Martin Buber and Feminist Ethics


Book Description

As a deeply religious thinker who disclaimed all rationalistic systems, Martin Buber produced an insightful critique of modern philosophical ethics, one that became productive soil for another nontraditional philosophical ethic: feminism's care ethic. In light of the recent emphasis on the new morality, antifoundationalism, and postmodernism in ethics, the dialogical ethics of Martin Buber merits close examination. Most important, Walters compares and contrasts Buber's and feminism's personalist ethics in light of two considerations: the lack of attention by feminist writers to the feminist-Buber linkage and the long-standing and general inattention by twentieth-century thinkers to the ethical dimensions of Buber's thought.




Numinous Subjects


Book Description

Part religious studies, part feminist theory, part philosophy, part indescribable: such is Numinous Subjects. Described by the author as ‘a kaleidoscopic exploration of why three gendered figures of the sacred matter within western culture,’ the experience of reading this text truly is akin to gazing through a constantly turning kaleidoscope. Images, concepts, phrases and quotes are continually revisited, recombined, though never repeated in quite the same way. From these tumbling constellations arises a new understanding and wary appreciation of the figures of the virgin, the mother, and the whore. Drawing on the insights of thinkers as diverse as Rudolph Otto, Julia Kristeva, Simone de Beauvoir, and Martin Buber, Numinous Subjects simultaneously expands and focuses our attention on the myth of the sacred and its implications for female subjects in western culture today.




My Friendship with Martin Buber


Book Description

Martin Buber’s philosophy of dialogue sought to express the human experience through the ways in which we encounter and interact with others. His "I—Thou" theory of dialogue and "I—It" theory of monologue expressed ways of understanding one’s place in the world in relation to others, objects, and especially God. Buber died in 1965, leaving behind a vast library of writings and ardent students and scholars eager to engage with his ideas. One of the most prominent scholars was Maurice Friedman. Friedman and Buber shared a professional as well as a personal relationship, based on translating, interpreting, and intellectual curiosity. Beginning in the summer of 1950 and ending with Buber’s death, this volume takes the reader through Buber’s three visits to America, his wife’s death, the author’s stay in Jerusalem, and the articulation of Buber’s culminating philosophy of the interhuman. In tracing this chronology, Friedman draws extensively on his personal collection of letters exchanged with Buber. Intimate and meditative, this book provides an exploration of a deeply intellectual friendship shared between two extraordinary thinkers.




Jewish Religious and Philosophical Ethics


Book Description

Twentieth century continental thinkers such as Bergson, Levinas and Jonas have brought fresh and renewed attentions to Jewish ethics, yet it still remains fairly low profile in the Anglophone academic world. This collection of critical essays brings together the work of established and up-and-coming scholars from Israel, the United States, and around the world on the topic of Jewish religious and philosophical ethics. The chapters are broken into three main sections – Rabbinics, Philosophy, and Contemporary Challenges. The authors address, using a variety of research strategies, the work of both major and lesser-known figures in historical Jewish religious and philosophical traditions. The book discusses a wide variety of topics related to Jewish ethics, including "ethics and the Mishnah," "Afro Jewish ethics," "Jewish historiographical ethics," as well as the conceptual/philosophical foundations of the law and virtues in the work of Martin Buber, Hermann Cohen, and Baruch Spinoza.The volume closes with four contributions on present-day frontiers in Jewish ethics. As the first book to focus on the nature, scope and ramifications of the Jewish ethics at work in religious and philosophical contexts, this book will be of great interest to anyone studying Jewish Studies, Philosophy and Religion.




Ethics in Human Communication


Book Description

Broad in scope, yet precise in exposition, the Sixth Edition of this highly acclaimed ethics text has been infused with new insights and updated material. Richard Johannesen and new coauthors Kathleen Valde and Karen Whedbee provide a thorough, comprehensive overview of philosophical perspectives and communication contexts, pinpointing and explicating ethical issues unique to human communication. Chief among the authors objectives are to: provide classic and contemporary perspectives for making ethical judgments about human communication; sensitize communication participants to essential ethical issues in the human communication process; illuminate complexities and challenges involved in making evaluations of communication ethics; and offer ideas for becoming more discerning evaluators of others communication. Provocative questions and illustrative case studies stimulate reflexive thinking and aid readers in developing their own approach to communication ethics. A comprehensive list of resources spotlights books, scholarly articles, videos, and Web sites useful for further research or personal exploration.




