The Ethics of Drink and Other Social Questions Or, Joints In Our Social Armour

James RuncimanProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.8
Word count
549K words
Chapters
55

Tags

English Originals Social Sciences Civic AwarenessSocial ConcernSocial CritiqueMoral CultivationMoral Dilemma

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971, and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. The Ethics of Drink and Other Social Questions; Or, Joints In Our Social Armour. Author: Runciman, James, 1852-1891. Language: English, Class: HV: Social sciences: Social pathology, Social and Public Welfare, Release Date: Sep 3, 2004

Editor's review

This book is a collection of James Runciman's essays on the ethics of drink and other social questions, classified under social pathology and social and public welfare in the social sciences, and released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain electronic text. Its value lies not in providing contemporary data but in showing how a late nineteenth-century commentator linked the drink problem to social responsibility, public morality, and institutional reform, making it a primary source for observing how social issues were debated at the time. The pieces are mostly argumentative essays with clear positions and a hortatory tone, bearing the marks of their era. They are best read as historical documents rather than as today's policy guide: the ideas and wording need to be understood in their Victorian context. Suitable for researchers in social history, the history of ethics, and the temperance movement, as well as readers who enjoy old-style argumentative prose; not suitable for those seeking contemporary methods of abstinence or empirical research.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Before reading, learn about the nineteenth-century British temperance movement and social reform to better situate the arguments.
  2. Treat the views as historical material and mark passages that differ markedly from contemporary ideas as you read.
  3. Read by topic, and after each piece write a few critical summary sentences to avoid being carried away by a single standpoint.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
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  11. 11
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  15. 15
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  18. 18
  19. 19
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  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
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  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55

FAQ

Does this book discuss only the drink question? No. The title states “and Other Social Questions”; the contents are commentary in the field of social pathology and social welfare. The ethics of drink is the entry point, and broader issues of social responsibility and public morality are also involved. For specific contents, consult the original table of contents.
Can the views in this book be applied directly to today's advice on abstinence? Not directly. The book was written in the late nineteenth century; its modes of argument and value assumptions bear clear marks of their time and lack support from contemporary empirical research. It is better read as material for the history of social thought than as contemporary health or abstinence guidance.
What is the background of the author, Runciman? The available information gives only his dates, 1852–1891, and identifies this book as his collection of social commentary. No further biographical details are provided, and they should not be guessed at; readers may understand the text's standpoint by viewing him as a late nineteenth-century social commentator.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

James Runciman Author · British · 1852–1891

James Runciman (1852–1891) was a British teacher, journalist and writer, born in Creswell, Northumberland. He taught at several schools in London in his early years before turning to journalism and earning his living by his pen. His work ranged across maritime and social themes: he wrote about the lives and experiences of North Sea fishermen in The Romance of the Coast and A Dream of the North Sea, and addressed social questions such as drink in The Ethics of Drink and Other Social Questions. His other works include Side Lights and The Chequers. Runciman wrote clearly and observed closely, often combining narrative with commentary and showing concern for ordinary people in his popular writing. He died in 1891 from overwork at the age of thirty-nine. The library holds five of his works; public information is limited, and details of his life and the classification of his works remain to be verified.