LEADER 03251nam 2200577 a 450 001 9910953486303321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a0-8032-0261-X 010 $a0-585-31135-8 035 $a(CKB)111004366823540 035 $a(OCoLC)45730640 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary5002704 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000173786 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11165127 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000173786 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10174247 035 $a(PQKB)10991374 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3039277 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3039277 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr5002704 035 $a(BIP)35541522 035 $a(BIP)48276381 035 $a(EXLCZ)99111004366823540 100 $a19990819d2000 ub 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aHow to defend humane ideals $esubstitutes for objectivity /$fJames R. Flynn 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aLincoln, Neb. $cUniversity of Nebraska Press$dc2000 215 $a1 online resource (224 pages) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 0 $a0-8032-1994-6 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [195]-204) and indexes. 327 $aIntro -- 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. 330 $aOne 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. 606 $aHumanistic ethics 606 $aSocial sciences and ethics 615 0$aHumanistic ethics. 615 0$aSocial sciences and ethics. 676 $a171/.2 700 $aFlynn$b James R$g(James Robert),$f1934-2020.$0867740 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910953486303321 996 $aHow to defend humane ideals$94533479 997 $aUNINA