First things : an inquiry into the first principles of morals and justice

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

First things : an inquiry into the first principles of morals and justice

Hadley Arkes

Princeton University Press, c1986

  • : pbk

Available at  / 31 libraries

Search this Book/Journal

Note

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book restores to us an understanding that was once settled in the "moral sciences": that there are propositions, in morals and law, which are not only true but which cannot be otherwise. It was understood in the past that, in morals or in mathematics, our knowledge begins with certain axioms that must hold true of necessity; that the principles drawn from these axioms hold true universally, unaffected by variations in local "cultures"; and that the presence of these axioms makes it possible to have, in the domain of morals, some right answers. Hadley Arkes restates the grounds of that older understanding and unfolds its implications for the most vexing political problems of our day. The author turns first to the classic debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. After establishing the groundwork and properties of moral propositions, he traces their application in such issues as selective conscientious objection, justifications for war, the war in Vietnam, a nation's obligation to intervene abroad, the notion of supererogatory acts, the claims of "privacy," and the problem of abortion.

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

  • NCID
    BA00401071
  • ISBN
    • 0691077029
    • 069102247X
  • LCCN
    85043267
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Princeton, N.J.
  • Pages/Volumes
    xii, 432 p.
  • Size
    24 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
Page Top