The Scientific Basis of Morals, and Other Essays

The Scientific Basis of Morals, and Other Essays PDF Author: William Kingdon Clifford
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
The scientific basis of morals is a series of essays by William Kingdon Clifford. They cover philosophical areas such as right and wrong, the ethics of belief and the ethics of religion.

William James on Ethics and Faith

William James on Ethics and Faith PDF Author: Michael R. Slater
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 052176016X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
A new interpretation of James's ethical and religious thought focusing on the prominent role these views played in his philosophy.

The Scientific Basis of Morals, and Other Essays

The Scientific Basis of Morals, and Other Essays PDF Author: William Kingdon Clifford
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
The scientific basis of morals is a series of essays by William Kingdon Clifford. They cover philosophical areas such as right and wrong, the ethics of belief and the ethics of religion.

Morality in the Context of Belief

Morality in the Context of Belief PDF Author: Mohammad Nasser Saghaye-Biria
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Belief and doubt
Languages : en
Pages : 596

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Book Description


The Ethics of Belief

The Ethics of Belief PDF Author: William Kingdon Clifford
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
This book combines the two essays which comprise the famous philosophical exchange between the mathematician William Kingdon Clifford and William James, a psychologist and philosopher. Famous for articulating their arguments and discussing morality surrounding belief, these two papers are united in a single edition.

The Myth of Morality

The Myth of Morality PDF Author: Richard Joyce
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139430939
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
In The Myth of Morality, Richard Joyce argues that moral discourse is hopelessly flawed. At the heart of ordinary moral judgements is a notion of moral inescapability, or practical authority, which, upon investigation, cannot be reasonably defended. Joyce argues that natural selection is to blame, in that it has provided us with a tendency to invest the world with values that it does not contain, and demands that it does not make. Should we therefore do away with morality, as we did away with other faulty notions such as witches? Possibly not. We may be able to carry on with morality as a 'useful fiction' - allowing it to have a regulative influence on our lives and decisions, perhaps even playing a central role - while not committing ourselves to believing or asserting falsehoods, and thus not being subject to accusations of 'error'.

God and Morality

God and Morality PDF Author: Anne Jeffrey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781108469449
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This Element has two aims. The first is to discuss arguments philosophers have made about the difference God's existence might make to questions of general interest in metaethics. The second is to argue that it is a mistake to think we can get very far in answering these questions by assuming a thin conception of God, and to suggest that exploring the implications of thick theisms for metaethics would be more fruitful.

Does Religion Matter Morally?

Does Religion Matter Morally? PDF Author: A. W. Musschenga
Publisher: Peeters Publishers
ISBN: 9789039004043
Category : Christian ethics
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
In the dominant view, morality is more rational and universal than, and therefore independent from, (christian) religion. Believers do not have exclusive moral knowledge. Moral principles can be known by anyone. Morality, not religion, is the supreme judge of human actions in the world. Some contributors to this volume defend this view on theological and philosophical grounds. The advantages of such a view for thinking about a common global morality are clear. However, according to many authors, the conception of morality underlying this view is at the least, impoverished, if not wrong: this view cannot explain the importance and the persistence of moral taboos. Furthermore, every morality is influenced by metaphysical and anthropological assumptions - whether or not religious: the so-called modern, rational, secular morality. The central moral question in the alternative narrative concept of morality is 'Who am I / who do I want to be ?' and not 'What is the right action ?' In this approach, not universal principles, but tradition-dependant stories constitute the core of a morality. Are these concepts more adequate for understanding the relation of religion to morality ? Do they have room for the project of a universal morality of human rights ?

Religion and Morality

Religion and Morality PDF Author: William J. Wainwright
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351905058
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
Religion and Morality addresses central issues arising from religion's relation to morality. Part I offers a sympathetic but critical appraisal of the claim that features of morality provide evidence for the truth of religious belief. Part II examines divine command theories, objections to them, and positive arguments in their support. Part III explores tensions between human morality, as ordinarily understood, and religious requirements by discussing such issues as the conflict between Buddhist and Christian pacifism and requirements of justice, whether 'virtue' without a love of God is really a vice, whether the God of the Abrahamic religions could require us to do something that seems clearly immoral, and the ambiguous relations between religious mysticism and moral behavior. Covering a broad range of topics, this book draws on both historical and contemporary literature, and explores afresh central issues of morality and religion offering new insights for students, academics and the general reader interested in philosophy and religion.

Believing by Faith

Believing by Faith PDF Author: John Bishop
Publisher: Clarendon Press
ISBN: 019152557X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Can it be justifiable to commit oneself 'by faith' to a religious claim when its truth lacks adequate support from one's total available evidence? In Believing by Faith, John Bishop defends a version of fideism inspired by William James's 1896 lecture 'The Will to Believe'. By critiquing both 'isolationist' (Wittgensteinian) and Reformed epistemologies of religious belief, Bishop argues that anyone who accepts that our publicly available evidence is equally open to theistic and naturalist/atheistic interpretations will need to defend a modest fideist position. This modest fideism understands theistic commitment as involving 'doxastic venture' - practical commitment to propositions held to be true through 'passional' causes (causes other than the recognition of evidence of or for their truth). While Bishop argues that concern about the justifiability of religious doxastic venture is ultimately moral concern, he accepts that faith-ventures can be morally justifiable only if they are in accord with the proper exercise of our rational epistemic capacities. Legitimate faith-ventures may thus never be counter-evidential, and, furthermore, may be made supra-evidentially only when the truth of the faith-proposition concerned necessarily cannot be settled on the basis of evidence. Bishop extends this Jamesian account by requiring that justifiable faith-ventures should also be morally acceptable both in motivation and content. Hard-line evidentialists, however, insist that all religious faith-ventures are morally wrong. Bishop thus conducts an extended debate between fideists and hard-line evidentialists, arguing that neither side can succeed in establishing the irrationality of its opposition. He concludes by suggesting that fideism may nevertheless be morally preferable, as a less dogmatic, more self-accepting, even a more loving, position than its evidentialist rival.

The Undiscovered Dewey

The Undiscovered Dewey PDF Author: Melvin L. Rogers
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231144865
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
The Undiscovered Dewey explores the profound influence of evolution and its corresponding ideas of contingency and uncertainty on John Dewey's philosophy of action, particularly its argument that inquiry proceeds from the uncertainty of human activity. Dewey separated the meaningfulness of inquiry from a larger metaphysical story concerning the certainty of human progress. He then connected this thread to the way in which our reflective capacities aid us in improving our lives. Dewey therefore launched a new understanding of the modern self that encouraged intervention in social and natural environments but which nonetheless demanded courage and humility because of the intimate relationship between action and uncertainty. Melvin L. Rogers explicitly connects Dewey's theory of inquiry to his religious, moral, and political philosophy. He argues that, contrary to common belief, Dewey sought a place for religious commitment within a democratic society sensitive to modern pluralism. Against those who regard Dewey as indifferent to moral conflict, Rogers points to Dewey's appreciation for the incommensurability of our ethical commitments. His deep respect for modern pluralism, argues Rogers, led Dewey to articulate a negotiation between experts and the public so that power did not lapse into domination. Exhibiting an abiding faith in the reflective and contestable character of inquiry, Dewey strongly engaged with the complexity of our religious, moral, and political lives.