Monika Betzler - Böcker

Relationships are of utmost importance to our lives in that they give rise to various kinds of goods. Yet, they also make us vulnerable to distinct kinds of wrongs and harms. So far, philosophers have given some attention to the topics of friendship, parent-child relationships, and love, but many other kinds of relationships have been neglected. Moreover, philosophical theorizing has mostly focused on the value of relationships, while the wrongs and harms involved in leading a particular relationship have hardly been investigated. Similarly, relationships have been analyzed as rather static phenomena, but once we realize that they wax and wane and can even come to an end, further moral challenges come into view. This edited volume makes a major contribution to establishing an ethics of relationships through its analysis of many different kinds of relationships. The chapters in this collection offer an in-depth understanding of the distinct nature and value of relationships, while also highlighting the dark sides of relationships and their distinct moral intricacies. Contributions cover the relationship to self, sibling relationships, friendships, and romantic partnerships including relationships between former partners. More socially mediated connections are also discussed, such as neighbours, colleagues, students, and teachers, as well as fans and celebrities. In addition, negative relationships-like those between enemies and those between victims and perpetrators-are explored in detail. The final chapters examine relationships with non-human entities, including companion animals and AI systems. Through its wide-ranging coverage and insightful analysis, The Ethics of Relationships significantly broadens the scope of discussion and elucidates the normative significance of relationships.

Practical conflicts pervade human life. Agents have many different desires, goals, and commitments, all of which can come into conflict with each other. How can practical reasoning help to resolve these practical conflicts? In this collection of essays a distinguished roster of philosophers analyse the diverse forms of practical conflict. Their aim is to establish an understanding of the sources of these conflicts, to investigate the challenge they pose to an adequate conception of practical reasoning, and to assess the degree to which that challenge can be met. These essays will serve as a major resource for students of philosophy but will also interest students and professionals in related fields of the social sciences such as psychology, political science, sociology and economics.

Practical conflicts pervade human life. Agents have many different desires, goals, and commitments, all of which can come into conflict with each other. How can practical reasoning help to resolve these practical conflicts? In this collection of essays a distinguished roster of philosophers analyse the diverse forms of practical conflict. Their aim is to establish an understanding of the sources of these conflicts, to investigate the challenge they pose to an adequate conception of practical reasoning, and to assess the degree to which that challenge can be met. These essays will serve as a major resource for students of philosophy but will also interest students and professionals in related fields of the social sciences such as psychology, political science, sociology and economics.

In his Metaphysics of Morals (particularly in the Doctrine of Virtue), but also in other late works, Kant extends and refines the content of his earlier works on ethics (Groundwork and Critique of Practical Reason) to a considerable extent. These revisions and extensions not only show the limitations of an exclusive interpretation of Kant’s ethics as a deontological ethics of principles. His thoughts are also relevant for a large number of questions of theoretical morality currently under discussion. Thus, the distinction drawn in the Doctrine of Virtue between perfect and imperfect obligations informs the problem of the solvability of moral conflicts and the role of supererogatory actions. Kant goes further into the question of what it means to be a good person, what moral significance is contained in close human ties such as friendship, and what role is played by happiness and the so-called obligations towards oneself.The papers each discuss Kant’s central ideas in the context of his earlier writings, but also within the context of our contemporary ethical debates. Thus attention is drawn to the significance and possible extent of an ethics of virtue understood in the Kantian sense.