G. E. Moore
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199272013
- eISBN:
- 9780191603181
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199272018.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Moore maintains that, in principle, there is an objective answer to questions of right and wrong. More specifically, that a particular action cannot be both right and wrong, either at the same time ...
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Moore maintains that, in principle, there is an objective answer to questions of right and wrong. More specifically, that a particular action cannot be both right and wrong, either at the same time or at different times. In this chapter and the next, Moore argues against theories that deny this latter proposition and thus reject the objectivity of moral judgments. Beginning with a critique of the thesis that when one asserts that an action is right or wrong, one is merely asserting that one has a certain feeling towards it, this chapter focuses its critical fire on various attitudinal theories of ethics.Less
Moore maintains that, in principle, there is an objective answer to questions of right and wrong. More specifically, that a particular action cannot be both right and wrong, either at the same time or at different times. In this chapter and the next, Moore argues against theories that deny this latter proposition and thus reject the objectivity of moral judgments. Beginning with a critique of the thesis that when one asserts that an action is right or wrong, one is merely asserting that one has a certain feeling towards it, this chapter focuses its critical fire on various attitudinal theories of ethics.
Joseph Cannon
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262017404
- eISBN:
- 9780262301770
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262017404.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter discusses Kantian principles regarding natural beauty and its destruction. The works of Kant are rarely called upon in discussion of the ethics of nature; Kant’s ethics of nature is ...
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This chapter discusses Kantian principles regarding natural beauty and its destruction. The works of Kant are rarely called upon in discussion of the ethics of nature; Kant’s ethics of nature is considered a stumbling block because it implies that one can only have duties to persons. He argues that the destruction or corruption of natural beauty is wrong because of its negative effect on one’s own character, not because the actual act of destruction is wrong. The chapter aims to prove that this principle is not the greatest stumbling block to an ethics of the natural environment as others seem to believe. It must be considered that Kant interprets taking an immediate interest in natural beauty as taking a moral interest in nature regarded as a person—specifically as a being who wills the achievement of moral character as its end.Less
This chapter discusses Kantian principles regarding natural beauty and its destruction. The works of Kant are rarely called upon in discussion of the ethics of nature; Kant’s ethics of nature is considered a stumbling block because it implies that one can only have duties to persons. He argues that the destruction or corruption of natural beauty is wrong because of its negative effect on one’s own character, not because the actual act of destruction is wrong. The chapter aims to prove that this principle is not the greatest stumbling block to an ethics of the natural environment as others seem to believe. It must be considered that Kant interprets taking an immediate interest in natural beauty as taking a moral interest in nature regarded as a person—specifically as a being who wills the achievement of moral character as its end.
Roger Crisp
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198716358
- eISBN:
- 9780191785047
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198716358.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter covers some of the major background issues in Sidgwick’s Methods of Ethics. Sidgwick’s own philosophical development is described, in the light of his own description of it in his ...
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This chapter covers some of the major background issues in Sidgwick’s Methods of Ethics. Sidgwick’s own philosophical development is described, in the light of his own description of it in his ‘Preface’, and his modest ‘quietist’ metaethics examined. Sidgwick’s objections to several forms of naturalism are explained, and an account is offered of Sidgwick’s non-naturalism and of his rationalist views on justification and his internalism about motivation. Methods are distinguished from principles, and Sidgwick’s focus on only three ethical theories is defended. Sidgwick is criticized for seeking excessive precision in ethics, and for use of unnecessary ethical concepts. The chapter ends with a section on Sidgwick’s views of politics, where it is argued that there is a stronger case than Sidgwick allows for seeing political theory as a branch of ethics.Less
This chapter covers some of the major background issues in Sidgwick’s Methods of Ethics. Sidgwick’s own philosophical development is described, in the light of his own description of it in his ‘Preface’, and his modest ‘quietist’ metaethics examined. Sidgwick’s objections to several forms of naturalism are explained, and an account is offered of Sidgwick’s non-naturalism and of his rationalist views on justification and his internalism about motivation. Methods are distinguished from principles, and Sidgwick’s focus on only three ethical theories is defended. Sidgwick is criticized for seeking excessive precision in ethics, and for use of unnecessary ethical concepts. The chapter ends with a section on Sidgwick’s views of politics, where it is argued that there is a stronger case than Sidgwick allows for seeing political theory as a branch of ethics.
Philip Pettit
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- October 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190904913
- eISBN:
- 9780190904944
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190904913.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
The conclusion provides an analytical summary of the preceding chapters.
The conclusion provides an analytical summary of the preceding chapters.
