Synopses & Reviews
How can we improve our ethical beliefs? How great are our capacities for moral improvement? What constitutes a good life? What role can philosophy play in answering these questions? In this important new book, one of our leading moral philosophers looks at central issues of ethics and emerges with the fullest and most elegant account of his fundamental ethical theory. James Griffin examines influential schools of ethical thought and finds deontology, virtue ethics, and most forms of utilitarianism to be overly ambitious. He argues that ethics cannot be what philosophers in these traditions expect because agents cannot be what the philosophies need them to be. Clear, compelling, and original, this new account of ethics will be of interest to anyone concerned with thinking about values: not only philosophers but legal, political, and economic theorists as well.
Review
"The book is very readable and confronts a number of issues currently under discussion in moral epistemology, metaethics, and normative moral theory."--Choice
Synopsis
In this elegantly written book James Griffin offers a fresh examination of the fundamental questions of ethics. At the heart of the book lies the question of how we can improve our ethical judgements and beliefs. In addressing this central dilemma, Griffin discusses such key issues of moral philosophy as defining a good life, locating the boundaries of the natural world, how values relate to the world, judging the limits human capacity, and where moral norms originate. Beyond these considerations, he gives a critical assessment of the aims of such prominent philosophical traditions as utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. Value Judgement gives a clear and compelling depiction of moral philosophy which will interest readers of all levels.
About the Author
About the Author:
James Griffin is Reader in Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Wittgenstein's Moral Atomism and Well-Being (OUP 1986).
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Improving Our Ethical Beliefs
2. The Good Life
3. The Boundaries of the Natural World
4. Value and Nature
5. A Simple Moral Thought
6. Agents
7. Some Complex Moral Ideas
8. How Can We Improve Our Ethical Beliefs?
Bibliograophy
Index