Book Release: The Moral Psychology of Compassion

When projects come to completion it’s always a really good feeling! So, it goes without saying that I’m excited to announce the release of my new co-edited collection on the Moral Psychology of Compassion (with Rowman and Littlefield).

I’m excited about this volume for several reasons. First, it’s diverse! There are a number of perspectives explored in the book and these perspectives were put forth by a diverse range of philosophers and psychologists from around the globe.  Also, of the 14 authors there’s a 50/50 split between males and females which I am happy about as well. Second, it’s the first volume of it’s kind (and much needed IMHO). And third, many of the authors are philosophers or psychologists I have met in the past so it was fun to work with friends I already respected and debated with previously; not to mention it was great to work with some new folks as well. Overall it was a great experience, even though it took much longer than I had initially anticipated (as things do). Our first couple of reviews were great as well. Just read what Nancy Snow had to say about the volume (a philosopher I hold in high regard):

“This is probably the most interesting and extensive collection of essays on compassion that I have seen. Chapters by well-known philosophers as well as interesting new voices are featured, and include treatments of compassionate motivation, compassion from a Buddhist perspective, compassion and practical reason, and applications of compassion in practical domains, such as health care, mental health care, and our relations with animals. It is enlightening as well as thought-provoking, and is a “must-read” for anyone who wishes to plumb the depths of compassion’s complexities.”
— Nancy E. Snow, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma

For those of you interested in the topic feel free to check out the chapter abstracts here. And purchasing info can be found here and here. We’ll be discussing *at least* two chapters in the coming months on the blog. First up in April, David Boutland (co-author of “Compassion and It’s Pitfalls”) will discuss his chapter, and in late April/early May Alfred Archer will discuss his chapter “The Moral Value of Compassion”. Alfred will also be blogging about some of his other work so it’ll be great to have him on board moving forward (I’ll post more about this at a later date but feel free to take a look at his work here).

As always, you can find me on twitter @justincaouette