Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction |
|
|
|
| Title: | Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction |
| Author: | Will Kymlicka |
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press, USA |
| Type: | Book / Paperback |
| Publication Date: | 25 October, 2001 |
| ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0198782748 / 9780198782742 |
| List Price: | $47.95 |
| You Save: | $9.51 |
| Amazon Price: | $38.44 |
|
This book is also available, brand-new, from 3rd-party marketplace sellers at Amazon.com, from $30.00.
|
The HTML code below can be pasted onto your web-site, your MySpace page, or blog - or any number of similar places - to create a link to this page:
If, instead of a text link, you'd like to create a link to this page which will display the book cover, if it's available, then the code below will do exactly that:
Check for the same book at these other US book sites:
• [ Abebooks ]
• [ Alibris ]
• [ Barnes & Noble ]
• [ Half.com ]
• [ Powells ]
… or check UK bookstores
|
Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
This new edition of Will Kymlicka's best selling critical introduction to contemporary political theory has been fully revised to include many of the most significant developments in Anglo-American political philosophy in the last 11 years, particularly the new debates over issues of democratic citizenship and cultural pluralism. The book now includes two new chapters on citizenship theory and multiculturalism, in addition to updated chapters on utilitarianism, liberal egalitarianism, libertarianism, socialism, communitarianism, and feminism. The many thinkers discussed include G. A. Cohen, Ronald Dworkin, William Galston, Carol Gilligan, R. M. Hare, Chandran Kukathas, Catherine Mackinnon, David Miller, Philippe Van Parijs, Susan Okin, Robert Nozick, John Rawls, John Roemer, Michael Sandel, Charles Taylor, Michael Walzer, and Iris Young. Extended guides to further reading have been added at the end of each chapter, listing the most important books and articles on each school of thought, as well as relevant journals and websites. Covering some of the most advanced contemporary thinking, Will Kymlicka writes in an engaging, accessible, and non-technical way to ensure the book is suitable for students approaching these difficult concepts for the first time. This second edition promises to build on the original edition's success as a key text in the teaching of modern political theory.
|
Other Items You May Enjoy:
Browse Books From These Related Subjects:
Customer Reviews:
• Excellent
06 November, 2007
This book gave me a great overview of modern political thought. I had previously read other introductions, and this one beat them hand down. I can recommend it to anyone getting into the field, also beginners as I found it to be easy to understand.
Some reviewers have commented on him interjecting personal ideas. I did not find that annoying at all. Better he express his opinions outright then try to sneak them in. His opinions were part of the larger narrative and were not forced upon the reader. I think it definitely added something to a book that would perhaps otherwise be a dry introduction. Well done by Kymlicka!
- Amazon Customer Review
• Excellent Survey
27 March, 2008
This is a first rate survey of modern political philosophy. Kymlicka devotes individual chapters to Utilitarianism, Liberal Equality views (eg, Rawls and Dworkin), Libertarianism, Marxism, Communitarianism, Citizenship Theory, Multiculturalism, and Feminism. Kymlicka's approach is the same in each chapter. He attempts to describe each position as fairly and charitably as possible, followed by criticism of the position. Kymlicka is an excellent critic and clear writer, logical and fair minded. In general, most positions, including Utilitarianism, Libertarianism, Marxism, and the different strains of Communitarianism receive vigorous criticism. Liberal Equality views, such as those of Rawls and Dworkin, fare better, though Kymlicka points out a number of problems with these positions as well. In Kymlicka's analysis, the Liberal Equality theories often capture the better features of alternative theories but without many of the inconsistencies and problems exhibited by these theories. Kymlicka does sometimes use a problematic argument. In some disucssions of non-Liberal theories, he will resort to appeals to intuition to attack those theories. For example, the strict application of some forms of Utilitarianism seems to violate our sense of the sanctity of human rights. This is a fair argument but it may have limitations not acknowledged by Kymlicka. Given that most readers of this book have been raised in essentially Liberal societies, its likely their intuitions will be Liberal in nature. What would happen if appealing to intuitions of people raised in a caste based or highly egalitarian society? Kymlicka has a thoughtful chapter on Multiculturalism, which is an area of considerable interest to him. He concludes with a weaker chapter on Feminism, which I think is a bit short sighted and underestimates the impact of present approaches to improving the state of women.
