The Battle for Human Nature: Science, Morality and Modern Life

The Battle for Human Nature: Science, Morality and Modern Life

Author: Barry Schwartz

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 1987-08-17

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 0393609286

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“Provocative and richly textured. . . .Schwartz’s analyses of the inadequacies of contemporary scientific views of human nature are compelling, but the consequences are even more worthy of note.” —Los Angeles Times Out of the investigations and speculations of contemporary science, a challenging view of human behavior and society has emerged and gained strength. It is a view that equates “human nature” utterly and unalterably with the pursuit of self-interest. Influenced by this view, people increasingly appeal to natural imperatives, instead of moral ones, to explain and justify their actions and those of others.


Book Synopsis The Battle for Human Nature: Science, Morality and Modern Life by : Barry Schwartz

Download or read book The Battle for Human Nature: Science, Morality and Modern Life written by Barry Schwartz and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1987-08-17 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Provocative and richly textured. . . .Schwartz’s analyses of the inadequacies of contemporary scientific views of human nature are compelling, but the consequences are even more worthy of note.” —Los Angeles Times Out of the investigations and speculations of contemporary science, a challenging view of human behavior and society has emerged and gained strength. It is a view that equates “human nature” utterly and unalterably with the pursuit of self-interest. Influenced by this view, people increasingly appeal to natural imperatives, instead of moral ones, to explain and justify their actions and those of others.


The Paradox of Choice

The Paradox of Choice

Author: Barry Schwartz

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2009-10-13

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 0061748994

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Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.


Book Synopsis The Paradox of Choice by : Barry Schwartz

Download or read book The Paradox of Choice written by Barry Schwartz and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.


Interpretive Phenomenology

Interpretive Phenomenology

Author: Patricia Benner

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 1994-05-17

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 1452221022

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Patricia Benner's introduction to phenomenology develops the reader's understanding of the strategies and processes involved in this innovative approach to nursing. The author discusses the relationship between theory and practice, considers the possibility of a science of caring from a feminist perspective, introduces interpretive phenomenology to the study of natural groups such as families, and suggests a basis for developing nursing ethics that is true to the caring and healing practices of the nursing profession.


Book Synopsis Interpretive Phenomenology by : Patricia Benner

Download or read book Interpretive Phenomenology written by Patricia Benner and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 1994-05-17 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Patricia Benner's introduction to phenomenology develops the reader's understanding of the strategies and processes involved in this innovative approach to nursing. The author discusses the relationship between theory and practice, considers the possibility of a science of caring from a feminist perspective, introduces interpretive phenomenology to the study of natural groups such as families, and suggests a basis for developing nursing ethics that is true to the caring and healing practices of the nursing profession.


Is Science Value Free?

Is Science Value Free?

Author: Hugh Lacey

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2005-06-23

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 113461974X

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Exploring the role of values in scientific inquiry, Hugh Lacey examines the nature and meaning of values, and looks at challenges to the view, posed by postmodernists, feminists, radical ecologists, Third-World advocates and religious fundamentalists, that science is value free. He also focuses on discussions of 'development', especially in Third World countries. This paperback edition includes a new preface.


Book Synopsis Is Science Value Free? by : Hugh Lacey

Download or read book Is Science Value Free? written by Hugh Lacey and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-06-23 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring the role of values in scientific inquiry, Hugh Lacey examines the nature and meaning of values, and looks at challenges to the view, posed by postmodernists, feminists, radical ecologists, Third-World advocates and religious fundamentalists, that science is value free. He also focuses on discussions of 'development', especially in Third World countries. This paperback edition includes a new preface.


Wild Knowledge

Wild Knowledge

Author: Will Wright

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9781452903064

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Book Synopsis Wild Knowledge by : Will Wright

Download or read book Wild Knowledge written by Will Wright and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 1992 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Values, Self, and Society

Values, Self, and Society

Author: Mahlon Brewster Smith

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published:

