This book argues that in order for people to live well, they must develop a virtue of playfulness. Inspired by Aristotle, the book draws on work from philosophy, classics, history, biology, psychology, and media studies to understand the place of play and playfulness in a good life. Many philosophers have written about play, from Presocratics such as Heraclitus to contemporary philosophers such as Bernard Suits. Some champion play as the most crucial value in life. Others deride it and warn strongly against it. This book evaluates the research on how play and playfulness bear on living a good life and becoming a good person. Its main argument is that in order to understand play as an action, we must understand playfulness as a virtue in the lives of good people. The author develops a theory of playfulness from an Aristotelian perspective. Like Aristotle sees the virtues as necessary for a happy life, the author argues that playfulness is necessary for living well. And just as Aristotle offers multifaceted characterizations of core virtues, the author argues that playfulness includes aspects of seriousness, creativity, humility, optimism, and sociality. Playful people take play seriously, learn new skills, overcome failure, strive for success, and keep others in mind. As a result, playful people have a better shot at living well. The Virtue of Playfulness is an accessible, empirically informed, and detailed treatment of the philosophy of playfulness. It will appeal to scholars and students in philosophy and related disciplines who are interested in virtue ethics, moral psychology, philosophy of games, philosophy of sport, and ancient philosophy.

This collection of 19 chapters, all appearing in print here for the first time and written by an international team of established and emerging scholars, explores the place of intellectual virtues and vices in a social world. Relevant virtues include open-mindedness, curiosity, intellectual courage, diligence in inquiry, and the like. Relevant vices include dogmatism, need for immediate certainty, and gullibility and the like. The chapters are divided into four key sections: Foundational Issues; Individual Virtues; Collective Virtues; and Methods and Measurements. And the chapters explore the most salient questions in this areas of research, including: How are individual intellectual virtues and vices affected by their social contexts? Does being in touch with other open-minded people make us more open-minded? Conversely, does connection to other dogmatic people make us more dogmatic? Can groups possess virtues and vices distinct from those of their members? For instance, could a group of dogmatic individuals operate in an open-minded way despite the vices of its members? Each chapter receives commentary from two other authors in the volume, and each original author then replies to these commentaries. Together, the authors form part of a collective conversation about how we can know about what we know. In so doing, they not only theorize but enact social virtue epistemology.

Academics working in contemporary universities are experiencing unprecedented and unsustainable pressure in an environment of hyper-performativity, metrics and accountability. From this perspective, the university produces multiple tensions and moments of crises, where it seems that there is limited space left for the intrinsic enjoyment arising from scholarly practices. This book offers a global perspective on how pleasure is central to the endeavours of academics working in the contemporary university, with contributors evaluating the opportunities for the strategic refusal of the quantifying, stultifying and stupefying delimiters of what is possible for academic production. The aim of this book is to open up spaces for conversation, reflection and thought, in order to think, to be and to do differently – pleasurably. Contributors rupture the bounds of what is permissible and possible within their daily lives, habits and practices. As such, this book addresses increasingly significant questions. What are some of the multiple and different ways that we can reclaim pleasure and enhance the durations and intensities of our passions, desires and becomings within the contemporary university? How might these aspirations be realised? What are the spaces for the pleasurable production of research that might be opened up? How might we reconfigure the neoliberal university to be a place of more affect, where desire, laughter and joy join with the work that we seek to undertake and the communities whom we serve?

This book provides an interpretation of Plato’s Euthydemus as a unified piece of literature, taking into account both its dramatic and its philosophical aspects. It aims to do justice to a major Platonic work which has so far received comparatively little treatment. Except for the sections of the dialogue in which Socrates presents an argument on the pursuit of eudaimonia, the Euthydemus seems to have been largely ignored. The reason for this is that much of the work’s philosophical import lies hidden underneath a veil of riotous comedy. This book shows how a reading of the dialogue as a whole, rather than a limited focus on the Socratic scenes, sheds light on the work’s central philosophical questions. It argues the Euthydemus points not only to the differences between Socrates and the sophists, but also to actual and alleged similarities between them. The framing scenes comment precisely on this aspect of the internal dialogue, with Crito still lumping together philosophy and eristic shortly before his discussion with Socrates comes to an end. Hence the question that permeates the Euthydemus is raised afresh at the end of the dialogue: what is properly to be termed philosophy?

