Eighteenth century British moral philosophy focused on three issues: moral apprehension; moral motivation; and the relationship of moral apprehension to moral motivation. Hume resolved these issues by a Copernican revolution in which the basic perspective is that of an engaged and socially responsible agent as opposed to the classic philosophical perspective of the disengaged theoretician. As a consequence he could distinguish clearly the cognitive from the affective elements in moral apprehension, identify the non-moral origins of moral motivation, and account for (...) the growth of the moral perspective through sympathy. (shrink)

Nicholas Capaldi's biography of John Stuart Mill traces the ways in which Mill's many endeavours are related and explores the significance of Mill's contribution to metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, social and political philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of education. He shows how Mill was groomed for his life by both his father James Mill, and Jeremy Bentham, the two most prominent philosophical radicals of the early nineteenth century. Yet Mill revolted against this education and developed friendships with both (...) Thomas Carlyle and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who introduced him to Romanticism and political conservatism. A special feature of this biography is the attention devoted to his relationship with Harriet Taylor. No one exerted a greater influence than the woman he was eventually to marry. Nicholas Capaldi reveals just how deep her impact was on Mill's thinking about the emancipation of women. (shrink)

One of the most persistent issues of contemporary moral theory is the possibility of inferring moral judgments from factual nonmoral judgments. Another way of stating this issue is to inquire into the possibility of inferring "ought-judgments" from "is-judgments." It is generally accepted that the first person to deny the possibility of this inference was David Hume. The denial is supposed to be articulated in the last paragraph of the section of A Treatise of Human Nature entitled "Moral Distinctions not derived (...) from Reason," pages 469-470 in the Selby-Bigge edition. Hereafter I shall refer to this paragraph, the "is-oughtparagraph," as (I-0). The purpose of this article is to show that in (I-0) Hume makes no such denial, and to outline the implications of this revelation. (shrink)

Since man is a cultural product, Hume's science of man is a normative moral science of action, Not a descriptive natural science of behavior. Man emerges as a role-playing or rule-following agent, Whose comprehension and self-comprehension requires the use of "verstehen" (sympathy). I exemplify this approach in the explanations of the development of justice and science, And I argue against attributing either determinism or positivism to hume. I next show how this perspective illuminates hume's epistemology, specifically the analysis of cause, (...) time, and self. All explanation becomes historical and evolutionary. (shrink)

I show how scientism leads to deconstruction and both, in turn, lead to nihilism. Nihilism constitutes a denial both of the existence of fallacious moral reasoning and the existence of a moral dimension to fallacious reasoning. I argue against all of these positions by maintaining that (1) there is a pre-theoretical framework of norms within which technical thinking function, (2) the pre-theoretical framework cannot itself be technically conceptualized, and (3) the explication of this framework permits us to identify both fallacies (...) of moral reasoning and the immorality of fallacious reasoning. (shrink)

In this article, I address the issue of the sale of human organs and the moral implications of a market in human organs under the aegis of Christian Bioethics. I argue that moral issues of this kind cannot be adequately addressed from the point of view of moral frameworks which point exclusively to procedural norms. Rather, a moral perspective must embody some substantive norms derived from a particular content-full moral or theological perspective. The substantive norms to which I appeal in (...) this article are those of Roman Catholicism. The most important sources cited include the works of Pius XII and the works of John Paul II. The conclusion reached is that not only is it morally permissible for Catholics to participate in a market in organ sales but it may also be prudent public policy. (shrink)

This essay begins by distinguishing among the viewpoints of philosophy, theology, and religion; it then explores how each deals with “sin” in the bioethical context. The conclusions are that the philosophical and theological viewpoints are intellectually defective in that they cripple our ability to deal with normative issues, and are in the end unable to integrate Christian concepts like “sin” successfully into bioethics. Sin is predicated only of beings with free will, though only in Western Christianity must all sins be (...) committed with knowledge and voluntarily. Without the notions of free will, sin, and a narrative of redemption, bioethics remains unable to provide itself with an adequate normative framework. Bioethics, and morality in general, remain a morass precisely because there has been a failure to translate Christian morality into fully secular and scientistic terms. (shrink)

