Synopses & Reviews
From the school yard to the workplace, thereandrsquo;s no charge more damning than andldquo;Youandrsquo;re being
unfair!andrdquo; Born out of democracy and raised in open markets, fairness has become our de facto modern creed. The very symbol of American ethicsandmdash;Lady Justiceandmdash;wears a blindfold as she weighs the law on her impartial scale. In our zealous pursuit of fairness, we have banished our urges to like one person more than another, one thing over another, hiding them away as dirty secrets of our humanity. In
Against Fairness, polymath philosopher Stephen T. Asma drags them triumphantly back into the light. Through playful, witty, but always serious arguments and examples, he vindicates our unspoken and undeniable instinct to favor, making the case that we would all be better off if we showed our unfair tendencies a little more kindnessandmdash;indeed, if we favored favoritism.and#160;Conscious of the egalitarian feathers his argument is sure to ruffle, Asma makes his point by synthesizing a startling array of scientific findings, historical philosophies, cultural practices, analytic arguments, and a variety of personal and literary narratives to give a remarkably nuanced and thorough understanding of how fairness and favoritism fit within our moral architecture. Examining everything from the survival-enhancing biochemistry that makes our mothers love us to the motivating properties of our andldquo;affective community,andrdquo; he not only shows
how we favor but the reasons we
should. Drawing on thinkers from Confucius to Tocqueville to Nietzsche, he reveals how we have confused fairness with more noble traits, like compassion and open-mindedness. He dismantles a number of seemingly egalitarian pursuits, from classwide Valentineandrsquo;s Day cards to civil rights, to reveal the envy that lies at their hearts, going on to prove that we can still be kind to strangers, have no prejudice, and fight for equal
opportunity at the same time we reserve the best of what we can offer for those dearest to us.and#160;Fed up with the blue-ribbons-for-all absurdity of andquot;fairnessandquot; today, and wary of the psychological paralysis it creates, Asmaand#160;resets our moral compass with favoritism as its lodestar, providing a strikingly new and remarkably positive way to think through all our actions, big and small.
Watch an animated book trailer here:and#160;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjPhTQ9zi5Q
Review
"Blackburn has produced the one book every smart person should read to understand, and even enjoy, the key questions of philosophy, ranging from those about free will and morality to what we can really know about the world around us."--Walter Isaacson, Time Magazine
"Simon Blackburn's lucidly elegant essay is a guide to the most central concerns of philosophy... A beautifully clear account of the chief arguments in each debate. Blackburn is an accomplished philosopher, which makes this a valuable little book."--Sunday Times
"This is a wonderfully stimulating, incisive and -- the word is not too strong -- thrilling introduction to the pleasures and problems of philosophy."--John Banville, The Irish Times
"Blackburn does a fine job of rendering the big thinkers and their thoughts accessible, while picking his way through Western philosophy's murky territory. His writing is simple and clear, and the liberal use of example and analogy makes Think a most readable work."--Allison McCulloch, Denver Post
"Think is by far the best introduction to philosophy that I know. Compact but hugely readable, this delightful book would be an excellent basis for an introductory course, as a text or as preliminary reading. You could also give it to family and friends, and all those annoying people who ask you what philosophers do. If Think doesn't explain it to them, nothing will!"--Huw Price, author of Time's Arrow and Archimedes Point
"Written with exemplary concision and with conviction that philosophy needn't be an ethereal subject, alienated from practical concerns."--Booklist
"Elegant...beautifully clear.... A valuable little book."--Descartes's Demon
"To read the book is to sit down with an engaging, highly learned conversationalist; readers new to the subject could very well be captivated. Highly recommended for academic and public library collections."--Library Journal
Review
"Blackburn has produced the one book every smart person should read to understand, and even enjoy, the key questions of philosophy, ranging from those about free will and morality to what we can really know about the world around us."--Walter Isaacson, Time Magazine
"Simon Blackburn's lucidly elegant essay is a guide to the most central concerns of philosophy... A beautifully clear account of the chief arguments in each debate. Blackburn is an accomplished philosopher, which makes this a valuable little book."--Sunday Times
"This is a wonderfully stimulating, incisive and -- the word is not too strong -- thrilling introduction to the pleasures and problems of philosophy."--John Banville, The Irish Times
"Blackburn does a fine job of rendering the big thinkers and their thoughts accessible, while picking his way through Western philosophy's murky territory. His writing is simple and clear, and the liberal use of example and analogy makes Think a most readable work."--Allison McCulloch, Denver Post
"Think is by far the best introduction to philosophy that I know. Compact but hugely readable, this delightful book would be an excellent basis for an introductory course, as a text or as preliminary reading. You could also give it to family and friends, and all those annoying people who ask you what philosophers do. If Think doesn't explain it to them, nothing will!"--Huw Price, author of Time's Arrow and Archimedes Point
"Written with exemplary concision and with conviction that philosophy needn't be an ethereal subject, alienated from practical concerns."--Booklist
"Elegant...beautifully clear.... A valuable little book."--Descartes's Demon
"To read the book is to sit down with an engaging, highly learned conversationalist; readers new to the subject could very well be captivated. Highly recommended for academic and public library collections."--Library Journal
Review
