish power-monger, with his blatant disregard for the feelings and dignity of his fellow man, is in desperate need of salvation…but he doesn’t know it. Soon, he will be given the opportunity to choose whether he wants to be saved, or continue on the road to perdition. Extraordinary circumstances will intervene to present Salem with his final chance…will he reconsider his vile behavior to mankind, or will a new opportunity for exceptional profit draw him deeper into his vile life as an ego-driven business tycoon? He must choose carefully, for not even his boundless resources will allow him to circumvent his fate.