First published in 2001, this book sets out to shed light on traditional controversies in Mill scholarship, underscore the significance of the contribution Mill made to associationist psychology, argue he is not entirely successful in explaining why art matters, and that this failure is linked to a deep tension in his mature work — rooted in his unwillingness to shake off the moral psychology he was raised on. The book examines various episodes and tensions in Mill’s life and work and how they relate to and informed his philosophy — while also giving a critical account of it. This book will be of interest to students of philosophy.

First published in 2001, this book sets out to shed light on traditional controversies in Mill scholarship, underscore the significance of the contribution Mill made to associationist psychology, argue he is not entirely successful in explaining why art matters, and that this failure is linked to a deep tension in his mature work — rooted in his unwillingness to shake off the moral psychology he was raised on. The book examines various episodes and tensions in Mill’s life and work and how they relate to and informed his philosophy — while also giving a critical account of it. This book will be of interest to students of philosophy.

. Renewal of Life by Transmission. The most notable distinction between living and inanimate things is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. A stone when struck resists. If its resistance is greater than the force of the blow struck, it remains outwardly unchanged. Otherwise, it is shattered into smaller bits. Never does the stone attempt to react in such a way that it may maintain itself against the blow, much less so as to render the blow a contributing factor to its own continued action. While the living thing may easily be crushed by superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it into means of its own further existence. If it cannot do so, it does not just split into smaller pieces (at least in the higher forms of life), but loses its identity as a living thing. As long as it endures, it struggles to use surrounding energies in its own behalf. It uses light, air, moisture, and the material of soil. To say that it uses them is to say that it turns them into means of its own conservation. As long as it is growing, the energy it expends in thus turning the environment to account is more than compensated for by the return it gets: it grows. Understanding the word "control" in this sense, it may be said that a living being is one that subjugates and controls for its own continued activity the energies that would otherwise use it up. Life is a self-renewing process through action upon the environment.

The third edition of this seminal work includes the original text, first published in 1974, the updates and reflections from the second edition and two groundbreaking new chapters. Power: A Radical View assesses the main debates about how to conceptualize and study power, including the influential contributions of Michel Foucault. The new material includes a development of Lukes's theory of power and presents empirical cases to exemplify this. Including a refreshed introduction, this third edition brings a book that has consolidated its reputation as a classic work and a major reference point within Social and Political Theory to a whole new audience. It can be used on modules across the Social and Political Sciences dealing with the concept of power and its manifestation in the world. It is also essential reading for all undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in the history of Social and Political Thought. New to this Edition: - A revised and refreshed introduction - Two new chapters on 'Domination and Consent' and 'Exploring the Third Dimension'

A History of Western Political Thought is an energetic and lucid account of the most important political thinkers and the enduring themes of the last two and a half millennia. Written with students of the history of political thought in mind, the book: * traces the development of political thought from Ancient Greece to the late twentieth century * focuses on individual thinkers and texts * includes 40 biographies of key political thinkers * offers original views of theorists and highlights those which may have been unjustly neglected * develops the wider themes of political thought and the relations between thinkers over time.

Tracing neoliberalism's devastating erosions of democratic principles, practices, and cultures. Neoliberal rationality—ubiquitous today in statecraft and the workplace, in jurisprudence, education, and culture—remakes everything and everyone in the image of homo oeconomicus. What happens when this rationality transposes the constituent elements of democracy into an economic register? In Undoing the Demos, Wendy Brown explains how democracy itself is imperiled. The demos disintegrates into bits of human capital; concerns with justice bow to the mandates of growth rates, credit ratings, and investment climates; liberty submits to the imperative of human capital appreciation; equality dissolves into market competition; and popular sovereignty grows incoherent. Liberal democratic practices may not survive these transformations. Radical democratic dreams may not either. In an original and compelling argument, Brown explains how and why neoliberal reason undoes the political form and political imaginary it falsely promises to secure and reinvigorate. Through meticulous analyses of neoliberalized law, political practices, governance, and education, she charts the new common sense. Undoing the Demos makes clear that for democracy to have a future, it must become an object of struggle and rethinking.

"This book provides an engaging and intellectually challenging introduction to political ideologies, while at the same time giving an accessible route into the subject for those new to politics. Supported by an outstanding companion website, it has strong claims to be the best undergraduate textbook on ideologies on the market." Dr. Mike Gough, University of East Anglia Introduction to Political Theory is a text for the 21st century. It shows students why an understanding of theory is crucial to an understanding of issues and events in a rapidly shifting global political landscape. Bringing together classic and contemporary political concepts and ideologies into one book, this new text introduces the major approaches to political issues that have shaped the modern world, and the ideas that form the currency of political debate. Introduction to Political Theory relates political ideas to political realities through effective use of examples and cases studies making theory lively, contentious and relevant. This thoroughly revised and updated second edition contains new chapters on global justice and political violence, as well as an expanded treatment of globalisation and the state. A wide range of pedagogical features helps to clarify, extend and apply students’ understanding of the fundamental ideologies and concepts. This is comprised of: · Case studies demonstrate how political ideas, concepts and issues manifest in the real world · ‘Focus' boxes encourage students to appreciate alternative viewpoints · A range of thought provoking photographs challenge students to examine concepts from a different angle · Suggestions for further reading and weblinks are also provided to help students to further their understanding Introduction to Political Theory is accompanied by an innovative website with multiple choice questions, biographies of key figures in political theory, further case studies and an innovative ‘how to read’ feature which helps students get to grips with difficult primary texts.