Overview

"The story of how credit and cosmetic surgery have created a subprime mortgage crisis of the body. In this provocative book, sociologist Laurie Essig traces the history of plastic surgery, tracks the effect of fashion and porn on our desire to ""fix"" ourselves, and explores our image- and youth-obsessed culture. In over two hundred interviews of plastic surgeons and surgery recipients, Essig creates an unforgettable portrait of contemporary America. American Plastic is a powerful and original commentary on the relationship between cosmetic surgery, credit, and culture."

Full Product Details

Author:   Laurie Essig
Publisher:   Beacon Press
Imprint:   Beacon Press
Dimensions:   Width: 13.40cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 21.00cm
Weight:   0.318kg
ISBN:  

9780807003237

ISBN 10:   0807003239
Pages:   248
Publication Date:   08 November 2011
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Epistemic Value and What we Care about. I. Introduction. II. Epistemic demands and what we care about. III. Morality and epistemic demands. IV. Bullshit. V. Skepticism and what we care about. Chapter 2: Skepticism and Some Contemporary Responses. I. Introduction. II. The first stage of the skeptical attack: the infinite regress of reasons. A. Pyrrhonism and the regress. B. Responses to the regress: foundationalism vs. coherentism. III. The second stage of the skeptical attack: Descartes Evil Genius and the irrelevance of evidence. A. The Evil Genius. B. Denial of epistemic closure. C. Reliabilism. D. Contextualism. Chapter 3: Mind and World: Metaphysical and Semantic Responses to Skepticism. I. The third stage of the skeptical attack: the Absolute Conception of Reality. II. O.K. Bouwsma and the Evil Genius. III. Putnam and the Brain-in-a-Vat. IV. Skepticism, self-trust, and conscientious belief. Chapter 4: Trust and the Intellectual Virtues. I. Epistemic self-trust and the virtues that regulate it. A. Conscientious self-trust. B. Trust in admiration. II. Epistemic trust in others and the virtues of epistemic communities. A. Epistemic egoism as an ideal. B. The incoherence of epistemic egoism. C. Virtues of epistemic communities. III. Irresolvable epistemic disagreement. IV. Summary. Chapter 5: What is Knowledge? I. Introduction. II. The value problem. III. Gettier. IV. Credit theories of knowledge. Chapter 6: Epistemic Good and the Good Life. I. The desirability of truth. II. Understanding. III. The intellect and the highest good.

Reviews

American Plastic is an incisive analysis and critique of the rise of the cosmetic surgery industry. Challenging the underpinnings of contemporary Neoliberalism, which spawned an unregulated 'cosmetic industrial complex' that is fueled by rising economic inequality and socially irresponsible consumer lending, Essig illuminates the political, social, and economic costs of the uniquely American quest for 'perfection.' Its narrative ying and yang of boob jobs and credit cards gives new meaning to 'plastic peril.' <br> --Robert D. Manning, author, Credit Card Nation, and Director, Institute for Consumer Financial Services <br> American Plastic is a playful but deadly earnest reportage on plastic America - the fateful collisions of cosmetic surgery and credit (which pays for most of it), beauty and pornography (which now defines beauty), and technology and perfection (which technology affects to make possible). Capturing the many meanings of plastic and plasticity, Laurie Essi

American Plastic is an incisive analysis and critique of the rise of the cosmetic surgery industry. Challenging the underpinnings of contemporary Neoliberalism, which spawned an unregulated 'cosmetic industrial complex' that is fueled by rising economic inequality and socially irresponsible consumer lending, Essig illuminates the political, social, and economic costs of the uniquely American quest for 'perfection.' Its narrative ying and yang of boob jobs and credit cards gives new meaning to 'plastic peril.' --Robert D. Manning, author, Credit Card Nation, and Director, Institute for Consumer Financial Services <br> American Plastic is a playful but deadly earnest reportage on plastic America - the fateful collisions of cosmetic surgery and credit (which pays for most of it), beauty and pornography (which now defines beauty), and technology and perfection (which technology affects to make possible). Capturing the many meanings of plastic and plasticity, Laurie Essig por

@lt;i@gt; American Plastic@lt;/i@gt; is an incisive analysis and critique of the rise of the cosmetic surgery industry. Challenging the underpinnings of contemporary Neoliberalism, which spawned an unregulated 'cosmetic industrial complex' that is fueled by rising economic inequality and socially irresponsible consumer lending, Essig illuminates the political, social, and economic costs of the uniquely American quest for 'perfection.' Its narrative @lt;i@gt;ying@lt;/i@gt; and @lt;i@gt;yang@lt;/i@gt; of boob jobs and credit cards gives new meaning to 'plastic peril.' @lt;br@gt; --Robert D. Manning, author, @lt;i@gt;Credit Card Nation@lt;/i@gt;, and Director, Institute for Consumer Financial Services@lt;br@gt;@lt;br@gt; @lt;i@gt;American Plastic@lt;/i@gt; is a playful but deadly earnest reportage on plastic America - the fateful collisions of cosmetic surgery and credit (which pays for most of it), beauty and pornography (which now defines beauty), and technology and perfection (which t

American Plastic is an incisive analysis and critique of the rise of the cosmetic surgery industry. Challenging the underpinnings of contemporary Neoliberalism, which spawned an unregulated 'cosmetic industrial complex' that is fueled by rising economic inequality and socially irresponsible consumer lending, Essig illuminates the political, social, and economic costs of the uniquely American quest for 'perfection.' Its narrative ying and yang of boob jobs and credit cards gives new meaning to 'plastic peril.' --Robert D. Manning, author, Credit Card Nation, and Director, Institute for Consumer Financial Services <br> American Plastic is a playful but deadly earnest reportage on plastic America - the fateful collisions of cosmetic surgery and credit (which pays for most of it), beauty and pornography (which now defines beauty), and technology and perfection (which technology affects to make possible). Capturing the many meanings of plastic and plasticity, Laurie Essig portrays a society which, on the way to trying to remake the female body, is unmaking its core reality in ways equally devastating to women and the economy. Women will read this book, men need to. --Benjamin R. Barber, author of Jihad vs. McWorld and Consumed, Distinguished Senior Fellow, DEMOS <br> A fascinating, original, and engaging exploration of the connection between plastic surgery and our economic crisis. Laurie Essig illuminates the dark side of the promise of perfection and offers inspirational strategies for change. <br> --Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., creator of the Killing Us Softly: Advertising's Image of Women film series and author of Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel <br> Laurie Essig provides a freewheeling, interdisciplinary commentary on the special connections between culture, economics and the cosmetic surgery industry. Through fieldwork with consumers as well as providers, she explores with humor and understanding the will

Author Information

Laurie Essig teaches sociology at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. She has written for a variety of publications, including Legal Affairs, Salon, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Essig's blog, Class Warfare, at True/Slant, applies critical theory from the classroom to the news of the day.

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