A Short History Of Ethics Greek And Modern

A Short History of Ethics is a significant contribution written by one of the most important living philosophers. For the second edition Alasdair MacIntyre has included a new preface in which he examines his book “thirty years on” and considers its impact. It remains an important work, ideal for all students interested in ethics and morality.

Excerpt from A Short History of Ethics: Greek and Modern This book is mainly descriptive but also critical. My primary object has been to provide a brief and accurate description of the leading Greek ethical systems, and of those systems which appear to represent the best types of modern philosophic Ethics, from Hobbes to the end of the nineteenth century; systems which may be regarded as contemporary are excluded. My secondary object has been to show, by criticism and comparison, the connecting links between systems and the movements of thought by which new systems arise movements which express both reaction and expansion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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What is right ? What is wrong ? How do we decide ? To a remarkable extent, our decision-making is determined by the origins of the ethical ideas that we employ and the history of their development. A Short History of Ethicsis widely acknowledged to be the perfect introduction to the subject, presenting in concise form an insightful yet exceptionally complete history of moral philosophy in the West, from the Greeks to contemporary times. In clear and readable prose, Alasdair MacIntyre, one of the finest living philosophers, leads the reader towards a greater understanding of what lies behind our ethical decisions.

REGINALD A. P. ROGERS has written an excellent little book which is likely to prove exceedingly useful to students entering on the study of ethics. The proper function of such a work is to be supplementary to the reading of some of the ethical philosophers, and it ought in no case to take the place of a first-hand acquaintance with the sources. If employed in this way, this Short History will be found valuable in furnishing a general conspectus of the subject, and in bringing out the points of connection and contrast between ethical systems, ancient and modern. It is natural to compare Mr. Rogers's book with another on the same theme (Outlines of the History of Ethics) by the late Professor Sidgwick, issued by the same publishers, at the same price, some twenty-five years ago. Professor Sidgwick's work is of course very clear and correct, and it is fuller than the present volume. But in Mr. Rogers's work the cardinal points stand out in better relief, and a young student will find it easier to grasp and remember than Professor Sidgwick's. Mr. Rogers confines himself to Greek and Modern Ethics, and passes over Christianity and the mediaeval period. On the whole we regret that his plan did not include a short sketch of Christian and of Mediaeval Ethics; for it would have made his history more complete, and enabled the reader to understand better the transition from Greek to Modern Ethics. Over the ground which he covers Mr. Rogers is always a competent and reliable guide. His expositions are lucid and accurate, and his criticisms are fair and acute. Indeed if one were to pass judgment on Mr. Rogers's book, it would rather be for faults of omission than commission. It might for instance have been worthwhile to show more in detail the great debt of Aristotle to the ethics of Plato. In the department of Modern Ethics Mr. Rogers deals very effectively with Hobbes, Butler, the Utilitarians, and Kant. Of Kant's ethical theory he justly remarks: "But logical consistency was achieved at the expense of identifying the essence of the true self with a purely formal reason, and of regarding feelings and desires as merely transitory accidents of self-consciousness." The history of Modern Ethics includes an account of the theories of Green, Spencer, and Sidgwick. Green's views receive little or no criticism, and the author might at least have made the student aware of certain difficulties and objections which have been raised. One would have been glad if the excellent treatment of these writers had been supplemented by some notice of the ethical theory of Dr Martineau in its relation to the theories of Butler, Hutcheson, and Kant. Mr. Rogers's book may be cordially recommended as a very sound and trustworthy guide to the subject. On p. 91 the sentence beginning "It is true" should be "Is it true": as it stands the meaning is exactly the opposite of what the author intends. Nor does it seem correct to say (p. 216) that Fichte held that particular self-consciousness is the final reality. -Review of Theology & Philosophy, Volume 7