Utilitarianism may well be the most influential secular ethical theory in the world today It is also one of the most controversial It clashes or is widely thought to clash with many conventional moral views & with human rights when they are seen as inviolable Would it for example be right to torture a suspected terrorist in order to prevent an attack that could kill & injure a large number of innocent people? In this Very Short Introduction Peter Singer & Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek provide an authoritative account of the nature of utilitarianism from its nineteenth-century origins to its justification & its varieties Considering how utilitarians can respond to objections that are often regarded as devastating they explore the utilitarian answer to the question of whether torture can ever be justified They also discuss what it is that utilitarians should seek to maximize paying special attention to the classical utilitarian view that only pleasure or happiness is of intrinsic value Singer & de Lazari-Radek conclude by analysing the continuing importance of utilitarianism in the world indicating how it is a force for new thinking on contemporary moral challenges like global poverty the treatment of animals climate change reducing the risk of human extinction end-of-life decisions for terminally-ill patients & the shift towards assessing the success of government policies in terms of their impact on happiness ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable ...

In Thomas More's hugely influential Utopia a traveller recounts his discovery of an island nation in which the inhabitants enjoy unprecedented social cohesion & justice The book imagines a community in which laws personal relations & professional ambition are based on reason in contrast with the tradition-bound superstitions of Europe which were in More's eyes impediments to equality & peaceful coexistence One of the indicators of the profound cultural & political influence of More's masterpiece is today's common use of the word Utopia
- a term he invented This extraordinary treatise on the values of rationality & reason
- here presented in a sparkling new translation by Roger Clarke & accompanied by copious notes & additional texts
- questions what a philosopher can do to enact change in society & how idealized visions can inform political practice


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Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play The Utopia Experiments is a legendary graphic novel shrouded in mystery But when a small group of previously unconnected people find themselves in possession of an original manuscript their lives suddenly & brutally implode Targeted swiftly & relentlessly by a murderous organisation known as The Network the terrified gang are left with only one option if they want to survive they have to run But just as they think their ordeal is over their fragile normality comes crashing down once again The Network far from being finished are setting their destructive plans into motion The gang now face a race against time to prevent global annihilation ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play Utopia is a cult graphic novel rumoured to have predicted the worst disasters of the late twentieth century Dismissed as the fevered imaginings of a madman by most & idolised by a handful only one thing seems certain about Utopia come into contact with it & you won&t be safe for long When a small group of normal people (including an IT consultant student & child) find themselves in possession of the manuscript of Utopia they realise they are at the centre of a nightmarish conspiracy turned real Targeted by a shadowy organisation known only as The Network they are left with one option if they want to stay alive they have to run avoiding even being caught even on CCTV The Network is everywhere in government in business in charge A secret organisation constrained neither by borders nor common morality Nobody knows what their plan is just that they will stop at nothing to find the original manuscript of Utopia Utopia asks what if the conspiracy nuts are right? What if people are trying to control our lives doctor our food experiment upon us kill us? Fast terrifying funny & brutal it is a massive new dramaconspiracy thriller Director Marc Munden Alex Garcia & Wayne Yip Certificate 18 years & over Year 2012 Languages English Region Region 2
- Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players
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' One of the most brilliantly inventive writers of this or any country' (Independent) turns his unique eye on the dark end of the 1960s in his enthralling new novel a story of music dreams drugs & madness love & grief stardom's wobbly ladder & fame's Faustian pact ...

In Utopia Thomas More painted a fantastical picture of a distant island where society is perfected & people live in harmony yet its title means 'no place' & More's hugely influential work was ultimately an attack on his own corrupt dangerous times & on the failings of humanity Throughout history some books have changed the world They have transformed the way we see ourselves
- & each other They have inspired debate dissent war & revolution They have enlightened outraged provoked & comforted They have enriched lives
- & destroyed them Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers pioneers radicals & visionaries whose ideas shook civilization & helped make us who we are

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Thomas More's Utopia is a masterpiece of Renaissance political philosophy responsible for introducing the term 'utopia' & spawning an entire genre of 'utopian' & 'dystopian' literature This Penguin Classics edition is a major new translation from the Latin by Dominic Baker-Smith &

Includes:: an introduction & notes on the text' Even if you can't eradicate harmful ideas or remedy established evils that's no reason to turn your back on the body politic' In Utopia Thomas More gives us a traveller's account of a newly-discovered island where the inhabitants enjoy a social order based on natural reason & justice & human fulfilment is open to all As the traveller Raphael describes the island to More a bitter contrast is drawn between this rational society & the custom-driven practices of Europe So how can the philosopher try to reform his society? In his fictional discussion More takes up a question first raised by Plato & which is still a challenge in the contemporary world In the history of political thought few works have been more influential than Utopia & few more misunderstood Dominic Baker-Smith's introduction examines the conflicting voices & perspectives of More's masterpiece & relates them to the European context of his time This new edition also

Includes:: a chronology notes appendices glossary & suggested further reading Thomas More (1478-1535) succeeded Cardinal Wolsey as Lord Chancellor of England but came into conflict with the king Henry VIII by refusing to acknowledge him as sole head of the church Charged with high treason More steadfastly refused to take an oath impugning the pope's authority or upholding the king's divorce from Catherine of Aragon More was tried as a traitor at Westminster Hall & beheaded on Tower Hill He was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935 If you enjoyed Utopia you might like Plato's Republic also available in Penguin Classics



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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERIn Utopia for Realists Rutger Bregman shows that we can construct a society with visionary ideas that are in fact wholly implementable Every milestone of civilisation
- from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy
- was once considered a utopian fantasy New utopian ideas such as universal basic income & a fifteen-hour work week can become reality in our lifetime

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After the financial crash & the Great Recession the media rediscovered Karl Marx socialist theory & the very idea that capitalism can be questioned 180 pages Kunkel Benjamin ...

There are many debates about utopia
- What constitutes a utopia? Are utopias benign or dangerous? Is the idea of utopianism essential
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