Chris Fraser

The First Consequentialists

Philosophy of the Mòzi

Mohism was an ancient Chinese philosophical movement founded in the fifth century BCE by the charismatic artisan Mòzi, or "Master Mo." Its practitioners advanced a consequentialist ethics, along with fascinating political, logical, and epistemological theories, that set the terms of philosophical argumentation and reflection in China for generations to come. Mohism faded away in the imperial era, leaving the impression that it was not as vital as other Chinese philosophical traditions, yet a complete understanding of Confucianism or Daoism is impossible without appreciating the seminal contribution of Mohist thought. The Philosophy of the Mòzi is an extensive study of Mohism, situating the movement's rise and decline within Chinese history. The book also emphasizes Mohism's relevance to modern systems of thought. Mohism anticipated Western utilitarianism by more than two thousand years. Its political theory is the earliest to outline a just war doctrine and locate the origins of government in a state of nature. Its epistemology, logic, and psychology provide compelling alternatives to contemporary Western mentalism. More than a straightforward account of Mohist principles and practice, this volume immerses readers in the Mohist mindset and clarifies its underpinning of Chinese philosophical discourse.

The Philosophy of the Mòzĭ

You were right to be suspicious... It wasn't Oswald in the book depository. It wasn't Sirhan Sirhan in the Ambassador kitchen. It wasn't a massive conspiracy or government cover-up. It was one man with one agenda. For small-time Huntington Beach bookmaker and wanna-be writer Trent Oster, it all started with a chance to collect a debt. Instead he's offered an opportunity of a lifetime. Days later he finds himself on a sprawling southern estate in Oxford Mississippi, balancing the roles of houseguest and biographer for town legend Preston Walker-the man responsible for the most controversial murders in American history; and he's finally ready to talk.

The Bookmaker

Kit Fraser

New edition, with many more pictures of MacBrayne's ferries. Christie colourfully evokes a Highland childhood and a way of life long gone. He recalls runaway trains, and culprits, like the Bear; rivers teeming with salmon; glens filled with sheep heading for the sale at Lairg; and, poignantly, the post Great War Spanish flu epidemic and the moving funeral for his young sister in Inverness. In detailing his career with MacBrayne's, man and boy, we meet the unforgettable characters who captained and crewed the West Highland's stormy life lines. None more colourful than Squeaky Robertson. In his war years, we go to France with the 51st Highland Division. Avoiding the capture of his comrades, Christie goes on to fight with the Commandos in North Africa, before serving at Alamein, and Monte Cassino. After the war and back with MacBrayne's, he finds a changed company but rises to Northern Area Manager via idyllic South Uist, Inverness and Fort William. In 1961, The MacBrayne's Man decides he has had enough of the post war company, and takes over the Sub-Post Office in Aviemore, then a sleepy former railway junction.

A MacBrayne's Man

Christie Boy

Beginner's Guide to Karting in New Zealand

A blistering crime saga, perfect for fans of Don Winslow and Elmore Leonard, of broken loyalties, family obligations, and a heroin deal gone horribly right. Dicky Flanagan has been the crown prince of Shadow Beach his entire life. The grandson of the man who built it from nothing into a homey surf town, the son of the volatile father who ruled over the pier and beach below with a tripwire temper and a charming grin, and the brother of an odd, but gifted, murdered child—an event that kept Dicky out of the water and buried deep in a drug-fueled haze. To get his father out of prison, Dicky needs to scrounge together six figures as fast as he can, and the opportunity presents itself in a high-risk drug deal on the Mexican border, running heroin from the cartels to an equally violent group of white supremacists. Getting the drugs back without getting himself jailed or killed is only step one. Step two is getting his father sprung. Step three is saving the family bar from the corporate vultures picking apart his town. The final step is getting his life back on track by winning back Lainey—the one that got away—along with the son he never knew. And every step brings Dicky back to the tragedies of the past, and the mess he’s made of his present. Told with effortless charm and a simmering tension, Chris Fraser pens a fully-realized portrait of a man who needs to get back into the water—because the waves he’s trying to navigate on land keep pulling him under.

Flanagan's By the Sea

Timothy O'Leary

Dan Robins

Early Chinese ethics has attracted increasing scholarly and social attention in recent years as the virtue ethics movement in Western philosophy has sparked renewed interest in Confucianism and Daoism. At the same time, intellectuals and social commentators throughout greater China have looked to the Chinese ethical tradition for resources to evaluate the role of traditional cultural values in the contemporary world. Publications on early Chinese ethics have tended to focus inordinate and uncritical attention toward Confucianism, while relatively neglecting Daoism, Mohism, and shared features of Chinese moral psychology. This book aims to rectify this imbalance by including essays on Daoism and Confucianism, early Chinese moral psychology including widely neglected views of the Mohists and newly reconstructed accounts of the "embodied virtue" tradition, which ties ethics to physical cultivation. The volume also includes essays addressing the broader question of the value of comparative philosophy generally and of studying early Chinese ethics in particular. The book should have a wide readership among professional scholars and graduate students in Chinese philosophy, specifically Confucian ethics, Daoist ethics, and comparative ethics. Chris Fraseris associate professor of philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. Dan Robins is assistant professor of Chinese philosophy at Stockton College of New Jersey.Timothy O'Learyis associate professor of philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. Contributors include Roger Ames, Stephen Angle, Sin yee Chan, Jiwei Ci, Chris Fraser, Jane Geaney, William Haines, Chad Hansen, Manyul Im, P.J. Ivanhoe, Franklin Perkins, Lisa Raphals, Dan Robins, Henry Rosemont, Jr., David Wong, and Lee Yearley.

Chris Fraser

Books

Your next favorite book is out there