Actual Ethics

by James R. Otteson

• ISBN13: 9780521862714
• ISBN10: 052186271X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-06-19
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Actual Ethics offers a moral defense of the 'classical liberal’ political tradition and applies it to several of today’s vexing moral and political issues. James Otteson argues that a Kantian conception of personhood and an Aristotelian conception of judgment are compatible and even complementary. He shows why they are morally attractive, and perhaps most controversially, when combined, they imply a limited, classical liberal political state. Otteson then addresses several contemporary problems - wealth and poverty, public education, animal welfare, and affirmative action - and shows how each can be plausibly addressed within the Kantian, Aristotelian and classical liberal framework. Written in clear, engaging, and jargon-free prose, Actual Ethics will give students and general audiences an overview of a powerful and rich moral and political tradition that they might not otherwise consider.

Table of Contents

Working out the position

1. Personhood and judgment

2. A matter of principle, Part I. The betrayal of personhood

3. A matter of principle, Part II. Personhood writ large

4. The demands of poverty

5. The wealth of nations: applying the principles

6. Schooling, religion, and other things you should be in charge of

7. Moral hobgoblins: inclusion and exclusion

8. More moral hobgoblins: extending rights

The end

9. What is good for the goose.