Real Ethics: Reconsidering the Foundations of Morality

Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Acknowledgements......Page 9
Introduction: Ethical crises old and new......Page 11
CHAPTER 1 Moral nihilism: Socrates vs. Thrasymachus......Page 20
PLATO’S METAPHYSICAL GROUNDING OF MORALITY......Page 37
I......Page 48
II......Page 54
Epicurus and reductionist psychology......Page 55
Macchiavelli and choice......Page 60
Hobbes: power and contract......Page 62
The paradoxical position of Kierkegaard......Page 65
MULTIPLE SELVES......Page 71
CORE SELF OR FUTURE SOUL?......Page 82
MORAL VS. ONTOLOGICAL ACCOUNTS OF MAN......Page 93
AGENT-RELATIVE REDUCTIONISM......Page 98
MORALITY, HUMANITY AND THE SOUL......Page 102
PSYCHOLOGICAL INCOMPLETENESS......Page 105
TOWARDS INTEGRATION: LOVE AND REFLECTION......Page 110
TOWARDS INTEGRATION: LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP......Page 118
AN ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL: POLITICS AND VIRTUE WITHOUT METAPHYSICS......Page 120
SOME USES OF RULES......Page 129
DIRTY HANDS......Page 140
THE LIMITS OF FAIRNESS......Page 145
POST-REALIST MORAL DEBATE......Page 150
ARISTOTLE'S ETHICS: BETWEEN PLATONISM AND 'PRACTICAL REASONING'......Page 152
ARISTOTLE, AQUINAS AND THE GOALS OF LIFE......Page 161
OLD BATTLES TRANSFORMED: HUME AND NATURALISM......Page 166
KANT AND POST-KANTIAN PRACTICAL REASONING......Page 173
RIGHTS, NEEDS AND WANTS......Page 188
CHOICE: HISTORY AND PROSPECTS......Page 198
CHOICE, CONTINUING MORAL IDENTITY AND RESPONSIBILITY......Page 204
FREEDOM, HABIT AND THE GOOD LIFE......Page 209
RESPONSIBILITY, CORRECTION AND COMMUNITY......Page 215
REALISM OR IDEOLOGICAL DECEPTION?......Page 232
FROM ETHICS TO POLITICS......Page 238
THE END OF HISTORY AND THE AHISTORICAL INDIVIDUAL......Page 251
REALIST ETHICS AND DIVINE COMMANDS......Page 267
GOD, ‘DIRTY HANDS' AND THE POSSIBILITY OF POLITICS......Page 274
PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY: TACTICS AND HONEST TRADITIONS......Page 281
Bibliography......Page 295
Index......Page 302