The author uses the essays in this issue as a springboard for making three points. First, he argues that most, if not all, current institutional versions of Christianity have failed to provide a meaningful framework for the spiritual life. Second, he argues that there is no ethics other than Judeo-Christian ethics and that there can be no bioethics other than Judeo-Christian bioethics. Finally, he argues that the overriding issue we face is notwhether to address bioethical issues from a Christian perspective (...) or from a non-Christian perspective, but rather whether we shall address biological and medical issues from an ethical or a scientific-technological perspective. (shrink)

Along with The Open Universe and Quantum Theory and the Schism in Physics, this book forms part of the trilogy Postscript to the Logic of Scientific Discovery. Although written twenty-five years ago and circulated among Popper's students, we owe it to W. W. Bartley III's editorial assistance that the work now appears in print.

Many Individuals currently identified within the academic world as ‘“professional” philosophers’ spend a great deal of time arguing about the meaning of their discipline. The situation has recently become so critical that the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, for example, self-consciously excludes the term ‘philosophy’ from its list of entries. An outsider might get the impression that members of the profession suffer from a recurrent kind of intellectual amnesia and need constantly to be reminded about who they are and what their (...) function is. (shrink)

This essay argues that medical innovation proceeds most efficiently and effectively within a free market economy. Medical innovation is an expression of the technological project: the program through which we seek to control nature, to improve the quality and quantity of life. The Technological Project proceeds most efficiently with a free market economy because such a market both promotes competition and encourages innovation. As I argue, the market is a discovery process in which alternatives are tried, tested, and selected by (...) consumer's choices. The alternatives to a free market - primarily central planning and a heavily regulated market - fail adequately to encourage medical innovation. (shrink)

There are eight major misconceptions about Hume's moral theory. First,many believe that there is no essential difference between the Treatise and the Enquiry. Second, some commentators believe that Hume has an extraordinary theory about the moral point of view. Third, many assume that Hume has an explicit theory of moral judgment. Fourth, several commentators have attributed to Hume a multiple theory about the relationship between moral judgment and moral sentiment. Fifth, some assert that Hume has a qualified- or ideal-spectator theory (...) of moral judgment based upon the extraordinary theory about the moral point of view. Sixth, some assert that Hume has an emotivist theory of moral judgment. Seventh, several commentatorshave either accused Hume of violating his own argument against inferring "ought" from "is" or they have sought to show how Hume is justified in making an inference from "is" to "ought" by having the "is" refer to a special class of statements about feelings. Finally, some assert that Hume is a utilitarian in his theory of moral judgment. I shall comment briefly on each of these misconceptions. (shrink)

This important book offers a very readable yet thorough introduction to major questions and issues of philosophy. The historical approach is combined with a thematic treatment of philosophical subjects. Discussions of both classical and contemporary philosophers are included within the historical chapters, while the thematic chapters clarify the meanings of such philosophical terms as: logic, ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, and political philosophy in addition to outlining the scope and depth of the problems addressed within these sub-categories. A chapter on oriental philosophy (...) is also included. (shrink)

The purpose of this volume is to inaugurate a dialogue on the common elements of all three Abrahamic traditions - Christianity, Islam, and Judaism - that touch ...

"The central claim of this book is that all of Berlin's work is animated by a single idea of enormous subversive force". That single idea is value pluralism, the notion that ultimate human values are diverse and sometimes incommensurable. This idea inspires a political outlook Gray calls agonistic liberalism. What this idea subverts is the conception of liberalism as a universal truth with a privileged place in history and sees it instead as a particular historical form of life.

