Living Speech

Resisting the Empire of Force

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Constitutional, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book Living Speech by James Boyd White, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James Boyd White ISBN: 9781400827534
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: February 9, 2009
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: James Boyd White
ISBN: 9781400827534
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: February 9, 2009
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

Language is our key to imagining the world, others, and ourselves. Yet sometimes our ways of talking dehumanize others and trivialize human experience. In war other people are imagined as enemies to be killed. The language of race objectifies those it touches, and propaganda disables democracy. Advertising reduces us to consumers, and clichés destroy the life of the imagination.

How are we to assert our humanity and that of others against the forces in the culture and in our own minds that would deny it? What kind of speech should the First Amendment protect? How should judges and justices themselves speak? These questions animate James Boyd White's Living Speech, a profound examination of the ethics of human expression--in the law and in the rest of life.

Drawing on examples from an unusual range of sources--judicial opinions, children's essays, literature, politics, and the speech-out-of-silence of Quaker worship--White offers a fascinating analysis of the force of our languages. Reminding us that every moment of speech is an occasion for gaining control of what we say and who we are, he shows us that we must practice the art of resisting the forces of inhumanity built into our habits of speech and thought if we are to become more capable of love and justice--in both law and life.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Language is our key to imagining the world, others, and ourselves. Yet sometimes our ways of talking dehumanize others and trivialize human experience. In war other people are imagined as enemies to be killed. The language of race objectifies those it touches, and propaganda disables democracy. Advertising reduces us to consumers, and clichés destroy the life of the imagination.

How are we to assert our humanity and that of others against the forces in the culture and in our own minds that would deny it? What kind of speech should the First Amendment protect? How should judges and justices themselves speak? These questions animate James Boyd White's Living Speech, a profound examination of the ethics of human expression--in the law and in the rest of life.

Drawing on examples from an unusual range of sources--judicial opinions, children's essays, literature, politics, and the speech-out-of-silence of Quaker worship--White offers a fascinating analysis of the force of our languages. Reminding us that every moment of speech is an occasion for gaining control of what we say and who we are, he shows us that we must practice the art of resisting the forces of inhumanity built into our habits of speech and thought if we are to become more capable of love and justice--in both law and life.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Presidential Leadership and the Creation of the American Era by James Boyd White
Cover of the book The Real Planet of the Apes by James Boyd White
Cover of the book The First Modern Jew by James Boyd White
Cover of the book Globalizing Capital by James Boyd White
Cover of the book Out of Ashes by James Boyd White
Cover of the book How Judaism Became a Religion by James Boyd White
Cover of the book Anthropos Today by James Boyd White
Cover of the book Territory, Authority, Rights by James Boyd White
Cover of the book The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good by James Boyd White
Cover of the book The Ethical Engineer by James Boyd White
Cover of the book Cultivating Conscience by James Boyd White
Cover of the book The Emperor Nero by James Boyd White
Cover of the book Honeybee Democracy by James Boyd White
Cover of the book The Methodists and Revolutionary America, 1760-1800 by James Boyd White
Cover of the book Empires of the Silk Road by James Boyd White
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy