David Mills Daniel

Briefly: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is a short summary of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics which is designed to assist university and school-leaving students in acquiring knowledge and understanding of this key text in the philosophy of religion. The book closely adheres to Aristotle's text, enabling the reader to follow each development in the argument as it occurs. Following the detailed summary which page references the original and includes useful key quotes, is a shorter summary acting as an overview of Nicomachean Ethics, which is intended to aid memory.

Briefly: Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics

George Edward Moore’s Principia Ethica was published by Cambridge University Press in 1903 and this was the birth of the science of ethics. So groundbreaking was this book at the time, that practically overnight, ethicists became meta-ethicists and the book ever since has been recognised as the definitive starting point for 20th century ethical theory. In it Moore is concerned with applying logic to ethics, and with demonstrating that logic can give ethics a better foundation. Moore defines ethics as an inquiry into what is good, including what is good in human conduct. Moore supposed that common sense beliefs about the world were correct as they were and shows how false premises about the way in which good is to be defined can lead to false conclusions about ethical conduct. Known to influence the thinking of Russell, Wittgenstein, Ryle and Keynes to mention but a few, understanding this key work in 20th C ethics is essential, and made achievable in this Briefly guide.

Briefly: Moore's Principia Ethica

Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy was published in 1641, designed for the philosopher and for the theologian. It consists of six meditations, Of the Things that we may doubt, Of the Nature of the Human Mind, Of God: that He exists, Of Truth and Error, Of the Essence of Material Things, Of the Existence of Material Things and of the Real Distinction between the Mind and the Body of Man

Descartes' Meditation on First Philosophy

"The SCM Briefly" series is made up of short, accessible volumes which summarize books by philosophers and theologians, books that are commonly used on theology and philosophy A level (school leaving) and Level One undergraduate courses. Each "Briefly" volume includes line by line analysis and short quotes to give students a feel for the original text. In addition each book begins with a contextualizing introduction about the writer and his writings, and a glossary of terms follows the summary to help students with definitions of philosophical terms.

Briefly: Sartre's Existrentialism and Humanism

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) wrote his most controversial work, On Liberty in 1859, the year in which Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was also published. On Liberty contains a rational justification of the freedom of the individual in opposition to the claims of the state to impose unlimited control, and has become a classic of libertarian philosophy. Warning against the tyranny of the majority, this treatise argues that in the past the danger had been that monarchs held power at the expense of the common people and the struggle was one of gaining liberty by limiting such governmental power. But now that power has largely passed into the hands of the people at large through democratic forms of government, the danger is that the majority denies liberty to individuals, whether explicitly through laws ... or more subtly through morals and public opinion.

Briefly: Mills' On Liberty

Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason (1788) is one of his most important works and a key text to understanding Kant’s philosophy and it the impact it had on later developments of moral philosophy and ethics.

Briefly: Kant's Critique of Practical Reason

Part of the "SCM Briefly" series, which summarizes books by philosophers and theologians, this book provides a summary of Language, Truth and Logic. It also includes line by line analysis, short quotes, and a glossary of terms to help students with definitions of philosophical terms.

Briefly: Ayer's Language Truth and Logic

This book discusses Fletcher's situation ethics which basically states that sometimes other moral principles can be cast aside in certain situations if love is best served. It is one of the main ethical theories studied in all introductory courses on Christian ethics.

Fletcher's Situation Ethics : the New Morality

Briefly

Briefly : Moore's Principia Ethica is a short summary of Moore's Principia Ethica, which is designed to assist university and school-leaving students in acquiring knowledge and understanding of this key text in the philosophy of religion. The book closely adheres to Moore's text, enabling the reader to follow each development in the argument as it occurs. Following the detailed summary, which page references the original and includes useful key quotes, is a shorter summary acting as an overview of Principia Ethics, which is intended to aid memory. With a brief introduction to Moore, and the period in which he wrote and why Principia Ethica is so significant, as well as suggestions for further reading and an extensive glossary of terms, this book is a perfect introduction to this important philosophical text by Moore.

Briefly: Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil

Fear and Trembling is one of Kierkegaard’s earliest works, which he wrote under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio. Kierkegaard had been a student of theology in Copenhagen, and had come to hate the Danish Church. He produced hundreds of leaflets against the Church during his lifetime. However his writing was largely ignored, and he was not a popular or well-regarded thinker in his own time. Hegel’s writing largely dominated philosophical thought throughout Kierkegaard’s life. Hegel believed that the highest goal for a person should be to loose oneself in the Universal. One should put aside his personal goals and ambitions and be motivated exclusively by the general interests of all. Kierkegaard regarded the individual above all else and so was repelled by Hegel’s communitarian ethic. His Fear and Trembling is a sustained response to Hegel’s ideas. It uses the story of Genesis 22, 1-18, where Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac without question, and only faith, to put across his own ideas and philosophy. Fear and Trembling is a required text on the UK A level syllabus.

Briefly: Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling

The SCM Briefly series is made up of short, accessible volumes which summarize books by philosophers and theologians, books that are commonly used on theology and philosophy A level (school leaving) and Level One undergraduate courses. Each Briefly volume includes line by line analysis and short quotes to give students a feel for the original text. In addition each book begins with a contextualizing introduction about the writer and his writings, and a glossary of terms follows the summary to help students with definitions of philosophical terms

David Mills Daniel

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