Moral theology

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Enrique Dussel

"Enrique Ambrosini Dussel is and has been one of the most prolific Latin American philosophers of the last 100 years. He has written over fifty books, and over three hundred articles ranging over the history of the Latin American philosophy, political philosophy, church history, theology, ethics, and occasional pieces on the state of Latin American countries. Dussel is first and foremost a moral philosopher, a philosopher of liberation. But for him, philosophy must be liberated so that it may contribute to social liberation. In one sense, "beyond philosophy" means to go beyond contemporary, academicized, professionalized, and "civilized" philosophy by turning to all that demystifies the autonomy of philosophy and turns our attention to its sources. "Beyond philosophy," also means to go beyond philosophy in the Marxian sense of abolishing philosophy by realizing it. This is the definitive English language collection of Dussel's enormous body of work. It will allow the reader to get a good sense of the breath and depth of Dussel's opus, covering four major areas: ethics, economics, history, and liberation theology."--Publisher description.

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Daniel Deudney and Christopher Flavin

Long a dream of tinkerers and visionaries, renewable energy has now come of age. Technical innovations and successful development efforts in the last decade show that humanity can meet many of its energy needs by harnessing the inexhaustible flows of energy that come from the sun, the winds, the waters, living plants, and the earth itself. Here is a hard-nosed yet hopeful look at the global energy future. Daniel Deudney and Christopher Flavin of the Worldwatch Institute assess the advances being made in developing the major renewable sources of energy. Wood and hydropower already play crucial roles in the world energy economy. Passive solar design, wood alcohol, wind machines, and solar photovoltaic cells are among the "new" energy sources likely to grow in use most rapidly. Individual countries will pave the way with particular technologies, as has already been shown by Brazil in alcohol fuels, Japan in solar collectors, and the Philippines in geothermal energy. Renewable energy is not only an economical alternative to coal and nuclear power, the authors argue, but can help relieve unemployment, environmental degradation, and other pressing problems. The book describes what life could be like in a world powered by renewable energy, noting that differences in climate, natural resources, and economic philosophy will help determine which energy sources are used in various regions. Going beyond the generalities that have dominated recent energy policy debates, Deudney and Flavin detail a plan of action to promote sound energy development in rich and poor nations alike. They conclude that institutions and politics -- not resource limits -- constrain the use of renewable energy. - Jacket flap.

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Lea Terhune

"Through wide-ranging research and interviews with key figures, including the Karmapa himself, award-winning journalist Lea Terhune unlocks the tale of the Karmapa's disputed incarnation, and traces the roots of the Kagyu tradition and the history of the previous Karmapas in order to illuminate the tale of the young man born to play a key role in the future of Tibet."--Jacket.

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Jann Pasler

"Drawing on a passion for music and a diverse interdisciplinary toolbox, Jann Pasler invites us to read as she writes "through" music, unveiling the forces that affect our sonic encounters. In a collection of historical and critical essays, some appearing for the first time in English, Pasler deconstructs the social, moral, and political preoccupations lurking behind aesthetic taste. Arguing that learning from musical experience is vital to our understanding of past, present, and future, Pasler's work trenchantly reasserts the role of music as a crucial contributor to important public debates about who we can be as individuals, communities, and nations." "The author's approaches to musical biography and history challenge us to rethink our assumptions about important cultural issues including national identity and postmodern musical hybridity, material culture, the economics of power, and the relationship between classical and popular music. Her work uncovers the self-fashioning of modernists such as Vincent d'Indy, Augusta Holmes, Jean Cocteau, and John Cage, and addresses categories such as race, gender, and class in the early twentieth century in ways that resonate with experiences today. She also explores how music uses time and constructs narrative." "In these essays, music - whether beautiful or cacophonous, reassuring or seemingly incomprehensible - comes alive as a bearer of ideas and that offers insights into how we negotiate the world."--Jacket.