"LaBossiere brilliantly tackles many of the toughest ethical dilemmas of our times, from gender selection, cloning and sexual inequality to violence in the media and the conduct of warfare. In an age of snap judgments and stereotypes, he approaches his topics in a refreshingly open-minded fashion. His quick wit and firm knowledge of contemporary culture bring philosophy full-force into the 21st century." -Paul Halpern, Professor Of Physics, University Of The Sciences in Philadelphia and author of What's Science Ever Done for Us?
From the author's introduction:
Philosophy, as I see it, is not about believing certain tenets or accepting certain dogmas. Philosophy is about asking questions, seeking answers and entertaining doubt. Critical to that endeavor is a willingness to be rationally provoked by different ideas and to see where they might lead-assuming they turn out to be worth following. If you find that you disagree with me, so much the better. The search for truth and wisdom benefits most from dissent. It is uncritical agreement that derails this search and leaves people stuck in the dark. Of course, if you do agree with me on some points, that is cool, too.
In this stimulating book, Michael C. LaBossiere takes a provocative look at issues in contemporary politics, culture and society through the lens of philosophy. Collected from LaBossiere's regular column in The Philosopher's Magazine, this fascinating set of philosophical provocations assumes no background in philosophy and focuses on matters that are of popular interest to the general public, yet are also philosophically significant. Topics range across a whole host of controversial issues that are of genuine interest to the reader, including same sex marriage, video games, gene therapy, true love, chance, torture, gender, god, the media, and freedom.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Metaphysics and Epistemology
What There is and What You (Don't) Know About It?
The Mind
A Mind for All Reasons
Cloning and the Mind
Ghosts and Minds
Mind and Medicine
Politics and Belief
God and Purpose
Does God Hate?
Evolution, Analogy and Complexity
God then Mind
Intelligent Design
Threat by Design
A New Dogma
Powerless Prayer
What Don't You Know?
The Unbreakable Sceptic
The Value of Extreme Scepticism
Love
Who Do You Love?
Transcendent Argument for True Love
Part II: Values: Ethics and Social and Political Thought
Good, Evil, Politics and all that stuff
Gender and Ethics
Of Gender and Numbers in Academics and Athletics
Bad Girls
Brain and Gender
The Female Brain
Porn and Princes
Same Sex Marriage
Technology and Ethics
Evil Spam
The Neutral Net
V is for Video Game
Virtual Violence and Moral Purpose
This is Your Brain on Video Games
A Better Brain
Memory and Morality
The Case for Nanoweapons
RFID and Privacy
Genes and Sports
Gender Selection
Ownership adn Wayward Genes
Is Biomimicry Bad?
Medical Ethics
Fat, Bacteria and the State
Lies, The Best Medicine?
Media and Ethics
A Million Lies
Anonymous Ethics
Anonymous Sources
Murder, Money and the Media
The Immoral Secret
Animals
The Case for Extinction
Philosophy and Foie Gras
Art and Ethics
Lights, Camera, Violence
Artists' Rights
Philosophers, Atheists, Choosers and Frauds
Immoral Philosophers
God, Ethics and Atheism
Is Choice Bad?
Fraud and Science
Political and Social Thought
Search Engines of Repression
Closing Ranks
Detterence
Forced Freedom
John Locke and Cyber Vigilantes
Ethics and Torture
Mining Your Business
Patriot Games
Terror and Medicine
Appearance
Closing
About the Author :
Michael C. LaBossiere is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, USA. His 'Philosophical Provocations' column appears regularly in The Philosopher's Magazine and on the magazine's website.
Review :
'Drawing from a hallowed tradition dating back to Socrates and Plato, LaBossiere brilliantly tackles many of the toughest ethical dilemmas of our times, from gender selection, cloning and sexual inequality to violence in the media and the conduct of warfare. In an age of snap judgments and stereotypes, he approaches his topics in a refreshingly open-minded fashion. His quick wit and firm knowledge of contemporary culture bring philosophy full-force into the 21st century.' Paul Halpern, Professor of Physics, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Author,"What's Science Ever Done for Us?"
