 | Modern Honor: A Philosophical Defense Subjects: Humanities; Language & Literature; Politics & International Relations; Social Sciences; Political Philosophy; History; Classical Studies; Philosophy; Religion; Cultural Studies; Literature; Anthropology - Soc Sci; Social & Cultural History; Greek History & Culture; Philosophy of Human Nature; Political Philosophy; Religious Ethics; Cultural Theory; Social & Cultural Anthropology; Aesthetics; Ethics Philosophy; Interdisciplinary Literary Studies; Literature by Period; This book examines the notion of honor with an eye to dissecting its intellectual demise and with the aim of making a case for honor's rehabilitation. Western intellectuals acknowledge honor's influence, but they lament its authority. For Western democratic societies to embrace honor, it must be compatible with social ideals like liberty, equality, and fraternity. Cunningham details a conception of honor that can do justice to these ideals. This vision revolves around three elements--character (being), relationships (relating), and activities and accomplishment (doing). Taken together, these elements articulate a shared aspiration for excellence. We can turn the tables on traditional ills of honor--serious problems of gender, race, and class--by forging a vision of honor that rejects lives predicated on power and oppression. Anthony Cunningham is Professor of Philosophy at St. John's University, USA |
