This book provides a clear and readable overview of the works of today's most influential German philosopher. It analyses the theoretical underpinnings of Habermas's social theory, and its applications in ethics, politics, and law. Finally, it examines how his social and political theory informs his writing on contemporary, political, and social problems.

Discourse ethics represents an exciting new development in neo-Kantian moral theory. William Rehg offers an insightful introduction to its complex theorization by its major proponent, Jürgen Habermas, and demonstrates how discourse ethics allows one to overcome the principal criticisms that have been leveled against neo-Kantianism. Addressing both "commun-itarian" critics who argue that universalist conceptions of justice sever moral deliberation from community traditions, and feminist advocates of the "ethics of care" who stress the moral significance of caring for other individuals, Rehg shows that discourse ethics combines impartiality with solidarity. He provides the first systematic reconstruction of Habermas's theory and explores its relationship to the work of such contemporary philosophers as Charles Taylor. His book articulates a bold alternative to the split between the "right" and the "good" in moral theory and will greatly interest philosophers, social and legal scholars, and political theorists. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1994. Discourse ethics represents an exciting new development in neo-Kantian moral theory. William Rehg offers an insightful introduction to its complex theorization by its major proponent, Jürgen Habermas, and demonstrates how discourse ethics allows one to ov

After Discourse is an interdisciplinary response to the recent trend away from linguistic and textual approaches and towards things and their affects. The new millennium brought about serious changes to the intellectual landscape. Favoured approaches associated with the linguistic and the textual turn lost some of their currency, and were followed by a new curiosity and concern for things and their natures. Gathering contributions from archaeology, heritage studies, history, geography, literature and philosophy, After Discourse offers a range of reflections on what things are, how we become affected by them, and the ethical concerns they give rise to. Through a varied constellation of case studies, it explores ways of dealing with matters which fall outside, become othered from, or simply cannot be grasped through perspectives derived solely from language and discourse. After Discourse provides challenging new perspectives for scholars and students interested in other-than-textual encounters between people and the objects with which we share the world.

What are ethical judgments about? And what is their relation to practice? How can ethical judgment aspire to objectivity? The past two decades have witnessed a resurgence of interest in metaethics, placing questions such as these about the nature and status of ethical judgment at the very center of contemporary moral philosophy.Moral Discourse and Practice: Some Philosophical Approaches is a unique anthology which collects important recent work, much of which is not easily available elsewhere, on core metaethical issues. Naturalist moral realism, once devastated by the charge of "naturalistic fallacy," has been reinvigorated, as have versions of moral realism that insist on the discontinuity between ethics and science. Irrealist, expressivist programs have also developed with great subtlety, encouraging the thought that a noncognivist account may actually be able to explain ethical judgments' aspirations to objectivity. Neo-Kantian constructivist theories have flourished as well, offering hope that morality can be grounded in a plausible conception of reasonable conduct. Together, the positions advanced in the essays collected here address these recent developments, constituting a rich array of approaches to contemporary moral philosophy's most fundamental debates. An extensive introduction by Darwall, Gibbard, and Railton is also included, making this volume the most comprehensive and up-to-date work of its kind. Moral Discourse is ideally suited for use in courses in contemporary ethics, ethical theory, and metaethics.

Ethical discourse is commonly not a priority in a conventional finance syllabus. Moral sentiments often take a back seat to market sentiments, even in shaping the direction of ethical finance business. This anomaly persists despite growing interest in ethical finance. Taking an interdisciplinary and diverse perspective, this book enriches the evolving definition and scope of ethical finance literature by focusing on actors, products and regulation that shape markets. Considering the gap between theory and practice, this book bridges academic and professional knowledge in unpacking ethical and governance issues in the financial industry. In an effort to include as many viewpoints as possible, regardless of popularity or who holds them, the book editors gathered thoughts from diverse fields, including accounting, economics, ethics, finance, governance, law, management, philosophy and religion. Appealing to academic and non-academic stakeholders with an interest in ethics and finance, this book is the result of and a testament to a distinct educational and public engagement project that included different generations and communities, for future reference.

Jurgen Habermas is unquestionably one of the foremost philosophers writing today. His notions of communicative action and rationality have exerted a profound influence within philosophy and the social sciences. This volume examines the historical and intellectual contexts out of which Habermas' work emerged, and offers an overview of his main ideas, including those in his most recent publication. Amongst the topics discussed are his relationship to the Frankfurt School of critical theory and Marx, his unique contributions to the philosophy of the social sciences, the concept of 'communicative ethics', and the critique of post-modernism. New readers and non-specialists will find this the most convenient, accessible guide to Habermas currently available. Advanced students will find a conspectus of recent developments in the interpretation of Habermas.

The Business Ethics Workshop by James Brusseau focuses on reality and engagement. Students respond to examples and contemporary cases that touch on their own anxieties, desires and aspirations, and this textbook drives that without sacrificing intellectual gravity. It incites student interest and gets to the core of ethical issues.

Ethics of Compassion places central themes from Buddhist (primarily) and Christian moral teachings within the conceptual framework of Western normative ethics. What results is a viable alternative ethical theory to those offered by utilitarians, Kantian formalists, proponents of the natural law tradition, and advocates of virtue ethics. Ethics of Compassion bridges Eastern and Western cultures, philosophical ethics and religious moral discourse, and notions of acting rightly and of being virtuous. This book will be of interest to anyone who has been introduced to the discipline of ethics. It will be useful for undergraduate courses in philosophical and religious ethics.

This book is the first comprehensive treatment of Quine’s brief yet memorable foray into ethics. It defends Quine against his most formidable critics, corrects misconceptions in the reception of his outlook on ethics as a philosophical enterprise and morality as a social institution, and restores emphasis on observationality as the impetus behind his momentous intervention in metaethics. The central focus is on Quine’s infamous challenge to ethical theory: his thesis of the methodological infirmity of ethics as compared with science. The book ultimately demonstrates that the challenge is not only valid but also valuable in its identification of opportunities for reformation in ethical reasoning and moral justification.

This volume presents Habermas's most recent contributions to ethical theory, expanding and clarifying his controversial theory of discourse ethics. Responding to criticisms of his theory, Habermas defends the claim of discourse ethics to a central position in contemporary moral philosophy. He explains and refines the key concepts of his approach and extends the argument in certain key respects, including his treatment of practical reason and of the problems of application and motivation. The first chapter offers a comprehensive analysis of practical rationality which establishes a clear demarcation between pragmatic, ethical and moral questions and a corresponding differentiation between forms of volition and spheres of practical discourse. Habermas then develops a wide-ranging defence of discourse ethics and provides a masterly critique of the major competing positions, such as those of John Rawls, Bernard Williams, Charles Taylor, Alasdair MacIntyre, Karl-Otto Apel and Albrecht Wellmer. The remaining chapters defend the basic intention of universalist moral theory in the face of the claims of the neo-Aristotelian ethic of the good and of Horkheimer's scepticism towards reason. An interview with Habermas, covering such topics as the genesis of discourse ethics, the precise import of some of its more controversial elements and its interconnections with the theory of communicative action, concludes the volume. Justification and Application engages with some of the most important and controversial issues in social and political theory and philosophy today. It will be welcomed by students and scholars throughout the social sciences and humanities.