Williams on Categorical Desires

Kant on Respect for the (Moral) Law

Today’s excerpt comes from Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Kant distinguishes acting from duty (from respect for the moral law) from acting merely in accordance with duty out of inclination or in pursuit of specific outcomes. Join the conversation and share your reflections at community.alifeofthought.com [https://anchor.fm/s/104a59e34/podcast/community.alifeofthought.com], or dive deeper into the annotations at alifeofthought.com/d15 [https://anchor.fm/s/104a59e34/podcast/alifeofthought.com/d15].

Stocker on Ethical Schizophrenia

Today's excerpt comes from a paper titled ‘The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories’ by Michael Stocker. One quick correction: though Socrates famously denies one can do what he knows to be worse, many philosophers think otherwise! Join the conversation and share your reflections at community.alifeofthought.com [community.alifeofthought.com], or dive deeper into the annotations at alifeofthought.com/d15 [alifeofthought.com/d15].

Cora Diamond on the Ethics of Vegetarianism

Today's excerpt comes from a paper in which Cora Diamond explores an argument often heard in conversations about vegetarianism: the charge of speciesism. She pushes back on its success as an argument and offers an alternative. Join the conversation and share your reflections at community.alifeofthought.com [community.alifeofthought.com], or dive deeper into the annotations at alifeofthought.com/d15 [alifeofthought.com/d15].

Williams on One Thought Too Many

Today's excerpt is a follow up from Williams’ Persons, Character, and Morality. Here, he discusses how moral thinking – thinking about moral theories and ideas – is supposed to figure into our decision making. Join the conversation and share your reflections at community.alifeofthought.com, or dive deeper into the annotations at alifeofthought.com/d15

Williams on Categorical Desires

Today's excerpt comes from Bernard Williams' paper, Persons, Character, and Morality. Williams discusses why, if at all, we ought to fear death and what this means for our conception of ourselves. Join the conversation and share your insights at community.alifeofthought.com [http://community.alifeofthought.com/], or explore the annotations at alifeofthought.com/d15 [http://alifeofthought.com/d15].