Main entry:

Hurka, Thomas, 1952-

Title & Author:

Perfectionism / Thomas Hurka.

Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 1993.

Description:

xi, 222 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Series:

Oxford ethics series

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-214) and index.
The Perfectionist Idea -- The Concept of Human Nature -- Distinctiveness and Essence -- Essence and Life -- Nature: Objections -- Accretions and Methods -- Accretions -- Perfectionist Naturalism -- Defending Perfectionism -- How Are Essences Known? -- The Human Essence -- The Aristotelian Theory: Physical Essence -- The Aristotelian Theory: Rationality -- The Aristotelian Theory: Objections -- The Wrong Explanations? -- Aristotelian Perfectionism -- The Basic Structure -- Maximizing Consequentialism -- Time- and Agent-Neutrality -- The Asymmetry -- Competition and Co-operation -- Aggregation -- Summing and Averaging -- Maximax -- Single-Peak Perfection -- The Well-Rounded Life -- Lexical and Constant Comparisons -- Balancing -- Dilettantism and Concentration -- Many-Person Balancing? -- Trying, Deserving, Succeeding -- Number and Quality -- Attempt -- Deserving Attempt -- Success and Deserved Success -- The Best Units? -- Unity and Complexity -- Generality: Extent and Dominance -- Generality: Elaborations -- Top-to-Bottom Knowledge -- The Unified Life -- Complex, Difficult Activities -- Politics, Co-operation, and Love -- Political Action -- Co-operation -- Love and Friendship -- Generality: Objections -- Generality: The Tradition -- Perfectionism and Politics -- Liberty -- Autonomy as a Perfection -- The Asymmetry Argument -- Sexual Enforcement and Paternalism -- Liberty versus Neutrality -- Equality: Abilities and Marginal Utility -- Deep Equality -- Desert and Aggregation -- Natural Abilities.

Summary:

Perfectionism is one of the great moralities of the Western tradition. It holds that certain states of humans, such as knowledge, achievement, and friendship, are good apart from any pleasure they may bring, and that the morally right act is always the one that most promotes these states. Defined more narrowly, perfectionism identifies the human good by reference to human nature: if knowledge and achievement are good, it is because they realize aspects of human nature. This book gives an account of perfectionism, first in the narrower sense, analyzing its central concepts and defending a theory of human nature in which rationality plays a central role. It then uses this theory to construct an elaborate account of the intrinsic value of beliefs and actions that embody rationality, and applies this account to political questions about liberty and equality. The book attempts to formulate the most defensible version of perfectionism, using contemporary analytic techniques. It aims both to regain for perfectionism a central place in contemporary moral debate and to shed light on the writings of classical perfectionists such as Aristotle, Aquinas, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and T.H. Green. Proposing original theses about long neglected issues in ethics, Perfectionism is of interest to moral and political philosophers and those interested in contemporary moral theory or the history of ethics.

Resources:
Table of contents
Publisher description

ISBN:

0195080149 (acid-free paper)
9780195080148 (acid-free paper)
0195101162
9780195101164

Subject:

Perfection Moral and ethical aspects.
Perfection Aspect moral.
08.38 ethics.
Ethik
Perfektionismus
Menselijke natuur.
Volmaaktheid.
Ethische aspecten.
Ethics

Added entries:

Oxford ethics series.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 307631
Call No.: BIB 253102
Status: Available