- 256 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Kindness Wars rescues our understanding of kindness from the clutches of an intellectually and morally myopic popular psychology and returns it to the stage of big ideas, in keeping with the important Enlightenment-era debates about human nature and possibilities. Cazenave conceptualizes kindness not just as a benevolent feeling, a caring thought, or a generous action but as a worldview, a theory, or an ideology that explains who we are and justifies how we treat others. Here "kindness wars" refer to the millennia-old "kindness theory" and ideological conflicts over what kind of societies humans can and should have. The book's title denotes the two types of kindness wars it analyzes, conflict over (1) whether to be kind or not (i.e., the conflicts between kindness and other societal values and ideologies) and (2) what it means to be kind (i.e., the wars within kindness over different ideas as to what it means to be kind and to whom). Using a conflict theoretical perspective, Kindness Wars examines the history of the kindness concept; its many struggles with opposing notions of our true nature and possibilities; and what the lessons of that history and those battles offer us toward the development of a large, robust, and politically engaged conceptualization of kindness.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Series
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- 1 Kindness Wars: An Introduction
- 2 The Evolution of Human Kindness From Before History
- 3 The Political Construction of Kindness: From Thucydides to Hobbes
- 4 Self-Interest Versus the Common Good: The Enlightenment Debates
- 5 Industrialization, Socialism, and Social Darwinism in 19th-Century Social Thought
- 6 Wars, Hyper-Capitalism, and Human Rights in the 20th Century and Beyond
- 7 Making Black Lives Matter: Kindness Battles in 21st-Century America
- 8 The Future of Kindness: Toward the Construction of Kinder Societies
- About the Author
- Index