Prolegomena to Ethics

The most complete statement of Green's Idealist philosophy was edited by A. C. Bradley and published posthumously in 1883.

T. H. Green (Author), A. C. Bradley (Edited by)

9781108040327, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 December 2011

468 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2.6 cm, 0.59 kg

T. H. Green (1836–82) was a leading member of the British Idealist movement, which adopted the continental philosophy of Hegel and Kant while rejecting utilitarianism. As well as being a prominent philosopher, Green was an influential educational reformer and an active member of the Liberal party. Green's writings can be placed into three categories: religion, philosophy and politics. This work was the most complete statement of Green's philosophy, although it remained unfinished at his death (though parts had been published in the philosophical review Mind in 1882). Edited by A. C. Bradley, a former student and brother of Green's fellow Idealist F. H. Bradley, the book, which contains four parts (on metaphysics, the will, the moral ideal and progress, and the application of moral philosophy to the guidance of conduct), was published posthumously in 1883. Like other Idealists, Green criticised empiricism for creating an unnecessary dualism between thought and the real.

Preface
Introduction: The idea of a natural science of morals
Book I. Metaphysics of Knowledge: 1. The spiritual principle in knowledge and in nature
2. The relation of man, as intelligence, to the spiritual principle in nature
3. The freedom of man as intelligence
Book II. The Will: 1. The freedom of the will
2. Desire, intellect, and will
Book III. The Moral Ideal and Moral Progress: 1. Good and moral good
2. Characteristics of the moral ideal
3. The origin and development of the moral ideal
4. The development of the moral ideal - continued
5. The development of the moral ideal - continued
Book IV. The Application of Moral Philosophy to the Guidance of Conduct: 1. The practical value of the moral ideal
2. The practical value of a theory of the moral ideal
3. The practical value of a hedonistic moral philosophy
4. The practical value of utilitarianism compared with that of the theory of the good as human perfection.

Subject Areas: Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ]