Essays in Ethical Theory
Published on 18. February 1993
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-19-824071-6 (ISBN)
Description
In this volume, R. M. Hare has collected a number of essays which fill in the theoretical background of his thought and which together give an overall picture of his views on a variety of questions.
Each essay is self-contained, and topics covered include the objectivity and rationality of moral thinking, the issue between the ethical realists and their opponents, the place in our moral thought of appeals to common convictions, and how to tell whether a feature of a situation is morally relevant. His central theme is the paradox that, if moral judgements were just statements of fact, relativism would be inescapable. We can treat moral thinking as a rational activity only because moral judgements are more than this.
Each essay is self-contained, and topics covered include the objectivity and rationality of moral thinking, the issue between the ethical realists and their opponents, the place in our moral thought of appeals to common convictions, and how to tell whether a feature of a situation is morally relevant. His central theme is the paradox that, if moral judgements were just statements of fact, relativism would be inescapable. We can treat moral thinking as a rational activity only because moral judgements are more than this.
Reviews / Votes
The Essays in Ethical Theory ... are very important ... for a society like ours ... presenting issues with clarity and sharpness which prompts searching responses. I comment [the book] to all serious thinkers on ethical matters. * Ethical Record *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
388 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-824071-6 (9780198240716)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
Why do applied ethics?; Some confusions about subjectivity; What makes choices rational?; Principles; Supervenience; Ontology in ethics; How to decide moral questions rationally; A Reductio ad Absurdum of descriptivism; The promising game; Rawls' Theory of Justice; The structure of ethics and morals; Relevance; Ethical theory and utilitarianism; Utilitarianism and the vicarious affects; Some reasoning about preferences.