Overview

This new book by Michael Slote argues that Western philosophy on the whole has overemphasized rational control and autonomy at the expense of the important countervailing value and virtue of receptivity. Recently the ideas of caring and empathy have received a great deal of philosophical and public attention, but both these notions rest on the deeper and broader value of receptivity, and in From Enlightenment to Receptivity, Slote seeks to show that we need to focus more on receptivity if we are to attain a more balanced sense and understanding of what is important to us.Beginning with a critique of Enlightenment thinking that calls into question its denial of any central role to considerations of emotion and empathy, he goes on to show how a greater emphasis on these factors and on the receptivity that underlies them can give us a more realistic, balanced, and sensitive understanding of our core ethical and epistemological values. This means rejecting post-modernism's blanket rejection of reason and of compelling real values and recognizing, rather, that receptivity should play a major role in how we lead our lives as individuals, in how we relate to nature, in how we acquire knowledge about the world, and in how we relate morally and politically with others.

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9780199970704

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In From Enlightenment to Receptivity Slote provides a nice point of entry both into themes from his earlier work and into a number of distinct subfields of philosophy. The book covers a range of topics in normative ethics, metaethics, epistemology, philosophy of religion, feminist philosophy, political philosophy, and environmental philosophy. And it is filled with interesting and provocative ideas. As such, it could be an enjoyable book to teach to an introductory undergraduate class... for the introductory or general reader, the book has much to recommend it. --Mind This volume by Slote...is easily one of the best books on the importance of people's feelings to their moral judgments, and it deserves to be read widely. This reviewer could not put it down. Slote...writes simply and elegantly. His style makes the book accessible and inviting to all readers, even those who have no background in ethics.... The book constitutes a substantial contribution to contemporary moral thought. It will appeal to anyone interested in the role emotions play in ordinary decisions about how one lives one's life.... Highly recommended. --G.S. Bagwell, CHOICE

<br> This volume by Slote...is easily one of the best books on the importance of people's feelings to their moral judgments, and it deserves to be read widely. This reviewer could not put it down. Slote...writes simply and elegantly. His style makes the book accessible and inviting to all readers, even those who have no background in ethics.... The book constitutes a substantial contribution to contemporary moral thought. It will appeal to anyone interested in the role emotions play in ordinary decisions about how one lives one's life.... Highly recommended. --G.S. Bagwell, CHOICE<p><br>

Author Information

Michael Slote is UST Professor of Ethics at the University of Miami. A member of the Royal Irish Academy and former Tanner lecturer, his work has mainly been focused on ethics, political philosophy, moral psychology, and, most recently, the philosophy of education.

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