When Journeys Through Philosophy first appeared in 1977, it quickly established a reputation as one of the most complete and versatile introductory philosophy textbooks for the beginning student. Combining carefully chosen selections from the original works of many eminent philosophers with invaluable commentaries designed to illuminate the ideas of these great minds, and an extensive section on how one should read philosophy, the editors have answered the instructional needs of students and teachers alike. The revised edition contains selections by Denis (...) Diderot, Kierkegaard, Irving Kristol, Paul Kurtz, George Moore, William Paley, Jean-Paul Sarte, and John Wisdom, in addition to many of the excerpts from classical and contemporary thinkers found in the earlier edition. The highly acclaimed section on how to read philosophy is complemented by the addition of new introductions. Journeys Through Philosophy is surely destined to become the introductory philosophy textbook for our times. (shrink)

Mill was not a naturalist and cannot be understood within the context of the empiricist‐rationalist debate. Mill believed himself to have joined a conversation that was defined directly by Kant, and therefore qualifies as an advocate of Copernican metaphysics. Mill's starting point is the pre‐theoretical, the common sense world of individuals engaging in various practical tasks with the world. The philosophical idealism, which Mill thinks is consonant with common sense, is a rejection of both naturalism and the kind of idealism (...) one finds in Berkeley, Green and Bradley. Like the idealists, he insists upon the distinction between, and the irreducibility of, subjects to objects; but, unlike idealism, the subject is rooted in the pre‐theoretical world of everyday practices. A thing can only be known indirectly by its properties. We discover the Self through its interactions, and a “free” ‘will’ is an inherent property of the self. (shrink)

David Owen wants to understand what Hume means by reason, given its pivotal importance in the wide range of issues that Hume discusses in his philosophical works. In order to achieve that understanding, Owen places Hume in the historical context of writers such as Descartes and Locke, what was later referred to as the way of ideas. Owen objects to stating Humes views in terms of contemporary semantic frameworks. After a careful review of the many contexts in which Hume discusses (...) reason in book 1 of the Treatise, Owen concludes that Hume rejected the notion of reason as an independent faculty and offered instead an account of reason as based on the imagination. Owens scholarship is meticulous and his attempt to understand Humes historical context commendable. The difficulties are that he tells us nothing new and his context is much too narrow. Hume was neither a scholastic nor a contemporary professional responding only to the works of other professional philosophers on some technical point. At the very least, Humes discussion of causal reasoning was very much influenced by the transition from Aristotelian physics and its attendant conception of causality to Newtons physics and its attendant conception of causality. The details of Humes mechanistic account of belief are not mentioned. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:BOOK REVIEWS 535 the consequent thinness and incompleteness which invest the author's discussion in this area. In fact, the omission leads Trinkaus to some misinterpretation regarding the nature and development of poetic theology and the relationships between the studia humanitatis and studia divinitatis. Thus he claims that Petrarch made the classic statement of the theologia poetica ("Poetic is not at all opposed to theology"), thereby inferring that he revived (...) this insight for the Renaissance. But this interrelationship had already been fully and substantively developed by Dante (as Colish convincingly shows in her concluding chapter). Dante's own poetic epistemology grew out of medieval poetics and was explicitly linked to Augustine's (by Dante in the Convivio). In his letter on the Divine Comedy, furthermore, Dante shows that he has appropriated for himself as poet all the tasks, methods, and powers of theology. The Divine Comedy is to be read like Scripture; its purpose is to remove men from misery and bring them to beatitude. That it can do so, moreover, derives from the fact that, as he wrote in the Convivio, "words... are like the seeds of action." Speech, e.g., prayers, poems, confessions of faith, etc., can transform the behavior of the hearer. That is why Dante called himself a poet of rectitude, and why his epitaph described him as a theologian (Theologus Dantes). Yet Trinkaus asserts that Petrarch and especially Boccaccio revived this Augustinian theory of the relationship between the prisci poetae and the prisci theologi. If Boccaccio contributed to this process (and he did), it was less because of his interest in poetic legends about the gods, than because of his admiration for Dante, the subject of his public lectures and his biography. As he declared in his Li[e o[ Dante, it is perfectly clear "that not only is poetry theology but also that theology is poetry." And were it permitted, he allowed, "I should say he [Dante] would have become a god on earth." One misses the presence of Dante in Trinkaus' book; for he belongs--as Boccaccio and Bruni, and (much later) Burcldaardt made plain--at the heart of all Renaissance discussions of poetry and theology, of epistemology, of the employment of learning to civic, public, and moral purposes, and of human and humanistic attempts to reintegrate the soul and reconcile logic to life. He, too, possessed Fanstian dimensions, and like Petrarch, he inspired the humanistic enterprise that came after. Jo~ H. GEEatmN Scripps College and Claremont Graduate School Rhetoric and Truth in France. Descartes to Diderot. By Peter France. (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1972. Pp. viii + 282. $16.25) Can a writer express the truth without relying upon rhetorical devices? A negative answer to this question provides the recurrent theme in a "series of linked essays" in which Peter France examines classical French rhetoric as represented in the writings of Descartes, Montesquieu, d'Alembert, Bossuet, Boileau, Racine, Diderot, and Rousseau. He begins with Descartes, who is symbolic of the traditional philosophical revulsion against rhetoric, and then examines the remaining authors who fall on a spectrum between Rousseau, who engages in the "desperate quest for the mirage of genuine, unmediated communication," and Boileau, who was the self-conscious designer of a new style of rhetoric. While the focus is philosophical, the background of this book is largely historical in its illustration of the intellectual tools of a major part of French society over an extended period of time. Professor France is successful in having focus and background reinforce one another. In Part I, he begins with a description of rhetoric in the ancien r~gime. He reviews the classical and medieval roots of rhetoric; the influential Renaissance view of rhetoric as mere ornament, a view perpetuated by the work of Peter Ramus; and the role of rhetoric 536 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY in the ancien rJgime as it was taught in the schools and as a mark of social ascension. The conclusion of this review is that "all systems of verbal communication appear to contain an element of distortion." In interpreting Descartes, France relies heavily and admittedly upon the work of Goubier. One surprising comment is the assertion that Descartes refrained from publishing Le... (shrink)

