The Development of Ethics: Volume 2: From Suarez to RousseauThe Development of Ethics is a selective historical and critical study of moral philosophy in the Socratic tradition, with special attention to Aristotelian naturalism. It discusses the main topics of moral philosophy as they have developed historically, including: the human good, human nature, justice, friendship, and morality; the methods of moral inquiry; the virtues and their connexions; will, freedom, and responsibility; reason and emotion; relativism, subjectivism, and realism; the theological aspect of morality. This volume examines early modern moral philosophy from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. Volume 3 will continue the story up to Rawls's Theory of Justice. The present volume begins with Suarez's interpretation of Scholastic moral philosophy, and examines seventeenth- and eighteenth- century responses to the Scholastic outlook, to see how far they constitute a distinctively different conception of moral philosophy. The treatments of natural law by Grotius, Hobbes, Cumberland, and Pufendorf are treated in some detail. Disputes about moral facts, moral judgments, and moral motivation, are traced through Cudworth, Clarke, Balguy, Hutcheson, Hume, Price, and Reid. Butler's defence of a naturalist account of morality is examined and compared with the Aristotelian and Scholastic views discussed in Volume 1. The volume ends with a survey of the persistence of voluntarism in English moral philosophy, and a brief discussion of the contrasts and connexions between Rousseau and earlier views on natural law. The emphasis of the book is not purely descriptive, narrative, or exegetical, but also philosophical. Irwin discusses the comparative merits of different views, the difficulties that they raise, and how some of the difficulties might be resolved. The book tries to present the leading moral philosophers of the past as participants in a rational discussion that is still being carried on, and tries to help the reader to participate in this discussion. |
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Page xi
... Voluntarism 209 523. Objections to Whewell: Utilitarianism 210 524. Appropriate Questions 211 525. The Significance of Voluntarism 526. Tendencies to Voluntarism 527. xi Contents.
... Voluntarism 209 523. Objections to Whewell: Utilitarianism 210 524. Appropriate Questions 211 525. The Significance of Voluntarism 526. Tendencies to Voluntarism 527. xi Contents.
Page xii
... Voluntarism 527. Anti-Scholasticism 528. Rationalism v. Orthodoxy 529. Voluntarism and Egoism 39. Cumberland and Maxwell 211 212 214 216 217 219 530. Cumberland's Aims 219 531. Natural Law as Divine Legislation 220 532. Cumberland's ...
... Voluntarism 527. Anti-Scholasticism 528. Rationalism v. Orthodoxy 529. Voluntarism and Egoism 39. Cumberland and Maxwell 211 212 214 216 217 219 530. Cumberland's Aims 219 531. Natural Law as Divine Legislation 220 532. Cumberland's ...
Page xiii
... Voluntarism 321 591. The Errors of Pufendorf's Voluntarism 322 592. Pufendorf's Legislative Account of Morality 323 593. Barbeyrac's Defence of Pufendorf on the Content of Morality 325 594. God's Right to Rule 326 595. Barbeyrac's ...
... Voluntarism 321 591. The Errors of Pufendorf's Voluntarism 322 592. Pufendorf's Legislative Account of Morality 323 593. Barbeyrac's Defence of Pufendorf on the Content of Morality 325 594. God's Right to Rule 326 595. Barbeyrac's ...
Page xiv
... Voluntarism : Fundamental v . Formal Morality 335 336 338 603. What is Fundamental Morality ? 604. Defence of Naturalism 340 343 605. The Persistence of Voluntarism 606. Mackie's Defence of Pufendorf 607. Adams's Defence of Pufendorf 45 ...
... Voluntarism : Fundamental v . Formal Morality 335 336 338 603. What is Fundamental Morality ? 604. Defence of Naturalism 340 343 605. The Persistence of Voluntarism 606. Mackie's Defence of Pufendorf 607. Adams's Defence of Pufendorf 45 ...
Page xxi
... Voluntarism as the Consensus 825 871. Association and the Moral Sense 827 872. Waterland v. Butler on Self-Love and Benevolence 828 873. Happiness 830 874. Voluntarism and Eudaemonism 831 875. Warburton's Compromise 832 876. Cockburn's ...
... Voluntarism as the Consensus 825 871. Association and the Moral Sense 827 872. Waterland v. Butler on Self-Love and Benevolence 828 873. Happiness 830 874. Voluntarism and Eudaemonism 831 875. Warburton's Compromise 832 876. Cockburn's ...
Contents
1 | |
28 | |
70 | |
33 Grotius | 88 |
Motives and Reasons | 100 |
From Human Nature to Morality | 125 |
Morality | 157 |
37 Spinoza | 179 |
Morality and Natural Theology | 465 |
Nature | 476 |
Superior Principles | 489 |
Naturalism and Morality | 507 |
Implications of Naturalism | 539 |
Nature | 558 |
Passion and Reason | 579 |
Errors of Objectivism | 598 |
38 The British Moralists | 204 |
39 Cumberland and Maxwell | 219 |
40 Cudworth | 239 |
41 Locke and Natural Law | 264 |
42 Pufendorf | 284 |
Naturalism and Eudaemonism | 312 |
44 Pufendorf and Natural Law | 332 |
45 Shaftesbury | 353 |
46 Clarke | 372 |
For and Against Moral Realism | 399 |
For and Against Utilitarianism | 421 |
A Defence of Rationalism | 439 |
The Moral Sense | 620 |
The Virtues | 641 |
60 Smith | 678 |
61 Price | 714 |
Action and Will | 754 |
Knowledge and Morality | 782 |
64 Voluntarism Egoism and Utilitarianism | 812 |
65 Rousseau | 852 |
Bibliography | 883 |
Index | 899 |
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Common terms and phrases
accept According account of moral action agree answer anti-rationalism appeal appeal to nature approval Aquinas argues argument Aristotle assumption Balguy Barbeyrac basis believes benevolence Butler claim Clarke commonwealth conception connexion conscience consider Cudworth Cumberland deliberation depend desire discussion distinct divine commands divine legislation epistemology eternal eudaemonism explain fact God's Grotius happiness Hence Hobbes Hobbes's Hobbesian human nature Hume Hume's Hutcheson independent intrinsic morality intrinsic rightness justice justifying laws of nature Leibniz meta-ethical metaphysical moral judgments moral philosophy moral principles moral properties moral realism moral rightness moral sense moralists motivation natural law naturalist objection objectivist passions pleasure point of view position practical reason precepts psychological hedonism Pufendorf question rational agents rational nature rationalist recognize reflexion rejects relevant relies right and wrong rules sceptical Scholastic seems self-love self-preservation sentimentalist sentiments Shaftesbury simply sort Spinoza Suarez suggests superior principle suppose theory things truth utilitarian voluntarism voluntarist