The Invention of Duty: Stoicism as Deontology

The Invention of Duty: Stoicism as Deontology PDF Author: Jack Visnjic
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004446338
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
Did the ancient Greeks and Romans have a concept of moral duty? Jack Visnjic seeks to settle this long-standing controversy in The Invention of Duty: Stoicism as Deontology. According to the prevailing view, ancient ethical systems lacked any sense of moral obligation and were built instead around notions of virtue and human flourishing. Visnjic argues that, millennia before Kant, the Stoics already developed a robust notion of moral duty as well as a sophisticated deontological ethics. While most writings of the Stoics perished, their concept of duty lived on and eventually came to influence the modern notion. In fact, there are strong indications that Kant’s formulation of a new duty-based morality was inspired by his encounter with Stoic ideas. "I found Visnjic’s account of Stoic ethics rich and stimulating [...]. I am now converted to the view that one ought to think of Stoic kathêkonta as duties rather than merely appropriate courses of action and I am grateful to Visnjic for pushing this point." -John Sellars, Royal Holloway, University of London, Bryn Mawr Classical Review (July 2021)

The Invention of Duty: Stoicism as Deontology

The Invention of Duty: Stoicism as Deontology PDF Author: Jack Visnjic
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004446338
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 188

Get Book Here

Book Description
Did the ancient Greeks and Romans have a concept of moral duty? Jack Visnjic seeks to settle this long-standing controversy in The Invention of Duty: Stoicism as Deontology. According to the prevailing view, ancient ethical systems lacked any sense of moral obligation and were built instead around notions of virtue and human flourishing. Visnjic argues that, millennia before Kant, the Stoics already developed a robust notion of moral duty as well as a sophisticated deontological ethics. While most writings of the Stoics perished, their concept of duty lived on and eventually came to influence the modern notion. In fact, there are strong indications that Kant’s formulation of a new duty-based morality was inspired by his encounter with Stoic ideas. "I found Visnjic’s account of Stoic ethics rich and stimulating [...]. I am now converted to the view that one ought to think of Stoic kathêkonta as duties rather than merely appropriate courses of action and I am grateful to Visnjic for pushing this point." -John Sellars, Royal Holloway, University of London, Bryn Mawr Classical Review (July 2021)

The Atrocity Paradigm

The Atrocity Paradigm PDF Author: Claudia Card
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195145089
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
What distinguishes evils from ordinary wrongs? Is hatred a necessarily evil? Are some evils unforgivable? Are there evils we should tolerate? What can make evils hard to recognize? Are evils inevitable? How can we best respond to and live with evils?Claudia Card offers a secular theory of evil that responds to these questions and more. Evils, according to her theory, have two fundamental components. One component is reasonably foreseeable intolerable harm -- harm that makes a life indecent and impossible or that makes a death indecent. The other component is culpable wrongdoing. Atrocities, such as genocides, slavery, war rape, torture, and severe child abuse, are Card's paradigms because in them these key elements are writ large. Atrocities deserve more attention than secular philosophers have so far paid them. They are distinguished from ordinary wrongs not by the psychological states of evildoers but by the seriousness of the harm that is done. Evildoers need not be sadistic:they may simply be negligent or unscrupulous in pursuing their goals.Card's theory represents a compromise between classic utilitarian and stoic alternatives (including Kant's theory of radical evil). Utilitarians tend to reduce evils to their harms; Stoics tend to reduce evils to the wickedness of perpetrators: Card accepts neither reduction. She also responds to Nietzsche's challenges about the worth of the concept of evil, and she uses her theory to argue that evils are more important than merely unjust inequalities. She applies the theory in explorations of war rape and violence against intimates. She also takes up what Primo Levi called "the gray zone", where victims become complicit in perpetrating on others evils that threaten to engulf themselves. While most past accounts of evil have focused on perpetrators, Card begins instead from the position of the victims, but then considers more generally how to respond to -- and live with -- evils, as victims, as perpetrators, and as those who have become both.

