Ethics of Compassion: Bridging Ethical Theory and Religious Moral Discourse

by Richard Reilly

Overview

Ethics of Compassion places central themes from Buddhist (primarily) and Christian moral teachings within the conceptual framework of Western normative ethics. What results is a viable alternative ethical theory to those offered by utilitarians, Kantian formalists, proponents of the natural law tradition, and advocates of virtue ethics. Ethics of Compassion bridges Eastern and Western cultures, philosophical ethics and religious moral discourse, and notions of acting rightly and of being virtuous. This book will be of interest to anyone who has been introduced to the discipline of ethics. It will be useful for undergraduate courses in philosophical and religious ethics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739125052
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	09/23/2010
Series:	Studies in Comparative Philosophy and Religion
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Richard Reilly has authored over three dozen conference papers and journal articles. He is Board of Trustees Professor of Philosophy at St. Bonaventure University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Chapter I. Golden Rule Reasoning
Chapter 3 Chapter II. "Compassion" and Related Notions
Chapter 4 Chapter III. Compassion as the Basis of Moral Value
Chapter 5 Chapter IV. Precepts for Avoiding Doing Harm
Chapter 6 Chapter V. Virtues and Moral Aspiration
Chapter 7 Chapter VI. Will, Responsibility, and Selflessness
Chapter 8 Postscript: Joyful Living

Editorial Reviews

Ethics of Compassion not only bridges ethical theory and religious moral discourse more generally, but also Buddhist ethics and western moral theory, in the process enlarging the scope of both. This is a much needed and brilliant work in the relatively new field of comparative ethics, which falls in the sparsely populated category of 'must read.'--Joseph Prabhu, California State University, Los Angeles

Reilly brings a deep knowledge of both Anglo-American ethical philosophy and Buddhist ethical thought to his book Ethics of Compassion. I was impressed by his skill in integrating these concepts. Reilly's fundamental concerns are humanistic. But he supports them with impressively rigorous scholarly analysis. I see the book as a must-read.--Herbert Fingarette, University of California, Santa Barbara; author of Confucius: The Secular as Sacred

From the Publisher

Ethics of Compassion not only bridges ethical theory and religious moral discourse more generally, but also Buddhist ethics and western moral theory, in the process enlarging the scope of both. This is a much needed and brilliant work in the relatively new field of comparative ethics, which falls in the sparsely populated category of 'must read.'

Joseph Prabhu

Reilly brings a deep knowledge of both Anglo-American ethical philosophy and Buddhist ethical thought to his book Ethics of Compassion. I was impressed by his skill in integrating these concepts. Reilly's fundamental concerns are humanistic. But he supports them with impressively rigorous scholarly analysis. I see the book as a must-read.

Herbert Fingarette