Tag: Nicomachean Ethics
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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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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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This Week’s Special: On a Metaphor in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
by Daniel A. Kaufman I want to talk about a certain metaphor in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. It appears in a lone sentence in Book III, Ch. 3., and while mentioned only briefly, it is significant, not just in understanding the Ethics, but in grasping a crucial point about the limits of reason and deliberation more […]