Being Better

Being Better PDF Author: Kai Whiting
Publisher: New World Library
ISBN: 1608686949
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
Practical answers to the urgent moral questions of our time from the ancient philosophy of Stoicism Twenty-three centuries ago, in a marketplace in Athens, Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, built his philosophy on powerful ideas that still resonate today: all human beings can become citizens of the world, regardless of their nationality, gender, or social class; happiness comes from living in harmony with nature; and, most important, humans always have the freedom to choose their attitude, even when they cannot control external circumstances. In our age of political polarization and environmental destruction, Stoicism’s empowering message has taken on new relevance. In Being Better, Kai Whiting and Leonidas Konstantakos apply Stoic principles to contemporary issues such as social justice, climate breakdown, and the excesses of global capitalism. They show that Stoicism is not an ivory-tower philosophy or a collection of Silicon Valley life hacks but a vital way of life that helps us live simply, improve our communities, and find peace in a turbulent world.

The Ethics Toolkit

The Ethics Toolkit PDF Author: Julian Baggini
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119891973
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
A new edition of the bestselling guide which equips readers with the skills necessary for engaging in ethical reflection The Ethics Toolkit offers an engaging and approachable introduction to the core concepts, principles, and methods of contemporary ethics. Explaining to students and general readers how to think critically about ethics and actually use philosophical concepts, this innovative volume provides the tools and knowledge required to engage intelligently in ethical study, deliberation, and debate. Invaluable as both a complete guide and a handy reference, this versatile resource provides clear and authoritative information on a diverse range of topics, from fundamental concepts and major ethical frameworks to contemporary critiques and ongoing debates. Throughout the text, Fosl and Baggini highlight the crucial role ethics plays in our lives, exploring autonomy, free will, consciousness, fairness, responsibility, consent, intersectionality, sex and gender, and much more. Substantially revised and expanded, the second edition of The Ethics Toolkit contains a wealth of new entries, new recommended readings, more detailed textual references, and numerous timely real-world and hypothetical examples. Uses clear and accessible language appropriate for use inside and beyond the classroom Contains cross-referenced entries to help readers connect and contrast ideas Engages both non-Western and Western philosophy Offer insights into key issues in ethics with a firm grounding in the history of philosophy Includes an appendix of tools for the practice of ethics, including links to podcasts, web and print resources, and prominent ethics organizations Written by the authors of the popular The Philosophers’ Toolkit, this new edition of The Ethics Toolkit is a must-have resource for anyone interested in ethics, from general readers to undergraduate and graduate students.

Aristotle, Kant, and the Stoics

Aristotle, Kant, and the Stoics PDF Author: Stephen Engstrom
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521624978
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
This major collection of essays offers the first serious challenge to the traditional view that ancient and modern ethics are fundamentally opposed. In doing so it has important implications for contemporary ethical thought, as well as providing a significant reassessment of the work of Aristotle, Kant and the Stoics. The contributors include internationally recognised interpreters of ancient and modern ethics.

Ambrose of Milan, Christian Sage

Ambrose of Milan, Christian Sage PDF Author: Robert L. Grant
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1036413845
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Ambrose of Milan, long cast into the shadows of the Western intellectual tradition, deserves more attention. Ambrose holds that the purpose of life is to reach eternity. That is attained by happily attending to life’s meaning: the duty to serve the common good. Being the first Senator-Bishop, Ambrose naturally melds philosophy with the Scriptures in a creative vision of eternal life already experienced in this life. This intriguing and intricate theology holds together in a creative tension seemingly contrary concepts, such as duty and freedom, merit and grace. At the heart of his enterprise is misericordia, which means a moral reset by being forgiven, that we learn to forgive others, and that we offer benevolent justice, especially to the marginalized, future generations, and the earth itself. Resourcing Ambrosian theology offers the Church and civil society a fresh and positive response to those forces which drive us apart.

