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Bibliographies
Booklist: Selected Sources on Expanded Philosphical Thoughts and Civics
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The Crooked Timber of Humanity
Isaiah Berlin, edited by Henry Hardy
Princeton University Press, 1990
ISBN: 0691058385
Book Description: Isaiah Berlin was one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century--an activist of the intellect who marshaled vast erudition and eloquence in defense of the endangered values of individual liberty and moral and political pluralism. In the Crooked Timber of Humanity he exposes the links between the ideas of the past and the social and political cataclysms of our present century. EXCERPTED BOOK REVIEW: “Criticized as a cultural or moral relativist, Berlin replied that members of one culture can, by force of imaginative insight, understand the values, ideals, and ways of life in other cultures or societies, even those that may be remote in time or place. One may not find such ideas attractive, Berlin argued, but one can grasp (if sufficiently open-minded) the full humanity of others and live in the light of values that are different from one's own. We can understand antithetical points of view because we share some ultimate and common understandings of what human beings are; we share limited but common passions, interests, and needs. As values can be incompatible and incommensurate, it follows that society ought to value liberty above all else. A liberal society, Berlin believed, is best suited to the fact that there are many plausible good lives that individuals can choose to live.” (From a review by Peter Cline)
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Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
Robert D. Putnam
Simon & Schuster, 2000
ISBN: 0684832836
Book Description: Drawing on vast new data from the Roper Social and Political Trends and the DDB Needham Life Style-- surveys that report in detail on Americans' changing behavior over the past 25 years---Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and social structures, whether the PTA, church, recreation clubs, political parties, or bowling leagues. Our shrinking access to the "social capital" that is the reward of communal activity and community sharing is a serious threat to our civic and personal health. Putnam's groundbreaking work shows how social bonds are the most powerful predictor of life satisfaction. Chapters include: Thinking about Social Change in America; Political Participation; Civic Participation; Religious Participation; Connections in the Workplace; Informal Social Connections; Altruism, Volunteering, and Philanthropy; Reciprocity, Honesty, and Trust; Against the Tide? Small Groups, Social Movements, and the Net; Pressures of Time and Money; Mobility and Sprawl; Technology and Mass Media; From Generation to Generation; What Killed Civic Engagement?; Education and Children's Welfare; Safe and Productive Neighborhoods; Economic Prosperity; Health and Happiness; Democracy; The Dark Side of Social Capital; Lessons of History: The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era; Toward an Agenda for Social Capitalists; Measuring Social Change; The Rise and Fall of Civic and Professional Associations.
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