Revaluing Ethics

Challenges influential interpretations of Aristotelian ethical and political philosophy.

One of the most important philosophical works of all time, in a new Penguin Classics translation. Aristotle's classic treatise is based on his famous doctrine of the golden mean, which advocates taking the middle course between excess and deficiency. Reacting against Plato's absolutism, Aristotle insisted that there are no definitive moral standards, and that ethical philosophy must be based on human nature and experience. Treating such topics as moral worth, intellectual virtue, pleasure, friendship, and happiness, Aristotle's work asks above all: what is the good life and how can we live it?

The third edition of Curriculum: From Theory to Practice provides an introduction to curriculum theory and how it relates to classroom practice. Wesley Null builds upon recent developments while continuing to provide a unique organization of the curriculum field into five traditions: systematic, existential, radical, pragmatic, and deliberative. Null discusses the philosophical foundations of curriculum as well as historical and contemporary figures who have shaped each curriculum tradition. To ensure breadth and scope, Null has expanded this edition to include new figures, address rapid changes in democratic society, and chart a path to inclusion and wise decision-making.

Examines how Aristotle posits political philosophy and the experience of friendship as a means to bind strictly intellectural virtue with morality. In this book, Ann Ward explores Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, focusing on the progressive structure of the argument. Aristotle begins by giving an account of moral virtue from the perspective of the moral agent, only to find that the account itself highlights fundamental tensions within the virtues that push the moral agent into the realm of intellectual virtue. However, the existence of an intellectual realm separate from the moral realm can lead to lack of self-restraint. Aristotle, Ward argues, locates political philosophy and the experience of friendship as possible solutions to the problem of lack of self-restraint, since political philosophy thinks about the human things in a universal way, and friendship grounds the pursuit of the good which is happiness understood as contemplation. Ward concludes that Aristotle’s philosophy of friendship points to the embodied intellect of timocratic friends and mothers in their activity of mothering as engaging in the highest form of contemplation and thus living the happiest life. Ann Ward is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Politics and International Studies at Campion College at the University of Regina, Canada. She is the author and editor of several books, including Herodotus and the Philosophy of Empire and Socrates and Dionysus: Philosophy and Art in Dialogue.

EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION This volume is a collection of papers presented at the international workshop on “Buddhist Approach to Global Education in Ethics” which is being held on May 13, 2019, at International Conference Center Tam Chuc, Ha Nam, Vietnam on the occasion of the 16th United Nations Day of Vesak Celebrations 2019. The aim is to throw new light on the values of the global ethical system with a focus on the Buddhist approach in deepening our understanding of how Buddhist ethics can deliver a social change in the globalized world. REVIEW OF CONTENTS Prof. P. D. Premasiri in his paper titled “Universally valid ethical norms of Buddhism applicable to global education in ethics” deals with hindrance in determining the basis for global education in ethics and providing undeniable facts about the diversity involved in ethical norms, principles and attitudes of various global communities. The author also discusses the characteristics of Buddhist teaching on a humanistic approach to the moral life with perceptions of enlightened humans, i.e. ‘Knowledgeable Persons’ (vi¤¤å purisà). The paper places further emphasis on the necessity to draw the attention of educators to train the minds of humans on ethical choices in accordance with such decisions. The paper entitled “Teaching Buddhist Ethics through the Life of the Buddha and Jesus” by Abraham Velez De Cea has proposed a new approach to the Buddhist ethical way of teaching and its application through interpretations of the Buddha’s life from the perspective of virtue ethics and meditation. The purpose is to heighten the Buddhist contribution being made to global education in ethical issues. The paper is divided into two parts, Buddhist ethics as a form of virtue ethics and secondly, interpretation of the Buddha’s teachings from the perspective of virtue ethics and meditation.

Modern moral theories have crystallized around the logic of individual choices, abstracted from social and historical context. Yet most action, including moral theorizing, can equally be understood as a response, conscious or otherwise, to the social world out of which it emerges. In this novel account of moral agency, Elise Springer accords central importance to how we intervene in activity around us. To notice and address what others are doing with their moral agency is to exercise what Springer calls critical responsiveness

What is healing justice? Who practices it? What does it look like? In this groundbreaking international comparative study on healing justice, Jarem Sawatsky examines traditional communities including Hollow Water - an Aboriginal and Métis community in Canada renowned for their holistic healing work in the face of 80 per cent sexual abuse rates; the Iona Community - a dispersed Christian ecumenical community in Scotland known for their work towards peace, healing and social justice, rebuilding of community and the renewal of worship; and Plum Village - a Vietnamese initiated Buddhist community in southern France, and home to Nobel Peace Prize nominated author, Thich Nhat Hanh. These case studies record a search for the kind of social, structural, and spiritual relationships necessary to sustain a healing view of justice. Through comparing cases, Sawatsky identifies the common patterns, themes, and imagination which these communities share. These commonalities among those that practice healing justice are then examined for their implications for wider society, particularly for restorative justice and criminal justice. This innovative book is accessible to those new to the topic, while at the same time being beneficial to experienced researchers, and will appeal internationally to practitioners, students, and anyone interested in restorative justice, law, peace building, and religious studies.