03251nam 2200577 a 450 991095348630332120200520144314.00-8032-0261-X0-585-31135-8(CKB)111004366823540(OCoLC)45730640(CaPaEBR)ebrary5002704(SSID)ssj0000173786(PQKBManifestationID)11165127(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000173786(PQKBWorkID)10174247(PQKB)10991374(MiAaPQ)EBC3039277(Au-PeEL)EBL3039277(CaPaEBR)ebr5002704(BIP)35541522(BIP)48276381(EXLCZ)9911100436682354019990819d2000 ub 0engurcn|||||||||txtrdacontentcrdamediacrrdacarrierHow to defend humane ideals substitutes for objectivity /James R. Flynn1st ed.Lincoln, Neb. University of Nebraska Pressc20001 online resource (224 pages)Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-8032-1994-6 Includes bibliographical references (p. [195]-204) and indexes.Intro -- CONTENTS -- Acknowledgments -- How to Defend Humane Ideals -- introduction THE PROBLEM -- Truth-Tests and What We Have Lost -- part one THE LIMITATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY -- Plato and Thrasymachus -- Truth-Tests and Proofs -- Kant and Sister Simplice -- transition AN AGENDA -- Morality and Moral Debate -- part two THE POTENCY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Race and Class -- Superpeople and Supermen -- Justice and Meritocracy -- Humanism and Postmodernism -- conclusion UNSOLVED PROBLEMS -- The Personal and the Conventional -- References -- Subject Index -- Author Index.One of the principal moral and psychological problems of our time is whether humane ideals can be defended. Loss of faith in the objectivity of ethics has encouraged a sense of hopelessness. The notion that no ideal is better than any other, that a humane commitment has no rational advantage over Nietzsche's contempt for ordinary people, has been accused of leaving our civilization without self-confidence or a purpose. James R. Flynn rejects attempts to salvage ethical objectivity as futile and counterproductive. Instead, he uses philosophical analysis to demonstrate the relevance of logic and evidence to moral debate. He then uses modern social science to refute racists, Social Darwinists, Nietzsche, and the meritocracy thesis of "The Bell Curve." Flynn concludes that the great post-Enlightenment project--justice for all races and classes, the reduction of inequality, and the abolition of privilege--retains its moral dignity and relevance.Humanistic ethicsSocial sciences and ethicsHumanistic ethics.Social sciences and ethics.171/.2Flynn James R(James Robert),1934-2020.867740MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910953486303321How to defend humane ideals4533479UNINA