2008 Handbooks

The ethical theories of Aristotle, John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant have had a major impact on contemporary ethical thought both within and outside philosophy. While providing an introduction to these theories, the unit also aims to show how they have influenced contemporary ways of thinking about moral agency and our moral relations with others. We focus on Aristotle's conceptions of voluntary and involuntary actions, excuses, justifications and culpability, which ground contemporary understandings of moral and legal responsibility. We also discuss Aristotle's views on friendship, which resonate with contemporary views about the good of friendship and underpin much current philosophical discussion of friendship. John Stuart Mill's text On Liberty provides the classic defense of individual liberty. We discuss Mill's views on the scope and limits of liberty, his defense of the importance of freedom of speech and consider the application of his arguments to the issue of "hate speech". In the final section of the unit, we consider the impact of Kant's moral theory on contemporary human rights discourse. We also look at Kant's analysis of hospitality, which is particularly relevant to the plight of refugees and stateless persons.