From Morality To The End Of Reason

Author : Ingmar Persson
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2013-09-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780191664243

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From Morality to the End of Reason by Ingmar Persson Pdf

Many philosophers think that if you're morally responsible for a state of affairs, you must be a cause of it. Ingmar Persson argues that this strand of common sense morality is asymmetrical, in that it features the act-omission doctrine, according to which there are stronger reasons against performing some harmful actions than in favour of performing any beneficial actions. He analyses the act-omission doctrine as consisting in a theory of negative rights, according to which there are rights not to have one's life, body, and property interfered with, and a conception of responsibility as being based on causality. This conception of responsibility is also found to be involved in the doctrine of double effect. The outcome of Persson's critical examination of these ideas is that reasons of rights are replaced by reasons of beneficence, and we are made responsible for what is under the influence of our practical reasons. The argument gives rise to a symmetrical, consequentialist morality which is more demanding but less authoritative than common sense morality, because reasons of beneficence are weaker than reasons of rights. It is also argued that there are no non-naturalist external practical reasons, and all practical reasons are desire-dependent: so practical reasons cannot be universally binding. The question is whether such a morality possesses enough authority to command our compliance. This seems necessary in order for us to cope with the greatest moral problems of our time, such as aid to developing countries and anthropogenic climate change.

Author : Ingmar Persson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 337 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2013-09-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780199676552

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From Morality to the End of Reason by Ingmar Persson Pdf

Ingmar Persson presents a new analysis of common sense morality—in particular the act-omission doctrine and the doctrine of double effect. He traces both doctrines to a theory of rights and a conception of responsibility as based on causation, and provides an original account of what it is to have a reason for action.

Author : Sam Harris
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 322 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2011-09-13
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781439171226

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The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris Pdf

Sam Harris dismantles the most common justification for religious faith--that a moral system cannot be based on science.

Author : Immanuel Kant
Publisher : Courier Corporation
Page : 178 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2012-06-11
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780486113029

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Critique of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant Pdf

This 1788 work, based on belief in the immortality of the soul, established Kant as a vindicator of the truth of Christianity. It offers the most complete statement of his theory of free will.

Author : Immanuel Kant
Publisher : DigiCat
Page : 146 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2022-05-17
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : EAN:8596547008309

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The Critique of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant Pdf

The Critique of Practical Reason is the second of Immanuel Kant's three critiques. It follows on from Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and deals with his moral philosophy. The second Critique exercised a decisive influence over the subsequent development of the field of ethics and moral philosophy, beginning with Johann Gottlieb Fichte's Doctrine of Science and becoming, during the 20th century, the principal reference point for deontological moral philosophy. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher, who, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is "the central figure of modern philosophy." Kant argued that fundamental concepts of the human mind structure human experience, that reason is the source of morality, that aesthetics arises from a faculty of disinterested judgment, that space and time are forms of our understanding, and that the world as it is "in-itself" is unknowable. Kant took himself to have effected a Copernican revolution in philosophy, akin to Copernicus' reversal of the age-old belief that the sun revolved around the earth.

Author : Immanuel Kant
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 1998-11-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0521599644

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Kant: Religion Within the Boundaries of Mere Reason by Immanuel Kant Pdf

Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason is a key element of the system of philosophy which Kant introduced with his Critique of Pure Reason, and a work of major importance in the history of Western religious thought. It represents a great philosopher's attempt to spell out the form and content of a type of religion that would be grounded in moral reason and would meet the needs of ethical life. It includes sharply critical and boldly constructive discussions on topics not often treated by philosophers, including such traditional theological concepts as original sin and the salvation or 'justification' of a sinner, and the idea of the proper role of a church. This volume presents it and three short essays that illuminate it in new translations by Allen Wood and George di Giovanni, with an introduction by Robert Merrihew Adams that locates it in its historical and philosophical context.

