On What Matters

On What Matters PDF

Author: Derek Parfit

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017-02-09

Total Pages: 529

ISBN-13: 0191084379

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Derek Parfit presents the third volume of On What Matters, his landmark work of moral philosophy. Parfit develops further his influential treatment of reasons, normativity, the meaning of moral discourse, and the status of morality. He engages with his critics, and shows the way to resolution of their differences. This volume is partly about what it is for things to matter, in the sense that we all have reasons to care about these things. Much of the book discusses three of the main kinds of meta-ethical theory: Normative Naturalism, Quasi-Realist Expressivism, and Non-Metaphysical Non-Naturalism, which Derek Parfit now calls Non-Realist Cognitivism. This third theory claims that, if we use the word 'reality' in an ontologically weighty sense, irreducibly normative truths have no mysterious or incredible ontological implications. If instead we use 'reality' in a wide sense, according to which all truths are truths about reality, this theory claims that some non-empirically discoverable truths-such as logical, mathematical, modal, and some normative truths-raise no difficult ontological questions. Parfit discusses these theories partly by commenting on the views of some of the contributors to Peter Singer's collection Does Anything Really Matter? Parfit on Objectivity. Though Peter Railton is a Naturalist, he has widened his view by accepting some further claims, and he has suggested that this wider version of Naturalism could be combined with Non-Realist Cognitivism. Parfit argues that Railton is right, since these theories no longer deeply disagree. Though Allan Gibbard is a Quasi-Realist Expressivist, he has suggested that the best version of his view could be combined with Non-Realist Cognitivism. Parfit argues that Gibbard is right, since Gibbard and he now accept the other's main meta-ethical claim. It is rare for three such different philosophical theories to be able to be widened in ways that resolve their deepest disagreements. This happy convergence supports the view that these meta-ethical theories are true. Parfit also discusses the views of several other philosophers, and some other meta-ethical and normative questions.

Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals

Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals PDF

Author: Immanuel Kant

Publisher: Cosimo, Inc.

Published: 2009-01-01

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13: 1605204528

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How should human beings behave toward one another? How must we behave? One of the most influential thinkers of the Western civilization, a man who profoundly shaped the mind-set of the modern world, Immanuel Kant developed his "Categorical Imperative" as a philosophical proof of the "Golden Rule," and in this 1873 essay, he elaborates upon and defends his understanding of the logical underpinnings of all human morality. Essential reading for anyone seeking an appreciation of modern philosophy, this is an intriguing and provocative work exploring the intersection of morality and reason. German metaphysician IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) served as a librarian of the Royal Library, a prestigious government position, and as a professor at Knigsberg University. His other works include Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime (1764), Critique of Pure Reason (1781), and Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785).

Creating the Kingdom of Ends

Creating the Kingdom of Ends PDF

Author: Christine M. Korsgaard

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1996-07-28

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 9780521499620

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Christine Korsgaard has become one of the leading interpreters of Kant's moral philosophy. She is identified with a small group of philosophers who are intent on producing a version of Kant's moral philosophy that is at once sensitive to its historical roots while revealing its particular relevance to contemporary problems. She rejects the traditional picture of Kant's ethics as a cold vision of the moral life which emphasises duty at the expense of love and value. Rather, Kant's work is seen as providing a resource for addressing not only the metaphysics of morals, but also for tackling practical questions about personal relations, politics, and everyday human interaction. This collection contains some of the finest current work on Kant's ethics and will command the attention of all those involved in teaching and studying moral theory.

War By Other Means

War By Other Means PDF

Author: Daniel Akst

Publisher: Melville House

Published: 2022-12-06

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1612199259

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"Akst argues that the modern progressive movement, wide-ranging in its causes and narratives today, has origins in the pacifist response to American involvement in World War II... At its best, one gets the sense of generative force born from such intense intellectual, moral and religious pressure." -- The Washington Post Pacifists who fought against the Second World War faced insurmountable odds—but their resistance, philosophy, and strategies fostered a tradition of activism that shaped America right up to the present day. In this provocative and deeply researched work of history, Akst takes readers into the wild, heady, and uncertain times of America on the brink of a world war, following four fascinating resisters -- four figures who would subsequently become famous political thinkers and activists -- and their daring exploits: David Dellinger, Dorothy Day, Dwight MacDonald, and Bayard Rustin. The lives of these diverse anti-war advocates--a principled and passionate seminary student, a Catholic anarchist, a high-brow intellectual leftist, and an African-American pacifist and agitator--create the perfect prism through which to see World War II from a new angle, that of the opposition, as well as to show how great and lasting their achievements were. The resisters did not stop the war, of course, but their impact would be felt for decades. Many of them went on to lead the civil-rights and anti-Vietnam War movements, the two most important social stands of the second half of the twentieth century. The various World War II resisters pioneered non-violent protest in America, popularized Gandhian principles, and desegregated the first prison mess halls. Theirs is a story that has never been told.

