Theoretical Ethics

Valentine, M. (Milton), 1825-1906Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.3

Word count: 358K words
Chapters: 36

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Theoretical Ethics by M. ValentineAuthor: Valentine, M. (Milton), 1825-1906,Language: English, Class: BJ: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Ethics, Social usages, Etiquette, Religion, Release Date: Jun 29, 2013

Editor's review

Theoretical Ethics is a work on ethical theory by the nineteenth-century American scholar Milton Valentine, now recirculated by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book. Its value lies not in offering currently popular conclusions in applied ethics but in presenting one face of ethical system-building from the pre-analytic philosophy era: the author attempts to proceed from basic principles to discuss the nature of morality, the foundations of obligation, and the grounds of judgments of good and evil, in a style of systematization and argumentation characteristic of nineteenth-century treatises. For readers studying the history of ethics or the form of early English-language ethics textbooks, this book can serve as primary material; for general readers it is more an archive of intellectual history than an introductory text. It is suited to slow reading with notes in a quiet environment, or to selective chapter reading as course reference material; do not expect brisk narrative or contemporary cases.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Ethics or philosophy history students needing nineteenth-century ethics texts as research material
Enthusiasts interested in the origins of Western moral philosophy with some foundation in philosophical reading
University teachers needing public-domain English textbooks for supplementary course reading
Scholars in intellectual history or Victorian studies concerned with moral discourse

Not a good fit for

General readers hoping to quickly understand contemporary applied ethics issues
Learners with limited English reading ability unaccustomed to nineteenth-century argumentative prose
Practitioners expecting case analysis and practical guidance

Reading tips

First read the table of contents and introduction to clarify the author's problem framework, then decide which chapters to read closely.
Keep a notebook and jot down the author's core definitions and argumentative steps for easy reference.
Read alongside a modern introduction to ethics to help locate its historical position.
For the English original, read one small section at a time; when encountering long sentences, first break down the main structure before understanding.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for readers with zero background as an introduction to ethics?

Not very. It is a nineteenth-century systematic theoretical work that presupposes basic philosophical training, and its style and terminology bear the marks of its era. Readers with no background are better off starting with a contemporary introduction to ethics and then returning to this as a historical text; otherwise they may lose their bearings in abstract argumentation.

What should I note when reading the public-domain e-book edition?

The Gutenberg edition is a free public-domain e-book, mainly in plain text, and may lack modern annotations and an introduction. When reading, it is advisable to verify the chapter structure yourself and use external reference works for unfamiliar names and terms; do not rely on the e-book itself for explanatory content.

What practical help can I get from reading this book?

The main gain is understanding how nineteenth-century ethics built theoretical systems and how concepts such as obligation and good and evil were defined and argued at the time. It is useful for writing intellectual history papers and preparing for philosophy history course discussions, but it will not directly provide operational solutions for dealing with real moral dilemmas.

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About the author

Valentine, M. (Milton), 1825-1906 Author · American · 1825–1906

Milton Valentine (1825–1906) was an American Lutheran theologian who taught for many years at Gettysburg Theological Seminary. Public information about the details of his life is limited, and what is known of him and his work rests mainly on his writings and on the influence of his long teaching career. One work of his is held in this collection, Theoretical Ethics, a book that discusses moral principles and reflects his approach of examining ethical questions from a theological standpoint. Valentine writes with care and clarity, paying close attention to the analysis of concepts and to the structure of argument, in a style characteristic of nineteenth-century American theological education. As a teacher at Gettysburg Theological Seminary, his ethical scholarship and his teaching supported each other, and his work remains a useful text for the study of American Lutheran ethical thought.