Bücher von Leroy S. Rouner

The meaning of selfhood has become an urgent question, largely in reaction to the radical individualism in which many modern Western notions of selfhood have been cast. The 11 contributors to "Selves, People, and Persons" aim to reshape fundamental ideas of the self in such varied fields as theology, biology, psychoanalysis and political philosophy. Nearly all of them agree that selves are always to be understood in relation to the communities of which they are a part. The first section of the book focuses on basic issues in the philosophy of selfhood. Erazim Kohak's title essay explores American personalism while Harold H. Oliver argues that a self is always in the act of relation to some other. Lawrence E. Cahoone counters with reflections on the limits of this social and rational notion of selfhood and Edward W. James sketches a holistic view of the self in which the "either/or" of dualism can be transformed by a "both/and". The second group deals with selfhood in various cultures, beginning with Eliot Deutsch's exploration of how each tradition can enlarge its understanding of selfhood by incorporating elements from other traditions. John B. Carman examines the role of the self in Hindu "Bhakti", and Livia Kohn explores the role of spontaneity in Chinese views of selfhood. The problem of selfhood in theology, biology, psychoanlaysis and political theory comprises the final section: Krister Stendahl discusses the idea that our selfhood is understood primarily in terms of God's selfhood; Alfred I. Tauber examines biological ideas of organism in the work of Elie Metchnikoff; John E. Mack proposes that a spiritual point of view is now required in order to fully understand the psyche; and Bhikhu Parekh examines how the issue of violence is formulated and debated in liberal democracies.

Coming in the wake of momentous changes in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, Germany and the movement for democracy in China, Celebrating Peace presents original essays by thinkers and writers to provide reflections on peace that go beyond current events and point towards extending and building peace. This volume intends not only to celebrate peace but to contribute to an understanding of it through philosophical, theological and literary explorations.

Just when we need them the most, our ethical resources seem least clear and reliable. Hence our search for foundations of ethics. The intent of this volume has not been to solve any specific moral problem, but to explore basic issues.

A conversation between major philosophers and religious scholars on the increasingly significant theme of civility. There seems to be a consensus that the lack of civility is a problem; that it is more than a class issue of manners; and that its loss is troubling for contemporary society.