The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search of an Ethics for the Technological Age

Jonas, Hans

ISBN 10: 0226405974 / ISBN 13: 9780226405971

Published by University of Chicago Press, 1985

About this Item

Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.

Seller Inventory # G0226405974I3N00

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search of an Ethics for the Technological Age
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Date: 1985
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226405974
• ISBN 13: 9780226405971
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Weight: 1.16 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

A classic work of ethical philosophy that explores our options in an age of devatasting technological change

Hans Jonas here rethinks the foundations of ethics in light of the awesome transformations wrought by modern technology: the threat of nuclear war, ecological ravage, genetic engineering, and the like. Though informed by a deep reverence for human life, Jonas's ethics is grounded not in religion but in metaphysics, in a secular doctrine that makes explicit man's duties toward himself, his posterity, and the environment. Jonas offers an assessment of practical goals under present circumstances, ending with a critique of modern utopianism.

About the Author

Hans Jonas (1903-1993) was the Alvin Johnson Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research from 1955 to 1976.  He was born and educated in Germany where he studied under  Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, and Rudolf Bultmann. He left Germany in 1933 and lived in Palestine and England before coming to North America. He influenced ethical philosophy--especially bioethics--and the study of gnosticism.