Real Ethics
Real Ethics
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John Rist surveys the history of ethics from Plato to the present and offers a vigorous defence of an ethical theory based on a revised version of Platonic realism. In a wide-ranging discussion he examines well-known alternatives to Platonism, in particular Epicurus, Hobbes, Hume and Kant as well as contemporary 'practical reasoners', and argues that most post-Enlightenment theories of morality (as well as Nietzschean subversions of such theories) depend on an abandoned Christian metaphysic and are unintelligible without such grounding. He also argues that contemporary choice-based theories, whether they take a strictly ethical or more obviously political form, are ultimately arbitrary in nature. His lively and accessible 2001 study is informed by a powerful sense of philosophical history, and will be of interest to both students and scholars of ethics.
- Wide-ranging survey of the history of ethics - will be useful for students
- Puts a powerful case against secular ethical theories
- Fast-moving but also accessibly written
Reviews & endorsements
"His study...is of interest not only to philosophers, theologians and, in fact, all those concerned with moral theory but also to classicists interested in ancient ethics...this book is well-written, the argument is clear and discussions of other views are mostly accurate." Joachim Lukoschus, Netherlands
"Rist proposes to do battle with contemporary moral relativism and nihilism by first reviewing classical ethical views, particularly Plato's, and then widening the argument both historicaly and systematicaly." Choice
"To say that this work is profound is almost an understatement. Real Ethics is the work of a mature scholar steeped in history who is also an acute observer of contemporary manners and morals." -Modern Age, Jude P. Dougherty, Catholic University of America
"To say that this work is profound is almost an understatement. Real Ethics is the work of a mature scholar steeped in history who is also an acute observer of contemporary manners and morals." - Jude P. Dougherty, The Catholic University of America
Product details
- Published: December 2001
- Format: Paperback
- ISBN: 9780521006088
- Length: 304 pages
- Dimensions: 229 × 152 × 18 mm
- Weight: 0.497kg
- Availability: Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Moral nihilism: Socrates vs. Thrasymachus
- 2. Morals and metaphysics
- 3. The soul and the self
- 4. Division and its remedies
- 5. Rules and applications
- 6. The past, present and future of practical reasoning
- 7. Autonomy and choice
- 8. Ethics and ideology
- 9. God and ethics.
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