Visions of Virtue in Popular Film grows out of the interplay between film criticism and a philosophical view of virtue. Joseph H. Kupfer argues that film fictions can be integral to moral reflection, and thus by examining the narrative and cinematic aspects of popular films, we can derive important moral truths about people and their behavior. Taking as his base a classical conception of virtue and vice, Kupfer offers an in-depth examination of Groundhog Day, The African Queen, Parenthood, Rob Roy, Fresh, Jaws, and Aliens in order to investigate the value of virtue within ever-widening social contexts.

Paperback reissue of one volume of the English Dominicans' Latin/English edition of Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae.

Ancient philosophers considered question about laughter, humor, and comedy to be both philosophically interesting and important. They theorized about laughter and its causes, moralized about the appropriate uses of humor and what it is appropriate to laugh at, and wrote treaties on comedic composition. They were often merciless in ridiculing their opponents' positions, borrowing comedic devices and techniques from comic poetry and drama to do so. This volume is organized around three sets of questions that illuminate the philosophical concerns and corresponding range of answers found in ancient philosophy. The first set investigates the psychology of laughter. What is going on in our minds when we laugh? What background conditions must be in place for laughter to occur? Is laughter necessarily hostile or derisive? The second set of questions concerns the ethical and social norms governing laughter and humor. When is it appropriate or inappropriate to laugh? Does laughter have a positive social function? Is there a virtue, or excellence, connected to laugher and humor? The third set of questions concerns the philosophical uses of humor and comedic technique. Do philosophers use humor exclusively in criticizing rivals, or can it play a positive educational role as well? If it can, how does philosophical humor communicate its philosophical content? This volume does not aim to settle these fascinating questions but more importantly to start a conversation about them, and serve as a reference point for discussions of laughter, humor, and comedy in ancient philosophy.

The book series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie, founded by Gustav Gröber in 1905, is among the most renowned publications in Romance Studies. It covers the entire field of Romance linguistics, including the national languages as well as the lesser studied Romance languages. The editors welcome submissions of high-quality monographs and collected volumes on all areas of linguistic research, on medieval literature and on textual criticism. The publication languages of the series are French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian as well as German and English. Each collected volume should be as uniform as possible in its contents and in the choice of languages.

The Handbook of Applied Developmental Science is the only work to comprehensively present the latest theory, research, and application from applied developmental science (ADS) and the positive psychology movement. It summarizes and synthesizes the best scientific knowledge from ADS to help readers understand the efforts being made around the world to ensure that all children and adolescents develop into healthy adults who contribute positively to society. The Handbook is also the first resource to organize and integrate both the prevention and promotion approaches to programs and policies for children, adolescents, and families. In addition, the Handbook provides a detailed road map for future research and for actions that will promote positive child, youth, and family development. Published in four volumes, the Handbook features 95 chapters by more than 150 contributors, many of who are renowned leaders in the field. Volume 1 describes the foundation of applied developmental science, its historical development, and current scientific and professional efforts to develop policies and programs that promote positive child, adolescent, and family development. Volume 2 examines public policy and government service systems. Volume 3 discusses community systems for enhancing citizenship and promoting a civil society. Finally, Volume 4 outlines methods for university engagement and academic outreach. Feature and Benefits - Four comprehensive, topical volumes - Approximately 2,200 pages - 95 chapters - More than 150 contributors, many of whom are world-renowned leaders in applied development science from the academic, professional, and policy and political arenas - Forewords for each volume written by well-known authorities, including Edward Zigler, co-founder of the Head Start program; US Congressman Elijah E Cummings; David Bell, International Youth Foundation; and Graham Spanier, President, The Pennsylvania State University Designed for a wide audience the Handbook will be an important addition to your library collection. It offers a single source for information about fostering generations of healthy children and families. It is designed specifically to meet the needs of: - Faculty and students in the fields of psychology, human development, family studies, policy studies, nursing, allied health, and education - Staff and volunteers working in non-governmental organizations - Members of local, state, national, and international government organizations and personnel involved in policy and program development and funding - Directors and staff at foundations that administer programs aimed at promoting positive your and family development

This is a book for people energized by the possibilities of modern intimacy, but who feel unsure about their own romantic lives. Alternative lifestyles such as nonmonogamy, while liberating in theory, can feel remote in practice, as we are fixed in place by insecurities and social pressures. In Romantic Agency, philosopher Luke Brunning encourages readers to think more deeply about what it means for relationships to not only work, but flourish. Guided by the thought that our abilities to be intimate cannot be taken for granted, he argues that our romantic agency is fragile and best cultivated alongside other people. Together we can become more realistic, balance playfulness with integrity, and value each other’s flourishing. Anyone can benefit from this exploration of intimate life, regardless of their relationship status or romantic ideals. Compelling and timely, Romantic Agency is a groundbreaking account of love and relationships.