Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Bringing together the reflections of an architectural theorist and a philosopher, this book encourages philosophers and architects, scholars and designers alike, to reconsider what they do as well as what they can do in the face of challenging times. It does so by exploring the notion that architecture and design can (and possibly should), in their own right, make for a distinctive form of ethical investigation.

The book is less concerned with absolutist understandings of the two components of ethics, a theory of 'the good' and a theory of 'the right', than with remaining open to multiple relations between ideas about the built environment, design practices and the plurality of kinds of human subjects (inhabitants, individuals and communities) accommodated by buildings and urban spaces.

The built environment contributes to the inculcation of all sorts of values (good and bad). Thus, this book aims to change the way people commonly think about ethics, not only in relation to the built environment, but to themselves, their ways of thinking and modes of behaviour.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

In this well-intentioned collaboration, philosopher Levine and architectural theorist Taylor (both, Univ. of Western Australia) look for a way to transcend the often-oversimplified ethical considerations of architecture, and to demonstrate ways that considerations of architecture can advance ethical theory. Unfortunately, the book serves only to suggest that the "prospects for an ethics of architecture," or the useful engagement of the authors' two disciplines, are not good. The book consists of a series of disjointed chapters. The first pair details the philosopher's dissatisfaction with considerations of ethical issues in architectural criticism; the second pair does the same thing from the architect's point of view. The third pair of chapters details the authors' common discomfort with current criticism of memorials and urbanism, and the concluding chapter simply restates their original intentions. The arguments unfold as Taylor and Levine seek to discredit key quoted passages from respected architectural theorists' work. The arguments are thoughtful and cogent, but difficult to follow because the references are presented with little explanation. Additionally, the citation system makes it difficult, if not impossible, to locate the quotations in their original context. So while the book asks important questions about the ethics of architecture, ultimately it serves only to show the difficulty of addressing them. Summing Up: Not recommended. D. Sachs Kansas State University

Author notes provided by Syndetics

William M. Taylor is Professor of Architecture at the University of Western Australia where he teaches architectural design and history and theory of the built environment. His recent work includes The Vital Landscape, Nature and the Built Environment in Nineteenth-Century Britain (Ashgate, 2004), the edited collection The Geography of Law, Landscape and Regulation (Hart, Oxford, 2006) and the co-edited book An Everyday Transience: The Urban Imaginary of Goldfields Photographer John Joseph Dwyer (UWA Press, 2010). He is currently researching the subject of architecture and transience and preparing a collection of essays on architecture, ships and the sea.

Michael P. Levine is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Western Australia. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, Baruch College (City University of New York), the University of Virginia, and in Moscow as a Fulbright Fellow. Recent publications include Politics Most Unusual: Violence, Sovereignty and Democracy in the 'War on Terror' (co-authored); Integrity and the Fragile Self (2003, co-authored); Racism in Mind (2003, co-edited); The Analytic Freud (ed.); and articles on moral psychology, philosophy of religion, history of philosophy, metaphysics, and film. He is currently writing on philosophy and film.