Controversial Letters - Softcover

William Brighty Rands

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0371840279 ISBN 13: 9780371840276

Publisher: HardPress, 2021

Synopsis

Controversial Letters by William Brighty Rands. This volume is a collection of polemical letters in which a loosely-espoused persona, Henry Holbeach, critiques 19th-century ethical and political thought. The letters address Utilitarianism, science and morality, the rights of individuals vs. the power of the state, the proper sphere of government, and the relation between liberty and conscience. Across numerous correspondences— to John Stuart Mill, F. D. Maurice, Thomas Carlyle, Matthew Arnold, J. H. Newman, Alexander Bain, Arthur Helps, and others— the author argues that moral truth cannot be reduced to mere utility or majority opinion. He defends the autonomy of conscience, the primacy of truthful belief, and the necessity of religious liberty while warning against state coercion. The work explores concepts such as the "Absolute Point of Honour," the distinction between "the Sphere of Law" and "the Sphere of Love," and the idea that the Church's charitable function should not be subsumed by civil authority. A sustained, controversial meditation on ethics, religion, and the meaning of freedom in modern society.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371840279
• ISBN 13: 9780371840276
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384