Readings in Ethical Theory

794 Pages·1970·28.529 MB·English

by  Wilfrid Sellars (editor), John Hospers (editor)

secoenddi tion
ReadiiniEgits h iTchaelo ry
Edited by
WilfrSiedl lars
University of Pittsburgh
JohHno sers
p
University of Southern
Californw
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Preface
The enthusiastic re,,J>onse to Readings in Philosophical Analysis has reinforced
our conviction that there is a genuine need for collections of important papers
and other readings in the various areas of philosophy. The present volume is an
attempt to satisfy this need in the field of ethical theory. ;\fore specifically, our
aim has been to pro,ide a balanced and first-hand account of the theoretical
controversies that have developed in ethics since the publication in 1903 of
Moore's Principia Ethica.
With the exception of a very few eases in which it seemed dear from the
beginning that an item belonged in our collection, we have pondered our choices
seriously and long. In many cases it was extremely difficult for us to make up
our minds. More than one "final" list was scrapped when excluded items made
their absence felt, and had it not been for the necessity of meeting a deadline,
this process might have gone on indefinitely.
"Iu De!iberation, the last Appetite . . . immediately adhearing to the
action ...i s that wee call the WILL. ..." •
In this sense only did we "will" the following group of selections rather than any
one of a number of lists between which, like Buridan's ass, we hesitated.
Though the volume as a whole is organized by topics rat.1:ier than by
publication date, we have followed, ceteris paribus, the chronological order of
items within each section, thus reproducing the sequence in which controversy
developed. However, we have occasionally seen flt to violate chronological
order even here, namely when the logical or pedagogical order ·of ideas was
such that an issue could be more clearly grasped by doing so. For example, in
Part IV, the essay "Pree-will and Psychoanalysis," though chronologically later,
has been placed before the three remaining essays of the section, inasmuch as
the empirical material it contains gives body to the more abstract treatment of
moral freedom in the remaining essays.
Teachers who use this book should by no means feel it incumbent upon
them to assign the material in the order in which it is presented in this anthology.
As a matter of fact, the order in which the selections are printed is the result of
highlighting only a few of the complex interrelalionships which exist between
a
them. It is useful primarlly as a point appui for the exploration of the contro­
versies to be found in the literature of ethical theory, but it is not the order in
which the selections are necessarily to be read or taught. 'vVe can conceive of
several equally valid sequences in which the readings might be studied, and have
no doubt that colleagues who use the book will think of still others. Since many
of the essays deal with a variety of topics, it was by no means obvious in many
cases where a given essay belonged, and our grouping has been accompanied
=
by awareness of the fact that the compartments are not water-tight and many
.... Thomas Hobbes, Le-vJathan, Part I, Chapter 6, quoted from the Clarendon Press
( Oxford) edition, 1909, p, 46.
V
vi PREFACE
selections bulge their compartments. \Ve hasten to add that we did not begin
with the Part headings and look for material appropriate to them; rather the
headings varied with the successive lists of essays in the process of mutual
accommodation.
Our thanks are due to the many friends and colleagues who have aided and
encouraged us in this enterprise, and particularly to Professor William Frankena
of the University of Michigan, whose detailed suggestions and comments at all
stages have been invaluable, though he must not be held responsible for the
contents of the volume. We wish finally to tender our apologies and regrets to
those whose essays, sometimes at the last moment, we were obliged to omit;
particularly in those cases where permission to reprint had already been secured
from both author and publisher. The bibliography at the end of the volume
exhibits the richness from which we had to choose, and our publishers have
indeed been generous in giving us as much -space as have.
they
This book should be of particular use in introductory courses in ethics at the
senior college level, second courses ethics, courses in ethical theory, and
in
seminars in moral philosophy and theory of value. It also contains invaluable
material for courses and seminars in contemporary philosophy and in
philosopbical analysis.
vVe wish to express our deep appreciation to the authors of the articles
included in this anthology for their kind permission to reprint, either in full or
