Böcker av Garrett Thomson

Political thinking tends to outline reforms to existing political institutions. In contrast, Beyond Instrumentalised Politics argues for the need for systemic transformation. It articulates the evaluative principles for good governance, and employs these principles to argue for a new political system. Because persons are non-instrumentally valuable, good governance requires that all people are respected equally, and this necessitates a participatory democracy. The book investigates how such a democracy might function through consensus-based decision-making and argues for a redefinition of consensus. It characterises the local and national institutions required for public governance thus conceived. This includes the creation of various types of spaces for deep dialogue and mutual inquiry. This book demonstrates how this innovative vision would transform our current conceptions of governance.

With selections of philosophers from Plotinus to Bruno, this new anthology provides significant learning support and historical context for the readings along with a wide variety of pedagogical assists. Featuring biographical headnotes, reading introductions, study questions, as well as special "Prologues" and "Philosophical Overviews," this anthology offers a unique set of critical thinking promtps to help students understand and appreciate the philosophical concepts under discussion. "Philosophical Bridges" discuss how the work of earlier thinkers would influence philosophers to come and place major movements in a contemporary context, showing students how the schools of philosophy interrelate and how the various philosophies apply to the world today. In addition to this volume of Medieval Philosophy, a comprehensive survey of the whole of Western philosophical history and other individual volumes for each of the major historical eras are also available for specialized courses.