Alex King

Discussions of aesthetic reasons and normativity are becoming increasingly popular. This piece outlines six basic questions about aesthetic reasons, normativity, and value and discusses the space of possible answers to these questions. I divide the terrain into two groups of three questions each. First are questions about the shape of aesthetic reasons: what they favour, how strong they are, and where they come from. Second are relational questions about how aesthetic reasons fit into the wider normative landscape: whether they are distinctive, what their normative status is, and how they interact with each other and with non‐aesthetic reasons. This piece aims to provide a taxonomy to clarify and organise the burgeoning literature and to make a few concrete suggestions for avenues of future research.

Reductionisms are everywhere in philosophy, but surprisingly little has been said in any systematic way about reductions of some normative phenomena to other normative phenomena. This chapter aims to make some headway on that project. I call such reductions normative-to-normative reductions, and Iassess some of the prospects and problems for those normative-to-normative reductions that aim to reduce an entire domain of normativity to some other domain. In doing so, the chapter argues against views that reduce the aesthetic to some other domain, including pleasure, prudence, desire, and social practices. This chapter also examines and classifies the argumentative strategies deployed and compares those to existing debates about other normative-to-normative reductionisms, including epistemic instrumentalism. It ends with an extended discussion of whether the reductionist view loses the distinctiveness of the reduced domain. This raises larger questions about what’s at stake in choosing between reductionism and eliminativism and how we individuate normative domains.

Zoos are typically public attractions that do not explicitly, or through a more implicit culture, expect quietness from their guests. This paper will explore whether quietness is something we should aim for when we are visiting zoos. Primarily through analogy with other public spaces which share some of the key characteristics of zoos (libraries and schools, cinemas, theatres and galleries, war memorials, and hospitals and gardens), we suggest that quiet is indeed appropriate in zoos (more appropriate than being noisy). A major component of this argument will be the exploration of what is meant by quiet (and noise), and outlining a concept of quietness based on an idea of attention. The central premise here, drawing upon theories of attention and love, is that noise involves a certain kind of outward expression, which leaves less room for the appreciation of, and attention to, the animals and information that the zoo provides. The article will reflect on how a call for quiet may create scope for enhancing the educational possibilities of zoos, and how zoos might profit by taking the acoustic dimension of visitor behaviour into account when considering their values.

Living-With Wisdom explores the way in which ancient Greek models of philosophy as an attempt to live 'the good life' can and should be realised through the practice of permaculture. Following the thought of Plato and Aristotle, the author places the achievement of wisdom and fulfilment at the centre of the good life, identifying these with the achievement of a complex admixture of virtues, which are dependent on an appreciation of goodness itself. The book then examines the manner in which permaculture - or the practice of sustainable farming or ethical gardening - can provide us with the best opportunity to acquire this 'moral knowledge' through the close relationships we can have with other living beings and things. A study of the nature of wisdom and a means of 'living-with philosophy', Living-With Wisdom: Permaculture and Symbiotic Ethics reveals that it is by appreciating and sharing in the lives of other organisms that we engage with many dilemmas of life and death and have the opportunity to exercise the virtues. As such, it will appeal to scholars of philosophy, social theory and anthrozoology with interests in virtue ethics, environmental ethics, animal ethics and human-animal relations.