Human Happiness and Morality

by Almeder, Robert F.

• ISBN13: 9781573927604
• ISBN10: 1573927600
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-01-01
• Publisher: Prometheus Books

Summary

What makes a right act right? Why should I be moral? What is human happiness and how do I attain it? These questions are the foundations of ethics and they form the backdrop for all discussions of the subject. In "Human Happiness and Morality", noted philosopher Robert Almeder provides lucid introductory explanations of the major ethical theories and traditions, and looks at the answers emerging from the three basic questions. Divided into four parts, the book first details proposed answers to "What makes a right act right?" including a discussion of consequentialist and deontological theories. Rather than taking sides in the debate as most texts do, Almeder admits that "we face daunting difficulties" when trying to decide what makes an act right or wrong. Trying to face these difficulties honestly gives intensity to ethical discussion. The second and third sections of the book ask whether or not one must be moral, and what is the nature of human happiness and how one attains it. Almeder imparts a clear understanding of what is needed for happiness and the place of traditional morality in that pursuit. In closing, the author details simple Stoic rules for happy living and shows how to live a good life despite the existence of unhappiness and failure in others.

Author Biography

Robert Almeder is professor of philosophy at Georgia State University.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 17
What Makes a Right Act Right? The Theoretical Alternatives	p. 23
Introduction: The Major Ethical Traditions	p. 23
Consequentialist Theories	p. 28
Ethical Egoism	p. 28
Psychological Egoism as Evidence	p. 28
The Irrelevance of Psychological Egoism for Ethical Egoism	p. 29
The Truth of Psychological Egoism	p. 29
Butler and Shaftsbury on Ethical Egoism and Altruism	p. 32
Two Strong Objections to Ethical Egoism	p. 33
Egoistic Hedonism	p. 34
Pleasure Is the Only Difference	p. 34
Is Happiness Pleasure?	p. 35
Act Utilitarianism	p. 36
Rule Utilitarianism	p. 36
The Differences Between Act and Rule Utilitarianism	p. 36
Objections To Utilitarianism from Revulsion	p. 39
Mill and the "Pig Philosophy" Objection	p. 44
The Ambiguity Objection	p. 46
The "Too Demanding for Humanity" Objection	p. 48
Deontological Theories	p. 49
Ethical Relativism	p. 51
Relativism and the Argument from Variable Practices	p. 53
Three Objections from Absolutism	p. 53
The Relativist's Response	p. 55
Kantianism	p. 58
The Good Will and Duty	p. 58
The Categorical Imperative: The First Formulation	p. 60
Morality and Rationality	p. 61
The Categorical Imperative: The Second Formulation	p. 62
The Objection from Conflict in Duties	p. 65
The Objection from Justice	p. 67
A Kantian Reply	p. 68
The Usual Objections and Beyond	p. 69
Ethical Intuitionism	p. 70
Ethical Intuitionism as a Deontological Theory	p. 71
The Problem with Intuitionism: The Cambridge Platonists	p. 72
Intuition and Unreasoned Feeling	p. 73
The Intuitionist's Reply	p. 74
Intuitionism, Moral Conflict, and Subjectivism	p. 75
Theologism	p. 78
The Problems in Theologism	p. 78
The Theologist's Response	p. 80
Ethical Nihilism and Ethical Skepticism	p. 81
The Arguments for Nihilism	p. 82
The Response to Nihilism and Skepticism: The Case of the Obliging Stranger	p. 83
Emotivism	p. 86
Cognitivism and Noncognitivism in Ethics	p. 86
Noncognitivism and Positivism	p. 86
Emotivism and Moral Discourse	p. 88
Objections to Emotivism	p. 88
Virtue Ethics	p. 90
The Virtues of Virtue Ethics	p. 90
Feminist Ethics and Virtue Ethics	p. 93
Virtue as the Mean	p. 95
A Critique of Virtue Ethics	p. 98
The Motivating Argument from Caring	p. 98
Ambiguity in the Concept of Virtue	p. 101
Virtuous Robbers and Virtuous Murderers	p. 104
What's Wrong with Vice?	p. 105
Conflict Among Virtues and Moral Guidance	p. 106
Concluding Remarks: An Appraisal and Subjectivism	p. 107
Recommended Readings	p. 116
Why Should I Be Moral? Four Responses	p. 119
Introduction: Four Responses to the Question	p. 119
The Question Has a Decisive Answer	p. 120
Three Proposed Decisive Answers Rejected	p. 121
The Question Is Meaningless	p. 128
Rejecting Three Arguments for the Meaninglessness of the Question	p. 129
The Question Has a Persuasive but Nondecisive Answer	p. 133
The Hobbesian-Nielsen Answer: The Immoral Person Is Generally Unhappy	p. 133
Rejecting Arguments for the Third Response	p. 135
The Question Is Meaningful with No Objective Answer	p. 136
Another Argument for the Meaninglessness of "Why Should I Be Moral?"	p. 136
Counterreplies	p. 141
The Basic Ethical Question Is "How Shall I Live?"	p. 144
There Is No Pure Subjectivism	p. 145
Conclusion: Subjectivism and the Stability of Society	p. 146
Recommended Readings	p. 150
What Is Human Happiness?	p. 151
Introduction: Happiness as the Goal of Human Behavior	p. 151
Happiness and Pleasure: Cyrenaic and Epicurean Hedonism	p. 154
Modern Hedonism: Utilitarianism and the Bentham-Mill Debate	p. 157
An Assessment of the Debate	p. 159
A General Critique of Hedonism: Vindicating the Hedonism of Epicurus and Mill	p. 160
The Concept and the Problem of Nonsensory Pleasures	p. 162
The Feeling of Happiness: An Examination of One Definition of Happiness	p. 165
Happiness as the Product of a Human Judgment	p. 168
Another Definition of Happiness	p. 170
Two Concepts of Happiness: Sartre and Aristotle	p. 172
Objectivism Defeated	p. 177
The Pros and Cons of Subjectivism and Objectivism	p. 179
The Impossibility of an Unadulterated Subjectivism	p. 182
Conclusion: Making Subjectivism Come Out Right	p. 183
Recommended Readings	p. 189
Stoicism Revisited: Prescriptions for Attaining Human Happiness	p. 193
Introduction: Reviewing Subjectivism, Teaching Happiness, and Rejecting the Platonic View	p. 193
Happiness and Living in the Future	p. 195
Excessive Reliance on Persons, Places, and Things	p. 196
Unhappiness in Other Persons, Places, and Things	p. 198
Unhappiness in Fear of Failure and Rejection	p. 200
Beyond Stoicism	p. 201
Conclusion: Marcus Aurelius	p. 204
Recommended Readings	p. 206
Subject Index	p. 207
Name Index	p. 211
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