John Locke and the Ethics of Belief

A new view of Locke's ethics of belief and his contribution to modern philosophy.

Nicholas Wolterstorff (Author)

9780521559096, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 26 January 1996

272 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.45 kg

"This book offers much more than one might expect and hope. True to its title, its lengthy first chapter consists of a tightly disciplined, sharply focused, and textually detailed study of Book IV of the Essay....Wolterstorff then treats us to two beautifully nuanced studies....The immensely careful textual concern of particularly the first three chapters is accompanied by a surprising amount of Pure philosophizing..." R.S. Woolhouse, International Philosophy Quarterly

Nicholas Wolterstorff discusses the ethics of belief which Locke developed in Book IV of his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, where Locke finally argued his overarching aim: how we ought to govern our belief, especially on matters of religion and morality. Wolterstorff shows that this concern was instigated by the collapse, in Locke's day, of a once-unified moral and religious tradition in Europe into warring factions. His was thus a culturally and socially engaged epistemology. This view of Locke invites a new interpretation of the origins of modern philosophy. He maintained that instead of following tradition we ought to let 'reason be our guide.' Accordingly, after discussing Hume's powerful attack on Locke's recommended practice, Wolterstorff argues for Locke's originality and emphasizes his contribution to the 'modernity' of post-sixteenth-century philosophy.

Preface
1. RATIONALITY IN EVERYDAY LIFE
2. HUME'S ATTACK: WHY IMPLEMENTING LOCKE'S PRACTICE IS NOT ALWAYS DOING ONE'S BEST
3. LOCKE'S ORIGINALITY
4: LOCKE AND THE MAKING OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Index.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of religion [HRAB]