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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2023

Stephen Darwall
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
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Summary

In “Modern Moral Philosophy” Anscombe famously argues against the main thrust of European ethical philosophy since the mid-seventeenth century. Her main complaint is that the conceptual structure of modern moral philosophy – focusing on obligation, duty, right, and wrong, rather than the classical Greek focus of virtue and the good life – cannot be sustained without divine legislation, which many moderns have tried to avoid. Modern Moral Philosophy: From Grotius to Kant will carefully analyze both canonical and lesser known texts to demonstrate that philosophers of the period have resources to answer Anscombe’s Challenge. Many of the philosophers studied were central in this: early modern natural lawyers Grotius, Pufendorf, and Hobbes; critics of natural law, like Leibniz and Shaftesbury; moral sentimentalists Hutcheson, Hume, and Smith; rationalists like Clarke, Price, and Reid; and, of course, Kant. One of the most interesting sources of response is a connection many philosophers made between morality and accountability and insights they had about the psychological prerequisites and presuppositions of accountability.

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Chapter
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Modern Moral Philosophy
From Grotius to Kant
, pp. 1 - 14
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Introduction
  • Stephen Darwall, Yale University, Connecticut
  • Book: Modern Moral Philosophy
  • Online publication: 10 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139025065.002
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Introduction
  • Stephen Darwall, Yale University, Connecticut
  • Book: Modern Moral Philosophy
  • Online publication: 10 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139025065.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Stephen Darwall, Yale University, Connecticut
  • Book: Modern Moral Philosophy
  • Online publication: 10 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139025065.002
Available formats
×