Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Body-Self Dualism in Contemporary Ethics and Politics
  • Cited by 26
      • Show more authors
      • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      27 July 2009
      05 November 2007
      ISBN:
      9780511509643
      9780521882484
      9780521124195
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511509643
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.45kg, 236 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.36kg, 234 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Political Theory, Politics and International Relations
    You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Subjects:
    Political Theory, Politics and International Relations
    Information

    Book description

    Profoundly important ethical and political controversies turn on the question of whether biological life is an essential aspect of a human person, or only an extrinsic instrument. Lee and George argue that human beings are physical, animal organisms - albeit essentially rational and free - and examine the implications of this understanding of human beings for some of the most controversial issues in contemporary ethics and politics. The authors argue that human beings are animal organisms and that their personal identity across time consists in the persistence of the animal organisms they are; they also argue that human beings are essentially rational and free and that there is a radical difference between human beings and other animals; criticize hedonism and hedonistic drug-taking; present detailed defenses of the prolife positions on abortion and euthanasia; and defend the traditional moral position on marriage and sexual acts.

    Reviews

    "Robert P. George... is this country’s most influential conservative Christian thinker."
    -David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times

    "This new book by Lee and George promises to be a book of singular importance and standing—a book whose arguments would have to be addressed by anyone seriously entering the discussions in this field. Lee and George address the most contentious issues in our politics-- euthanasia, abortion, hedonism, same-sex marriage, homosexuality-- yet they move with scrupulous fairness to give an accurate account of arguments ‘on the other side,’ and meet those arguments directly and fully."
    Hadley Arkes, Amherst College

    "Body-Self Dualism in Contemporary Ethics and Politics is a rigorous, bold defense of the biological, material unity and value of persons. Lee and George vigorously challenge competing accounts in philosophy of mind and personal identity, and then employ their unified theory of human nature to confront contemporary treatments of reproduction, sexual ethics, and other matters of practical moral concern. This book defends some controversial, ‘conservative’ values with systematic, clear arguments; it deserves a wide readership."
    Charles Taliaferro, St. Olaf’s College

    "The greatest interest lies in the detail of the argument and the way in which it illuminates the familiar while also producing unexpected insights and leading to a noble and convincing conception of human beings as at once living animals, intellectual subjects, and moral and spiritual beings...it will aid the much needed challenge to prevailing orthodoxies"
    -First Things

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents

    Metrics

    Altmetric attention score

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.