10 Moral Paradoxes

by Smilansky, Saul

• ISBN13: 9780470696606
• ISBN10: 0470696605
• Edition: 1st
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2008-04-16
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Presenting ten diverse and original moral paradoxes, this cutting edge work of philosophical ethics makes a focused, concrete case for the centrality of paradoxes within morality.

• Explores what these paradoxes can teach us about morality and the human condition
• Considers a broad range of subjects, from familiar topics to rarely posed questions, among them "Fortunate Misfortune", "Beneficial Retirement" and "Preferring Not To Have Been Born"
• Asks whether the existence of moral paradox is a good or a bad thing
• Presents analytic moral philosophy in a provocative, engaging and entertaining way; posing new questions, proposing possible solutions, and challenging the reader to wrestle with the paradoxes themselves

Author Biography

Saul Smilansky is a professor in the department of philosophy at the University of Haifa, Israel. He is the author of the widely acclaimed book, Free Will and Illusion (2000) and has published articles in many of the leading philosophical journals.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

1. Fortunate Misfortune.

2. The Paradox of Beneficial Retirement.

3. Two Paradoxes About Justice and the Severity of Punishment.

4. Blackmail: The Solution.

5. The Paradox of Nonpunishment.

6. On Not Being Sorry About the Morally Bad.

7. Choice-Egalitarianism and the Paradox of the Baseline.

8. Morality and Moral Worth.

9. The Paradox of Moral Complaint.

10. Preferring Not To Have Been Born.

11. A Meta-Paradox: Are Paradoxes Bad?.

12. Reflections On Moral Paradox.

Postscript: The Future and Moral Paradox.

References.

Index