Author Description
Colin Marshall Offers A Ground-up Defense Of Objective Morality, In Which The Central Role Is Played By Compassion. Only Compassion, Marshall Argues, Lets Us Be In Touch With Others' Motivational Mental Properties. 'compassionate Moral Realism' Offers A New Answer To The Question 'why Be Moral?', A Central Philosophical Concern Since Plato. Machine Generated Contents Note: Pt. I Core Argument -- 1. Why Be Moral? And Epistemic Goods -- 2. Locke And Compassion -- 3. Being In Touch -- 4. Compassion And Being In Touch -- Pt. Ii Answer To Why Be Moral? -- 5. Beyond The Present -- 6. Pleasure And Desire -- 7. Combination And Comparison -- 8. Scope Of Compassion And Impartiality -- 9. Hardest Cases -- 10. So What? -- Pt. Iii Moral Realism -- 11. Criteria For Moral Realism -- 12. Truth That Pain Is Bad -- 13. Representing And Caring That Pain Is Bad -- 14. Knowing That Pain Is Bad -- 15. Summary And Prospects For Extension. Colin Marshall. This Edition Previously Issued In Print: 2018. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
How can objective moral truths be grounded in human experience, and why should an individual choose to act morally? Colin Marshall, a philosopher specializing in ethics and epistemology, constructs a framework that positions compassion as the primary mechanism for accessing the motivational mental states of others. By arguing that compassion provides a unique epistemic link to objective moral facts, he attempts to resolve the long-standing philosophical challenge of justifying moral behavior through a realist lens.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A systematic defense of moral realism centered on the role of compassion.
- A philosophical inquiry into the question of why one should be moral.
- Analysis of the relationship between epistemic goods and moral motivation.
- Examination of the cognitive and affective components of recognizing that pain is inherently bad.
Scope Limits
- The text focuses primarily on metaethical and epistemological arguments rather than applied ethics or policy prescriptions.
- The work does not provide a comprehensive history of moral philosophy, focusing instead on the author's specific constructive argument.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars and students of metaethics frequently note the rigorous, analytical density of Marshall's prose as he navigates complex questions of moral epistemology. Experts highlight this text as a significant contribution to contemporary debates regarding the nature of moral truth and the psychological foundations of ethical motivation.
Page Count:
0
Publication Date:
1900-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press,
ISBN-10:
0191846953
ISBN-13:
9780191846953
Non-Fiction
Philosophy
Moral realism
Ethics
Metaethics
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