Bertrand Russell was not only one of the greatest philosophers of the
twentieth century; he was also a humanitarian and activist who fought
for many moral, social, and political causes. During his lifetime, the
general public knew him for his activism and popular works, in which
he tackled such diverse topics as sexual ethics, religion, war, and
nuclear disarmament. Besides the great achievements in mathematical
logic on which his reputation rests, Russell was a pioneer in moral
philosophy, and his work in this area informed and guided his
activism. Russell created one of the first versions of a meta-ethical
theory known as emotivism (sometimes also called the 'boo-hooray'
theory, later popularized by A.J. Ayer and C.L. Stevenson) which
maintains that ethical statements cannot be true or false - they are
simply expressions of emotional attitudes. That Russell could hold
such a theory while being at the same time an ardent activist is one
feat. That his version was superior to more popular versions of
emotivism is another. Yet, despite the fact that Russell held on to
some form of emotivism for most of his professional life, and despite
the fact that the theory is present in some of his best-known books,
it was virtually ignored until the late 1990s. Michael K. Potter's
book brings an important new dimension to our understanding of
Russell's life, his activism, and his contribution to moral
philosophy.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781847144096
Publisert
2015
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Bloomsbury UK
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter