A Moral Theory of Liveliness

A Secular Interpretation of African Life Force
A Moral Theory of Liveliness: A Secular Interpretation of African Life ForceAfrican life force or vitalism is the view that literally everything that exists, including both animate and inanimate objects, are imbued with an imperceptible energy that comes from God. This book begins by mining current work on life force, which tends to be descriptive, in order to identify its normative implications. Kirk Lougheed then shows that there is a plausible secular description of life force, that he calls liveliness. This can be understood as a force, not substance, and is associated with health, creativity, reproduction, courage, etc. A lack or decrease of liveliness is represented by disease, weakness, destruction, etc. He appeals to liveliness in order to develop a normative theory with an African pedigree that does not rely on controversial metaphysical assumptions. Lougheed demonstrates how this theory can account for a wide variety of commonly held both African and global moral intuitions. In working out the implications of liveliness as a moral theory, Lougheed compares it extensively to utilitarianism before showing how it better handles some problems for two prominent African normative theories grounded in personhood and harmony. Along the way, he touches on the theory's implications for human dignity or rights, in addition to what it says about the value of non-human animals and the environment. To conclude he explores possible metaethical grounds of both life force and liveliness. Lougheed believes liveliness as a moral theory should be considered as a plausible contender amongst the current African normative theories, in addition to being considered on a more global scale.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.