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A review by maedo
Assholes: A Theory by Aaron James
3.0
Although James can be very repetitive and prone to beanplating terms & situations in the manner of many philosophically inclined folk, there are some things I enjoyed about this book.
First, his definition of what it is to be an asshole (as opposed to an assclown or a buffoon, for example) is delightfully precise: an asshole believes systematically that he is entitled to special privileges, has an entrenched sense of entitlement, and doesn't hear other people's complaints about him because his entitlement is systematic and entrenched.
Second, at the very end of this book, James writes a letter directly to the asshole that contrasts the asshole's entrenched systematic entitlement as motivation for behavior with Kant's categorical imperative code of morality in a sort of brilliant way that pokes holes at the asshole's ability to believe the way he behaves is right.
Third, I learned from the chapter on gender (aka "why most assholes are men") that the woman about whom I tend to think "what an asshole!" five out of seven days of the week is actually, more precisely, a bitch, since she acknowledges complaints made about her behavior to the face of the complainer -- which is something an asshole would not do -- and then continues to behave as if the complaints were never made.
I'd recommended this book to philosophy undergraduates and anyone who might get a laugh from seeing the subject of philosophical argument pervasively referred to as "the asshole."
First, his definition of what it is to be an asshole (as opposed to an assclown or a buffoon, for example) is delightfully precise: an asshole believes systematically that he is entitled to special privileges, has an entrenched sense of entitlement, and doesn't hear other people's complaints about him because his entitlement is systematic and entrenched.
Second, at the very end of this book, James writes a letter directly to the asshole that contrasts the asshole's entrenched systematic entitlement as motivation for behavior with Kant's categorical imperative code of morality in a sort of brilliant way that pokes holes at the asshole's ability to believe the way he behaves is right.
Third, I learned from the chapter on gender (aka "why most assholes are men") that the woman about whom I tend to think "what an asshole!" five out of seven days of the week is actually, more precisely, a bitch, since she acknowledges complaints made about her behavior to the face of the complainer -- which is something an asshole would not do -- and then continues to behave as if the complaints were never made.
I'd recommended this book to philosophy undergraduates and anyone who might get a laugh from seeing the subject of philosophical argument pervasively referred to as "the asshole."