Two centuries after they were published, Kant's ethical writings are as much admired and imitated as they have ever been, yet serious and long-standing accusations of internal incoherence remain unresolved. Onora O'Neill traces the alleged incoherences to attempts to assimilate Kant's ethical writings to modern conceptions of rationality, action and rights. When the temptation to assimilate is resisted, a strikingly different and more cohesive account of reason and morality emerges. Kant offers a "constructivist" vindication of reason and a moral vision (...) in which obligations are prior to rights and in which justice and virtue are linked. O'Neill begins by reconsidering Kant's conceptions of philosophical method, reason, freedom, autonomy and action. She then moves on to the more familiar terrain of interpretation of the Categorical Imperative, while in the last section she emphasizes differences between Kant's ethics and recent "Kantian" ethics, including the work of John Rawls and other contemporary liberal political philosophers. (shrink)

Two centuries after they were published, Kant's ethical writings are as much admired and imitated as they have ever been, yet serious and long-standing accusations of internal incoherence remain unresolved. Onora O'Neill traces the alleged incoherences to attempt to assimilate Kant's ethical writings to modern conceptions of rationality, action and rights. When the temptation to assimilate is resisted, a strikingly different and more cohesive account of reason and morality emerges. Kant offers a `constructivist' vindication of reason and a moral vision (...) in which obligations are prior to rights and in which justice and virtue are linked. O'Neill begins by reconsidering Kant's conceptions of philosophical method, reason, freedom, automony and action. She then moves on to the more familiar terrain of interpretation of the Categorical Imperative, while in the last section she emphasises differences between Kant's ethics and recent 'Kantian' ethics, including the work of John Rawls and other contemporary liberal political philosophers. This reassessment will add significantly to the understanding of Kantian practical philosophy. (shrink)

In this book, T. M. Scanlon offers new answers to these questions, as they apply to the central part of morality that concerns what we owe to each other.

This book attempts to place a realist view of ethics (the claim that there are facts of the matter in ethics as elsewhere) within a broader context. It starts with a discussion of why we should mind about the difference between right and wrong, asks what account we should give of our ability to learn from our moral experience, and looks in some detail at the different sorts of ways in which moral reasons can combine to show us what we (...) should do in the circumstances. The second half of the book uses these results to mount an attack on consequentialism in ethics, arguing that there are more sorts of reasons around than consequentialists can even dream of. (shrink)

Ruling Passions is about human nature. It is an invitation to see human nature a certain way. It defends this way of looking at ourselves against competitors, including rational choice theory, modern Kantianism, various applications of evolutionary psychology, views that enchant our natures, and those that disenchant them in the direction of relativism or nihilism. It is a story centred upon a view of human ethical nature, which it places amongst other facets of human nature, as just one of the (...) elements which give us the manifold objects of our concerns and cares. (shrink)

On a reproché au modèle perceptuel de la connaissance morale d'être inadéquat en ce qu'il serait incapable d'expliquer le signe distinctif et fondamental de l'éthique, à savoir son caractère normatif. Je tente de montrer que la critique n'est pas pertinente, car le normatif n'a en réalité qu'une place dérivée en morale : l'éthique est d'abord une question de valeurs, entités dont il est tout à fait plausible de dire que nous les percevons. Pour justifier la place dérivée du normatif, je (...) m'appuie sur les études de Max Scheler et sur l'examen de certains traits de la psychologie morale, qui tendent à montrer que le normatif n'est qu'un cas particulier de l'axiologique, mettant en évidence les caractères de force des valeurs, de risques de transgression et de contrainte.The perceptual model of moral knowledge has been the target of criticisms: it could be unable to explain the basic character of ethics, namely its normative character. I try to show that this criticism is misguided: in fact normativity is not central but lateral to ethics. What matters in ethics first and foremost are values, and it is quite appropriate to say we perceive values. To justify the lateral character of normativity, I rely on some analysis of Max Scheler and turn to some traits of moral psychology. It suggests that the normativity is a province of the axiological, characterized by strength of values, risks of transgression and constraint. (shrink)

Challenging, with several powerful arguments, some of our deepest beliefs about rationality, morality, and personal identity, Parfit claims that we have a false view about our own nature. It is often rational to act against our own best interersts, he argues, and most of us have moral views that are self-defeating. We often act wrongly, although we know there will be no one with serious grounds for complaint, and when we consider future generations it is very hard to avoid conclusions (...) that most of us will find very disturbing. (shrink)

