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2The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature, Third Edition, International Edition (edited book)Oup Usa. 2009.
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71The Case for World GovernmentJournal of Philosophical Research 31 59-80. 2006.The world is becoming an ever-shrinking global village in which the events of one neighborhood tend to reverberate through the whole. In this essay I examine the best arguments available for both nationalist commitments and for moral cosmopolitanism and then try to reconcile them within a larger framework of institutional cosmopolitanism or World Government. My thesis is that in an international Hobbesian world like ours, increasingly threatened by global problems related to the environment, tra…Read more
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33Classics of philosophy (edited book)Oxford University Press. 1998.Classics of Philosophy, 2/e, is the most comprehensive anthology of writings in Western philosophy in print. Spanning 2500 years of thought, it is ideal for introduction to philosophy and history of philosophy courses that are structured chronologically. More than seventy works by forty-two philosophers as well as fragments from the Pre-Socratics are included, offering students and general readers alike an extensive and economical collection of the major works of the Western tradition. This anth…Read more
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10Are Human Rights Based on Equal Human Worth?Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 52 (3): 605-622. 1992.
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216In 1941 Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish friar from Warsaw was arrested for publishing anti-Nazi pamphlets and sentenced to Auschwitz. There he was beaten, kicked by shiny leather boots, and whipped by his prison guards. After one prisoner successfully escaped, the prescribed punishment was to select ten other prisoners who were to die by starvation. As ten prisoners were pulled out of line one by one, Fr. Kolbe broke out from the ranks, pleading with he Commandant to be allowed to take the pla…Read more
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93What do we deserve?: a reader on justice and desert (edited book)Oxford University Press. 1999.The concept of desert, which once enjoyed a central place in political and ethical theory, has been relegated to the margins of much of contemporary theory, if not excluded altogether. Recently a renewed interest in the topic has emerged, and several philosophers have argued that the notion merits a more central place in political and ethical theory. Some of these philosophers contend that justice exists to the extent that people receive exactly what they deserve, while others argue that desert …Read more
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12Cooperation and Equality: A Critique of Richard Norman's Argument for EgalitarianismPhilosophy 71 (275). 1996.
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159Kierkegaard on Faith and FreedomInternational Journal for Philosophy of Religion 27 (1/2). 1990.
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13EqualityJournal of Philosophical Research 24 193-245. 1999.The dominant contemporary political theory is egalitarianism, yet egalitarians seldom give a clear justification of their position. In this paper I examine such questions as, What is egalitarianism all about? What is so attractive about equality? And what is the proper criterion? What do egalitarians want to equalize and why? My primary hypothesis is that current egalitarian theories either illicitly attempt to derive substantive conclusions from formal notions or, if they are substantive, are b…Read more
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17Philosophy: The Pursuit of WisdomWadsworth Publishing Company. 2004.Capturing the inimitable enthusiasm of Louis Pojman's much acclaimed teaching, PHILOSOPHY: THE PURSUIT OF WISDOM introduces students to all the core topics in philosophy. Beginning with an inquiry into the nature and purpose of philosophy, this text moves through many traditional discussions--such as the existence of God, the problems of knowledge, the freewill/determinism debate, and the foundations of ethics--concluding with an exploration into existentialism and the meaning of life.
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13Believing and WillingCanadian Journal of Philosophy 15 (1): 37-55. 1985.It is widely held that we can obtain beliefs and withhold believing propositions directly by performing an act of will. This thesis is sometimes identified with the view that believing is a basic act, an act which is under our direct control. Descartes holds that the will is limitless in relation to belief acquisition and that we must be directly responsible for our beliefs, especially our false beliefs, for otherwise we could draw the blasphemous conclusion that God is responsible for them. For…Read more
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54Classics of Philosophy: Volume 1: Ancient and Medieval (edited book)Oxford University Press USA. 1997.Classics of Philosophy: Volume I, Ancient and Medieval covers the works of philosophers from Thales to William of Ockham. Ideal for courses in ancient or ancient and medieval philosophy, it includes twenty-nine works--seven of them complete--by thirteen philosophers as well as fragments from the Pre-Socratics. A lucid introduction, including a brief biographical sketch, accompanies each of the featured philosophers. Also look for Classics of Philosophy: Volume II, Modern and Contemporary, which …Read more
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The moral response to terrorism and cosmopolitanismIn James Sterba (ed.), Terrorism and International Justice, Oxford University Press. pp. 135--157. 2003.
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26The Case for World GovernmentJournal of Philosophical Research 31 59-80. 2006.The world is becoming an ever-shrinking global village in which the events of one neighborhood tend to reverberate through the whole. In this essay I examine the best arguments available for both nationalist commitments and for moral cosmopolitanism and then try to reconcile them within a larger framework of institutional cosmopolitanism or World Government. My thesis is that in an international Hobbesian world like ours, increasingly threatened by global problems related to the environment, tra…Read more
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2255Equality: Selected Readings (edited book)Oup Usa. 1997.Louis Pojman and Robert Westmoreland have compiled the best material on the subject of equality, ranging from classical works by Aristotle, Hobbes and Rousseau to contemporary works by John Rawls, Thomas Nagel, Michael Walzer, Harry Frankfurt, Bernard Williams and Robert Nozick; and including such topics as: the concept of equality; equal opportunity; Welfare egalitarianism; resources; equal human rights and complex equality.
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7Classics of Philosophy: Volume Iii: The Twentieth CenturyOup Usa. 1998.This is Volume 3 of the most comprehensive anthology of writings in Western philosophy in print. It assembles the classic essays of Western philosophy of the twentieth century, from logical Positivism, American Pragmatism, and Ordinary Language Philosophy to Continental Philosophy.
Louis P. Pojman
(1935 - 2005)
Areas of Specialization
Metaphysics |
Philosophy of Religion |
Areas of Interest
Epistemology |
Applied Ethics |
Social and Political Philosophy |