Men and manners: Kantian humanism, rhetoric and the history of ethics

This chapter analyzes Spinoza’s ethical theory in the context of his philosophical naturalism, his doctrine that the actual essence of each thing is its striving for self-preservation (conatus), and his psychology of the emotions as it concerns both “bondage to the passions” and the active emotions such as intellectual joy. It explains how Spinoza’s ethical precepts are expressed chiefly through demonstrated propositions about good and evil, virtue, the guidance of reason, and “the free man.” Particular attention is given to questions about (1) the meaning of ethical language, (2) the nature of the good, (3) the practicality of reason, (4) the role of virtuous character, (5) the requirements for freedom and moral responsibility (especially in light of his necessitarianism), and (6) the possibility and moral significance of altruism. The chapter concludes by briefly assessing the significance of Spinoza’s ethical theory and its place in the history of ethics.

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Presbyterians and Ethics

The Oxford Handbook of Presbyterianism ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190608392.013.39 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 525-537

Author(s):

Mark Douglas

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Great Awakening ◽

Reformed Theology ◽

Second Great Awakening ◽

World War ◽

Early Nineteenth Century ◽

History Of Ethics ◽

Presbyterian Church ◽

Starting Point ◽

History Of

The history of ethics in the Presbyterian Church has been shaped by the theological commitments of Reformed theology, the church’s ecumenical and interreligious encounters, its interactions with the wider cultures in which it functions, and its global scope. Consequently, Presbyterian ethics have become increasingly diverse, culturally diffused, ecumenically directed, and frequently divisive. That said, its history can helpfully be divided into three lengthy periods. In the first (roughly from the church’s origins in 1559 to the Second Great Awakening in the early nineteenth century), theology, ethics, and politics are so interwound that distinguishing one from the others is difficult. In the second (roughly from the Second Great Awakening to the end of World War II), moral concerns emerge as forces that drive the church’s theology and polity. And in the third (for which proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 might be a heuristically helpful starting point), ethics increasingly functions in ways that are only loosely tethered to either Reformed theology or polity. The strength of the church’s social witness, the consistency of its global engagements, and the failings of its internecine strife are all evident during its five-hundred-year history.

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Does Humanity Share a Common Moral Faculty?

Journal of Moral Philosophy ◽

10.1163/174046809x12544019606021 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 37-53 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Normative Theory ◽

Moral Truth ◽

Moral Sentiment ◽

Philosophical Argument ◽

Ethical Naturalism ◽

History Of Ethics ◽

Moral Conception ◽

History Of ◽

Moral Faculty

AbstractThe history of ethics contains many moral faculty theories, which usually are sorted by their metaphysics. The usual suspects include moral rationalism (Richard Price, Kant), moral sentiment theory (Hutcheson, Hume, Smith) and the varieties of ethical naturalism. Moral faculty theories differ importantly upon yet another dimension, on how widely it is distributed. Some, the Platonic elitists (Plato, J.S. Mill, R.M. Hare), suppose that moral truth can be discerned only by philosophical argument. Hence, they ascribe a revisionary task to normative theory, that of correcting nonphilosophers' moral errors. Others, the communalists (Aquinas, Hume, W.D. Ross), hold that the moral faculty is universally distributed. Hence, they hold that normative theory's task is not to revise, but rather to discern and explain the shared moral conception that we all apply in our ordinary moral lives. I here offer arguments to support commonalism.

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Hume's Place in the History of Ethics

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199545971.013.0019 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Annette Baier

Keyword(s):

History Of Ethics ◽

History Of

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PODE-SE FAZER UM RELATO PLAUSÍVEL DA HISTÓRIA DA ÉTICA? UMA ALTERNATIVA A AFTER VIRTUE DE MACINTYRE

Síntese Revista de Filosofia ◽

10.20911/21769389v39n125p345-378/2012 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 39 (125) ◽

pp. 345

Author(s):

Vittorio Hösle

Keyword(s):

History Of Philosophy ◽

Alasdair Macintyre ◽

Intergenerational Justice ◽

History Of Ethics ◽

Main Challenge ◽

History Of ◽

Slow Progress ◽

Important Intermediate ◽

Value Of Nature

O artigo apresenta uma filosofia da história da Ética que é uma alternativa ao famoso relato de Alasdair MacIntyre em After Virtue. Ainda que a querela entre visões moralistas e imoralistas ocorra diversas vezes na história da filosofia, desde os sofistas até Nietzsche, há também um lento progresso em direção ao universalismo, como foi articulado na sua forma mais elaborada por Kant. Abelardo e Tomás de Aquino são interpretados como as figuras intermediárias mais importantes entre Aristóteles e Kant, mas já o Estoicismo prepara ideias básicas kantianas. O principal desafio da Ética em nosso tempo é a expansão do universalismo para uma teoria da justiça intergeneracional e para um explicação do valor da natureza.Abstract: The essay presents a philosophy of the history of ethics that is an alternative to Alasdair MacIntyre’s famous account in After Virtue. While the quarrel between moralist and immoralist views occurs several times in the history of philosophy, from the sophists to Nietzsche, there is also a slow progress toward universalism, as it was articulated in its most elaborate form by Kant. Abelard and Aquinas are interpreted as the most important intermediate figure between Aristotle and Kant, but already Stoicism prepares basic Kantian ideas. The main challenge of the ethics of our time is the expansion of universalism to a theory of intergenerational justice and an account of the value of nature.

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Ethics Courses Teaching Linkage to Quality Management Education

Quality Management Principles and Policies in Higher Education - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-1017-9.ch012 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 232-245

Author(s):

Damini Saini ◽

Sunita Singh Sengupta

Keyword(s):

Ethics Education ◽

Management Education ◽

History Of Ethics ◽

Ethical Education ◽

Ethics Course ◽

History Of ◽

Management Institutions ◽

Ethics Courses

Almost every management institution in India has an ethics course in their curriculum that is focused upon inculcating the value set in an individual. To understand the role of ethical education in accelerating the quality of management education, this chapter provides a discussion of implications of the questions of quality, dilemma, and pedagogy of ethical training. In the introduction, the authors emphasize on the reasons of focusing upon the ethical education, then give a brief history of ethics education in Indian management institutions. In order to show the significance, authors also show the place of ethics course in top 10 business institutions in India. Further, the authors describe the main focus of the chapter that is the contribution of ethics in management education.

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