ISBN10: 0198748892, ISBN13: 9780198748892, [publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford] Hardcover Hardcover. W. J. Mander examines the nature of idealist ethics, that is to say, the form and content of ethical belief most typically adopted by philosophical idealists. While there exist many studies of the ethical views of individual idealist philosophers there has been no literature at all on the notion of idealist ethics per se. Never is it asked: at which points, if any, do the ethical systems of all these thinkers overlap, and what relation, if any, do suchcommonalities bear to their authors' idealism? Never is the question posed: were you suddenly to become convinced of the truth of some form of philosophical idealism what revisions, if any, would that necessitatein your conception of the truth, nature, and significance of ethical judgements? The inquiry has two aims. The first is historical. From the record of past philosophy, Mander demonstrates that there exists a discernible idealist approach to moral philosophy; a tradition of 'idealist ethics.' He examines its characteristic marks and varieties. The second aim is apologetic. Mander argues that such idealist ethics offers an attractive way of looking at moral questions and that it has much tocontribute to contemporary discussion. In particular he argues that Idealist ethics have the power to cut through the sterile opposition between moral realism and moral anti-realism which has come ...
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