Synopses & Reviews
Rush Rhees questions the viability of moral theories and the general claims they make in ethics. He shows how one can both be concerned with knowing what one ought to do while recognizing that one's answer is a personal one. These insights, arrived at in a distinctive style, characteristic of Rhees, are then applied to issues of life and death, human sexuality, and our relations to animals. To recognize why philosophy cannot answer such questions for us is an affirmation, not a denial, of their importance.
Synopsis
Note in Editing Introduction PART ONE: PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS Moral Judgements and Moral Theory Morals and History Some Developments in Wittgenstein's View of Ethics Responsibility to Society 'Natural Law' and Reasons in Ethics On Knowing the Difference Between Right and Wrong 'What are Moral Statements Like?' PART TWO: THE PERSONAL IN ETHICS 'The Right Answer' 'Deciding What I Ought to Do' Virtue and Knowledge PART THREE: ISSUES OF LIFE AND DEATH Euthanasia Suicide Abortion PART FOUR: SEXUALITY OF ETHICS Sexuality The Tree of Nebuchadnezzar Chastity PART FIVE: PEOPLE AND ANIMALS Human Life and the Life of an Animal Learning, Animals and Psychological Experiments Humans and Animals: A Confused Christian Conception The Death of Dog PART SIX: ETHICS AND HUMAN LIVES Understanding What Men Do and Understanding the Lives Men Live Self Deception and Needs Self Deception and Mistakes Morals and Imitation Morals and Sincerity 'Doing Something About It' Index of Names Index of Subjects
Synopsis
Rush Rhees questions the viability of moral theories and the general claims they make in ethics. He shows how one can both be concerned with knowing what one ought to do while recognizing that one's answer is a personal one. These insights, arrived at in a distinctive style, characteristic of Rhees, are then applied to issues of life and death, human sexuality, and our relations to animals. To recognize why philosophy cannot answer such questions for us is an affirmation, not a denial, of their importance.
About the Author
D. Z. Phillips became Rush Rhees's student in 1952 and is now Director of the Rush Rhees Archive.
Table of Contents
Introduction * Philosophical Ethics * The Personal in Ethics * Issues of Life and Death * Sexuality and Ethics * People and Animals * Ethics and Human Lives