Practical Philosophy

A significant volume in the St Andrews Studies in Philosophy and Public Affairs, which celebrated its Silver Jubilee last year. Practical philosophy is distinguished from applied philosophy via belonging to a long tradition of philosophy applied to practical affairs rather than speculative questions. The introduction explains the history of the discipline, reflecting that Aristotle's writings would have been referred to every year since the founding of the University 600 years ago. The three parts address ethics, society and culture, with individual chapters on a wide variety of topics including embryology, the family, compensation for crime, private life and public culture, and philosophy and the restoration of art. Throughout, Haldane is careful to relate philosophical and moral principles closely to the study of human affairs, which means that one does not get lost in a mass of detail in the course of which one loses sight of these principles. His clarity of thought makes him an ideal broadcaster and has enhanced his status as a leading public intellectual.