Robert Spaemann

In this excellent and clearly-written introduction to ethical thinking, Spaemann provides a stimulating discussion of the fundamental concepts we use every day when we deliberate, alone or with others, about the moral aspects of our action.

Basic Moral Concepts

The question of the nature of humanity is one of the most complex of all philosophical and theological inquiries. Where might one look to find a decent answer to this question? Should we turn to an investigation of genetics and DNA for such answers? Should we look to the history of humanity's adaption and evolution? Should we look to humanity's cultural achievements and the form of its social life?In this intriguing and provocative collection of essays, philosopher Robert Spaemann reacts against what he calls "scientistic" anthropology and ventures to take up afresh the quaestio de homine, "the question of man." Spaemann contends that when it comes to the nagging question of what we truly are as human beings, understanding our chemical make-up or evolutionary past simply cannot give us the full picture. Instead, without doing away with the findings of modern evolutionary science, Spaemann offers successive treatments of human nature, human evolution, and human dignity, which paint a full and compelling picture of the meaning of human life. Crucial to any anthropology, he demonstrates, is our future as well as our past. And our relationship to God as well as to our next-door neighbor. All of these themes coalesce in a vital contribution to the question of what it means to be human.

Variations on a Theme

Essays in Anthropology

Anonymous

Powell, Robert

A Journey into Christian Hermeticism

Meditations on the Tarot

An examination and defence of the concept of personality, long central to Western moral culture but now increasingly under attack. Robert Spaemann tackles urgent practical questions, such as our treatment of the severely disabled human and the moral status of intelligent non-human animals.

The Difference Between `Someone' And `Something'

Persons

Christian philosopher Robert Spaemann takes the reader on a quest for the fundamental principles of ethics. Writing in a clear style accessible to non-specialists, drawing both on ancient and modern philosophy, from Aristotle, Plato and Aquinas to Kant and Hegel, he discovers the intimate relationship between ethics and ontology - the science of being. This book is written for theologians as well as philosophers - indeed for anyone who is concerned with the meaning of a 'life well lived', with good and evil and the search for happiness.

Happiness and Benevolence

David L. Schindler

What does it mean to love someone? What does the concept of human dignity mean, and what are its consequences? What marks the end of a person's life? Is personhood more than consciousness? These perplexing questions lurk beneath the surface of everyday life, surfacing only to demand urgent attention in crises. Renowned German philosopher Robert Spaemann addresses these and other foundational enigmas in three eloquent short essays. Speaking wisdom to controversy, he offers carefully considered, novel approaches to key philosophical and theological questions about the nature of human love ("The Paradoxes of Love"), dignity ("Human Dignity and Human Nature"), and death ("Is Brain Death the Death of a Human Person?").

On Nature and Natural Law

Love and the Dignity of Human Life

An examination and defence of the concept of personality, long central to Western moral culture but now increasingly under attack, by a leading European philosopher. It takes issue with major contemporary philosophers, especially in the English-speaking world (such as Parfit and Singer), who have contributed to the eclipse of the idea, and traces the debate back to the foundations of modern philosophy in Descartes and Locke. There are extended discussions of the sources of the idea in Christian theology and its development in Western philosophy. There are also a number of pointed discussions of pressing practical questions - for example, our treatment of the severely disabled human and the moral status of intelligent non-human animals. The book covers a great deal of ground before coming to a focused conclusion: all human beings are persons - and perhaps all porpoises, too!

The Difference Between 'someone' and 'something'

Podstawowe pojęcia moralne

Gerrit Hohendorf

Fuat S. Oduncu

Den Zeitpunkt und die Art des eigenen Todes selbst bestimmen und bis zuletzt die Kontrolle über das eigene Leben und über das eigene Sterben bewahren – das wünschen sich viele, vor allem schwerkranke Menschen. Das Buch führt die Antworten der Palliativmedizin, der Psychiatrie, der medizinischen Ethik und der Philosophie im Umgang mit Todeswünschen zusammen und begründet, warum es keine gesellschaftlich akzeptierte und propagierte Form der Suizidbeihilfe geben darf. Es zeigt Perspektiven auf, wie ein guter Umgang mit Todeswünschen aussehen kann.

Warum es keinen assistierten Tod geben darf

Vom guten Sterben

Cos'è il naturale? Natura, persona, agire morale

In this excellent and clearly-written introduction to ethical thinking, Spaemann provides a stimulating discussion of the fundamental concepts we use everyday when we deliberate, alone or with others, about the moral aspects of our action.

Il libro ripropone le lezioni tenute da Robert Spaemann nel corso del decimo ciclo della Scuola di Alta Formazione Filosofica, svoltosi a Torino dal 24 al 28 ottobre 2011. Nella versione che presentiamo ai lettori si alternano testi desunti direttamente dalla registrazione e saggi già precedentemente pubblicati, dalla cui lettura Spaemann effettivamente aveva preso le mosse per le sue lezioni, dalle quali vengono riportati dibattiti e chiarimenti avvenuti. Per comprendere la posizione di Spaemann giova soffermarsi in particolare sul primo capitolo, che non ha solo valore introduttivo, ma delinea in modo sintetico e assai efficace il nucleo centrale delle proposte teoriche del filosofo tedesco. Esplicito in Spaemann il riferimento alla tradizione classica, a partire da Aristotele, ma è nondimeno chiaro che un puro e semplice ritorno a quelle filosofie non può aver luogo senza un accurato confronto con gli sviluppi moderni della filosofia e delle scienze. Come osserva Spaemann, l’uomo della modernità ha rimosso il riferimento a una teleologia e abbandonato il concetto di vita, avendoli ritenuti punti di riferimento inservibili.

Robert Spaemann

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