Books about Relativism from Amazon.com

The classic Existentialist novel, with a newintroduction by renowned poet, translator, and critic Richard Howard.

Winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize for Literature, Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher, critic, novelist, and dramatist, holds a position of singular eminence in the world of letters. Among readers and critics familiar with the whole of Sartre's work, it is generally recognized that his earliest novel, La Nausée (first published in 1938), is his finest and most significant. It is unquestionably a key novel of the twentieth century and a landmark in Existentialist fiction.

Nausea is the story of Antoine Roquentin, a French writer who is horrified at his own existence. In impressionistic, diary form he ruthlessly catalogues his every feeling and sensation. His thoughts culminate in a pervasive, overpowering feeling of nausea which "spreads at the bottom of the viscous puddle, at the bottom of our time—the time of purple suspenders and broken chair seats; it is made of wide, soft instants, spreading at the edge, like an oil stain." Roquentin's efforts to come to terms with life, his philosophical and psychological struggles, give Sartre the opportunity to dramatize the tenets of his Existentialist creed..
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From modern economics to Western art and m usic, the Catholic Church has contributed more to the development of Western civilization than any other institution--but rarely gets credit for it..
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Praise for the first edition-

"Every once in a while a book appears that treats the leading issues of a subject in such a clear and challenging manner that it becomes central to understanding that subject. Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice is just such a book. . . . Donnelly's interpretations are clear and argued with zest."-American Political Science Review

"This wide-ranging book looks at all aspects of human rights, drawing upon political theory, sociology, and international relations as well as international law. . . . [Jack Donnelly] deals successfully with two of the principal challenges to the notion of the universality of human rights: the argument that some non-Western societies are not subject to Western norms, and the claim that economic development may require the sacrifice of some human rights."-Foreign Affairs

In a thoroughly revised edition of Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice (more than half of the material is new), Jack Donnelly elaborates a theory of human rights, addresses arguments of cultural relativism, and explores the efficacy of bilateral and multilateral international action. Entirely new chapters address prominent post-Cold War issues including humanitarian intervention, democracy and human rights, "Asian values," group rights, and discrimination against sexual minorities..
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"An extremely well-researched, intellectual approach to the problem of relativism and its effect on education, public policy, and our everyday lives." --Youthworker.
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Praise for The Assassination of Julius Caesar:

"Parenti . . . re-creates the struggle of the late Republic with scintillating storytelling and deeply examined historical insight."-Publishers Weekly

One of America's most astute and engaging political analysts, Michael Parenti shows us that culture is a changing process and the product of a dynamic interplay between a wide range of social and political interests. It is not enough to study the prevailing political realm; we also must grasp developments throughout the entire civil society. In short, to understand a society we need to understand the problem of culture as well as that of power.

Drawing from cultures around the world, Parenti shows that beliefs and practices are readily subjected to political manipulation, and that many parts of culture are being commodified, separated from their group or communal origins, and packaged and sold to those who can pay for them. Folk culture is giving way to a corporate market culture. Art, science, medicine, and psychiatry can be used as instruments of cultural control, and even marriage, the "foundation of society," has been misused by heterosexuals across the centuries.

Using vivid examples and riveting arguments throughout, The Culture Struggle ranges from the everyday to the esoteric. Richly informed, penned with eloquence and irony, The Culture Struggle presents a collection of snapshots of our time that help us understand the world we live in.

Michael Parenti is a critically acclaimed author and an extraordinary public speaker. He received his PhD in political science from Yale University and has taught at a number of colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. He is the author of 18 books, including Superpariotism, The Assassination of Julius Caesar, and Inventing Reality.

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"Terrific. .The dialogues are great fun. I sat back and enjoyed it." ---William H. Shaw "Total devastation. Splendid book. An absolutely first class piece of work." ---Antony Flew Some say we can't really know anything, unless we first irrationally accept some things blindly on faith. Is that true? And what is truth, anyway? Is objective truth a bankrupt notion, as postmodernists say? They also say observations are always theory-laden and everything is socially constructed, "including giraffes." Of course, this means "all knowledge is essentially political," and "science is best seen as a socially constructed discourse that legitimates its power by presenting itself as truth." Worse than that, "there is no procedure called 'turning to the facts'.there is no procedure of 'justification in light of the facts' which can be opposed to consilience of one's own opinion with those of others." Rather, "the notion of accurate representation is simply an automatic and empty compliment we pay to beliefs which help us to do what we want to do." Unfortunately, postmodernists didn't get that way on account of ignoring the teachings of the Philosophy department, but on account of sincerely imbibing them. The terrible truth is that postmodernism is what happens when somebody who believes what he reads, reads the Philosophy canon. Avoiding technical jargon and presented in the form of a spirited dialogue between a professor and student, The Slightest Philosophy attacks what it sees as the real roots of postmodernism: the skeptical/anti-realist rut philosophy has been in since the eighteenth century. Opposing the canon from a position of naïve realism, the book's refutation of epistemological skepticism applies a method usually called abduction, or argument to the best explanation. The unexpected power of this pedestrian approach becomes apparent when it finally proves its mettle against philosophy's scariest monsters, including the Cartesian Demon, the Brain in the Vat, the Problem of the Criterion, and Hume's Riddle of Induction. Along the way, The Slightest Philosophy also provides a snappy introduction to the central controversies in philosophy. Not only will it make you laugh, it also renders compelling the unavoidable questions too often made to seem obscure. Rarely has epistemology seemed so accessible as in the hands of a writer Antony Flew called "never dull.".
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