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Author: Colin Grant
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139430211
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
Separated from its anchorage in religion, ethics has followed the social sciences in seeing human beings as fundamentally characterised by self-interest, so that altruism is either naively idealistic or arrogantly self-sufficient. Colin Grant contends that, as a modern secular concept, altruism is a parody on the self-giving love of Christianity, so that its dismissal represents a social levelling that loses the depths that theology makes intelligible and religion makes possible. The Christian affirmation is that God is characterised by self-giving love (agape), then expected of Christians. Lacking this theological background, the focus on self-interest in sociobiology and economics, and on human realism in the political focus of John Rawls or the feminist sociability of Carol Gilligan, finds altruism naive or a dangerous distraction from real possibilities of mutual support. This book argues that to dispense with altruism is to dispense with God and with the divine transformation of human possibilities.
Author: Colin Grant
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139430211
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
Separated from its anchorage in religion, ethics has followed the social sciences in seeing human beings as fundamentally characterised by self-interest, so that altruism is either naively idealistic or arrogantly self-sufficient. Colin Grant contends that, as a modern secular concept, altruism is a parody on the self-giving love of Christianity, so that its dismissal represents a social levelling that loses the depths that theology makes intelligible and religion makes possible. The Christian affirmation is that God is characterised by self-giving love (agape), then expected of Christians. Lacking this theological background, the focus on self-interest in sociobiology and economics, and on human realism in the political focus of John Rawls or the feminist sociability of Carol Gilligan, finds altruism naive or a dangerous distraction from real possibilities of mutual support. This book argues that to dispense with altruism is to dispense with God and with the divine transformation of human possibilities.
Author: Eva-Lotta Grantén
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agape
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
Author: Stephen J. Pope
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
ISBN: 9781589014404
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 186
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Book Description
In this book, Stephen J. Pope argues that contemporary scientifically-based theories of the evolution of altruism provide important insights into one of the fundamental moral problems of Christian ethics, the natural basis of love and its ordering. He explores the contributions evolutionary theory makes to our understanding of the biological foundations of kin preference and reciprocal care, the limits of love, and the need for an ordering of love—issues relevant to any ethic that accords a central role to the deeply natural affections found in friendship, marriage, and the family. He proposes that understanding human nature in its broader evolutionary context brings to ethics a needed balance between the personal and biological dimensions of human nature. In the context of Catholic ethics, Pope points out functional similarities between Thomas Aquinas's use of then-available scientific theories in his interpretation of the natural basis of primary relationships and Pope's own efforts to avoid the deficiencies that characterize contemporary Catholic interpretations of love based on personalism and existentialism. He concludes with a call for a multidimensional interpretation of love, one that incorporates scientifically-based theories about human nature together with an appreciation of the significance of motives, intentions, and freedom, for the ordering of human affections and moral responsibility. This book will be of interest to moral theologians, especially those concerned with the topics of love, justice, and natural law ethics.
Author: Hilary Greaves
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192578308
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
This is the first collective study of the thinking behind the effective altruism movement. This movement comprises a growing global community of people who organise significant parts of their lives around the two key concepts represented in its name. Altruism is the idea that if we use a significant portion of the resources in our possession—whether money, time, or talents—with a view to helping others then we can improve the world considerably. When we do put such resources to altruistic use, it is crucial to focus on how much good this or that intervention is reasonably expected to do per unit of resource expended (as a gauge of effectiveness). We can try to rank various possible actions against each other to establish which will do the most good with the resources expended. Thus we could aim to rank various possible kinds of action to alleviate poverty against one another, or against actions aimed at very different types of outcome, focused perhaps on animal welfare or future generations. The scale and organisation of the effective altruism movement encourage careful dialogue on questions that have perhaps long been there, throwing them into new and sharper relief, and giving rise to previously unnoticed questions. In this volume a team of internationally recognised philosophers, economists, and political theorists present refined and in-depth explorations of issues that arise once one takes seriously the twin ideas of altruistic commitment and effectiveness.
Author: Dominic Roser
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783848781195
Category : Altruism
Languages : en
Pages : 254
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Book Description
A new movement is on the scene: effective altruism-the combination of love and efficiency, making the world a better place not just with a bleeding heart and empathy but with a radical focus on reason and evidence and never losing sight of the goal of maximal impact. Its adherents typically stem from strongly secular environments such as elite philosophy departments or Silicon Valley. So far, a religious perspective on this movement has been lacking. What can people of faith learn from effective altruism, how can they contribute, and what must they criticise? This volume offers a first examination of these questions, providing both a Buddhist and an Orthodox Jewish perspective on them, in addition to various Christian contributions.