andldquo;Mr. Asma offers a rightly critical diagnosis of our obsession with egalitarianism.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Asma refreshingly outlines the moral virtues that come with favoritism: loyalty, generosity, and gratitude. While it might strike some as cruel or outdated to accept that we tend to care more about those close to us, Asma shows that this outlook is actually conducive to the moral virtues that utilitarians struggle to justify.andrdquo;
Review
and#8220;
Against Fairnessand#160;is a terrific book. Stephen T. Asma goes a long way toward convincing readers of a challenging argument. Engagingly written, it avoids the ponderousness that so often characterizes work in philosophy, and I would recommend it to anyone who seems excessively committed to and#8216;fairnessand#8217; as theand#160;
sine qua nonand#160;of just policy.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Every once in awhile a book is published whose very concept snaps your head back and elicits an internal and#8216;Whoa! I hadnand#8217;t thought of that!and#8217; Against Fairness is one such book. We are all so strongly shaped by modern liberal sensibilities of fairness that the very idea that, in fact, all of us (Jesus included!) play favoritesand#8212;and justly soand#8212;is jarring. But once you think about itand#8212;which Asma does with cogent arguments and ample empirical evidenceand#8212;being indiscriminately fair to everyone makes no sense whatsoever. Whence then do we find morality and justice in an unfair world? Asma shows how in this important contribution to the national conversation.and#8221;and#160;
Review
and#8220;Asma realizes, with a sigh, and#8216;that I will be seen as some conservative Ayn Randian and my book read as a social-Darwinist screed,and#8217; merely for telling his son that itand#8217;s not possible forand#160;everyoneand#160;in a race to win it. But that will miss his main point, Asma continues: heand#8217;s not arguing for aand#160;Little Red Henand#160;merit-based fairness over a prizes-for-all equal-shares fairness; heand#8217;s arguing for a favouritism that flies in the face of both concepts, one that privileges our tribes (by blood or affiliation).and#8221;and#160;
Review
andldquo;This is one of those books that I found myself agreeing with one moment and arguing with the next, nodding my head up and down, or shaking it left to right like some kind of dashboard ornamentandmdash;the bobble-headed armchair philosopher.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Asmaandrsquo;s philosophical take on reevaluating what is considered to be andlsquo;fairandrsquo; addresses the topic of fairness in a refreshing way, eschewing the culture of rewarding everyone for favoritism.andrdquo;and#160;
Synopsis
Here at last is a coherent, unintimidating introduction to the challenging and fascinating landscape of Western philosophy. Written expressly for "anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to
approach them," Think provides a sound framework for exploring the most basic themes of philosophy, and for understanding how major philosophers have tackled the questions that have pressed themselves most forcefully on human consciousness.
Simon Blackburn, author of the best-selling Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, begins by making a convincing case for the relevance of philosophy and goes on to give the reader a sense of how the great historical figures such as Plato, Hume, Kant, Descartes, and others have approached its central themes. In a lively and accessible style, Blackburn
approaches the nature of human reflection and how we think, or can think, about knowledge, fate, ethics, identity, God, reason, and truth. Each chapter explains a major issue, and gives the reader a self-contained guide through the problems that the philosophers have studied. Because the text approaches these issues from the gound up, the untrained reader will emerge from its pages able to explore other philosophies with greater pleasure and understanding and be able to think--philosophically--for him or herself.
Philosophy is often dismissed as a purely academic discipline with no relation to the "real" world non-philosophers are compelled to inhabit. Think dispels this myth and offers a springboard for all those who want to learn how the basic techniques of thinking shape our virtually every aspect of our existence.
About the Author
Simon Blackburn is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. Until recently he was Edna J. Koury Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, and from 1969 to 1999 a Fellow and Tutor at Pembroke College, Oxford. His books include Spreading the Word (1984), Essays in Quasi-Realism (1993), The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (1994), Ruling Passions (1998), Truth (co-edited with Keith Simmons, 1999), and the best-selling Think (1999). He edited the journal Mind from 1984 to 1990.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments1 and#160;Even Jesus Had a Favorite
Saints and Favorites
Fairness, Tribes, and Nephews
Two Classic Cases of Favoritism
2and#160;To Thy Own Tribe Be True: Biological Favoritism
Moral Gravity
The Biochemistry of Favoritism
Humans Are Wired for Favoritism
A Healthy Addiction
Flexible Favoritism
Kin Selection
Rational or Emotional Motives
Conflicting Brain Systems
Facts and Values
3and#160;In Praise of Exceptions
Building the Grid of Impartiality
Going Off the Grid
Friendship and Favoritism
Reasonable Favoritismand#160;4and#160;and#8220;But, Dad, Thatand#8217;s Not Fair!and#8221;
The Fusion of Feelings and Ideas
Sowing the Seeds of Confusion: Sharing
Sowing the Seeds of Confusion: Open Minds
Envy and Fairness
Excellence, Fairness, and Favoritism
5and#160;The Circle of Favors: Global Perspectives
Chinese Favoritism
Face Culture
Indian Favoritism
Disentangling Nepotism and Corruption
Disentangling Tribalism and Tragedy
6and#160;and#8220;Your People Shall Be My People?and#8221;and#160;
Minorities, Majorities, and Favoritism
Affirmative Action and Favoritism
The Finite Stretch
Feeling the Stones with Your Feetand#160;7and#160;Because Youand#8217;re Mine, I Walk the Line
The Virtues of Favoritism
You Canand#8217;t Love Humanity. You Can Only Love People
The Future of Favoritism
The Archbishop and the Chambermaid
Notes
Index