"Simone de Lima is a biologist and a retired professor of Developmental Psychology at the Universidade de Brasília. Brazil, where her work focused on innovative education and disability. She's been involved in different forms of activism since her teens, from student organizing against the Brazilian dictatorship to doing feminist, environmental, children's and animal rights work. She co-founded Brasilia's first animal advocacy organization, as well as its first vegan cafe, Café Corbucci, and directed the Outreach and Education department of a US animal rights nonprofit. She lives with her husband and dog in Takoma Park, Maryland, volunteers at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, and collaborates with vegan and radical education collectives"--

>

Most of us want to make a difference. We donate our time and money to charities and causes we deem worthy, choose careers we consider meaningful, and patronize businesses and buy products we believe make the world a better place. Unfortunately, we often base these decisions on assumptions and emotions rather than facts. As a result, even our best intentions often lead to ineffective—and sometimes downright harmful—outcomes. How can we do better? While a researcher at Oxford, trying to figure out which career would allow him to have the greatest impact, William MacAskill confronted this problem head on. He discovered that much of the potential for change was being squandered by lack of information, bad data, and our own prejudice. As an antidote, he and his colleagues developed effective altruism, a practical, data-driven approach that allows each of us to make a tremendous difference regardless of our resources. Effective altruists believe that it’s not enough to simply do good; we must do good better. At the core of this philosophy are five key questions that help guide our altruistic decisions: How many people benefit, and by how much? Is this the most effective thing I can do? Is this area neglected? What would have happened otherwise? What are the chances of success, and how good would success be? By applying these questions to real-life scenarios, MacAskill shows how many of our assumptions about doing good are misguided. For instance, he argues one can potentially save more lives by becoming a plastic surgeon rather than a heart surgeon; measuring overhead costs is an inaccurate gauge of a charity’s effectiveness; and, it generally doesn’t make sense for individuals to donate to disaster relief. MacAskill urges us to think differently, set aside biases, and use evidence and careful reasoning rather than act on impulse. When we do this—when we apply the head and the heart to each of our altruistic endeavors—we find that each of us has the power to do an astonishing amount of good.

Leading feminist scholars and activists as well as new voices introduce and explore themes central to contemporary ecofeminism. Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth first offers an historical, grounding overview that situates ecofeminist theory and activism and provides a timeline for important publications and events. This is followed by contributions from leading theorists and activists on how our emotions and embodiment can and must inform our relationships with the more than human world. In the final section, the contributors explore the complexities of appreciating difference and the possibilities of living less violently. Throughout the book, the authors engage with intersections of gender and gender non-conformity, race, sexuality, disability, and species. The result is a new up-to-date resource for students and teachers of animal studies, environmental studies, feminist/gender studies, and practical ethics.

The first volume of its kind, Effective Altruism brings together contributions from internationally recognised philosophers, economists, and political theorists, who introduce the effective altruism movement and explore in detail issues which arise once one takes seriously the twin ideas of altruistic commitment and effectiveness.

Annotation Medical science has always promised -- and often delivered -- a longer, better life. But as the pace of science accelerates, do our expectations become unreasonable, fueled by an industry bent on profits and a media desperate for big news?Hope or Hype is a taboo-shattering look at what drives the American obsession with medical "miracles," exposing the equipment manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies; doctors and hospitals too quick to order surgery; the politicians; the press; and our own "technoconsumption" mindset. The authors spread blame for the parade of so-called miracle cures that too often are marginally effective at best -- and sometimes downright dangerous. They examine consumers? eager embrace of medical advances, and present riveting stories of the conscientious doctors and researchers who blew the whistle on ineffective treatments. Finally, they provide sane, practical recommendations for the adoption of new developments. The consequences of questionable practices include costly recalls, billions in wasted money, and the pain and suffering of innumerable patients and their families. In short, they must stop.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.

Drawn from passages and Scriptures Beth Moore brings to light in her New York Times best-selling book, So Long, Insecurity, this 64-page booklet will prompt women to find their soul-deep security in God. Divided topically by common insecurities women face, The Promise of Security provides a portable boost of hope and confidence that will encourage women to continue on in their quest for soul-deep security.

Jim Meehan, British psychologist, poet and amateur philosopher, was asked by one of his mentors, eminent American psychologist Dr. William E. Hall, to consider what attitudes are essential to the establishment of trust, which Hall regarded as being at the heart of all good human relationships. Meehan came up with ten words in the form of two promises that provide the title for this book, “I mean you no harm; I seek your greatest good.” The book starts as Meehan attempts to answer the question he is often asked, “Where do these words come from?” Born in Liverpool in the same hospital and same year as Paul McCartney, Meehan uses McCartney’s account of the composition of his bestselling song, “Yesterday,” to describe a similar experience that gave birth to his ten-word mantra, which captures the heart of trust. Meehan offers some possible biographical contributing factors. Beginning with a section aptly titled, “My Yesterdays,” he explores some early childhood relationships and experiences in Liverpool toward the end and shortly after the Second World War and investigates his adolescence, which was spent mainly in Birmingham, England’s second largest city. He then turns his attention to the influence of five mentors who definitely meant him no harm and sought his greatest good to examine how instrumental they could have been in the formulation of the words. Having exhausted his search for the origin of the expression, he then discusses the meaning of trust and how the two promises, when exchanged with other people, start a journey toward total mutual trust. Meehan defines different forms of trust, draws on the views of certain philosophers, psychologists and exemplars of trust and addresses the current global crisis of trust or, rather, lack of trust. He also includes a few anecdotes that describe the meaningfulness of the ten words to others. At the beginning of his account, Meehan explains how these two promises have developed legs of their own and have traveled widely since first being written in 1997. He finishes the book by posing the question, “Where are the words going?” Certainly, the book could be said to have given the ten words some wings or at least some more legs. In his epilogue, he provides attempts he has made to catch the essentials of total mutual trust and related concepts in verse.