Rationality, Rules, and Ideals : Critical Essays on Bernard Gert's Moral Theory

A collection of essays by prestigious authors discussing the work of Bernard Gert, Stone Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy at Dartmouth College.

Bernard Gert''s moral theory is among the clearest and most comprehensive on the contemporary scene. It touches on elements of the dominant ethical orientations—-utilitarianism, Kantianism, contractionism, and virtue ethics—without fitting neatly into any of those categories. For that reason, Gert''s moral theory appeals to many ethicists dissatisfied with each of the dominant formulations. Rationality, Rules, and Ideals presents Gert''s Morality, the reactions by a number of prominent scholars, and Gert''s response. All told, it is a remarkably wide-ranging study of ethical theory. The work is broken down into six parts, making Rationality, Rules, and Ideals perfect for a broad-ranging course on ethical theory, following Gert''s critiques of utilitariansim, Kantianism, and virtue ethics. Both students and professionals will find much material to work with in this volume. The papers contribute not only to the understanding of Gert''s wide-ranging theory but to a number of important topics in ethic theory, the theory of rationality, and applied ethics.