Recent Tendencies in Ethics

Sorley, W. R. (William Ritchie), 1855-1935Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 149K words
Chapters: 15

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.Recent Tendencies in Ethics by W. R. SorleyAuthor: Sorley, W. R. (William Ritchie), 1855-1935,Language: English, Class: BJ: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Ethics, Social usages, Etiquette, Religion, Release Date: Jun 1, 2004

Editor's review

This book is a lecture-based work by the British ethicist Sorley on recent tendencies in ethics: modest in length yet clear in structure. It focuses on the shift in modern ethics from metaphysical speculation toward empirical and evolutionary perspectives, discussing how core concepts such as conscience, duty, good, and right change position across different schools, combining philosophical history with a strong sense of problem. For Chinese readers its value lies not in offering ready-made conclusions but in demonstrating how to examine ethical questions within the context of intellectual history: readers can see the tensions among utilitarianism, evolutionary ethics, and Kantian deontology, and appreciate the author's cautious attempt to reconcile experience and ideal. The original is in English, with a moderate density of terminology; it is suitable as supplementary reading for an introduction to Western ethics, and for readers who have already encountered an ethics survey and wish to fill in late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century British ethical discussion. There is no need to ponder every sentence; grasp the problem thread and argumentative structure of each lecture, and the gains will be more substantial.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Lower-division philosophy majors who need to understand the problem context of modern British ethics
General readers interested in ethics who want to read primary sources in the history of Western ethical thought
Learners preparing for English philosophical reading practice who need academic texts of moderate length
Teachers and reading-group leaders looking for discussable texts on disputes among ethical schools

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking popular life advice or inspirational content
Readers with no philosophical background who are unwilling to engage with abstract argumentation
Readers who only want Chinese translations and are not used to reading English originals

Reading tips

First read the table of contents and the opening of each lecture, map out the chain of problems the author discusses, then return to close-read the argumentative passages
Prepare a glossary recording the meanings of terms such as conscience, duty, good, and right in different contexts in the book
After each lecture, write three sentences in your own words summarizing the author's position and main objections, then compare with the next lecture
Read alongside an introduction to ethics to place the figures and schools discussed back into the coordinates of intellectual history

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 in Chinese or English? Is it difficult to read?

This is an English original, a public-domain e-book from Project Gutenberg. The language is generally that of academic lectures; the sentences are not overly difficult, but the book involves specialized ethical terminology and nineteenth-century intellectual background, so readers are advised to have college-level English reading ability and some grounding in introductory philosophy.

Which ethical schools does the book mainly discuss?

Judging from the title and the author's place in the British ethical tradition, the book centers on recent tendencies in ethics, touching on paths of discussion such as evolutionary ethics, utilitarianism, and deontology, and attending to changes in the concepts of conscience and duty. For specific chapters, consult the original table of contents; readers may wish to browse the contents first and then decide the order for close reading.

Is it suitable for use as a course textbook?

It can serve as supplementary reading for the history of Western ethical thought or as material for a seminar, but it is not recommended as a stand-alone introductory textbook. It is more like one ethicist's commentary on the tendencies of the scholarly world at the time, and teachers need to supply background and comparative texts to help students grasp the full context of the arguments.

What should be noted when reading the electronic edition?

Public-domain e-books tend to have plain formatting; it is advisable to use reading software that supports dictionary lookup and annotation, and to mark terms as you go. Since there are no modern editorial notes, you may need to look up names and schools of thought yourself, so as not to mistake views the author cites for the author's own conclusions.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Sorley, W. R. (William Ritchie), 1855-1935 Author · British · 1855–1935

William Ritchie Sorley (1855–1935) was a British philosopher who taught for many years at the University of Cambridge. His research centred on the history of ethics and on Greek philosophy, and these interests form the main background to his writing. Two of his works are held here: On the Ethics of Naturalism and Recent Tendencies in Ethics. The former examines how a naturalistic standpoint can provide a basis for moral judgement, while the latter surveys new directions in ethical thought of the time. Sorley's exposition is marked by careful conceptual analysis and a clear sense of historical context; his prose is restrained and plain, concerned less with rhetorical effect than with the structure of argument and the historical sources of problems. His books remain useful references for the study of modern British ethics and the debates over naturalism. Because public information is limited, biographical details are omitted here.