Destructive Desires

Despite rhythm and blues culture’s undeniable role in molding, reflecting, and reshaping black cultural production, consciousness, and politics, it has yet to receive the serious scholarly examination it deserves. Destructive Desires corrects this omission by analyzing how post-Civil Rights era rhythm and blues culture articulates competing and conflicting political, social, familial, and economic desires within and for African American communities. As an important form of black cultural production, rhythm and blues music helps us to understand black political and cultural desires and longings in light of neo-liberalism’s increased codification in America’s racial politics and policies since the 1970s. Robert J. Patterson provides a thorough analysis of four artists—Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Adina Howard, Whitney Houston, and Toni Braxton—to examine black cultural longings by demonstrating how our reading of specific moments in their lives, careers, and performances serve as metacommentaries for broader issues in black culture and politics.

"A Sheed & Ward book." Includes bibliographical references and index. Finding a path for life : the quest for goodness and happiness -- Not going it alone : friendship and community in the Christian moral life -- Facing shipwreck and bandits : virtues and the quest for happiness -- Every person's truth : made in the image of God, called to do the work of God -- Freedom : exploring a dangerous topic -- False steps on the path to happiness : losing our way and finding it back -- Finding a story worth handing on : narrative and the moral life -- Doing what the good requires : conscience and prudence in the moral life -- The gift that makes all gifts possible : learning the language of love -- Reimagining the world : why the happiness of one demands justice for all.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Make the Law of Attraction Work for You Build your wealth Find your soul mate Create your ideal body Improve your health Achieve success The Law of Attraction has been embraced by millions as a powerful, life-changing tool. Yet while many are familiar with the theory that thinking positive will attract positive elements into your life, putting it into practice can be difficult to master. Realizing this after years of working with clients as a personal coach, Denise Coates developed fun, practical exercises for applying the Law of Attraction. Clients soon started to overcome their mental blocks and to experience the natural well-being of the Universe. These empowering, enlightening exercises -- more than fifty in all -- embrace every area of life, including wealth, health, career, body image, romantic relationships, and inner peace. Truly, profoundly uplifting and bursting with positive energy, Feel It Real! will help you to put the Law of Attraction into practice and to achieve lasting, life-changing results.

In Essays on Derek Parfit's On What Matters, seven leadingmoral philosophers offer critical evaluations of the central ideaspresented in a greatly anticipated new work by world-renowned moralphilosopher Derek Parfit. Presents critical assessments of what promises to be one of thekey moral philosophy texts of our time Features essays by a team of leading philosophers includingPrinceton's Michael Smith, one of the world's leadingmeta-ethicists Addresses Parfit's central thesis - that the main ethicaltheories can agree on what matters - as well as his defense ofmoral realism

In Cry of Wonder, Gerard W. Hughes, author of God of Surprises, encourages readers to explore their own human experience, the unique doorway opening each of us out into the mystery of our present existence. In our time, such attention to mystery is considered counter-cultural and subversive of law and order. The truth of this observation becomes very clear to us if we give attention to our own felt reactions to the events of our lives. The purpose of this book is to focus our attention on this inner conflict, because it can reveal to us a vision of the transformation into which we are all now being invited in all that we are experiencing in every moment of our existence.

The Prudence of Love: How Possessing the Virtue of Love Benefits the Lover focuses upon the intersection of philosophical, theological, and psychological issues concerning love. Eric Silverman advocates an account of the virtue of love derived from Thomas Aquinas's account of charity and makes three claims concerning love's effect on a person's happiness. First, he argues that there are at least five distinct ways that possessing the virtue of love contributes to the lover's happiness. Surprisingly, only one of these benefits is primarily relational, while the other benefits are largely psychological. Second, Silverman argues that the combination of love's benefits typically increases the lover's overall level of happiness. Finally, he argues that possessing a loving disposition is a more reliable strategy for increasing one's overall happiness than possessing an unloving disposition. Throughout The Prudence of Love, Silverman demonstrates that love's benefits are identifiable according to all four major views of happiness.

Philosopher Mike W. Martin here examines the meaning of happiness by connecting it to the philosophical notion of "the good life."