How to Defend Humane Ideals: Substitutes for Objectivity

In light of the post-modern conviction that no ideal is better than any other, and so a humane commitment has no rational advantage over Nietzsche's contempt for ordinary people, Flynn (U. of Otago, New Zealand) turns to philosophical analysis to demonstrate the relevance of logic and evidence to moral debate. He thinks trying to defend objectivity is a lost cause, and uses modern social science to refute racists, social Darwinists, Nietzsche, and the meritocracy thesis of The Bell Curve. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR