The Ethical Primate: Humans, Freedom and Morality / Edition 1

by Mary Midgley

Overview

In The Ethical Primate, Mary Midgley, 'one of the sharpest critical pens in the West' according to the Times Literary Supplement, addresses the fundamental question of human freedom.
Scientists and philosophers have found it difficult to understand how each human-being can be a living part of the natural world and still be free. Midgley explores their responses to this seeming paradox and argues that our evolutionary origin explains both why and how human freedom and morality have come about.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415095303
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/13/1994
Pages:	203
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1300L (what's this?)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Mary Midgley (1919-2018) was one of the most renowned moral philosophers of her generation and the author of many books, including Beast and Man, Wickedness and The Myths We Live By. She has taken part in many broadcast events, including The Moral Maze and Woman's Hour.

Table of Contents

Part I - Introductory 1. Inner Divisions 2. Misguided Debates Part II - The Reductive Enterprise 3. Guiding Visions 4. Hopes of Simplicity 5. Crusades, Legitimate and Otherwise 6. Convergent Explanations and their Uses 7. Troubles of the Linear Pattern 8. Fatalism and Predictability Part III - The Sources and Meaning of Morals 9. Agency and Ethics 10. Modern Myths 11. The Strength of Individualism 12. The Retreat from the Natural World 13. How Far does Sociability Take Us? 14. The Uses of Sympathy Part IV - What Kind of Freedom? 15. On Being Terrestrial 16. What Beings are Free 17. Minds Resist Streamlining

Editorial Reviews

'Clarity of thought and exposition epitomise this book.' - The Times

'This is common-sense philosophy of the highest order.' - Financial Times

'Totally devoid of philosophical jargon and almost every page has a memorable phrase or striking image, as well as a fine sweep of reference ... a deeply humane and attractive book.' - Philosophy Now

From the Publisher

Midgley (Can't We Make Moral Judgments, St. Martin's, 1994) aims at making evolutionary sense of human freedom and our capacity for morality. She analyzes and rejects as "folk psychology" the reductivism that dismisses the concepts with which we normally live. She claims that, because reductivists ignore the first-person view of agency, they cannot understand human freedom, and she therefore proposes a nonreductive pattern of explanation that enables her to bring together objective and subjective points of view. Midgley contends that morality is a response to natural conflicts of motive, emphasizing that we are far more aware than other animals of our own individuality and, unlike them, not only act but recognize the actions of others as actions. Clearly written and well argued, this commonsensical book will be profitable reading for anyone with a serious interest in ethical ideas and their application. Recommended for academic and public libraries.-Robert Hoffman, York Coll., CUNY

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