Philosophy Documentation Ctr.

Lotteries for education.

For education students, teachers, and educational administrators, Boyle, who studies economics at the U. of Wales at Swansea, UK, and lectured in statistics and economics at the U. of Central England, Birmingham, examines the use of lotteries in schools, colleges, and universities in the UK, US, the Netherlands, and elsewhere. She provides examples of lotteries, why they were used, and the views of those involved, to help others make informed decisions about implementation. She also discusses the issue of choice, philosophical arguments for and against lotteries, what parents think, processes and types, effects on house prices, academic selection, fairness, and lotteries for student housing and teacher employment. Distributed in the US by the Philosophy Documentation Center. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Social philosophy today; v.26.

The peer-reviewed papers collected originated at the 2010 International Social Philosophy Conference, which was sponsored by the North American Society for Social Philosophy (NASSP). Authors include philosophers, political scientists, social scientists, and those in law. The papers are organized into four sections, and each one begins with an abstract. In part 1, contributors consider issues related to concepts of the public and the private. They compare civil-rights arguments for same-sex marriage with the public goods argument, and look at privacy in the context of free speech. Ownership and liberalism are the twin themes of part 2; topics include the right to property and the connection between egalitarian liberals and those libertarians who emphasize self-ownership as a foundation for strong claims to property. Part 3 addresses applied ethical issues that cut across areas of social philosophy, in areas such as just war theory, altruism, and the ethical implications of the drive for personal survival. The final section discusses Rescuing Justice and Equality by G.A. Cohen, which won the annual NASSP Book Award. Information on the editor is not given. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)