Synopses & Reviews
The Practice of Value explores the nature of value and its relation to the social and historical conditions under which human agents live. At the core of the book are the Tanner Lectures delivered at Berkeley in 2001 by Joseph Raz, who has been one of the leading figures in moral and legal philosophy since the 1970's. Raz argues that values depend importantly on social practices, but that we can make sense of this dependence without falling back on cultural relativism. In response, three eminent philosophers, Christine Korsgaard, Robert Pippin, and Bernard Williams, offer their own distinctive reflections on the connections between value and practice. The book begins with an introduction by Jay Wallace, setting the scene for what follows, and ends with a response from Raz to his commentators. The result is a fascinating debate, accessible to readers throughout and beyond philosophy, about the relations between human values and human life.
Table of Contents
Introduction R. Jay WallaceThe Practice of Value Joseph Raz
Social Dependence without Relativism
The Implications of Value Pluralism
Change and Understanding
Comments The Dependence of Value on Humanity, Christine M. Korsgaard
The Conditions of Value, Robert Pippin
Relativism, History, and the Existence of Values, Bernard Williams
Reply to Commentators, Joseph Raz