Introduction to Philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy PDF

Author: Christina Hendricks

Publisher:

Published: 2020-02-27

Total Pages: 118

ISBN-13: 9781989014189

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We often make judgments about good and bad, right and wrong. Philosophical ethics is the critical examination of these and other concepts central to how we evaluate our own and each others' behavior and choices. This text examines some of the main threads of discussion on these topics that have developed over the last couple of millenia, mostly within the Western cultural tradition.The book is designed to be used alone or alongside a reader of historical and contemporary original sources, and is freely available in web and digital formats at https: //press.rebus.community/intro-to-phil-ethics/. If you are adopting or adapting this book for a course, please let us know on our adoption form for the Introduction to Philosophy open textbook series: https: //docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwf2E7bRGvWefjhNZ07kgpgnNFxVxxp-iidPE5gfDBQNGBGg/viewform?usp=sf_link. Cover art by Heather Salazar; cover design by Jonathan Lashley. One of nine books in the Introduction to Philosophy open textbook serie

War by Other Means

War by Other Means PDF

Author: Robert D. Blackwill

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2016-04-11

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 0674737210

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A Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2016 Today, nations increasingly carry out geopolitical combat through economic means. Policies governing everything from trade and investment to energy and exchange rates are wielded as tools to win diplomatic allies, punish adversaries, and coerce those in between. Not so in the United States, however. America still too often reaches for the gun over the purse to advance its interests abroad. The result is a playing field sharply tilting against the United States. “Geoeconomics, the use of economic instruments to advance foreign policy goals, has long been a staple of great-power politics. In this impressive policy manifesto, Blackwill and Harris argue that in recent decades, the United States has tended to neglect this form of statecraft, while China, Russia, and other illiberal states have increasingly employed it to Washington’s disadvantage.” —G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs “A readable and lucid primer...The book defines the extensive topic and opens readers’ eyes to its prevalence throughout history...[Presidential] candidates who care more about protecting American interests would be wise to heed the advice of War by Other Means and take our geoeconomic toolkit more seriously. —Jordan Schneider, Weekly Standard

War by Other Means

War by Other Means PDF

Author: Robert D. Blackwill

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2016-04-12

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 0674545982

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A Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2016 Today, nations increasingly carry out geopolitical combat through economic means. Policies governing everything from trade and investment to energy and exchange rates are wielded as tools to win diplomatic allies, punish adversaries, and coerce those in between. Not so in the United States, however. America still too often reaches for the gun over the purse to advance its interests abroad. The result is a playing field sharply tilting against the United States. “Geoeconomics, the use of economic instruments to advance foreign policy goals, has long been a staple of great-power politics. In this impressive policy manifesto, Blackwill and Harris argue that in recent decades, the United States has tended to neglect this form of statecraft, while China, Russia, and other illiberal states have increasingly employed it to Washington’s disadvantage.” —G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs “A readable and lucid primer...The book defines the extensive topic and opens readers’ eyes to its prevalence throughout history...[Presidential] candidates who care more about protecting American interests would be wise to heed the advice of War by Other Means and take our geoeconomic toolkit more seriously. —Jordan Schneider, Weekly Standard

War by Other Means

War by Other Means PDF

Author: David Crouse

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2006-09

Total Pages: 391

ISBN-13: 0595382355

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In the Hindu Kush Mountains that divide Afghanistan from Pakistan, a new Islamic prophet plans the destruction of the Great Satan. The prophet Khalid Ibn'abd Al-aziz Assaud reveals that Allah has shown him the path to a new Islamic order. He intends to create a new Islamic world by bringing the wrath of Allah down on the infidels in ways they don't expect. Educated in the United States and tempered in the wars of Afghanistan, Assaud knows America's military strengths and its economic weaknesses. Americans' dreams are kept alive with debt-if you destroy the banks of the Unites States, you bring down the enemy. Dr. Ross Palmer, a decorated Marine and noted economist, leads an elite unit of the Federal Reserve. Formed to respond quickly to attacks on United States financial institutions, the unit has worked only on simulations-until now. The first attack by Assaud is aimed at the world's oil supply. Assaud's second assault, a nationwide cyber-attack on the credit system, proves much more difficult for Dr. Palmer's team. In response to this final attack the Federal Reserve is forced to close all of the nation's banks. Can that halt the slide, or will America descend into another great depression? Either way, life in the United States is about to change.