Biopolitics and International Values
Investigating Liberal Norms
- 1st Edition - January 1, 1981
- Author: Ralph Pettman
- Editor: Albert Somit
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 1 - 1 7 1 6 - 4
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 1 - 4 9 5 8 - 5
Biopolitics and International Values: Investigating Liberal Norms attempts to provide as profound an understanding of human behavior as possible. It sorts out the subjective… Read more
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Request a sales quoteBiopolitics and International Values: Investigating Liberal Norms attempts to provide as profound an understanding of human behavior as possible. It sorts out the subjective meanings we share with other people that define our cultures and the symbolic contexts that surround us all. The book begins with a discussion of the sources of order in contemporary world politics, in particular the intellectual and moral values that have come to prevail there (the European doctrines of social justice and human rights, and the underlying assumptions they make about human fraternity, equality, liberty, and felicity). This is followed by separate chapters that examine the individualistic ethic of the American polity, counterposing the collectivist concerns of the Soviets; discuss the various meanings of equality and the ways in which it has historically been used in political and philosophic discourse. The book also looks at various attempts by political theorists to analyze liberty; examines what a biological understanding of human nature makes of that most abiding and most elusive of contemporary political aspirations; and reviews research into such areas as genetic engineering (particularly recombinant DNA) and the possible consequences this might have for society and politics.
Preface
Chapter 1 The Scientific Understanding of "Modern" Values
Chapter 2 Fraternity: Are We Naturally Selfish or Not?
Chapter 3 The Relative Irrelevance of Inequality: Intelligence, Race and Sex
Chapter 4 Freedom from Hunger and Freedom to Choose
Chapter 5 States of Happiness and States of Mind
Chapter 6 Science, Society (and Can They Survive)
Conclusion
Index
About the Author
- No. of pages: 182
- Language: English
- Edition: 1
- Published: January 1, 1981
- Imprint: Pergamon
- Paperback ISBN: 9781483117164
- eBook ISBN: 9781483149585
AS
Albert Somit
Affiliations and expertise
Southern Illinois UniversityRead Biopolitics and International Values on ScienceDirect