This book offers up-to-date insights into the theory and practice of Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability management. Gathering contributions by a team of international scholars, it shares perspectives from a variety of academic disciplines, including management and tourism as well as accounting, higher education research and supply chain management. Guided by the credo of achieving 'Responsible Business for Uncertain Times and a Sustainable Future,' the authors present their latest reflections on, and possible solutions for, sustainable and responsible business practices. All (...) of the contributions presented here are critical, evidence-based and solution-oriented, making the book both practical and insightful reading for academics and practitioners alike. (shrink)

Identifying arguments -- Formal analysis of arguments -- Presenting your case -- Attacking an argument -- Defending your case -- Cause-and-effect reasoning.

This book provides a comprehensive understanding of the linkages between business and society by addressing key issues in corporate social responsibility, sustainability, ethics and governance. Thanks to the different visions and perspectives offered by a global group of authors with a broad range of expertise, the book offers a full spectrum of theoretical and practical approaches. Further, it combines the latest theoretical thinking with reviews of frameworks, cases and best practices from various industries and nations. In particular, the book offers (...) a historical perspective on the origins of CSR and discusses CSR in relation to sustainability and management, with a special focus on CSR in Asia. (shrink)

This book provides a rich collection of essays discussing and showcasing the transformation of businesses around the world towards sustainability and responsibility. Based on a framework of global theoretical approaches, it presents practical examples and cases from a variety of industries, regions and corporate functions. It also highlights the latest insights on how corporations consider sustainability in the governance of their respective organization. Furthermore, the book features a section dedicated to responsible finance, and outlines business and management-driven approaches that contradict (...) the traditionally held belief that a trade-off exists between sustainability, social responsibility and profit. (shrink)