ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book looks at one philosophical difference, examining its manifestation both in ordinary life and in philosophy: the difference between two conceptions of love. It explores Diamond’s account of how all our ethical life rely on often unacknowledged background conceptions of human life and how it matters. The book argues that the sense of the question depends on context, and that standard discussion is driven de facto by a context of worldly values which understands greatness in terms of “more is better”. It considers certain moral propositions, discussed by Diamond—“thinking guides,” Diamond calls them—such as that “there is nothing else to think but that slavery is unjust and indefensible,” which claim no foundation in anything more basic, and thus appear to shut down debate and discussion.
