Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy by Bernard Williams

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Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy

by Bernard Williams

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Bernard William gets at the core of the issue, while still covering the basics of both utilitarian and relativist thoughts. His thesis is skepticism that there can be a universal basis for ethics, but that the arguments most commonly involved do form the basis for each individual to adopt a consistent approach. He also separates ethics from morals, for which the latter usually assumes some basis of tradition or collectivism and carries some degree of obligation. I especially enjoyed his introduction to the classical perspective -- the search for "how should one live?" (

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jpsnow | May 24, 2008 |

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0415399858, Paperback)

Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy is widely acknowledged to be Bernard Williams' most important book and a contemporary classic of moral philosophy. Delivering a sustained critique of moral theory from Kant onward, Williams reorients ethical theory towards "truth, truthfulness and the meaning of an individual life." He explores and reflects on the thorniest problems in contemporary philosophy and offers new ideas about central issues such as relativism, objectivity and the possibility of ethical knowledge.
This edition includes a new commentary on the text by A.W.Moore, St.Hugh's College, Oxford.
By the time of his death in 2003, Bernard Williams was one of the greatest philosophers of his generation. He taught at the Universities of Cambridge, Berkeley and Oxford. He is the author of Morality; Utilitarianism: For and Against; Descartes: The Project of Pure Enquiry and Truth and Truthfulness.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:54 -0400)

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