Author : Immanuel Kant
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 295 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2008-10-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780300128154

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Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant Pdf

Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals is one of the most important texts in the history of ethics. In it Kant searches for the supreme principle of morality and argues for a conception of the moral life that has made this work a continuing source of controversy and an object of reinterpretation for over two centuries. This new edition of Kant’s work provides a fresh translation that is uniquely faithful to the German original and more fully annotated than any previous translation. There are also four essays by well-known scholars that discuss Kant’s views and the philosophical issues raised by the Groundwork. J.B. Schneewind defends the continuing interest in Kantian ethics by examining its historical relation both to the ethical thought that preceded it and to its influence on the ethical theories that came after it; Marcia Baron sheds light on Kant’s famous views about moral motivation; and Shelly Kagan and Allen W. Wood advocate contrasting interpretations of Kantian ethics and its practical implications.

Author : Walter Sinnott-Armstrong
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2009-07-02
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780199910465

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Morality Without God? by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong Pdf

Some argue that atheism must be false, since without God, no values are possible, and thus "everything is permitted." Walter Sinnott-Armstrong argues that God is not only not essential to morality, but that our moral behavior should be utterly independent of religion. He attacks several core ideas: that atheists are inherently immoral people; that any society will sink into chaos if it is becomes too secular; that without religion, we have no reason to be moral; that absolute moral standards require the existence of God; and that without religion, we simply couldn't know what is wrong and what is right. Sinnott-Armstrong brings to bear convincing examples and data, as well as a lucid, elegant, and easy to understand writing style. This book should fit well with the debates raging over issues like evolution and intelligent design, atheism, and religion and public life as an example of a pithy, tightly-constructed argument on an issue of great social importance. "In his call for sincere dialogue with theists, Sinnott-Armstrong provides a welcome relief from the apoplectic excesses of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, while also addressing objections to homosexuality and evolution frequently raised by evangelical Christians." --Publishers Weekly "[I]t is accessible and lively, my hope is that it will be widely read, especially by theists."--Peter Lamal, The Humanist "... the clarity of this text successfully defuses many erroneous claims about religion and morality, both popular and academic; this volume certainly deserves a wide audience in this increasingly secular and skeptical world." -Choice "Morality Without God? is an engaging, pithy book arguing against the necessity of God and religion for a robust morality. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong has distinguished himself as a leading philosopher in his work on metaethics and moral psychology, as well as books on moral and epistemological skepticism, and in Morality Without God? he commendably succeeds in writing a philosophically respectable introduction to the problems facing religious morality suitable for virtually any audience." --Philosophia Christi

Author : David Hume
Publisher : BoD - Books on Demand
Page : 156 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2022-12-17
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9791041940387

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An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals by David Hume Pdf

An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (EPM) is a book by Scottish enlightenment philosopher David Hume. In it, Hume argues (among other things) that the foundations of morals lie with sentiment, not reason. An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals is the enquiry subsequent to the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (EHU). Thus, it is often referred to as "the second Enquiry". It was originally published in 1751, three years after the first Enquiry. Hume first discusses ethics in A Treatise of Human Nature (in Book 3 - "Of Morals"). He later extracted and expounded upon the ideas he proposed there in his second Enquiry. In his short autobiographical work, My Own Life (1776), Hume states that his second Enquiry is "of all my writings, historical, philosophical, or literary, incomparably the best."

Author : Immanuel Kant
Publisher : Cosimo, Inc.
Page : 98 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2008-01-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781605203201

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Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant Pdf

How should human beings behave toward one another? How must we behave? One of the most influential thinkers of the Western civilization, a man who profoundly shaped the mind-set of the modern world, Immanuel Kant developed his Categorical Imperative as a philosophical proof of the Golden Rule, and in this 1873 essay, he elaborates upon and defends his understanding of the logical underpinnings of all human morality. Essential reading for anyone seeking an appreciation of modern philosophy, this is an intriguing and provocative work exploring the intersection of morality and reason. German metaphysician IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) served as a librarian of the Royal Library, a prestigious government position, and as a professor at Knigsberg University. His other works include Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime (1764), Critique of Pure Reason (1781), and Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785).

Author : Alasdair MacIntyre
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2013-10-21
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781623569815

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After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre Pdf

Highly controversial when it was first published in 1981, Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue has since established itself as a landmark work in contemporary moral philosophy. In this book, MacIntyre sought to address a crisis in moral language that he traced back to a European Enlightenment that had made the formulation of moral principles increasingly difficult. In the search for a way out of this impasse, MacIntyre returns to an earlier strand of ethical thinking, that of Aristotle, who emphasised the importance of 'virtue' to the ethical life. More than thirty years after its original publication, After Virtue remains a work that is impossible to ignore for anyone interested in our understanding of ethics and morality today.

