On Settling

Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-0-691-14845-8
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 124 Seiten, Format (B × H): 144 mm x 221 mm, Gewicht: 284 g

In a culture that worships ceaseless striving, "settling" seems like giving up. But is it? On Settling defends the positive value of settling, explaining why this disdained practice is not only more realistic but more useful than an excessive ideal of striving. In fact, the book makes the case that we'd all be lost without settling--and that even to strive, one must first settle. We may admire strivers and love the ideal of striving, but who of us could get through a day without settling? Real people, confronted with a complex problem, simply make do, settling for some resolution that, while almost certainly not the best that one could find by devoting limitless time and attention to the problem, is nonetheless good enough. Robert Goodin explores the dynamics of this process. These involve taking as fixed, for now, things that we reserve the right to reopen later (nothing is fixed for good, although events might always overtake us). We settle on some things in order to concentrate better on others. At the same time we realize we may need to come back later and reconsider those decisions. From settling on and settling for, to settling down and settling in, On Settling explains why settling is useful for planning, creating trust, and strengthening the social fabric--and why settling is different from compromise and resignation. So, the next time you're faced with a thorny problem, just settle. It's no failure.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Goodin, Robert E.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction1
One ? Modes of Settling 5

     Where This Is Heading 5

     Settling Down 7

     Settling In 17

     Settling Up 20

     Settling For 25

     Settling One's Affairs 27

     Settling On: The Master Notion 27
Two ? The Value of Settling 30

     Settling as an Aid to Planning and Agency 31

     Settling, Commitment, Trust, and Confidence 37

     Settling the Social Fabric 44
Three ? What Settling Is Not 51

     Settling Is Not Just Compromising 52

     Settling Is Not Just Conservatism 57

     Settling Is Not Just Resignation 60
Four ? Settling in Aid of Striving 63

     Settling in Order to Strive 64

     What Strivings Require Settling, and Why 66

     When to Switch between One and the Other, and Why 68
Conclusions 74
Notes 75

References 93

Index 107

Über Autor(innen)

Goodin, Robert E.
Robert E. Goodin is professor of government at the University of Essex and distinguished professor of philosophy and social and political theory at Australian National University.