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Philosophy Ethics & Moral Philosophy

Materialist Ethics and Life-Value

by (author) Jeff Noonan

Publisher
McGill-Queen's University Press
Initial publish date
Feb 2012
Category
Ethics & Moral Philosophy
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780773539655
    Publish Date
    Feb 2012
    List Price
    $40.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780773539648
    Publish Date
    Feb 2012
    List Price
    $110.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780773588103
    Publish Date
    Feb 2012
    List Price
    $95.00

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Description

Current patterns of global economic activity are not only unsustainable, but unethical - this claim is central to Materialist Ethics and Life-Value. Grounding the definition of ethical value in the natural and social requirements of life-support and life-development shared by all human beings, Jeff Noonan provides a new way of understanding the universal conception of "the good life."

Noonan argues that the true crisis affecting the world today is not sluggish rates of economic growth but the model of measuring economic and social health in terms of money-value. In response, he develops an alternative understanding of good societies where the breadth and depth of life-activity and enjoyment are dependent on dominant institutions. The more social institutions satisfy the necessary requirements of human life, the more they empower each person to develop and enjoy the capacities that make human life valuable and meaningful.

A well-reasoned synthesis of traditional philosophical concerns and contemporary critiques of global capitalism, this book is a forward-looking treatise that defends political struggle and reconsiders what is most important for a happy life.

About the author

Jeff Noonan is professor of philosophy at the University of Windsor and author of Critical Humanism and the Politics of Difference, Democratic Society and Human Needs, and Materialist Ethics and Life-Value.

Jeff Noonan's profile page

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