The Possibility of Altruism

by Thomas Nagel

Overview

Just as there are rational requirements on thought, there are rational requirements on action. This book defends a conception of ethics, and a related conception of human nature, according to which altruism is included among the basic rational requirements on desire and action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691020020
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	03/21/1979
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

• Frontmatter, pg. i
• Preface, pg. vii
• Postscript, pg. vii
• Contents, pg. ix
• I. The Foundation of Morals, pg. 3
• II. The Traditional Controversy, pg. 7
• III. The Solution, pg. 13
• IV. Necessity and Interpretation, pg. 18
• V. Desires, pg. 27
• VI. Prudential Motives and the Present, pg. 33
• VII. Reasons, pg. 47
• VIII. The Interpretation of Prudential Reasons: Identity over Time, pg. 57
• IX. Altruism: The Intuitive Issue, pg. 79
• X. Objective Reasons, pg. 90
• XI. Solipsism, Dissociation, and the Impersonal Standpoint, pg. 99
• XII. The Interpretation of Objective Reasons, pg. 116
• XIII. The Consequences, pg. 125
• XIV. Conclusion, pg. 143
• Index, pg. 147

Editorial Reviews

"An extremely tough, polished, and altogether stimulating piece of work."

New York Review of Books

"This is a powerful and challenging work, skilfully organised and presented with economy, clarity, and style."—-Bernard Mayo, Philosophical Books

From the Publisher

"Nagel's book is not a criticism of anybody else's book, nor a footnote to anybody else's theory. It is independent and clear, and very original."

Times Literary Supplement

An extremely tough, polished, and altogether stimulating piece of work.

The New York Review of Books