by way of excerpt, the material here presented. Our gratitude is also extended
to the original editors and publishers of these essays for their friendly cooperation.
In the seventeen years since the first edition of tbis book appeared, the
literature of ethical theory has become so extensive as to defy encapsulation
in
one volume, however lengthy. Nevertheless, the passage of time has dated the
first edition sufficiently to make us try. In the revised edition we have not only
attempted to update the material and delete those selections wbich in the light
of recent developments seemed less important; we have also attempted to alter
somewhat the range of subjects treated. We have, for example, iucluded some
representative twentieth-century readings in normative ethics�an area which,
except for G. E. 1'Ioore�s two brief chapters on utilitarianism, was not included
iu the first edition. And we have, on the other hand, eliminated all readings
specifically devoted to the free-will problem, except insofar as it bears directly on
the problem of moral responsibility-a policy which seemed advisable iu view
of the great variety of books and anthologies now available wbich are devoted
exclusively to the problems of free-will and determiuism.
w.s.
J.H.
Contents
V
Preface
I. Introduatory
1
Ethics-Bertrand Russell 3
The Elements of
II. The Analysis of Ethical Concepts
29
A. Moore and the Naturalistic Fallacy 31
E. Moore
The Indefinability of Good-G. 31
K. Frankena
The Naturalistic Fallacy-,V. 54
How "Is"-John Searle
to Derive "Ought" from R. 63
"Is"-James Thomson
How Not to Derive "Ought" from
and Judith Thomson
73
B. Ethical Non-Naturalism 77
Sidgwick
Ethical Judgments-Henry 77
A. Prichard
Does Moral Philosophy Rest on a Mistake?-H. 86
ames Balfour
On the Idea of a Philosophy of Ethics�] 97
David Ross
The. Meaning of "Right"-Sir 106
C. Ewing
A Suggested Non-Naturalistic Analysis of Good-A. 115
C. Ethical Naturalism 130
Ethics-George Santayana
Hypostatic 130
B. Perry
Value as Any Object of Any Interest-R. 138
David Ross
The Meaning of 'Good'-Sir 152
viii CONTENTS
Moral and Non-Moral Values-C. A. Campbell 169
Method in Ethics-Paul Henle 188
Ethical Absolutism and the Ideal Observer-Roderick Firth 200
'Good,' 'Right,' 'Ought,' 'Bad'-Brand Blanshard 222
D. Ethical Non-Cognitivism 241
A Suggestion About Value-W. H. F. Barnes 241
J
.
Critique of Ethics-A. Ayer 242
Critique of Ayer-Sir DavidR oss 250
J.
Ethical Judg.ements-A. Ayer 252
L.
The Emotive Meaning of Ethical Terms-C. Stevenson 254
The Emotive Conception of Ethics and Its Cognitive Implications-
L.
C. Stevenson 267
Emotivism and Ethical Objectivity-Carl Wellman 276
The Impasse in Ethics-and a Way Out-Brand Blanshard 288
E. Mixed Views 302
The Meaning of "Goocf'-Patrick Nowell-Smith 302
vVhat Is a Value Judgement?-R. M. Hare 318
A Quasi-Naturalist Definition-RichardB randt 331
F. Relativism and Justification 335
Ethical Relativism-Richard Brandt 335
The Justification of Value Judgments: Rational Choice-Paul Taylor 346
E.
Aren't Moral Judgments "Factual"?-Martin Lean 369
III. Theories of Normative Ethics 385
A. What Things Have Value? 387
CONTENTS ix
E. Moore
Multiple Intrinsic Goods-G. 387
Hedonism?-Ralph Mason Blake
Why Not 392
Valm,-Monroe C. Bearibley
Intrinsic 401
H. von Wright
The Good of Man-G. 413
B. vVhat Acts Are RightF' 431
E. Moore
Utilitarianism-G. 431
Lyons
Utilitarian Generalization-David 451
Baier
The Moral Point of View-Kurt 469
David Ross
What Makes Right Acts Right?-Sir 482
M. Hare
Universal Prescriptivism-R. 501
Locke
The Trivializability of Universalizability-Don 517
Generalization Ethics-Marcus Singer
in 529
Howard Sobel
Generalization Arguments-!. 548
JV. Rights, Justice, Punishment, and Responsibility
565
A. Rights 567
Rights-Ralph Mason. B.. la lf_�• .•
On. Natural .... 567
David Ross
Rights-Sir 573
578
B. Justice
Fairness-John Raw/,s
578
Justice as
Justice-Nicholas Rescher
Problems of Distributive 596
615
C. Punishment and Responsibility
David Ross 615
Punishment-Sir
Punishment"-Antony Flew 620
"The Justification of
x CONTENTS
Hospers
FreeW- ill and-Psychoanalysis-John 633
Lewis
The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment-C. S. 646
J. Smart
The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment-]. C. 651
Perspectives-Elizabeth L. Beardsley
Determinism and Moral 654
V. Ethics and Psychology 669
A. Reasons and Causes 671
I. Benn and Richard Peters
Reasons and Causes-S. 671
J. Ayer
Reasons and Causes-A. 677
B. Obligation and Motivation 686
Broad
Remarks on Psychological Hedonism-C. D. 686
A. Prichard
Duty and Interest-H. 690
Field
A Criticism of Kant-G. C. 704
Obligation and .Motivation in Recent Moral Philosophy-
W. K. Frankena
708
C. Why Be Moral? 730
Moral?-John Hospers
Why Be 730
Nielsen
Why Should I Be Moral?-Kai 747
Suggested Further Readings 769
Index 781
I
Introducto1y