Paradox of Morality

Inbunden, Engelska, 2025

Del i serien Margellos World Republic of Letters

189 kr

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Beskrivning

The last work by “one of the most singular voices of twentieth-century French philosophy” (Critical Inquiry) on the complexities of love in public and private life Vladimir Jankélévitch stands alongside Emmanuel Levinas as one of the most admired French ethicists of the twentieth century, known for his work on everything from the possibility of forgiveness after the Holocaust to the philosophy of music. In his final work, The Paradox of Morality (1981), Jankélévitch turns his attention to the fundamental questions of the moral life: the struggle between egoism and self-sacrifice, the question of whether pure or infinite love exists, and moral agency in the pursuit of human rights. In dialogue with philosophers from Plato to Nietzsche, Jankélévitch proposes that the moral life comprises an acrobatic act in which we must balance the demands of love and our responsibility to the other against our natural attachment to the self. Morality is the activity of realizing and combining, in each individual action, the maximum amount of love possible with the minimum of being. This oscillation between self and other—and between being and love—is never fixed or stable. In the end, morality is not something that exists in the world of contemplation; instead, it is the substance of what must be done here and now: created anew in each new moment.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2025-04-22
Mått:127 x 197 x 26 mm
Vikt:362 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Margellos World Republic of Letters
Antal sidor:264
Förlag:Yale University Press
ISBN:9780300269260
Översättare:Kelley, Andrew

Utforska kategorier

Filosofiska discipliner inom Filosofi och religion

Mer om författaren

Vladimir Jankélévitch (1903–1985) was a French philosopher and musicologist. His works in English translation include Forgiveness, Music and the Ineffable, and The Bad Conscience. Andrew Kelley is professor of philosophy at Bradley University and a translator of the works of Jankélévitch and other French philosophers.

Recensioner i media

“In this marvelous text, Jankélévitch persuasively argues that love is at the center of morality, and morality is at the heart of life. Readers new to Jankélévitch will be riveted by his analysis of the paradoxical nature of love and morality, as well as the multiple connections between his thought and that of other twentieth-century philosophers such as Henri Bergson, the existentialists, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jacques Derrida. At the same time, readers familiar with his other works will find their understanding of the subtlety and depth of his moral thinking enriched and extended.”—Marguerite La Caze, University of Queensland“In his final philosophical testament, Jankélévitch explores how the pursuit of morality must ceaselessly navigate a fundamental conflict between the unconditional demand of love and an attachment to the self—between ‘love’ and ‘being’—without any definitive resolution. But this paradox does not inhibit the aspiration towards a moral life, nor lead to resignation or cynicism; on the contrary, it is as impossible to renounce care for others as it is to renounce one’s own egotism. Deftly translated by Andrew Kelley, this is a conceptually rich and sensitively written account of what it means to live a moral life in action.”—Nicolas de Warren, Pennsylvania State University“At a time when academic moral philosophy has become a utilitarian bookkeeping exercise alien to human interest, Andrew Kelley’s translation of this final summation of the thought of Vladimir Jankélévitch is a reminder of the essential place of yearning, disappointment, ambiguity, hope, and regret in the development of moral consciousness. The Paradox of Morality is the moving envoi of the most important moral philosopher after Kant.”—Adrian Nathan West, author of My Father’s Diet