Discovering Levinas


Book Description

In Discovering Levinas, Michael L. Morgan shows how this thinker faces in novel and provocative ways central philosophical problems of twentieth-century philosophy and religious thought. He tackles this task by placing Levinas in conversation with philosophers such as Donald Davidson, Stanley Cavell, John McDowell, Onora O'Neill, Charles Taylor, and Cora Diamond. He also seeks to understand Levinas within philosophical, religious, and political developments in the history of twentieth-century intellectual culture. Morgan demystifies Levinas by examining his unfamiliar and surprising vocabulary, interpreting texts with an eye to clarity, and arguing that Levinas can be understood as a philosopher of the everyday. Morgan also shows that Levinas's ethics is not morally and politically irrelevant nor is it excessively narrow and demanding in unacceptable ways. Neither glib dismissal nor fawning acceptance, this book provides a sympathetic reading that can form a foundation for a responsible critique.




The Obligated Self


Book Description

Mara H. Benjamin contends that the physical and psychological work of caring for children presents theologically fruitful but largely unexplored terrain for feminists. Attending to the constant, concrete, and urgent needs of children, she argues, necessitates engaging with profound questions concerning the responsible use of power in unequal relationships, the transformative influence of love, human fragility and vulnerability, and the embeddedness of self in relationships and obligations. Viewing child-rearing as an embodied practice, Benjamin's theological reflection invites a profound reengagement with Jewish sources from the Talmud to modern Jewish philosophy. Her contemporary feminist stance forges a convergence between Jewish theological anthropology and the demands of parental caregiving.




Media Ethics


Book Description

Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning challenges readers to think analytically about ethical situations in mass communication through original case studies and commentaries about real-life media experiences. This text provides a comprehensive introduction to the theoretical principles of ethical philosophies, facilitating ethical awareness. It introduces the Potter Box, with its four dimensions of moral analysis, to provide a framework for exploring the steps in moral reasoning and analyzing the cases. Focusing on a wide spectrum of ethical issues faced by media practitioners, the cases in this Eleventh Edition include the most recent issues in journalism, broadcasting, advertising, public relations and entertainment. Cases touch on issues and places worldwide, from Al Jazeera to the Xinhua News Agency, from Nigerian "brown envelopes" to PR professional standards in South Africa. Racially divisive language comes up in different communication contexts, as does celebrity influence on culture. A core textbook for classes in media ethics, communication ethics, and ethics in journalism, public relations, and advertising.




Ethics and Values in Social Work


Book Description

Social work ethics provide practitioners with guidance on how to promote social work values such as respect, social justice, human relationships, service, competence, and integrity. Students entering the profession need to develop a real-world understanding of how to apply these values in practice while also managing the dilemmas that arise when social workers, clients, and others encounter conflicting values and ethical obligations. Ethics and Values in Social Work offers a comprehensive set of teaching and learning materials to help students develop the knowledge, self-awareness, and critical thinking skills required to handle values and ethical issues in all levels of practice--individual, family, group, organization, community, and social policy. BSW and MSW students will particularly appreciate how complex ethical obligations and theories have been translated into plain language. Additionally, the comprehensive set of case examples and exercises provides realistic scenarios to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills across a range of practice situations.




Working Through Ethics in Education and Leadership


Book Description

This book, although targeting educational leaders, - teachers, school-based administrators, superintendents, board members, policy makers and education students, is also addressed to those interested in the topic of ethics and those who seek the development of an ethical awareness and an appropriate intellectual processes when facing ethical issues. In particular, the book uses both deductive and inductive methods to provide the reader with a progressive experience of ethical discernment and analysis in order to deal with and prepare the reader to address ethical issues in the public square - a task which requires that such decisions are rational, defensible, and clearly articulated. Institutional leaders' diligence and integrity requires no less in attaining and sustaining the support of those they must lead in and through the institutional decisions and policies which effect constituents' lives. Through the use of clearly stated definitions, the presentation of ethical schools of thought, cases, original plays - within which readers are encouraged to engage while in a safe learning environment - and references to poems, movie, and video clips, the book provides a lively and challenging approach to studying the topic of ethics.