Principia Ethica - Softcover

Moore, G. E.

3.8

944 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1536903183 ISBN 13: 9781536903188

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016

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Principia Ethica is G. E. Moore's outstanding treatise of moral philosophy, wherein the philosopher posits that what is 'good' is indefinable, while demonstrating the fallacy of naturalism.

Upon its original publication in 1903, this text received strong reception within academia for its convincing and clearly stated views. Moore firmly believed that moral values could not be based upon a simple knowledge, but instead from rigorous and intuitive experience of life's pleasures - beholding beauty, enjoying friendships, and taking pleasure in activities. In this book, Moore convinces readers of his argument with a series of expositions which are today held as advancing the field of moral philosophy.

Influential in 20th century philosophy, this work was praised by Moore's contemporary Bertrand Russell and others in the scholarly community. For the student or enthusiast of modern moral philosophy, the Principia Ethica is vital reading. This edition presents the original text in full, with no abridgement made.

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Review:

It took us thousands of years of struggling with science and ethics before we thought to combine the two. While scientific ethics has advanced only gradually, the science of ethics burst into existence in 1903 with the publication of G.E. Moore's Principia Ethica, which did for the study of morality what Whitehead and Russell's Principia Mathematica did for mathematics--clarify old confusions and define terms that are still with us today. Practically overnight, ethicists turned into meta-ethicists, studying their own terms to establish theoretical ground on which to stand before trying to build any prescriptive edifices.

Moore begins by clearing up some of the most widely spread confusions plaguing moral philosophy, such as the naturalistic fallacy of Bentham, Spencer, and others who insisted on a precise, concrete definition of good. According to Moore, we have to settle for an intuitive assessment of goodness, and his arguments are powerfully compelling. Proceeding to define terms and territory that have lasted a century, he revolutionized philosophy and single-handedly altered the course of ethical studies for generations. While Principia Ethica isn't the easiest book to read (a dictionary of philosophy comes in handy for most of us), it is well worth careful study by anyone interested in the difference between right and wrong. --Rob Lightner

Book Description:

Recognized as the definitive starting point for twentieth-century ethical theory, the text is reprinted with the previously unpublished preface Moore wrote for a planned, but never completed, second edition. "Free Will" and "The Conception of Intrinsic Value" are also included from his later ethical writings.

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