The Life Worth Living in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy

The Life Worth Living in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy PDF Author: David Machek
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009257870
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Offers a fresh narrative of ancient ethics that does justice to neglected perspectives on the value of human life.

Ethics 101

Ethics 101 PDF Author: Brian Boone
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1507204949
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Explore the mysteries of morality and the concept of right and wrong with this accessible, engaging guide featuring basic facts along with an overview of modern-day issues ranging from business ethics and bioethics to political and social ethics. Ethics 101 offers an exciting look into the history of moral principles that dictate human behavior. Unlike traditional textbooks that overwhelm, this easy-to-read guide presents the key concepts of ethics in fun, straightforward lessons and exercises featuring only the most important facts, theories, and ideas. Ethics 101 includes unique, accessible elements such as: -Explanations of the major moral philosophies including utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, and eastern philosophers including Avicenna, Buddha, and Confucius. -Classic thought exercises including the trolley problem, the sorites paradox, and agency theory -Unique profiles of the greatest characters in moral philosophy -An explanation of modern applied ethics in bioethics, business ethics, political ethics, professional ethics, organizational ethics, and social ethics From Plato to Jean-Paul Sartre and utilitarianism to antirealism, Ethics 101 is jam-packed with enlightening information that you can’t get anywhere else!

The Enigma of Social Harm

The Enigma of Social Harm PDF Author: Thomas Raymen
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000770915
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
Drawing on a novel blend of moral philosophy, social science, psychoanalytic theory and continental philosophy, this book offers up a diagnosis of contemporary liberal capitalist society and the increasingly febrile culture we occupy when it comes to matters of harm. On what basis can we say that something is harmful? How are we supposed to judge between competing opinions on the harmfulness of a particular behaviour, practice, or industry? Can we avoid drifting off into relativism when it comes to judgements about harm? In an age of deep cultural and political discord about what is and is not harmful, providing answers to such questions is more important than ever. Appraising the current state of the concept of social harm in academic scholarship and every-day life, Thomas Raymen finds a concept in an underdeveloped state of disorder, trapped in interminable deadlocks and shrill disagreements about what should and should not be considered harmful. To explain the genesis of this conceptual crisis and identify what we need to do to resolve it, The Enigma of Social Harm travels from Graeco-Roman antiquity to the present day, exploring trends and developments in moral and political philosophy, religion, law, political economy, and culture. Along the way, we see how such trends and developments have not only made it more difficult to establish a shared basis for evaluating harm, but that the tools which might enable us to do so are now outright prohibited by the political-economic, cultural, and ethical ideology of liberalism that dominates contemporary society. Written in a clear and accessible style, it is essential reading for all those interested in matters of social harm, justice, politics, and ethics.

Kantian and Sidgwickian Ethics

Kantian and Sidgwickian Ethics PDF Author: Tyler Paytas
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351016970
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
Immanuel Kant and Henry Sidgwick are towering figures in the history of moral philosophy. Kant’s views on ethics continue to be discussed and studied in detail not only in philosophy, but also theology, political science, and legal theory. Meanwhile, Sidgwick is emerging as the philosopher within the utilitarian tradition who merits the same meticulous treatment that Kant receives. As champions of deontology and consequentialism respectively, Kant and Sidgwick disagree on many important issues. However, close examination reveals a surprising amount of consensus on various topics including moral psychology, moral epistemology, and moral theology. This book presents points of agreement and disagreement in the writings of these two giants of philosophical ethics. The chapters will stimulate discussions among moral theorists and historians of philosophy by applying cutting-edge scholarship on each philosopher to shed light on some of the more perplexing arguments and views of the other, and by uncovering and examining points of agreement between Sidgwick and Kant as possible grounds for greater convergence in contemporary moral philosophy. This is the first full-length volume to investigate Sidgwick and Kant side by side. It will be of major interest to researchers and advanced students working in moral philosophy and its history.