The Act Itself [Hardcover]

Jonathan Bennett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0198235488 | ISBN-13: 978-0198235484

In this major new book, the internationally renowned thinker Jonathan Bennett offers a deeper understanding of what is going on in our own moral thoughts about human behavior. The Act Itself presents a conceptual analysis of descriptions of behavior on which we base our moral judgements, and shows that this analysis can be used as a means toward getting more control of our thoughts and thus of our lives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`This book is the result of thirty years of hard thinking by an acute moral philosopher on the foundations of our morality.' Times Literary Supplement

`It is a candid and ingenious work.' International Philosophical Quarterly, March 1997

`Those who have engaged in considerations of the M/A and I/F distinctions owe a considerable debt to Bennett for showing them how to say exactly what they mean. If this work contained that philosophical excellence alone it would be worthy of attention. It contains that and much more. Action theorists, the disputants in the consequentialist/anti-consequentialist debate and those who wish to think deeply about the M/A and I/F distinctions have much to learn from a close reading of The Act Itself.' Thomas A Cavanaugh, The Philosophical Quarterly

`This fine book continues Bennett's long interest in the nature and moral significance of the distinction between making and allowing ... this is an admirable book - engaging, direct and a pleasure to read.' Jonathan Dancy, Mind

About the Author

Jonathan Bennett has taught at Cambridge University and has been visiting professor at both Pittsburgh and Princeton Universities. He gave the Tanner lectures at Brasenose College, Oxford in 1980 and the John Locke Lectures at Oxford University in 1992

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198235488
• ISBN-13: 978-0198235484
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,874,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why isn't this book more popular?, September 18, 2005

By 

A. Sepielli (New Brunswick, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Act Itself (Hardcover)

The purpose of this book is to argue for two claims:

1) There is no moral significance to the doing/allowing distinction.

2) The "Doctrine of Double Effect" is false.

The doing/allowing distinction and the DDE lie at the core of "common sense morality", and so Bennett's frying some pretty big fish by taking them on. His arguments are simultaneously creative and rigorous, drawing heavily on metaphysics and the philosophy of action to reach some rather startling moral conclusions. As an application of metaphysics to ethics, this book is exemplary, second in the contemporary literature only to Parfit's Reasons and Persons.

That's why it's surprising that it's only the 2,000,000-th most popular book on Amazon (as of the time of this review). If you're interested in the CENTRAL problems of normative ethics, and enjoy work that challenges our most deeply held views, put this in your shopping cart tout de suite!