1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910464877903321

Autore

Helo Ari

Titolo

Thomas Jefferson's Ethics and the Politics of Human Progress : the Morality of Slaveholder / / Ari Helo [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2014

ISBN

1-107-42530-1

1-107-42305-8

1-107-41739-2

1-107-42000-8

1-139-62934-4

1-107-42125-X

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xiv, 282 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Collana

Cambridge studies on the American South

Disciplina

973.4/6092

Soggetti

Slavery - Moral and ethical aspects - United States

Presidents - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

History, progress, and politics -- Progress in natural and moral sciences -- Progress and the wise man's virtue -- The perfectible rights of men -- Progressive politics.

Sommario/riassunto

Could Jefferson claim any consistency in his advocacy of democracy and the rights of man while remaining one of the largest slaveholders in Virginia? This extensive study of Jefferson's intellectual outlook suggests that, once we fully acknowledge the premises of his ethical thought and his now outdated scientific views, he could. Jefferson famously thought the human mind to be 'susceptible of much improvement ... most of all, in matters of government and religion'. Ari Helo's thorough analysis of Jefferson's understanding of Christian morality, atheism, contemporary theories of moral sentiments, ancient virtue ethics, natural rights, and the principles of justice and benevolence suggests that Jefferson refused to be a philosopher, and did so for moral reasons. This book finds Jefferson profoundly political in his understanding of individual moral responsibility and human progress.