Author: Peter Karl Koritansky
Publisher Catholic University of America
Call Number B765.T54 K63 2010
Table of Contents:
Introduction: modern philosophies of punishment and the return to Aquinas
The problem with the utilitarian theory of punishment
The problem with modern retributivism
Foundations of the Thomistic theory of punishment
The moral basis of punishment: Aquinas's retributivism
Beyond retribution: punishing criminals in political society
Capital punishment, evangelium vitae, and the Thomistic theory of punishment
Conclusion: Thomas Aquinas and modern theories of punishment.
Title: The Recursive Mind: The Origins of Human Language, Thought, and Civilization
Author: Michael C. Corballis
Publisher Princeton
Call Number BF701.C665 2011
Synopsis from publisher:
The Recursive Mind challenges the commonly held notion that language is what makes us uniquely human. In this compelling book, Michael Corballis argues that what distinguishes us in the animal kingdom is our capacity for recursion: the ability to embed our thoughts within other thoughts. "I think, therefore I am," is an example of recursive thought, because the thinker has inserted himself into his thought. Recursion enables us to conceive of our own minds and the minds of others. It also gives us the power of mental "time travel"--the ability to insert past experiences, or imagined future ones, into present consciousness.
Title: Vygotsky in Perspective
Author: Ronald Miller
Publisher Cambridge
Call Number BF109.V95 M55 2011
Synopsis from publisher:
"Lev Vygotsky has acquired the status of one of the grand masters in psychology. Following the English translation and publication of his Collected Works there has been a new wave of interest in Vygotsky accompanied by a burgeoning of secondary literature. Ronald Miller argues that Vygotsky is increasingly being 'read' and understood through secondary sources and that scholars have claimed Vygotsky as the foundational figure for their own theories, eliminating his most distinctive contributions and distorting his theories. Miller peels away the accumulated layers of commentary to provide a clearer understanding of how Vygotsky built and developed his arguments. In an in-depth analysis of the last three chapters of Vygotsky's book Thinking and Speech, Miller provides a critical interpretation of the core theoretical concepts that constitute Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory, including the development of concepts, mediation, the zone of proximal development, conscious awareness, inner speech, word meaning and consciousness"--
Title: The Ends of Life: Roads to Fulfilment in Early Modern England
Author: Keith Thomas
Publisher Oxford
Call Number BJ1547.T56 2010
Synopsis from publisher:
Hailed as "immediately and universally recognized as indispensable" (TLS) and "compellingly readable, richly researched, fascinatingly detailed, delightfully written" (LRB), here is a masterful exploration of the ways in which people sought to lead fulfilling lives, illuminating the central values of early modern England, while casting incidental light on some of the perennial problems of human existence. Keith Thomas, one of the foremost historians of our time, sheds light on the origins of the modern ideal of human fulfillment and explores the many obstacles to its realization, looking at work, wealth, possessions, friendship, family, and sociability. The book looks at the cult of military prowess, the pursuit of honor and reputation, the nature of religious belief, and the desire to be posthumously remembered. The Ends of Life offers a fresh approach to the history of early modern England, providing modern readers with much food for thought on the problem of how we should live and what goals in life we should pursue.
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