Research Catalog

Title

The freedom paradox : towards a post-secular ethics / Clive Hamilton.

Author

Hamilton, Clive

Publication

Crows Nest, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin, 2008.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xiv, 274 p.; 23 cm.

Summary

"Why is it so many of us lack contentment, despite all the wealth and freedoms we enjoy? The past two centuries delivered individual and political freedoms that promised unprecedented opportunities for personal fulfilment. Yet citizens of affluent countries are encouraged to pursue lives of consumerism, endless choice and the pleasures of the body. The paradox of modern consumer life is that we are deprived of our inner freedom by our very pursuit of our own desires. The author turns to metaphysics to find a source of transformation that lies beyond the cultural, political and social philosophies that form the bedrock of contemporary western thought. His search takes him to an unexpected conclusion: that we cannot be truly free unless we commit ourselves to a moral life"--Provided by publisher.

Subject

• Consumer behavior
• Consumption (Economics) > Moral and ethical aspects
• Materialism > Psychological aspects
• Quality of life

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 248-266) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

1. Freedom reconsidered -- 2. Philosophical foundations -- 3. Towards a post-secular ethics -- 4. Moral judge or moral adviser? -- 5. Freedom rediscovered.

ISBN

9781741755077 (pbk.)

LCCN

^^2008425262

OCLC

237789954

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library