Moral relativism attracts and repels. What is defensible in it and what is to be rejected? Do we as human beings have no shared standards by which we can understand one another? Can we abstain from judging one another's practices? Do we truly have divergent views about what constitutes good and evil, virtue and vice, harm and welfare, dignity and humiliation, or is there some underlying commonality that trumps it all?
These questions turn up everywhere, from Montaigne's essay on cannibals, to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, to the debate over female genital mutilation. They become ever more urgent with the growth of mass immigration, the rise of religious extremism, the challenges of Islamist terrorism, the rise of identity politics, and the resentment at colonialism and the massive disparities of wealth and power between North and South. Are human rights and humanitarian interventions just the latest form of cultural imperialism? By what right do we judge particular practices as barbaric? Who are the real barbarians?
In this provocative new book, the distinguished social theorist Steven Lukes takes an incisive and enlightening look at these and other challenging questions and considers the very foundations of what we believe, why we believe it, and whether there is a profound discord between "us" and "them."

Moral Relativism: Big Ideas/Small Books

Politics & Social Sciences

Lukes, Professor Steven

Philosophy

Picador

Durkheim and the Law

The law was central to Durkheim's sociological theory and to his efforts to establish sociology as a distinctive discipline. This revised and updated second edition of Durkheim and the Law brings together key texts which demonstrate the development of Durkheim's thinking on the sociology of law, several of them newly translated here. The editors, both world-renowned Durkheim scholars, provide a comprehensive analysis of the intellectual significance and distinctiveness of Durkheim's work on the subject. They show how his ideas evolved over time; how they contributed to the development of a distinctively Durkheimian vision of a science of society; and they provide a comprehensive assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of his theorizing about law, as well as its continuing relevance for contemporary sociology. Enriched with a new introduction and useful learning features, this book remains a major reference for students of socio-legal theory.

Scull, Andrew

Red Globe Press

The law was central to Durkheim's sociological theory and to his efforts to establish sociology as a distinctive discipline. This revised and updated second edition of Durkheim and the Law brings together key texts which demonstrate the development of Durkheim's thinking on the sociology of law, several of them newly translated here. The editors, both world-renowned Durkheim scholars, provide a comprehensive analysis of the intellectual significance and distinctiveness of Durkheim's work on the subject. They show how his ideas evolved over time; how they contributed to the development of a distinctively Durkheimian vision of a science of society; and they provide a comprehensive assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of his theorizing about law, as well as its continuing relevance for contemporary sociology. Enriched with a new introduction and useful learning features, this book remains a major reference for students of socio-legal theory.

Power: A Radical View

From the Back Cover\n‘In this age of conspiracy mongering, the new edition of Steven Lukes's Power is doubly welcome. It gives us a brilliantly tough-minded and realistic account of how power operates both when it is visible and when it isn't.’ – Professor Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, US\n‘When first published, Steven Lukes’s classic “radical view” of power set the stage for any further critical debate about that concept. But now, with another expanded edition, we learn a new meaning of “radical”: rethinking one’s own theory from the ground up, in a truly dialogical way. Could a masterpiece ever be perfected? Yes, it can.’ – Professor Rainer Forst, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany 
The concept of power is central to social and political science. This third edition of a classic work assesses the main debates around how to conceptualize and study this difficult topic. Including the original 1974 text, updates and reflections from the second edition and two groundbreaking new chapters, Power: A Radical View poses urgent and influential arguments about how power over willing subjects is secured and maintained.\nWith a brand new introduction, this third edition advances a major development of Lukes’s three-dimensional view of power and presents empirical cases to support this. It brings a book that has consolidated its reputation as a major reference point within social and political theory to a whole new audience and is essential reading for all undergraduates and postgraduate students of Politics and Sociology.\nSteven Lukes is Professor of Sociology at New York University, USA. He was previously a Fellow and Tutor in Politics and Sociology at Balliol College, Oxford, U.K. and has held professorships at the European University Institute, Florence and the University of Siena, Italy and the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.\nThe third edition of this seminal work includes the original text, first published in 1974, the updates and reflections from the second edition and two groundbreaking new chapters. Power: A Radical View assesses the main debates about how to conceptualize and study power, including the influential contributions of Michel Foucault. The new material includes a development of Lukes's theory of power and presents empirical cases to exemplify this.\nIncluding a refreshed introduction, this third edition brings a book that has consolidated its reputation as a classic work and a major reference point within Social and Political Theory to a whole new audience. It can be used on modules across the Social and Political Sciences dealing with the concept of power and its manifestation in the world. It is also essential reading for all undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in the history of Social and Political Thought.\nNew to this Edition: 
- A revised and refreshed introduction 
- Two new chapters on 'Domination and Consent' and 'Exploring the Third Dimension'

Social Sciences

Bloomsbury Academic

The third edition of this seminal work includes the original text, first published in 1974, the updates and reflections from the second edition and two groundbreaking new chapters. Power: A Radical View assesses the main debates about how to conceptualize and study power, including the influential contributions of Michel Foucault. The new material includes a development of Lukes's theory of power and presents empirical cases to exemplify this. Including a refreshed introduction, this third edition brings a book that has consolidated its reputation as a classic work and a major reference point within Social and Political Theory to a whole new audience. It can be used on modules across the Social and Political Sciences dealing with the concept of power and its manifestation in the world. It is also essential reading for all undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in the history of Social and Political Thought. New to this Edition: - A revised and refreshed introduction - Two new chapters on 'Domination and Consent' and 'Exploring the Third Dimension'

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lukes, Professor Steven. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lukes, Professor Steven

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lukes, Professor Steven. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Moral Relativism: Big Ideas/Small Books

Durkheim and the Law

Durkheim and the Law

Power: A Radical View

Power: A Radical View