Facts, Values, and Norms: Essays toward a Morality of Consequence

by Peter Railton

Overview

We struggle daily with the notions of why we do what we do and of assigning values to our actions, although it seems possible through experience to gain knowledge and understanding of such matters. In contrast to the world of facts, values and morality seem insecure, easily influenced by illusion or ideology. How can objectivity and accuracy be applied to values and morality? Peter Railton's study reveals how a naturalistically informed view of the world might incorporate objective values and moral knowledge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521426930
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/17/2003
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Philosophy
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	410
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 9.13(h) x 0.98(d)

Table of Contents

Part I. Realism about Value and Morality: 1. Moral realism; 2. Facts and values; 3. Noncognitivism about rationality; 4. Aesthetic value, moral value, and the ambitions of naturalism; 5. Red, bitter, good; Part II. Normative Moral Theory: 6. Alienation, consequentialism, and the demands of morality; 7. Locke, stock, and peril; 8. How thinking about character and utilitarianism might lead to rethinking the character of utilitarianism; 9. Pluralism, dilemma, and the expression of moral conflict; Part III. The Authority of Ethics and Values - The Problem of Normativity: 10. On the hypothetical and non-hypothetical in reasoning about thought and action; 11. Normative force and normative freedom; 12. Morality, ideology, and reflection; or, the duck sits yet.

Editorial Reviews

'This is a book the serious ethicist should not be without, and I particularly recommend it for those interested in metaethics.' Milltown Studies

From the Publisher