100 books like Incommensurability, Incomparability, and Practical Reason

This collection delves into some intriguing issues regarding rationality and morality. 

At its heart is an issue with roots in ancient philosophy that philosophers have been seeking to address with increasing sophistication, namely: Can one rationally and consistently undertake and follow through on a commitment that prompts one to choose an option other than the one that one favors most? Such commitment and resoluteness seem self-defeating.

Yet, a readiness to so commit and follow through is arguably essential for gaining certain otherwise unattainable opportunities and can thus be advantageous.

For some (including the philosopher whose work this collection honors), this figures as the rational basis for commitment as well as for justice, which is thought to involve a mutually advantageous readiness to show restraint with respect to pursuing preferred options. 

This collection explores a fascinating and currently highly relevant puzzle concerning cases in which the contribution of a single individual will not make the difference between success and failure with respect to a certain important goal (e.g., achieving decent air quality) because the contribution (e.g., walking to the store instead of driving) is too insignificant given the scale of the goal.

In such cases, it might seem not only tempting but permissible or even required that the individual refrain from contributing and instead spend her energy and resources in some more effective way (so as to actually make a difference with respect to some morally or rationally important goal).

Yet, if all reason in this way and refrain from contributing, the important collective goal will not be achieved at all.  

This collection advances philosophical debate regarding the theoretically interesting and practically important topic of weakness of will.

Weakness of will is traditionally understood as involving, roughly speaking, giving into temptation by freely acting against one’s better judgment. It is widely viewed as irrational, but some theorists question whether it is really possible to freely act against one’s better judgment, and they provide alternative explanations of what appear to be instances of weakness of will or alternative ways of understanding what is going on in the cases of interest.

Look to this collection for illuminating discussions regarding weakness of will in relation to, among other things, compulsion, irresoluteness, internal fragmentation, and emotional sensitivity to value.

This collection considers an array of important issues associated with choice over time, both theoretical and practical.

Some highlights include: enlightening and nuanced discussion of the idea that we discount future benefits in a way that leads to fragmentation and predictable failures to follow through on prudent plans; the application of theoretical models of choice toward illuminating phenomena such as addiction and savings behavior; and insights regarding the nature of self-control.

Notably, this is an interdisciplinary volume in which philosophical arguments are intertwined with psychological, economic, and experimental research—an approach that I find extremely fruitful and that highlights that powerful philosophical arguments are not limited to the works of self-proclaimed philosophers.    

This is the most influential book on my own thinking about meaningfulness in life. Wolf's idea that a meaningful life is distinct from both a happy life and a moral one—although there can be overlapping with these—is both simple and profound. And, unlike many contemporary philosophers, her writing is clear and accessible.

Of all my superb teachers at Oxford, one stood out: Ronald (Ronnie) Dworkin. He was the sharpest scholar I have ever met. I attended most of his seminars and some of his lectures during my four years at Oxford and deeply cherished my private talks with him. Ronnie was a master communicator of ideas, orally and in writing. He would come to class with an empty yellow pad and speak for one hour non-stop. In this book, Dworkin discusses truth in morals, moral skepticism, moral responsibility, dignity, free will, political rights and concepts. I could have chosen any one of his other great books – Taking Rights Seriously, A Matter of Principle, or Sovereign Virtue. I choose Justice for Hedgehogs because this book discusses themes that I also constantly engage with: Truth, social responsibility, dignity, democracy, equality, liberty, and justice. 

The contribution Mary Gentile has made to modern-day business ethics education is unparalleled and it is in Giving Voice to Values that the story behind the curriculum she has developed resides. This book outlines the assumptions, research, and principles associated with the unique approach to business ethics education Gentile has developed. But more importantly, it provides the reader with practical guidance and advice on how they can prepare for and engage in those (at times challenging) conversations that aim to address issues with ethical import in their organisations. After reading this book, tools like pre-scripting, practice, and peer coaching will become part of your repertoire, and you will be better for it.

Featured prominently in the plot of the NBC comedy The Good Place, Scanlon’s 1998 book covers much more than reasons and metaethics – it offers an ambitious explanatory theory of where our moral obligations to one another come from, and why they have the particular shape that they do – including of why we can’t justify doing terrible things to someone just because it benefits many other people. But in the first two chapters of the book, Scanlon also offers a large range of important and influential arguments about the nature of reasons and their relationship to both desire and value, and those two chapters in their own right merit this book a place on this list, in addition to its many other virtues.

If you want to understand the importance of cultural differences across countries and within our own communities, this is a phenomenal book!

I appreciate the tables and charts throughout the book that give me quick access to concrete ways in which people differ culturally. These differences affect our work environments, male/female relationships, and even our life goals, but we are too often oblivious because we don’t know to look for them. 

I’ve used this book for years, and I’m a strong believer that we can’t contribute to positive change around the world unless we understand more about the many ways that we all differ culturally. 

Was the West of the late 1800s truly as violent as we imagine? And if it was, why was it that people were shooting each other on the streets?

Richard Brown’s book provides decisive answers to these questions. Yes, some corners of the West were strikingly bloody. But what spurred this violence wasn’t just personal feuds or poker table rivalries. It was particularly politics that drove the rash of gunfighting in this unsettled era.

Did you know that “Wild Bill” Hickok was a diehard Republican and that most of the people he shot were Democrats? Or, that Jesse James was a lifelong Democrat who usually robbed Republicans? When we forget the political realities of the West, we flatten the past–but Brown’s book provides an antidote to this.