La théorie de la connaissance des années 60 et 70 a été marquée par l'emploi des arguments transcendantaux de toutes sortes. Ces arguments pourraient servir à défendre l'applicabilité de nos concepts fondamentaux qui font l'objet d'une variété d'attaques sceptiques. Malheureusement, la prise de conscience des difficultés mettant en cause l'efficacité ou même la validité des arguments transcendantaux a progressivement conduit à leur abandon, quoique certains philosophes n'aient jamais cessé de les utiliser. Mon analyse s'inspire du renouveau récent de l'intérêt pour (...) l'argumentation transcendantale dans le domaine de la raison pratique, et en particulier de l'élaboration d'un modèle de ce genre d'argumentation par A. W. Moore. Je procède à l'examen d'un argument de forme transcendantale développé par Christine Korsgaard afin de justifier l'autorité des normes morales. Je tente d'évaluer l'efficacité de cet argument et du modèle général auquel il se conforme, de le comparer à des approches alternatives et d'étudier les rapports de ses prémisses et de sa conclusion avec des prises de position réalistes et anti-réalistes en métaéthique.There is a revival of interest in transcendental arguments, which used to be very popular in recent decades but were progressively abandoned because of doubts concerning their plausibility and even their validity, although of course some philosophers never ceased to use them. My paper deals with a particular model of transcendental arguments which can be employed in the area of practical philosophy, elaborated by A.W. Moore. I examine an application of this model in the construction of a complex argument by Christine Korsgaard which aims at establishing the authority of moral norms. I discuss its structure and the relations of its premises and of its conclusion to certain realist and anti- realist positions in metaethics, I compare it to alternative approaches to the same problem, and I try to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. (shrink)

What is the Moral Problem? NORMATIVE ETHICS VS. META-ETHICS It is a common fact of everyday life that we appraise each others' behaviour and attitudes from ...

Dans cet article, je m'intéresse à quelques problèmes liés à la justification de méta-normes telles que « devoir » implique « pouvoir ». Je soutiens, d'abord, que des méta-normes différentes sont justifiées par des principes différents. La méta-norme « devoir » implique « pouvoir » est justifiée par un principe d'humanité qui nous demande d'exclure les normes trop exigeantes. La métanorme selon laquelle ce serait une sottise d'ordonner à quelqu'un ce qu'il veut inévitablement de lui-même est justifiée par un principe (...) de parcimonie qui nous demande d'exclure les normes trop peu exigeantes. Je soutiens ensuite que ces deux principes peuvent entrer en conflit. Ce qui m'amène à la conclusion que toute théorie normative qui s'efforce de respecter ces deux principes risque d'être instable.The present paper adresses some problems related to the justification of meta-norms such as “ought” implies “can”. First, I argue that different meta-norms are justified by different principles. The meta-norm “ought” implies “can” is justified by a principle of humanity ruling out norms that are too demanding. The meta-norm according to which it would be foolish to command of someone what he unavoidably wants already is justified by a principle of parsimony ruling out norms that are not demanding enough. I argue, then, that these two principles may conflict. This leads me to the conclusion that any normative theory trying to respect both principles may be unstable. (shrink)

John Mackie's stimulating book is a complete and clear treatise on moral theory. His writings on normative ethics-the moral principles he recommends-offer a fresh approach on a much neglected subject, and the work as a whole is undoubtedly a major contribution to modern philosophy.The author deals first with the status of ethics, arguing that there are not objective values, that morality cannot be discovered but must be made. He examines next the content of ethics, seeing morality as a functional device, (...) basically the same at all times but changing significantly in response to changes in the human condition. He sketches a practical moral system, criticizing but also borrowing from both utilitarian and absolutist views. Thirdly, the frontiers of ethics, areas of contact with psychology, metaphysics, theology, law and politcs, are explored.Throughout, his aim is to discuss a wide range of questions that are both philosophical and practical, working within a distinctive version of subjectivism-an "error" theory of the apparent objectivity of values. John Mackie has drawn on the contributions of such classic thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant and Sidgwick, and on more recent discussions, to produce a thought-provoking account that will inspire both the general reader and the student of philosophy. (shrink)

Contains an overall account of morality in its philosophical format particularly with regard to problems of observation, evidence, and truth.

This volume is built on the papers given at the 1998" Ratio" conference on normativity.

A characterization of transcendental arguments is proffered, whereby they yield conclusions about how things are via intermediate conclusions about how we must think that they are. A variant kind of argument is then introduced. Arguments of this variant kind are dubbed ‘conative’ transcendental arguments: these yield conclusions about how it is desirable for things to be via intermediate conclusions about how we must desire that they are. The prospects for conative transcendental arguments are considered. It is argued that, although they (...) can never be of practical use, they may nevertheless be of use in dissolving certain applications of the debate—initiated by Bernard Williams—about whether anyone can have an ‘external’ reason to do anything, that is to say a reason that is not grounded in some desire of the person’s, in a suitably broad sense of ‘desire’. The relevance of conative transcendental arguments to this debate is that they highlight desires that we cannot help having and with respect to which the debate lacks any suitable focus. In the final section of the essay five conative transcendental arguments deriving from the work of five moral philosophers are briefly considered. (shrink)