Tag: Aristotle
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Does Philosophy of Art-Criticism Rest on a Mistake?
by Daniel A. Kaufman §1. In “Does Moral Philosophy Rest on a Mistake?” H.A. Prichard observed that mainline moral philosophy is essentially an exercise in epistemology, since its primary concern is with providing proof of the soundness of our moral responses — our feelings of obligation and duty — and we might very well say […]
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Morality and Distance
by Daniel A. Kaufman ___ There are two conceptions of distance that I am interested in with respect to moral questions: Emotional distance: the distance from sentiments and feelings that results when one adopts a disinterested stance, in response to morally significant situations. Theoretical distance: the distance from the particularities of circumstances, people, and relationships […]
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Three Constraints on the Philosophy of Art
by Daniel A. Kaufman _____ Preliminary Remarks After a brief hiatus in the last century, the search for a definition of ‘art’ has resumed with great vigour. Wittgensteinians may bemoan this as intellectual atavism, an anachronistic longing for “essences,” but I am inclined to think that the revival of the question of ‘art’ ’s definition […]
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Two Introductory lectures on ethical theory
by Daniel A. Kaufman ___ This semester, I am once again teaching all-online [hopefully for the last time]. Here are the two opening lectures for my Ethics and Contemporary Issues course, in which I give a brief overview of ethical theory. Below them you will find the lecture notes that accompany the videos and which […]
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Neither God nor Philosophy
by Daniel A. Kaufman ___ I was invited to contribute to an ongoing series over at Richard Marshall’s 3:16AM magazine. The series is called “Finding Meaning” and is edited by Steven DeLay, who is a Fellow of Ambrose College, Woolf University. My contribution, “Neither God Nor Philosophy,” is the latest in the series, the entirety […]
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Lives and Principles
by Daniel A. Kaufman ___ The older I get, the more I appreciate the importance of having principles and of living a life of integrity and honor. I recognize this quality in my friends, too, and it’s admirable. People who lack these qualities are sad, and likely are surrounded by others without scruples. –Nicholas A. […]
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Moral Theory and Moral Life
by Daniel A. Kaufman ___ A venerable strategy in arguing against theism involves the observation that the world looks exactly as you’d expect it to, if there is no God and not at all like it should if there is one. I want to say the same thing here about moral life and traditional moral […]
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Course Notes – Plato / Aristotle / Heinlein
by Daniel A. Kaufman ___ I want to do something a little different in these Course Notes. Rather than focus on a single text or issue, I’m going to talk about three interesting lines of conversation with students that developed in two of my courses, over the past two weeks: Introduction to Philosophy and Philosophical […]