Motive and Rightness

Motive and Rightness PDF Author: Steven Sverdlik
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 9780199594948
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
This is the first book to answer the question: Does the motive of an action ever make a difference to whether that action is morally right or wrong? Sverdlik's answer is yes. He analyses the nature of motives and their relation to normative judgements and intentions, and argues that consequentialism gives the best account of these matters.

Motive and Rightness

Motive and Rightness PDF Author: Steven Sverdlik
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 9780199594948
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
This is the first book to answer the question: Does the motive of an action ever make a difference to whether that action is morally right or wrong? Sverdlik's answer is yes. He analyses the nature of motives and their relation to normative judgements and intentions, and argues that consequentialism gives the best account of these matters.

Significance and System

Significance and System PDF Author: Mark Timmons
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190203374
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Significance and System: Essays on Kant's Ethics brings together central lines of thought in Mark Timmons's work on Kant's moral theory. The first part of the book concerns the interpretation and justification of the categorical imperative in which Timmons argues for a "differential roles" interpretation of the categorical imperative, according to which distinct formulations of this principle play different roles in the overall economy of Kant's ethics. In addition he offers a detailed interpretation of the analytic/synthetic distinction in Kant's ethics that plays a central role in Kant's justification of his supreme moral principle. In the second part, Timmons addresses questions about the relation between motive and rightness, arguing, for example, that contemporary Kantians have misunderstood that relation. This part also examines Kant's attempt in the Doctrine of Virtue to ground a system of ethical duties in the categorical imperative. In part three, Timmons turns to issues in Kant's psychology of moral evil, including the psychology of the devilish vices. Throughout Timmons combines interpretive insight with a critical eye in interpreting and criticizing Kant's ethical thought.

The Right and the Good

The Right and the Good PDF Author: William David Ross
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description


Kant's Metaphysics of Morals

Kant's Metaphysics of Morals PDF Author: Mark Timmons
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019825010X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
Kant's last major works on ethics, The Metaphysics of Morals has become a focus of recent scholarship. This volume draws together a selection of the most interesting current work by leading scholars.

The Philosophical and Theological Foundations of Ethics

The Philosophical and Theological Foundations of Ethics PDF Author: Peter Byrne
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349274763
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
This study is an introduction to the problems of moral philosophy designed particularly for students of theology and religious studies. It offers an account of the nature and subject matter of moral reasoning and of the major types of moral theory current in contemporary moral philosophy. The account aims to bring out the major issues in moral theory, to present a clear, non-technical articulation of the structure of moral knowledge and to explore the relation between religious belief and morality.

Taking Utilitarianism Seriously

Taking Utilitarianism Seriously PDF Author: Christopher Woodard
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191047007
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
Utilitarianism is the idea that ethics is ultimately about what makes people's lives go better. While utilitarian ideas remain highly influential in politics and culture, they are subject to many well-developed philosophical criticisms, such as the claim that utilitarianism requires too much of us and the view that it does not respect individuals' rights. The theory is widely thought by philosophers to be the least plausible form of consequentialism, hampered by its excessive simplicity. In Taking Utilitarianism Seriously, Christopher Woodard argues that it is not defeated by the standard objections. He presents a new and rich version of utilitarianism that can answer all six commons objections plausibly and, in doing so, launches a state-of-the-art defence of the utilitarian tradition, which has greater resources than its critics have often assumed. Far from being excessively simple, utilitarianism is able to account for much of the complexity and nuance of everyday ethical thought. And rather than being quickly dismissed, utilitarian approaches to moral and political philosophy are due for renewed development and discussion.

Broad's Critical Essays in Moral Philosophy (Routledge Revivals)

Broad's Critical Essays in Moral Philosophy (Routledge Revivals) PDF Author: David Cheney
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134696310
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
The ideas of C. D. Broad have affected the work of moral philosophers throughout the twentieth century to the present day. First published in 1971, this edited volume contains Broad’s best essays on the philosophical problems of Ethics, mostly written and published between 1914 and 1964. Among the essays are Broad’s important critiques of G. E. Moore’s ethical theory, his lecture entitled ‘Determinism, Indeterminism and Libertarianism’, and other pieces discussing topics as broad as Conscience, Egoism and Free Will. This reissue serves as an important companion to Broad’s other works, a number of which have also been reissued within the Routledge Library Editions series, and will be invaluable to students interested in Broad’s theories and twentieth-century philosophical thought.

The Possibility and Role of Supererogation in Evangelical Ethics

The Possibility and Role of Supererogation in Evangelical Ethics PDF Author: B. J. Condrey
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1666712191
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
“Supererogation” is an awkward term but a useful concept. While not a term that we use every day, the concept is very familiar to most of us. It is an act that is neither obligatory nor forbidden and that possesses moral worth. While Roman Catholics and a large number of moral philosophers affirm the possibility and value of such acts, Evangelicals from the time of the Reformation have rejected them. Yet, this is to their detriment. Relying on Gregory Mellema’s insight that acts of supererogation are possible without compromising the orthodox Evangelical doctrine of justification, I argue that there is clear evidence for supererogation in the New Testament and that performing such deeds with a proper motive is essential in an Evangelical account of supererogation. It is my hope that Evangelicals will reconsider the possibility of supererogation and embrace the concept as a useful tool in counseling contexts, biblical interpretation, and homiletics.

Underivative Duty

Underivative Duty PDF Author: Thomas Hurka
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199577447
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
A team of eminent contemporary philosophers present the first collective study of seminal British moral thinkers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some, like Henry Sidgwick and G.E. Moore, are already recognised as leading philosophers of their day. Others, like Hastings Rashdall and A.C. Ewing, are unjustly neglected.

Practical Intelligence and the Virtues

Practical Intelligence and the Virtues PDF Author: Daniel C. Russell
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199565791
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 458

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Book Description
One of the most important developments in modern moral philosophy is the resurgence of interest in the virtues. In this new book, Daniel Russell explores two important hopes for such an approach to moral thought: that starting from the virtues should cast light on what makes an action right, and that notions like character, virtue, and vice should yield a plausible picture of human psychology. Russell argues that the key to each of these hopes is an understanding of the cognitiveand deliberative skills involved in the virtues. If right action is defined in terms of acting generously or kindly, then these virtues must involve skills for determining what the kind or generous thing to do would be on a given occasion. Likewise, Russell argues that understanding virtuous action asthe intelligent pursuit of virtuous goals yields a promising picture of the psychology of virtue. This book develops an Aristotelian account of the virtue of practical intelligence or 'phronesis'--an excellence of deliberating and making choices--which Russell argues is a necessary part of every virtue. This emphasis on the roots of the virtues in the practical intellect contrasts with ambivalence about the practical intellect in much recent work on the virtues--a trend Russell argues isultimately perilous for virtue theory. This book also takes a penetrating look at issues like the unity of the virtues, responsibility for character, and that elusive figure, 'the virtuous person'. Written in a clear and careful manner, Practical Intelligence and the Virtues will appeal to philosophers andstudents alike in moral philosophy and moral psychology.