Social ethics today is understood as an ethics of the institutions of human social interaction. It originated as a discipline during the 19th century under the influence of the modern social sciences. Thus it is a child of the Enlightenment. A Look at the history of ethics, however, reveals that the reformational theory of the three estates represents an early stage in the development of social ethics. lts origin in Aristotelian philosophy, its development within the Lutheran Reformation, and its end (...) in the Enlightenment are portrayed. Current differentiation of ethics into special areas as well as efforts to establish the ethos specific to and goveming the application of ethical principles to autonomaus areas of responsibility motivate the topic and intention of this reexamination of the historic theory of the three estates, especially with respect to its theological foundations. (shrink)

This edition includes a new introduction by Peter J. Gomes that reflects on the impact of this book in the years since it was written.

We all have beliefs, even strong convictions, about what is just and fair in our social arrangements. How should these beliefs and the theories of justice that incorporate them guide our thinking about practical matters of justice? This wide-ranging collection of essays by one of the foremost medical ethicists in the USA explores the claim that justification in ethics, whether of matters of theory or practice, involves achieving coherence between our moral and non-moral beliefs. Amongst the practical issues addressed in (...) the volume are the design of health-care institutions, the distribution of goods between the old and the young, and fairness in hiring and firing. In combining ethical theory and practical ethics this volume will prove especially valuable to philosophers concerned with ethics and applied ethics, political theorists, bioethicists, and others involved in the study of public policy. (shrink)

Der Horizont der Moderne verschiebt sich -- Metaphysik nach Kant -- Motive nachmetaphysischen Denkens -- Handlungen, Sprechakte, sprachlich vermittelte Interaktionen und Lebenswelt -- Zur Kritik der Bedeutungstheorie -- Bemerkungen zu J. Searles "Meaning, communication, and representation" -- Die Einheit der Vernunft in der Vielfalt ihrer Stimmen -- Individuierung durch Vergesellschaftung : zu G.H. Meads Theorie der Subjektivität -- Philosophie und Wissenschaft als Literatur? -- Rückkehr zur Metaphysik? : eine Sammelrezension.