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 9781412840972

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In a tough opening statement, M. Brewster Smith outlines his own life course and contrasts it with the agenda of social psychology in the present professional moment. "Today's journals, textbooks, and conferences represent a vigorous but narrow scientific specialty in psychology, the practitioners of which are more closely focused on agendas that are primarily and often only intelligible within the subdiscipline than was the case when I formed my identity as a psychologist." In contrast, Smith sees himself, and has long been seen by others, as a social psychologist in the tradition of Gordon Allport, Gardner and Lois Murphy, Kurt Lewin, and Muzafer Sherif. Smith's unique ability has been to contribute to the emergence of personality as a differentiated academic field and at the same time maintain strong interdisciplinary ties to a variety of fields ranging from sociology to philosophy. In recent years, such concerns have made the author a central figure in the development of Humanistic Psychology as a part of the American Psychological Association. Because of these wide ranging concerns, the major statements of Brewster Smith have appeared in diverse places. Here, brought into a unified and uniform frame of reference, one has his work on values and selfhood, humanistic psychology and the social sciences, and humanism and social issues brought together for the first time. The picture is of a major thinker who is at home in the details of psychology and in the broad areas of public interest and social policy. Brewster Smith discusses major issues in terms of the political processes involved in the public interest. These range from the issue of advocacy within social research to conceptualizing anew familiar issues within psychology. For the generalist interested in the broader meanings of social psychology to the specialist aiming to recapture the big issues with which the field was once identified, this is a must volume.


Book Synopsis Values, Self, and Society by : Mahlon Brewster Smith

Download or read book Values, Self, and Society written by Mahlon Brewster Smith and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a tough opening statement, M. Brewster Smith outlines his own life course and contrasts it with the agenda of social psychology in the present professional moment. "Today's journals, textbooks, and conferences represent a vigorous but narrow scientific specialty in psychology, the practitioners of which are more closely focused on agendas that are primarily and often only intelligible within the subdiscipline than was the case when I formed my identity as a psychologist." In contrast, Smith sees himself, and has long been seen by others, as a social psychologist in the tradition of Gordon Allport, Gardner and Lois Murphy, Kurt Lewin, and Muzafer Sherif. Smith's unique ability has been to contribute to the emergence of personality as a differentiated academic field and at the same time maintain strong interdisciplinary ties to a variety of fields ranging from sociology to philosophy. In recent years, such concerns have made the author a central figure in the development of Humanistic Psychology as a part of the American Psychological Association. Because of these wide ranging concerns, the major statements of Brewster Smith have appeared in diverse places. Here, brought into a unified and uniform frame of reference, one has his work on values and selfhood, humanistic psychology and the social sciences, and humanism and social issues brought together for the first time. The picture is of a major thinker who is at home in the details of psychology and in the broad areas of public interest and social policy. Brewster Smith discusses major issues in terms of the political processes involved in the public interest. These range from the issue of advocacy within social research to conceptualizing anew familiar issues within psychology. For the generalist interested in the broader meanings of social psychology to the specialist aiming to recapture the big issues with which the field was once identified, this is a must volume.


Development Betrayed

Development Betrayed

Author: Richard B Norgaard

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-05-18

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 1134915640

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Modernity promised control over nature through science, material abundance through technology and effective government through rational, social organization. Instead of leading to this promised land it has brought us to the brink of environmental and cultural disaster. Why has there been this gap between modernity's aspirations and its achievements? Development Betrayed offers a powerful answer to this question. Development with its unshakeable commitment to the idea of progress, is rooted in modernism and has been betrayed by each of its major tenets. Attempts to control nature have led to the brink of environmental catastrophe. Western technologies have proved inappropriate for the needs of the South, and governments are unable to respond effectively to the crises that have resulted. Offering a thorough and lively critiques of the ideas behind development, Richard Norgaard also offers an alternative co-evolutionary paradigm, in which development is portrayed as a co-evolution between cultural and ecological systems. Rather than a future with all peoples merging to one best way of knowing and doing things, he envisions a future of a patchwork quilt of cultures with real possibilities for harmony.


Book Synopsis Development Betrayed by : Richard B Norgaard

Download or read book Development Betrayed written by Richard B Norgaard and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-05-18 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modernity promised control over nature through science, material abundance through technology and effective government through rational, social organization. Instead of leading to this promised land it has brought us to the brink of environmental and cultural disaster. Why has there been this gap between modernity's aspirations and its achievements? Development Betrayed offers a powerful answer to this question. Development with its unshakeable commitment to the idea of progress, is rooted in modernism and has been betrayed by each of its major tenets. Attempts to control nature have led to the brink of environmental catastrophe. Western technologies have proved inappropriate for the needs of the South, and governments are unable to respond effectively to the crises that have resulted. Offering a thorough and lively critiques of the ideas behind development, Richard Norgaard also offers an alternative co-evolutionary paradigm, in which development is portrayed as a co-evolution between cultural and ecological systems. Rather than a future with all peoples merging to one best way of knowing and doing things, he envisions a future of a patchwork quilt of cultures with real possibilities for harmony.


