Ethical IdealismThis title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1987. |
Contents
MAXIMIZATION OPTIMIZATION AND RATIONALITY | 1 |
OPTIMISM AND PESSIMISM | 85 |
Ideals as Useful Fictions | 118 |
Realism versus a Betrayal of Ideals | 127 |
THE POWER OF IDEALS | 130 |
| 145 | |
Other editions - View all
Ethical Idealism: An Inquiry Into the Nature and Function of Ideals Nicholas Rescher Limited preview - 1992 |
Common terms and phrases
accordingly achieve action adopt and pursue appropriate arise attainment attitudinal optimism Bas van Fraassen benefits Bernard Williams better circum circumstances cognitive commitment complex concrete philosophy condition conflict of duties context course decision theory desiderata endeavor evil example expect facie fact harmonization hope human idea ideals Immanuel Kant impossible goal inconsistency infeasible inherently irrational issue J. O. Urmson justified Kant Leibniz lost cause matter of maximization measure meliorism melioristic mode moral dilemmas moral realism moral rules nature objective obligation one's operation overall particular perfect perfectly pessimism Philosophy position possible practical pragmatic preferability principle progressivism prospect pursuit question rational agent rational choice real world realistic realities realization realized probability realm reason recognize repay Ruth Barcan Marcus sense sensible simply situation someone sort stance substantial sure Tendency optimism theory thesis things thought tion ultimately unattainable goal unrealistic unrealizable utilitarians utility maximization validation W. D. Ross