In a collection of poems that is part biography, part dialogue, part history and part chorale, The Lesser Tragedy of Death aims to capture the ephemeral, brutal life of one unnamed brother'. His sister's voice provides the narrative thrust - probing, questioning, regretful - revisiting scenes from their past and arguing with her brother over the family legacy and her complicity in his demise.'

This book contains diverse and critical reflections on Richard Rorty’s contributions to ethics, an aspect of his thought that has been relatively neglected. Together, they demonstrate that Rorty offers a compelling and coherent ethical vision. The book's chapters, grouped thematically, explore Rorty’s emphasis on the importance of moral imagination, social relations, language, and literature as instrumental for ethical self-transformation, as well as for strengthening what Rorty called "social hope," which entails constant work toward a more democratic, inclusive, and cosmopolitan society and world. Several contributors address the ethical implications of Rorty’s commitment to a vision of political liberalism without philosophical foundations. Others offer critical examinations of Rorty’s claim that our private or individual projects of self-creation can or should be held apart from our public goals of ameliorating social conditions and reducing cruelty and suffering. Some contributors explore hurdles that impede the practical applications of certain of Rorty's ideas. The Ethics of Richard Rorty will appeal to scholars and advanced students interested in American philosophy and ethics.

The pursuit and love of death has characterized Western culture since Homeric times. Foundations of Violence enters the ancient world of Homer, Plato and Aristotle to explore the genealogy of violence in Western thought. It covers the origins of ideas of death--the "beautiful death" of Homeric heroes-through to the gendered misery of war. Jantzen examines the tensions between those who tried to eliminate fear of death by denying its significance, and those like Plotinus who looked to another world for life and beauty.

Does belief in God yield the best understanding of value? Can we provide transcendental support for key moral concepts? Does evolutionary theory undermine or support religious moralities? Is divine forgiveness unjust? Can a wholly good God understand evil? Should philosophy of religion proceed in a faith-neutral way? Public and academic concerns regarding religion and morality are proliferating as people wonder about the possibility of moral reassurance, and the ability of religion to provide it, and about the future of religion and the relation between religious faiths. This book addresses current thinking on such matters, with particular focus on the relationship between moral values and doctrines of the divine. Leading scholars in the field test the scope of philosophy of religion, and engage with the possibilities and difficulties of attempting trans-faith philosophy. Chapters also relate to a number of cross-disciplinary contemporary debates: on evolution and ethics; politics, justice and forgiveness; and the relation between reason and emotions. Another set of chapters tests the coherence of Anselmian theism and concepts of an Omni-God in relation to divine knowledge and goodness. This book will be of interest to scholars and undergraduates in philosophy of religion, as well as moral philosophers, philosophers of science, theologians, and those working in theology and science.

Provides a new way of reading Western tragedy alongside texts from the postcolonial world so as to cross-illuminate each other.