Ethical Encounter: The Depth of Moral Meaning (Swansea Studies in Philosophy)

"This book shows how our moral concepts are nourished by awe, reverence and various forms of love. These ways of encountering the world and other human beings inform our sense of good and evil, of justice and injustice, of obligation, of fidelity and betrayal, and of many virtues and vices. In ways moral philosophy commonly misses, this book shows how moral understanding is broadened and deepened by what is disclosed only in these forms of encounter. Especially important is how these forms of encounter shape what it is for human beings to become fully present to one another. The book also explores the limitations, in this context, of virtue ethics and of Kantian and other prominent approaches to moral philosophy"--Provided by publisher "This book sets out to defend Wittgenstein against the charge that he is a linguistic idealist. The early chapters are concerned to elucidate what linguistic realism and linguistic idealism claim, and to show how Wittgenstein's contribution to an understanding of the relation between language and reality cuts through these two opposite philosophical theses without embracing either of them. In this context the author also compares Wittgenstein with Kant, bringing out the similarities and differences in their views. The book then moves on to look at various contemporary philosophers who have either charged Wittgenstein with or defended him against linguistic idealism: Williams, Anscombe, Diamond, Putnam. It concludes by returning once more to Wittgenstein and the comparison between him and Kant, and finally adds a comparison between Wittgenstein and Simone Weil."--Jacket "This book shows how our moral concepts are nourished by awe, reverence and various forms of love. These ways of encountering the world and other human beings inform our sense of good and evil, of justice and injustice, of obligation, of fidelity and betrayal, and of many virtues and vices. In ways moral philosophy commonly misses, this book shows how moral understanding is broadened and deepened by what is disclosed only in these forms of encounter. Especially important is how these forms of encounter shape what it is for human beings to become fully present to one another. The book also explores the limitations, in this context, of virtue ethics and of Kantian and other prominent approaches to moral philosophy."--Jacket Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Introduction......Page 10 1 Aristotelian Virtue and Beyond......Page 29 2 Altruism and Moral Meaning......Page 54 3 Altruism and ‘the Other’......Page 70 4 Absolute Otherness and Common Humanity......Page 83 5 Duty and Ethical Motivation......Page 95 6 Goodness and the Classical Limits of Virtue......Page 113 7 ‘Romantic’ Love?......Page 139 8 Liking, Loving and Respecting Others......Page 156 9 Goodness and Vulnerability......Page 174 Notes......Page 187 Bibliography......Page 210 D......Page 213 K......Page 214 O......Page 215 V......Page 216 Z......Page 217 " ... an intriguing, original grounding for morality ... Cordner is a pleasure to read, for he develops his theses through beautifully crafted meditations upon incidents from literature and life. His many fine distinctions and intriguing insights about moral action and motivation will broaden and deepen any reader's understanding of morality ... his book is a lyrically written, persuasive evocation of an important strand in the tapestry (or tangle) that constitutes contemporary moral theory."--Howard J. Curzer, The Philosophical Quarterly 'Virtue ethics' is very prominent in contemporary moral philosophy.