Freedom and the Moral Life
Title | Freedom and the Moral Life PDF eBook |
Author | John K. Roth |
Publisher | |
Pages | 168 |
Release | 1969 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN |
William James, Moral Philosophy, and the Ethical Life
Title | William James, Moral Philosophy, and the Ethical Life PDF eBook |
Author | Jacob L. Goodson |
Publisher | Lexington Books |
Pages | 431 |
Release | 2017-12-20 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 0739190148 |
Virtue theory, natural law, deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism: these are the basic moral theories taught in “Ethics,” “History of Philosophy,” and “Introduction to Philosophy” courses throughout the United States. When the American philosopher William James (1842 – 1910) find his way into these conversations, there is uncertainty about where his thinking fits. While utilitarianism has become the default position for teaching James’s pragmatism and radical empiricism, this default position fails to address and explain James’s multiple criticisms of John Stuart Mill’s formulaic approach to questions concerning the moral life. Through close readings of James’s writings, the chapters in William James, Moral Philosophy, and the Ethical Life catalogue the ways in whichJames wants to avoid the following: (a) the hierarchies of Christian natural law theory, (b) the moral calculus of Mill’s utilitarianism, (c) the absolutism and principle-ism of Immanuel Kant’s deontology, and (d) the staticity of the virtues found in Aristotle’s moral theory. Elaborating upon and clarifying James’s differences from these dominant moral theories is a crucial feature of this collection. This collection, is not, however, intended to be wholly negative – that is, only describing to readers what James’s moral theory is not. It seeks to articulate the positive features of James’s ethics and moral reasoning: what does it mean to an ethical life, and how should we theorize about morality?
William James on Ethics and Faith
Title | William James on Ethics and Faith PDF eBook |
Author | Michael R. Slater |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 259 |
Release | 2009-09-10 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 052176016X |
A new interpretation of James's ethical and religious thought focusing on the prominent role these views played in his philosophy.
William James and the Moral Life
Title | William James and the Moral Life PDF eBook |
Author | Todd Lekan |
Publisher | Routledge |
Pages | 220 |
Release | 2022-04-06 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 1000567850 |
This book offers a compelling new interpretation of James’ moral philosophy: an "ethics of responsible self-fashioning." James’ performative writing style articulates this conception by showing how moral inquiry serves both social and personal transformation. James the social moral philosopher seeks to create an inclusive moral order through expansion of sympathetic concern among those committed to different ideals. James the existential moral philosopher defends the right to adopt hope-grounding metaphysical beliefs which encourage strenuous moral action in the face of evil and suffering. The power of James’ ethics is demonstrated by its application to current discussions about the status of marginalized nonhuman animals and that of the cognitively disabled. William James and the Moral Life is of interest to a wide variety of ethicists and has special appeal to scholars and advanced students in moral philosophy, social philosophy, pragmatism, and American philosophy.
The Moral Equivalent of War
Title | The Moral Equivalent of War PDF eBook |
Author | William James |
Publisher | Read Books Ltd |
Pages | 25 |
Release | 2015-12-22 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 1473365376 |
From one of nineteenth-century America’s leading philosophical thinkers, William James, this fascinating short essay is an engaging read exploring the reasons for war, and methods and resources to prevent conflict. The Moral Equivalent of War was written as part of an initiative to stir interest in international peace among US residents. First published in 1910, the Executive Committee of the Association for International Conciliation used this treatise to encourage civilians to support the movement promoting international peace. In this short essay, William James discusses the reasons for war in general and explores the various ways in which we can prevent it.
The Ethics of Energy
Title | The Ethics of Energy PDF eBook |
Author | Sergio Franzese |
Publisher | Walter de Gruyter |
Pages | 245 |
Release | 2013-05-02 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 311032783X |
William James's moral philosophy is neither a remaking of utilitarianism nor it is a theory of values as it is assumed by the majority of his interpreters. Instead James offers an ethical view consistently arising out of valorization of energy of his days, and effecting a counter-tendency to the two great popular scientific currents of the 19th century: the universalizing of Darwinism and the pessimistic ideologies of social entropy. James's ethics moves away from the traditional idealistic or utilitarian grounds and takes place against the background of an up-and-coming philosophical anthropology hinged on the primacy of action. Human activity, however, needs to be understood in relation to Energy as the fabric of the universe pervading the whole spectrum of being in a continuum in which humanity and divinty are strictly intertwined.
The Will to Believe
Title | The Will to Believe PDF eBook |
Author | William James |
Publisher | |
Pages | 360 |
Release | 1896 |
Genre | Belief and doubt |
ISBN |