Action and Ethics in Aristotle and Hegel: Escaping the Malign Influence of Kant / Edition 1

by Gary Pendlebury

Overview

Pendlebury alleges that abstraction and rationalization have had a strong and malign influence on normative moral philosophy in the 20th century. Criticizing writers such as Hare, Rawls and Scanlon for pursuing a conception of moral philosophy that bears little resemblance to the way in which human beings actually think and conduct themselves, Pendlebury, instead, suggests a ’Virtue Ethics’ inspired by Hegel’s and Aristotle’s accounts of action as a corrective to this trend, showing that moral activity is historically and socially based and must address the formed character of individual agents. This trend, which began with the responses by Locke, Hume and Kant to Descartes’ Meditations, rendered moral philosophy individualistic and psychologistic in contrast to Aristotle and Hegel’s claim that man is essentially a social creature. Pendlebury argues that this should be the starting point of any account and understanding of morality which roots the concept of will in the practical activity involved in being a member of an ethical community rather than an abstract metaphysical entity that is supposedly in the possession of individuals. In providing a critique of modern moral philosophy from this perspective, Pendlebury’s line of enquiry lends much support to ’Virtue Ethics’ as exemplified in the work of Hursthouse and Slote, while taking a more combative approach with those with whom he disputes. In doing so he shows that serious considerations of continental philosophy highlights the richness of moral activity absent from ’analytical’ tradition which for so long has been bent on marginalizing it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780754636397
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/28/2005
Series:	Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy
Pages:	222
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr Gary Pendlebury is Associate Lecturer of Philosophy for the Open University in the East Midlands, UK.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface; Introduction. Part One Hegel on Philosophy, Ethics and Will: Modern philosophy and ethics; Ethics and the individual: law, reason and freedom; Will, ethics and action. Part Two Aristotle and Hegel on the Conditions of Action: Reason and desire in character and action; Judgement, conscience and weakness of will; Agency, choice and self-sufficiency; Eudaimonia and action. Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

’Throwing light on significant elements of Hegel's ethics which have until recently been poorly understood, Pendlebury's book is a welcome addition to the literature on desire and agency. Not only students of Aristotle and Hegel but also anyone interested in these issues will find much that is valuable in the book.’ Ethics

From the Publisher