Ethics and the Quest for Wisdom

This book proposes new ways of seeking common ethical ground in a pluralist world of conflicting cultures and values.

Robert Kane (Author)

9781107621534, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 September 2013

298 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.4 kg

'Kane carefully addresses a large number of topics, including both the right and the good, as well as meta-ethical issues about objectivity, within the compass of a single theory … This is a significant accomplishment from which there is much to learn, both in its overall argument and in its detailed discussions.' Ethics

Modernity has challenged the ancient ideal of a universal quest for wisdom, and today's world of conflicting cultures and values has raised further doubts regarding the possibility of objective ethical standards. Robert Kane refocuses the debate on the philosophical quest for wisdom, and argues that ethical principles about right action and the good life can be seen to emerge from that very quest itself. This book contends that the search for wisdom involves a persistent striving to overcome narrowness of vision that comes from the inevitable limitations of finite points of view. When applied to questions of value and the good life, this striving has ethical implications about the way we should treat ourselves and others. This study argues for the merits of this central thesis against alternative theories in contemporary normative ethics, and discusses its practical applications for social ethics, political philosophy, law and moral education.

1. Introduction: pluralism and uncertainty
2. Openness
3. The retreat
4. The moral sphere
5. Fact and value
6. Value experiments
7. Virtues, excellences and forms of life
8. The fourth dimension
9. Aspiration
10. Wisdom
11. Objective worth
12. The Bach crystals
13. Human flourishing
14. The Faust legend and the mosaic
15. The good and the right (I): intuitionism and Kantianism
16. The good and the right (II): utilitarianism and consequentialism
17. The good and the right (III): contractualism
18. Politics, public morality and law: justice, care and virtue
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & political philosophy [HPS], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ]