The Decline of Mercy in Public Life
$41.99 USD
- Authors:
- Alex Tuckness, Iowa State University
- John M. Parrish, Loyola Marymount University, California
- Date Published: No date available
- availability: This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
- format: Adobe eBook Reader
- isbn: 9781139699341
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The virtue of mercy is widely admired, but is now marginalized in contemporary public life. Yet for centuries it held a secure place in western public discourse without implying a necessary contradiction with justice. Alex Tuckness and John M. Parrish ask how and why this changed. Examining Christian and non-Christian ancient traditions, along with Kantian and utilitarian strains of thought, they offer a persuasive account of how our perception of mercy has been transformed by Enlightenment conceptions of impartiality and equality that place justice and mercy in tension. Understanding the logic of this decline, they argue, will make it possible to promote and defend a more robust role for mercy in public life. Their study ranges from Homer to the late Enlightenment and from ancient tragedies to medieval theologies to contemporary philosophical texts, and will be valuable to readers in political philosophy, political theory, and the philosophy of law.
Read more- Outlines the important history of mercy in politics, law, religion, philosophy and literature
- Features a variety of sources from contemporary analytic philosophy, religious texts, theological treatises, tragedies, epics, histories, court cases, legal commentaries, and canonical texts in the history of political philosophy
- Offers suggestions for how mercy might contribute to contemporary life
Reviews & endorsements
'This is a well done, well written, and very useful book. It will quickly become a standard reference for scholars seeking to understand the history of thought about mercy in the west and elsewhere as well as the current 'decline of mercy in public life'. The authors provide a useful and persuasive account of the transformation of thinking about mercy and the growth of a belief in the opposition of mercy and justice.' Austin D. Sarat, Amherst College, Massachusetts
See more reviews'Tuckness and Parrish summon considerable learning to describe the changing status and, indeed, definitions of mercy in philosophic and theological thought … Highly recommended.' W. Morrisey, Choice
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×Product details
- format: Adobe eBook Reader
- isbn: 9781139699341
- contains: 1 table
- availability: This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I. Mercy and Politics outside the Western Christian Tradition:
1. Mercy and justice in Buddhist, Islamic, and Eastern Orthodox thought
2. Mercy and the ancient defense of honor
Part II. Mercy and Justice in the Western Christian Tradition:
3. Mercy as charity in Augustine and early Christian thought
4. Christian mercy from Anselm to Calvin
Part III. Modern Liberalism and the Decline of Mercy:
5. The primacy of the political in modern natural law
6. The rise of utilitarianism and the return of retributivism
Part IV. Mercy and Impartiality in the Utilitarian and Kantian Traditions:
7. Mercy as cruelty in Bentham and the utilitarian tradition
8. Mercy as injustice in Kant and the retributivist tradition
Part V. Mercy and Justice Today:
9. The meanings of mercy
10. The case for mercy.
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