All chapters have fine footnotes and excellent bibliographies.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Does What It Says On The Tin
13 February, 2006
The essays in here cover the core themes of contemporary Western political thought - liberal egalitarianism, libertarianism, reconstructed Marxism, comunitarianism etc. Most of the bases are covered, and the prevailing arguments are treated with intelligence and insight. Kymlicka is obviously a socially orientated liberal, and supports arguments to this effect, but is always balanced and considerate in his approach of a wide variety of thinkers. This book is best used in conjunction with other texts and journal articles to gain more incisive insight.
I used it in my undergraduate political theory studies to good effect.
- Amazon Customer Review
• The Best Overview But Not Only - Contains Also Critical Discussions And Great Arguments
15 May, 2006
This book contains the best overview of all the important themes, subjects and schools of contemporary normative political philosophy. The language is simple yet elegant and it might indeed be fun to read at some points.
The chapters it contains are as follows:
2. Utilitarianism - the best discussion of utilitarianism I have found. Beats all introductory ethics books by far (see my other reviews).
3. Liberal egalitarianism - Very good overview of Rawls's earlier theory (TJ). He doesn't commit the regular mistakes that introductory books make, but sees Rawls's arguments as they should be seen. Contains also a great overview of a much less-known theory of Dworkin (which was only available in articles before "Sovereign Virtue" 2000).
4. Libertarianism - Indepth overview of Nozick's theory + very good counterarguments. Sees Nozick as he should be seen with the concept of self-ownership at the center of the entitlement theory. Great discussion of the rebuttals to Chamberlain experiment. Nozick can be interpreted differently, but Kymlickas is also an adequate one. This chapter also includes an overview of contractarian mutual advantage theory put forward by David Gauthier. It concludes with a good discussion of libertarianism and freedom and how they do not really fit together.
5. Marxism - Indepth overview of contemporary analytical marxism in the context of politics. Discussion of the marxist rejection of justice, marxist arguments for abolishing private property, about exploitation and about alienation. Guys mentioned are Cohen, Elster, Roemer and others. You wont find this material elsewhere.
6. Communitarianism - The movement of the 80s. Great discussion of philosophical communitarianism's main ideas like: politics of the common good, social self, social thesis and etc. Sandel and Taylor are mostly mentioned, Walzer and MacIntyre less so.
7. Citizenship theory/ 8. Multiculturalism - an addition in the new, 2001 edition. Haven't read those parts yet, but since these are the areas that Kymlicka is the most known scholar in, you should know what to expect.
9. Feminism - A very interesting overview of the wide field of feminism in politics. Touches upon sexual equality and discrimination, the public and the private and the ethic of care (Gilligan and others).
You will also get a great bibliography and a lot of ideas for further reading. It is a must have for any aspiring student in political philosophy or ethics. Kymlicka himself seems to support a somewhat liberal position most, although he doesn't explicitly state it.
BUT
It is not only for students. If you read a lot of primary sources you can see that many quote this book. It isnt just a neutral introductory volume (there are no such things in phil anyway), but a book with many good arguments by Kymlicka not found elsewhere. Of course it also contains good overviews of arguments found in articles that are not usually available for or read by most people. So even a working scholar can benefit a lot from this book - but they probably know that already :)
P.S to the reviewer who had doubts about treating Nozick on the basis of equality. Nozicks theory is not about equality in the real world, but the justification of the theory is in some sense the equality of everyones self-ownership rights. This is the reason Kymlicka deals with Nozick in the way he does.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Very Good
02 January, 2007
I am a layperson in political philosophy. I found the book comprehensive and easy to understand. Actually, I had borrowed the book at first from a libray and then decided to purchase it, because I found it so good and helpful in my understanding of our political and social systems and the underlying philosophical thoughts.
- Amazon Customer Review
|
