The moral fool : a case for amorality

Moeller, Hans-Georg 1964- (Author).

Summary: An expert on Eastern philosophies and social systems theory, Hans-Georg Moeller questions the perceived goodness of morality and those who claim morality is inherently positive. Critiquing the ethical "fanaticism" of Western moralists, such as Immanuel Kant, Lawrence Kohlberg, John Rawls, and the utilitarians, Moeller points to the absurd fundamentalisms and impracticable prescriptions arising from definitions of good. Instead he advances a theory of "moral foolishness," or moral asceticism, extracted from the "amoral" philosophers of East Asia and such thinkers as Ludwig Wittgenstein and Niklas Luhman. The moral fool doesn't understand why ethics are necessarily good, and he isn't convinced that the moral perspective is always positive. In this way he is like most people, and Moeller defends this foolishness against ethical pathologies that support the death penalty, just wars, and even Jerry Springer's crude moral theater. Comparing and contrasting the religious philosophies of Christianity, Daoism, and Zen Buddhism, Moeller presents a persuasive argument in favor of amorality

Record details

ISBN: 0231145098
ISBN: 023114508X
ISBN: 9780231145091
ISBN: 9780231145084
ISBN: 6613791148
ISBN: 9786613791146
ISBN: 9781281786487
ISBN: 1281786489
ISBN: 0231519249
ISBN: 9780231519243
Physical Description: 1 online resource (x, 212 pages)
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Publisher: New York : Columbia University Press, ©2009.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-201) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Is it good to be good? -- On amorality. The moral fool ; Negative ethics A pathology of ethics. The redundancy of ethics ; The "morality of anger" ; Ethics and aesthetics ; The presumptions of philosophical ethics ; The myth of moral progress -- Ethics in contemporary society. For the separation of morality and law ; Morality and civil rights ; How to get a death verdict ; Masters of war ; Ethics and the mass media -- Applied amorality.
Restrictions on Access Note:	Restrictions unspecified
Reproduction Note:	Electronic reproduction. [Place of publication not identified] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2010.
System Details Note:	Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212
Language Note:	English.
Action Note:	digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve
Source of Description Note:	Print version record.