Reclaiming the History of Ethics Essays for John Rawls

The essays in this volume offer an approach to the history of moral and political philosophy that takes its inspiration from John Rawls. All the contributors are philosophers who have studied with Rawls and they offer this collection in his honour. The distinctive feature of this approach is to address substantive normative questions in moral and political philosophy through an analysis of the texts and theories of major figures in the history of the subject: Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Rousseau, Kant and Marx. By reconstructing the core of these theories in a way that is informed by contemporary theoretical concerns, the contributors show how the history of the subject is a resource for understanding present and perennial problems in moral and political philosophy. This outstanding collection will be of particular interest to historians of moral and political philosophy, historians of ideas, and political scientists.

1. Aristotle on the soul's conflict: towards an understanding of virtue ethics Marcia L. Homiak; 2. Coercion, ideology and education in Hobbes's Leviathan Sharon A. Lloyd; 3. The Hobbesian side of Hume Jean Hampton; 4. The natural goodness of humanity Joshua Cohen; 5. Metaphysics, philosophy: Rousseau on the problem of evil Susan Neiman; 6. Within the limits of reason Onora O'Neill; 7. A cosmopolitan kingdom of ends Barbara Herman; 8. Legislating for a realm of ends: the social dimension of autonomy Andrews Reath; 9. Kant on the objectivity of moral law Adrian M. S. Piper; 10. Kantian virtue: priggish or passional? Nancy Sherman; 11. Taking the law into our own hands: Kant on the right to revolution Christine M. Korsgaard; 12. Kant on aesthetic and biological purposiveness Hannah Ginsborg; 13. Kant on ends and the meaning of life Thomas W. Pogge; 14. Community and completion David Brudney.

The essays in this volume offer an approach to the history of moral and political philosophy that takes its inspiration from John Rawls. The distinctive feature of this approach is to address substantive normative questions in moral and political philosophy through an analysis of the texts and theories of major figures in the history of the subject.