Ethics and the Quest for Wisdom
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Reprint, 9/12/2013
EAN 9781107621534, ISBN10: 1107621534
Paperback, 298 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm
Language: English
Modernity has challenged the ancient ideal of a universal quest for wisdom, and today's world of conflicting cultures and values has raised further doubts regarding the possibility of objective ethical standards. Robert Kane refocuses the debate on the philosophical quest for wisdom, and argues that ethical principles about right action and the good life can be seen to emerge from that very quest itself. This book contends that the search for wisdom involves a persistent striving to overcome narrowness of vision that comes from the inevitable limitations of finite points of view. When applied to questions of value and the good life, this striving has ethical implications about the way we should treat ourselves and others. This study argues for the merits of this central thesis against alternative theories in contemporary normative ethics, and discusses its practical applications for social ethics, political philosophy, law and moral education.
1. Introduction
pluralism and uncertainty
2. Openness
3. The retreat
4. The moral sphere
5. Fact and value
6. Value experiments
7. Virtues, excellences and forms of life
8. The fourth dimension
9. Aspiration
10. Wisdom
11. Objective worth
12. The Bach crystals
13. Human flourishing
14. The Faust legend and the mosaic
15. The good and the right (I)
intuitionism and Kantianism
16. The good and the right (II)
utilitarianism and consequentialism
17. The good and the right (III)
contractualism
18. Politics, public morality and law
justice, care and virtue
Bibliography
Index.