This challenging and provocative book argues against much contemporary orthodoxy in philosophy and the social sciences by showing why objectivity in the domain of ethics is really no different from the objectivity of scientific knowledge. In the course of the book Jean Hampton examines moral realism, the general nature of reason and norms, internalism and externalism, instrumental reasoning, and the expected utility model of practical reasoning. The book should prove to be a seminal work in the theory of rationality that will be read by a broad swathe of philosophers and social scientists.
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Editorial Reviews
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"Hampton had a sharp eye for the hidden thread that, once tugged, unravels entire philosophical tapestries. She is in one sense a good ally of expressivism, for she reserves especial scorn for various varieties of naturalism that purport to defend or explain objective authority. As she was well aware, her insistence on its mysterious nature is calculated to discompose some of its more complacent friends. Nevertheless, the best chapters here show a crispness and a focus that demand attention from everyone interested in the phenomena of human reason." Ethics
Book Description
This challenging and provocative book argues against much contemporary orthodoxy in philosophy and the social sciences by showing why objectivity in the domain of ethics is really no different from the objectivity of scientific knowledge. In the course of the book Jean Hampton examines moral realism, the general nature of reason and norms, internalism and externalism, instrumental reasoning, and the expected utility model of practical reasoning. The book is sure to prove to be a seminal work in the theory of rationality that will be read by a broad swathe of philosophers and social scientists.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Continuing the morality debate,
By Susanna Murley (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Authority of Reason (Hardcover)
For readers aquainted with philosophical jargon, this book makes sense; for the common reader, her dense prose requires at least a dictionary. Jean Hampton deconstructs naturalistic philosophy (the idea that moral claims should be explained using scientific method and logic) and asserts a moral objectivist position (that moral claims are objective in nature and external to the individual). Her ideas are interesting and provacative, especially because of the naturalistic trend prevalent in society right now. Most people would agree with Hampton's adversaries--that there are not external norms that dictate our morality--as moral claims are usually seen as a product of our relative upbringing or society. However, she persuasively writes against this common notion, though it is hard to grasp her entire point at times. I enjoyed the book, though it could have gone through a couple more revisions if she hadn't died before she was able to. Her early death is a deprivation, especially as a loss to the discussion of modern moral philosophy.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Although this book seeks to show that the naturalists are wrong to criticize the normativity in moral theory, nonetheless in Part I, I shall be taking the naturalists' side, identifying what it is about the moral objectives' norms that cannot, in the naturalists' view, pass "scientific muster." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
objective normative authority, deliberative connection, compelling rightness, autonomous benefits, motivational internalism, authoritative moral norms, normative objectivism, occurrent motive, objectivist moral theory, weight consequentialist, motivational efficacy, internalist requirement, objectivist moral theories, moral objectivist, substantive naturalism, compound lottery, instrumentally rational person, moral objectivism, subjective motivational set, objectively authoritative, supervenience theorists, naturalist standpoint, instrumental deliberation, instrumental theory, psychological contingencies Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Professor Hampton, Bernard Williams, John Broome, David Gauthier, Ethics Distinction, Michael Bratman, Owen Wingrave, Amartya Sen, Hilary Putnam, Joseph Raz, Kurt Baier, Allan Gibbard, Frank Ramsey, Gilbert Harman, The Absolute Conception of the World, Thomas Nagel New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Although this book seeks to show that the naturalists are wrong to criticize the normativity in moral theory, nonetheless in Part I, I shall be taking the naturalists' side, identifying what it is about the moral objectives' norms that cannot, in the naturalists' view, pass "scientific muster." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
objective normative authority, deliberative connection, compelling rightness, autonomous benefits, motivational internalism, authoritative moral norms, normative objectivism, occurrent motive, objectivist moral theory, weight consequentialist, motivational efficacy, internalist requirement, objectivist moral theories, moral objectivist, substantive naturalism, compound lottery, instrumentally rational person, moral objectivism, subjective motivational set, objectively authoritative, supervenience theorists, naturalist standpoint, instrumental deliberation, instrumental theory, psychological contingencies Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Professor Hampton, Bernard Williams, John Broome, David Gauthier, Ethics Distinction, Michael Bratman, Owen Wingrave, Amartya Sen, Hilary Putnam, Joseph Raz, Kurt Baier, Allan Gibbard, Frank Ramsey, Gilbert Harman, The Absolute Conception of the World, Thomas Nagel New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 94
books:
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36
books
cite this book:
See all 36 books citing this book
- The Moral Law: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Routledge Classics) by Immanuel Kant on 6 pages
- A Theory of Justice by John Rawls in Front Matter, page 32, and Back Matter
- Morals By Agreement by David Gauthier on page 189, page 190, and Back Matter
- Principia Ethica by G. E. Moore in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- The Critique Of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant on page 134, and Back Matter
See all 94 books this book cites
- Foundations of Ethics: An Anthology (Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies) by Russell Shafer-Landau on 7 pages
- Foundations of Ethics: An Anthology (Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies) by Russell Shafer-Landau on 5 pages
- Collective Rationality and Collective Reasoning by Christopher McMahon on 4 pages
- Reasonably Vicious by Professor Candace Vogler on 4 pages
- Appearances of the Good: An Essay on the Nature of Practical Reason by Sergio Tenenbaum on page 77, page 78, and Back Matter
See all 36 books citing this book
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