Author: Peter Singer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400888735
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 377
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Book Description
Provocative essays on real-world ethical questions from the world's most influential philosopher Peter Singer is often described as the world's most influential philosopher. He is also one of its most controversial. The author of important books such as Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, Rethinking Life and Death, and The Life You Can Save, he helped launch the animal rights and effective altruism movements and contributed to the development of bioethics. Now, in Ethics in the Real World, Singer shows that he is also a master at dissecting important current events in a few hundred words. In this book of brief essays, he applies his controversial ways of thinking to issues like climate change, extreme poverty, animals, abortion, euthanasia, human genetic selection, sports doping, the sale of kidneys, the ethics of high-priced art, and ways of increasing happiness. Singer asks whether chimpanzees are people, smoking should be outlawed, or consensual sex between adult siblings should be decriminalized, and he reiterates his case against the idea that all human life is sacred, applying his arguments to some recent cases in the news. In addition, he explores, in an easily accessible form, some of the deepest philosophical questions, such as whether anything really matters and what is the value of the pale blue dot that is our planet. The collection also includes some more personal reflections, like Singer’s thoughts on one of his favorite activities, surfing, and an unusual suggestion for starting a family conversation over a holiday feast. Now with a new afterword by the author, this provocative and original book will challenge—and possibly change—your beliefs about many real-world ethical questions.
Author: Kortright Davis
Publisher: University Press of America
ISBN: 0761856374
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 159
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Book Description
Why is the Golden Rule so central in almost every culture and religion? What is it that drives human beings to do good to others? Are altruism, compassion, and forgiveness natural forms of human behavior, or do they have to be learned and practiced in the neural context of our primal instincts for survival and self-defense? These are some of the questions that lie behind the study of Compassionate Love amongst people of color. Davis explores the patterns and contours of "other-love," which he defines as a selfless regard for the well-being of others. He also examines the basis for distinctive modes of compassionate behavior enriched by "ebony grace"--a theological attribution for people of African descent. This text focuses especially on the historical, cultural, and religious heritage that inspires and empowers such attitudes, in spite of constant encounters with systemic negation, social alienation, and unrelenting racism. How is it that Black families in the home, school, and church still support, sustain, and succeed in the practice of unyielding love-in-compassion? That is the magic and mystery within contemporary Black cultural norms and moral values. This text is a powerful attempt to contribute to the debate on Christian altruism.
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004343539
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 325
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Book Description
What is the role of religion, especially Christianity, in morality, pro-social behavior and altruism? Are there innate human moral capacities in the human mind? When and how did they appear in the history of evolution? What is the real significance of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount — does it set up unique moral standards or only crystallize humans’ innate moral intuitions? What is the role of religious teachings and religious communities in pro-social behavior? Christianity and the Roots of Morality: Philosophical, Early Christian, and Empirical Perspectives casts light on these questions through interdisciplinary articles by scholars from social sciences, cognitive science, social psychology, sociology of religion, philosophy, systematic theology, comparative religion and biblical studies. Contributors include: Nancy T. Ammerman, István Czachesz, Grace Davie, Jutta Jokiranta, Simo Knuuttila, Kristen Monroe, Mika Ojakangas, Sami Pihlström, Antti Raunio, Heikki Räisänen (✝), Risto Saarinen, Kari Syreeni, Lauri Thurén, Petri Ylikoski.
Author: Stephen Post
Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press
ISBN: 1932031324
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 303
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Book Description
Research on Altruism and Love is a compendium of annotated bibliographies reviewing literature and research studies on the nature of love. An essay introduces each of the annotated bibliographies. A variety of literature either directly related to science-and-love issues or supporting literature for those issues is covered in the Religious Love Interfaces with Science section. This annotated bibliography is unique in that it approaches the field from a decidedly religious perspective. It includes classical expositions of love that continue to influence contemporary scholars, including Platos' work on eros, the work and words of Jesus, Aristotle, Augustine of Hippo, Martin Luther, Kierkegaard, and Ghandi, among others. The contemporary discussion includes Anders Nygren's theological arguments in his classic, Agape and Eros; Pitirim Sorokin; and others. An issue that often emerges in this literature is the question of the nature and definition of love. A second annotated bibliography features current empirical research in the field of Personality and Altruism, with a focus on social psychology. Among the topics covered are the altruistic personality, altruistic behavior, empathy, helping behavior, social responsibility, and volunteerism. Methodologies are diverse, and studies include experiments, local and national surveys, naturalistic observation, and combinations of these. The Evolutionary Biology annotated bibliography covers the most significant works on altruism and love in the field of biology and evolutionary psychology. The fourth and final annotated bibliography in this volume is entitled Sociology of Faith-Based Volunteerism. Here the focus is on literature on the interface of helping behavior and religious organizations, as well as major pieces on voluntary associations.
Author: Neil Messer
Publisher: SCM Press
ISBN: 0334029961
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
The evolutionary origins of human beings, and in particular the origins of human morality, have always attracted debate and speculation, not just in the academic community but in popular science and the wider general population as well. The arguments and explanations put forward over the years seem to thoroughly catch the popular imagination, but there is the danger that these explanations tend to step outside the bounds of scientific theory and become powerful popular myths instead. In Neil Messer's "Selfish Genes and Christian Ethics", the author is challenging this tendency. Instead, he provides a Christian theological anthropology, which, among other things, aims to give Christians and the churches the confidence to engage with assumptions that evolutionary theory and religious beliefs are untenable. This is a valuable resource for anyone engaged in the study of theology, providing the reader with the ability to consider both the theoretical and the practical questions raised by evolutionary discussions of ethics and morality.
