The fate of nature : ethical naturalism in historical and critical context.
| dc.contributor.advisor | Haldane, John. | |
| dc.creator | Myers, Adam, 1985- | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-11-05T15:06:48Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-11-05T15:06:48Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2020-08 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-07-08 | |
| dc.date.submitted | August 2020 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2020-11-05T15:06:48Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | Ethical naturalism is an ethical theory that holds that practical norms are a species of natural norms. It was a position held by almost all ancient ethical theorists, but despite a renaissance among some in the past three quarters of a century, it fell by and large into ill repute centuries ago. This dissertation aims to assess contemporary naturalism in light of that history. In chapter two, I note that contemporary ethical naturalism has had little interest in the historical background of their own theorizing, and I try to fill that gap. The remaining chapters contribute to this task. In chapter three, I explore the concepts of nature at work in some of the writings of Aristotle and Cicero, suggesting that Aristotle has a richer conceptual repertory than usually realised, which could be of use to contemporary ethical naturalists, and that Cicero is needlessly neglected by them. In chapter four, I consider two significant historical developments that make the use of nature concepts difficult today. First, I consider the rise of the empirical human sciences. Second, I consider a line of thinking that concerns nature’s relation to history and society, a line that moves from Rousseau through Kant. I consider too the legacy of this line of thought among neo-Kantians. In chapter five, I consider a final challenge for ethical naturalists, that of genealogy and reflection. Certain kinds of genealogies have been put forth to show the irrelevance of concepts of nature to ethics, but I try to vindicate the notion that ethical naturalism not only can but must be vindicated using a kind of genealogical method. In conclusion, I remark on the prospects of an ethical naturalism more explicitly in conversation with the human sciences and with the history of nature concepts in ethical life. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/2104/11144 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.rights.accessrights | No access – contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu | |
| dc.subject | Ethical naturalism. Nature. Ethics. Philippa Foot. Michael Thompson. Aristotle. Cicero. Genealogy. History. | |
| dc.title | The fate of nature : ethical naturalism in historical and critical context. | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | text | |
| local.embargo.lift | 2025-08-01 | |
| local.embargo.terms | 2025-08-01 | |
| thesis.degree.department | Baylor University. Dept. of Philosophy. | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Baylor University | |
| thesis.degree.level | Doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Ph.D. |
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