The Morality of Everyday Life: Rediscovering an Ancient Alternative to the Liberal TraditionFleming offers an alternative to enlightened liberalism, where moral and political problems are looked at from an objective point of view and a decision made from a distant perspective that is both rational and universally applied to all comparable cases. He instead places importance on the particular, the local, and moral complexity, advocating a return to premodern traditions for a solution to ethical predicaments. In his view, liberalism and postmodernism ignore the fact that human beings by their very nature refuse to live in a world of abstractions where the attachments of friends, neighbors, family, and country make no difference. Fleming believes that a modern type of "casuistry" should be applied to moral conflicts, using examples from history, literature, and religion to explain this moral ecology that refuses to divorce organisms from their interactions with each other and with their environment. |
From inside the book
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Page 5
... Christian- ity has always maintained a respect for innocent life . When an abortion clinic opens in a predominantly Italian Catholic section of Gotham , members of the “ right - to - life ” movement debate what they can do to stop the ...
... Christian- ity has always maintained a respect for innocent life . When an abortion clinic opens in a predominantly Italian Catholic section of Gotham , members of the “ right - to - life ” movement debate what they can do to stop the ...
Page 7
... Christian or a Jew, but from a philosophical or theological commitment to a global respon- sibility as determined by a rational individual who considers the matter objectively and keeps his attention not on things as they are and have ...
... Christian or a Jew, but from a philosophical or theological commitment to a global respon- sibility as determined by a rational individual who considers the matter objectively and keeps his attention not on things as they are and have ...
Page 9
... Christian—provide a realistic alternative that bears remarkable affini- ties with non-Western (that is, Chinese, African, Native American) tradi- tions. The distinction is not purely ancient versus modern. Stoics and Epicureans (and ...
... Christian—provide a realistic alternative that bears remarkable affini- ties with non-Western (that is, Chinese, African, Native American) tradi- tions. The distinction is not purely ancient versus modern. Stoics and Epicureans (and ...
Page 12
... Christian ethics and moral theology have been in- herently casuistic in taking full account of the spiritual condition and intention of the sinner as well as of the circumstances in which the sin was committed. The rigorism of ...
... Christian ethics and moral theology have been in- herently casuistic in taking full account of the spiritual condition and intention of the sinner as well as of the circumstances in which the sin was committed. The rigorism of ...
Page 13
... Christianity per se , which is far from being a killjoy religion . On the contrary , the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation should teach Christians that God thought well enough of this part of His Creation that He sent His own Son ...
... Christianity per se , which is far from being a killjoy religion . On the contrary , the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation should teach Christians that God thought well enough of this part of His Creation that He sent His own Son ...
Contents
1 | |
18 | |
42 | |
Too Much Reality | 69 |
Growing Up Unabsurd | 95 |
Problems of Perspective | 135 |
The Myth of Individualism | 167 |
Goodbye Old Rights of Man | 194 |
Bibliography | 235 |
Index | 251 |
Other editions - View all
The Morality of Everyday Life: Rediscovering an Ancient Alternative to the ... Thomas Fleming No preview available - 2004 |
The Morality of Everyday Life: Rediscovering an Ancient Alternative to the ... Thomas Fleming No preview available - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
abstract Alasdair MacIntyre American ancient Antigone argued argument Aristotle Athenian Carol Gilligan casuistry Catholic century charity child Christian Church citizens civil claims common concept Creon cultural depends Descartes divine duty ethical European evil example fact father feel French friends friendship G. K. Chesterton global Goodbye Greek Growing Up Unabsurd happiness hero human rights ideal identity impartial Jefferson Jews John Johnson justice justify killed Kohlberg Kosovo language Lawrence Kohlberg liberal liberty live loyalty ment modern moral development Morality of Everyday mother Myth of Individualism nation-state nationalist natural neighbor Neoptolemus object obligation Old Rights one’s parents patriotism person Philoctetes philosophers Plato Plutarch political poor principle Problems of Perspective question reality reason regard religion religious responsibility Roman rules Samuel Johnson sense Serbs social society Stoic story strangers theory things Thomas tion tradition University Press virtue Voltaire women