The Thee Generation: Reflections on the Coming Revolution [Paperback]

Tom Regan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 16, 1991

The revolution examined in this collection of essays is a revolution of the human spirit. In this revolution, Tom Regan passionately contends that the expansive ethic of service is replacing the suffocating ethic of greed. Unlike previous generations, 'The Thee Generation' asks, 'What do I have to give?' rather than 'What can I get to Keep?' Regan defines 'Thee' as those to be served: the handicapped, the poor, the illiterate, the homeless, the starving and the abused, those newly born, and those soon to die. This generation is generous enough to include the animal kingdom, and even the earth itself, for the world of 'The Thee Generation' is a place where a shared sense of community replaces the void of individual estrangement.Each of these provocative, readable essays, most of which have not been previously published, offers answers to important moral questions and attempts to identify the right reasons for those answers. Regan addresses such topics as child pornography, feminism, deep ecology, vivisection, Christian theology, and career choice. The questions he raises force us to consider the boundaries of the moral community, and what it means to be human in our own generation: 'The human is but one life form among many, and what distinguishes us from the larger community of life is not our power to subdue but our responsibility to protect'. Author note: Tom Regan, Professor of Philosophy at North Carolina State University, has published numerous books including "Bloomsbury's Prophet" (Temple) and "The Case for Animal Rights".

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This book comprises four essays previously published roughly as presented here and four recent lectures newly published--all on moral questions. Regan believes that the questions have correct answers and that it is important to see why they are correct. All the essays concern the boundaries of the moral community, e.g., whether we have moral obligations toward nonhuman animals or special moral obligations toward children, etc. Regan believes that people are coming to see themselves as members of a life community to which they owe respect and concern. He examines both theoretical and practical matters, e.g., the nature of inherent value, child pornography, people as caretakers of the biosphere, etc. He writes clearly and sensitively, and his book deserves to be widely read.
- Robert Hoffman, York Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"We must be immensely grateful to Tom Regan for the work he has done in defense of all those wonderful companions that surround us in the natural world. In the process, he has done much to save us from those dark and deadly forces that dwell within the human frame. Our compassion must be a comprehensive concern for the world of the living or it will not be at all."
—Thomas Berry, author of The Dream of the World

"Building on feminist theory, The Thee Generation ambitiously challenges progressive feminist philosophy to acknowledge animals' moral standing, while demonstrating how patriarchal moral theories have concealed the legitimacy of caring as part of a full moral life. Indispensable reading in an era of disposable philosophies."
—Carol J. Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat

"Tom Regan is one of our ablest contemporary philosophers working to expand our moral sensitivities beyond other humans toward a larger respect for the community of life on Earth in its myriad forms. In The Thee Generation he continues this argument with insight and with power.... Here is ethics in theory and in practice, facing the future and seeking truth that will reform the world."
—Holmes Rolson, III, Colorado State University and author of Environmental Ethics

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (January 16, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877227721
• ISBN-13: 978-0877227724
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,720,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.