Author : Immanuel Kant
Publisher : Digital Print Trendmakers
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2023-12-22
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1835912532

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Critique of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant Pdf

"Critique of Practical Reason" is a philosophical work written by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Published in 1788, it is the second of Kant's three critiques, following the "Critique of Pure Reason" and preceding the "Critique of Judgment." This influential work focuses on moral philosophy and provides Kant's systematic exploration of practical reason and ethics. Here are some key aspects of "Critique of Practical Reason" Moral Philosophy: The central theme of the book is Kant's moral philosophy. In it, he develops his ethical theory, which he calls the "categorical imperative." Kant argues that moral principles are derived from reason itself and are not contingent on empirical factors. Categorical Imperative: Kant introduces the concept of the categorical imperative as a universal moral law. The categorical imperative is a principle that commands certain actions simply because they are rational and not based on any particular desires or goals. It emphasizes the idea of treating individuals as ends in themselves rather than as means to an end. Freedom and Autonomy: Kant places a strong emphasis on human freedom and autonomy. He argues that moral principles must be chosen freely by rational agents, and true moral actions are those done out of a sense of duty rather than inclination. Good Will: Kant famously states that the only thing that is good without qualification is the "good will." Actions have moral worth not based on their consequences but on the intentions behind them. A morally good action is one performed in accordance with duty and guided by a sense of moral duty rather than self-interest. Postulates of Practical Reason: Kant discusses the "postulates of practical reason," which include the concepts of God, immortality, and freedom. While these cannot be theoretically proven, Kant argues that they are necessary assumptions for the practical conduct of moral life. Ethical Duty: Kant argues that individuals have a moral duty to follow the moral law, and this duty is the highest principle governing human actions. He rejects consequentialist ethics and emphasizes the importance of duty as the foundation of morality. "Critique of Practical Reason" is a significant work in the history of moral philosophy and has had a profound influence on subsequent ethical theories. It is considered a seminal text in the development of deontological ethics, which focuses on the inherent rightness or wrongness of actions rather than their outcomes.

Author : Jean Rostand
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 200 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 1973
Category : Science
ISBN : UOM:39015004447622

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Humanly Possible; a Biologist's Notes on the Future of Mankind by Jean Rostand Pdf

Author : Paul Guyer
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 456 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2000-02-13
Category : History
ISBN : 0521654211

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Kant on Freedom, Law, and Happiness by Paul Guyer Pdf

Kant is often portrayed as the author of a rigid system of ethics in which adherence to a formal and universal principle of morality - the famous categorical imperative - is an end itself, and any concern for human goals and happiness a strictly secondary and subordinate matter. Such a theory seems to suit perfectly rational beings but not human beings. The twelve essays in this collection by one of the world's preeminent Kant scholars argue for a radically different account of Kant's ethics. They explore an interpretation of the moral philosophy according to which freedom is the fundamental end of human action, but an end that can only be preserved and promoted by adherence to moral law. By radically revising the traditional interpretation of Kant's moral and political philosophy and by showing how Kant's coherent liberalism can guide us in current debates, Paul Guyer will find an audience across moral and political philosophy, intellectual history, and political science.

Author : Stephen Theron
Publisher : Peeters Publishers
Page : 140 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Ethics
ISBN : 9042907258

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The End of the Law by Stephen Theron Pdf

The End of the Law pursues further the ethical theories developed in the author's earlier books, such as Morals as Founded on Natural Law (1987) or The Recovery of Purpose (1993). Here he focuses more intensively upon the foundation of any deontological motive of duty upon a teleological substructure. All law is for an end, and moral reality is grounded exclusively in the exigences of a dynamic human reality. There is no separate moral reality or "universe of value". This is the attitude the author calls moralism, which he exposes in authors such as Kant and R.M. Hare, with their "anti-ontological stance". At the same time, he is careful to distance himself from utilitarianism, as replacing the common good with the aggregate good. For the author, and the Aristotelian Thomist tradition he draws upon, the ends of actions specify them morally, unlike extrinsically succeeding results.