Wanderings: Exploring Moral Landscapes Past and Present

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University Press of America, 1996 - Philosophy - 269 pages
Through an interdisciplinary approach, this book explores premodern, modern, and postmodern moral perspectives to identify the problems and challenges facing moral thinking in the 1990's and beyond. This book introduces and clarifies these various moral viewpoints through a multi-faceted discussion which examines morals from philosophical, social, and psychological perspectives. The primary focus of Wanderings centers on what educated and common people have thought and said about what is good and bad in premodern, modern, and postmodern spheres of thought. In this spirit, the moral views of ancient Egypt, ancient Israel, certain Greek philosophers as well as several modern philosophical and postmodern ethical attitudes are discussed. From the modern tradition, the book describes key thinkers in connection with egoism, utilitarianism, relativism, and absolutism. Issues of difference, diversity, power, empowerment, otherness, and domination are just some of the issues examined in relation to postmodern moral attitudes. Along with moral viewpoints, the book also examines how our value systems have developed and continue to develop.
 

Contents

The Nature of Morality
7
A Brief Historical Survey of Moral Values From Ancient Egypt to Herbert Spencer
37
Foundations for Modern and Postmodern Moral Thinking
71
Moral Values from the Perspective of the Social Sciences
109
Psychologically Related Ethical Perspectives
145
Contemporary Ethical Perspectives
171
Men Women and Power
203
Wanderings
229
Works Cited
241
Index
253
Copyright

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About the author (1996)

Tony L. Moyers is an adjunct faculty member at Athens State College in Alabama.

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