
Six Ethics: A Rights-Based Approach to Establishing an Objective Common Morality
Description
Alles über E-Books | Antworten auf Fragen rund um E-Books, Kopierschutz und Dateiformate finden Sie in unserem Info- & Hilfebereich.
Christian Volz's Six Ethics takes both a philosophical and a pragmatic approach to addressing the dangers posed by irrational belief, and proposes a framework for creating a legal and social environment where rationality and spirituality might be reconciled.
In the 21st century, as international business continues to expand and the Internet and other means of global communications, as well as immigration, continue to bring people from different cultures and groups into contact, individuals need to be prepared to live side-by-side with others who have very different belief systems as well as be self-aware of the sources and principles of their own beliefs. Six Ethics: A Rights-Based Approach to Establishing an Objective Common Morality is the result of author Christian Volz's quest to understand the nature of belief and the relationship of beliefs and ethics in the face of 21st century issues.
Volz explains that the late nineteenth century intellectual revolution known as modernism is characterized by the maturing of the concepts of human rights, civil liberties, personal freedoms and, most especially, the constituents of essential human dignity. This new, modern approach has defined these concepts based on science and the cumulative history of human ethics guided by reason and compassion, and has largely enshrined them in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
"I believe," Volz says, "that there is a dangerous underestimation of the peril posed to the world's democratic societies and institutions by religious radicals and fundamentalists, of all stripes, who believe that they retain the moral authority to selectively edit these evolved concepts of human rights and dignity. Many conservative people of faith continue to reject science and reason as the basis whereby we measure, evaluate, and make decisions about the material world and the temporal relations among human beings, with potentially disastrous consequences for the future of our planet. If we are to effectively counter these religious, authoritarian-conservative movements, it is helpful to understand how we got to where we are."
Citing numerous contemporary and historical sources-from Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins to John Locke and Alexis de Tocqueville-Six Ethics addresses a broad range of topics, interrelated by their essential relationship to human dignity and rights. These include: the origins and development of ethical, religious and scientific thought; how otherwise rational people can be so easily seduced to embrace irrational beliefs and the societal consequences when they do so; and why anyone believes anything. In doing so, he touches on many fields of study, including a consideration of genetic, psychological, sociological and political influences upon how people think within the context of a group.
Six Ethics proposes what Volz refers to as Rational Progressivism as a framework within which societies might advance toward genuine equality and true freedom of conscience for a diverse population.
More details
Other editions
Additional editions

Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Front Matter
- Foreword
- Section I. The Lazy Approach to Weltanschauung
- The Role of Reason and Logic
- The Role of Government
- Morality in a Democratic, Religiously Plural Culture
- A Starting Point
- Section II. The Origins of Ethical and Religious Thought
- Ethical Agnosticism
- The Logical Roots of Ethics and Morality
- The Logical Roots of Religion
- Section III. Barriers to Reason
- Group versus Universal
- The Culture Wars
- The Perceived Uncertain Nature of Science
- Divine Paranoid Schizophrenia
- Why a Scientific Approach to Morality and Ethics?
- Human Rights, Civil Liberties & Personal Freedoms
- Section IV. The Golden Rule - The Ethic of Reciprocity
- Section V. The Six Ethics
- The First Ethic: The Ethic of Reciprocity
- Five Fundamental Principles
- First Fundamental Principle: Universality
- Second Fundamental Principle: Perpetuity
- Third Fundamental Principle: Inclusivity
- Fourth Fundamental Principle: Defensibility
- Fifth Fundamental Principle: Mutuality
- The Second Ethic: The Ethic of the Legitimacy of the Law
- The Third Ethic: The Ethic of the Hierarchy of Immediacy
- The Fourth Ethic: The Ethic of the Balance of Harms
- The Fifth Ethic: The Ethic of Regulatory Minimalism
- The Sixth Ethic: The Ethic of the Politics of the Possible
- Section VI. Nine Short Contextual Essays
- Essay 1: Morality, Ethics and Human Rights Revisited
- Essay 2: Equality
- Essay 3: Social Justice
- Essay 4: Socialism and the Socialization of Risk
- Essay 5: Property and Labor
- Essay 6: Free Markets and Sovereignty
- Essay 7: The Shame of a Nation
- Essay 8: The Legitimacy of the Law
- Essay 9: Earth Stewardship "for Ourselves and our Posterity"
- Section VII. Rational Spirituality
- Creationism, Intelligent Design and Evolution
- Prayer and Divine Intercession
- Divine Intervention
- Supernatural Agency
- The Human Soul
- Section VIII. Rationalism and the Abrahamic Faiths
- Section IX. Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism
- Buddhism and Rationality
- Hinduism and Modernism
- Sikhism and Human Dignity and Rights
- Section X. The Americanization of Christianity
- Section XI. Right Turn Only
- Section XII. Conclusions
- Section XIII. A Prescription for Change
- Section XIV. A Personal Perspective
- Afterword
- Universality in the Understanding of Human Rights and Dignity
- Defensibility and the Struggle for Inclusivity
- Patriotism
- Religion and Ethical Evolution
- Rational Progressivism
- Final Thoughts
- A Summary Statement of Thesis
- Notes on Sources
- Rationalism and the Abrahamic Faiths
- Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism
- Acknowledgments and General Sources
- Appendix A: United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
- Appendix B: Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2000
- Appendix C: Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam Aug. 5, 1990
- Bibliography
- Footnotes
System requirements
File format: ePUB
Copy protection: Adobe-DRM (Digital Rights Management)
System requirements:
- Computer (Windows; MacOS X; Linux): Install the free reader Adobe Digital Editions prior to download (see eBook Help).
- Tablet/smartphone (Android; iOS): Install the free app Adobe Digital Editions or the app PocketBook before downloading (see eBook Help).
- E-reader: Bookeen, Kobo, Pocketbook, Sony, Tolino and many more (not Kindle).
The file format ePub works well for novels and non-fiction books – i.e., „flowing” text without complex layout. On an e-reader or smartphone, line and page breaks automatically adjust to fit the small displays.
This eBook uses Adobe-DRM, a „hard” copy protection. If the necessary requirements are not met, unfortunately you will not be able to open the eBook. You will therefore need to prepare your reading hardware before downloading.
Please note: We strongly recommend that you authorise using your personal Adobe ID after installation of any reading software.
For more information, see our ebook Help page.