Examined Life
Reading philosophy doesn't have to be dry and impenetrable. Many contemporary philosophers are writing intriguing books that are invaluable to the examination and understanding of what we are doing here.
Examined Life, is a documentary directed by Astra Taylor (2008) that presents important philosophical questions during short discussions with contemporary philosophers. With topics ranging from ecological crises to the crisis of world poverty, and from how we view the differently abled to how we view the differently cultured, "Examined Life" will serve as your gateway to truly interesting and accessible philosophy.
Once you're through the gateway, begin your journey with this reading list from some of the philosophers presented by Astra Taylor in, "Examined Life."
Political Emotions: Why Love Matters for Justice, by Martha C. Nussbaum
Nussbaum stimulates readers with challenging insights on the role of emotion in political life. Her provocative theory of social change shows how a truly just society might be realized through the cultivation and studied liberation of emotions, specifically love.
In Defense of Lost Causes, by Slavoj Žižek
Is global emancipation a lost cause? Are universal values outdated relics of an earlier age? In fear of the horrors of totalitarianism should we submit ourselves to a miserable third way of economic liberalism and government-as-administration?
In this major work, philosophical sharpshooter Slavoj Žižek takes on the reigning ideology with a plea that we should re-appropriate several "lost causes," and look for the kernel of truth in the ‘totalitarian' politics of the past
Democracy Matters, by Cornell West
In "Democracy Matters," West turns to the analysis of the arrested development of democracy - both in America and in the crisis-ridden Middle East. In a strikingly original diagnosis, he argues that if America is to become a better steward of democratization around the world, we must first wake up to the long history of imperialist corruption that has plagued our own democracy.
Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? by Judith Butler
"Frames of War" begins on the idea that we cannot grieve for those lost lives that we never saw as lives to begin with. In this age of CNN-mediated war, the lives of those wretched populations of the earth - the refugees; the victims of unjust imprisonment and torture; the immigrants virtually enslaved by their starvation and legal disenfranchisement - are always presented to us as already irretrievable and thereby already lost. We may shake our heads at their wretchedness but then we sacrifice them nonetheless, for they are already forgone.
The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty, by Peter Singer
Using ethical arguments, provocative thought experiments, illuminating examples, and case studies of charitable giving, philosopher Peter Singer shows that our current response to world poverty is not only insufficient but ethically indefensible.
Empire, by Micheal Hardt & Antonio Negri
Imperialism as we knew it may be no more, but empire is alive and well. It is, as the authors demonstrate in this work the new political order of globalization. It is easy to recognize the contemporary economic, cultural, and legal transformations taking place across the globe but difficult to understand them. Hardt and Negri contend that they should be seen in line with our historical understanding of empire as a universal order that accepts no boundaries or limits.
Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, by Kwame Anthony Appiah
Drawing on a broad range of disciplines, including history, literature, and philosophy - as well as the author's own experience of life on three continents - "Cosmopolitanism" is a moral manifesto for a planet we share with more than six billion strangers.
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