The Sources of Normativity
1st Edition
Published on 3. April 2011
978-0-511-25209-9 (ISBN)
Description
Ethical concepts are, or purport to be, normative. They make claims on us: they command, oblige, recommend, or guide. Or at least when we invoke them, we make claims on one another; but where does their authority over us - or ours over one another - come from? Christine Korsgaard identifies four accounts of the source of normativity that have been advocated by modern moral philosophers: voluntarism, realism, reflective endorsement, and the appeal to autonomy. She traces their history, showing how each developed in response to the prior one and comparing their early versions with those on the contemporary philosophical scene. Kant's theory that normativity springs from our own autonomy emerges as a synthesis of the other three, and Korsgaard concludes with her own version of the Kantian account. Her discussion is followed by commentary from G. A. Cohen, Raymond Geuss, Thomas Nagel, and Bernard Williams, and a reply by Korsgaard.
Reviews / Votes
"The book is well worth reading..." International Studies in Philosophy "This book is destined to replace Kant as the ultimate formulation of Kantian ethics. It should be required reading for any philosopher and should be in every library." W.F. Desmond, Choice "This is a book anyone working in ethics should have on the desk. It is provocative and makes original and major contributions to a defense of a Kantian ethic. The historical developments of the various strands of thought are traced out in clear and helpful style. Korsgaard's writing is itself engaging and clear and her arguments forceful and for the most part compelling. This book constitutes a major advance in ethical theory." L. W. Colter, Review of MetaphysicsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
File size
49,42 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-511-25209-9 (9780511252099)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Christine M. Korsgaard
The Sources of Normativity
Book
06/1996
Cambridge University Press
€46.43
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Book
06/1996
Cambridge University Press
€37.30
Available immediately
Persons
Content
Introduction Onora O'Neill; Prologue: excellence and obligation: a very concise history of western metaphysics 387 BC to 1887 AD Christine Korsgaard; 1. The normative question Christine Korsgaard; 2. Reflective endorsement Christine Korsgaard; 3. The authority of reflection Christine Korsgaard; 4. The origin of value and the scope of obligation Christine Korsgaard; 5. Reason, humanity, and the moral law G. A. Cohen; 6. Morality and identity Raymond Geuss; 7. Universality and the reflective self Thomas Nagel; 8. History, morality and the test of reflection Bernard Williams; 9. Reply Christine Korsgaard; Bibliography; Index.