Independent Offices and Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations for 1971

Independent Offices and Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations for 1971

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Independent Offices and Department of Housing and Urban Development

Publisher:

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 540

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Independent Offices and Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations for 1971 by : United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Independent Offices and Department of Housing and Urban Development

Download or read book Independent Offices and Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations for 1971 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Independent Offices and Department of Housing and Urban Development and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Darwin and International Relations

Darwin and International Relations

Author: Bradley A. Thayer

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2021-03-17

Total Pages: 692

ISBN-13: 0813181445

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“Shows a mastery of research and theory in both biology and international relations and weaves the two fields together in a compelling fashion.” —Dr. Steven A. Peterson, Director, School of Public Affairs, Penn State Pathbreaking and controversial, Darwin and International Relations offers the first comprehensive analysis of international affairs of state through the lens of evolutionary theory. Using ethnological and statistical studies of warfare among tribal societies, Bradley A. Thayer argues that humans wage war for reasons predicted by evolutionary theory?to gain and protect vital resources but also for the physically and emotionally stimulating effects of combat. Thayer demonstrates that an evolutionary understanding of disease will become a more important part of the study of international relations as new strains of diseases emerge and advances in genetics make biological warfare a more effective weapon for states and terrorists. He also explains the deep causes of ethnic conflict by illuminating how xenophobia and ethnocentrism evolved in humans. He notes that these behaviors once contributed to our ancestors’ success in radically different environments, but they remain a part of us. Darwin and International Relations makes a major contribution to our understanding of human history and the future of international relations. “Obligatory reading for social and life scientists alike, and deserves to become a standard work in political science.” —International History Review “A thoughtful book that can challenge some of our comfortable assumptions.” —Journal of Military History “Outstanding! This book will become a standard work in political science.” —Roger D. Masters, Dartmouth College


Book Synopsis Darwin and International Relations by : Bradley A. Thayer

Download or read book Darwin and International Relations written by Bradley A. Thayer and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2021-03-17 with total page 692 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Shows a mastery of research and theory in both biology and international relations and weaves the two fields together in a compelling fashion.” —Dr. Steven A. Peterson, Director, School of Public Affairs, Penn State Pathbreaking and controversial, Darwin and International Relations offers the first comprehensive analysis of international affairs of state through the lens of evolutionary theory. Using ethnological and statistical studies of warfare among tribal societies, Bradley A. Thayer argues that humans wage war for reasons predicted by evolutionary theory?to gain and protect vital resources but also for the physically and emotionally stimulating effects of combat. Thayer demonstrates that an evolutionary understanding of disease will become a more important part of the study of international relations as new strains of diseases emerge and advances in genetics make biological warfare a more effective weapon for states and terrorists. He also explains the deep causes of ethnic conflict by illuminating how xenophobia and ethnocentrism evolved in humans. He notes that these behaviors once contributed to our ancestors’ success in radically different environments, but they remain a part of us. Darwin and International Relations makes a major contribution to our understanding of human history and the future of international relations. “Obligatory reading for social and life scientists alike, and deserves to become a standard work in political science.” —International History Review “A thoughtful book that can challenge some of our comfortable assumptions.” —Journal of Military History “Outstanding! This book will become a standard work in political science.” —Roger D. Masters, Dartmouth College


Restoring Consumer Sovereignty

Restoring Consumer Sovereignty

Author: Adrian Künzler

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0190698578

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Introduction -- Abiding issues -- Argumentation of the courts and contemporary legal scholarship -- Making behavioralism work -- Fashioning consumer cognitive capability -- Open approaches to promoting innovation and economic growth -- From market access to cumulative innovation -- Conclusion


Book Synopsis Restoring Consumer Sovereignty by : Adrian Künzler

Download or read book Restoring Consumer Sovereignty written by Adrian Künzler and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction -- Abiding issues -- Argumentation of the courts and contemporary legal scholarship -- Making behavioralism work -- Fashioning consumer cognitive capability -- Open approaches to promoting innovation and economic growth -- From market access to cumulative innovation -- Conclusion