Customer Reviews

The Authority of Reason

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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.