Schopenhauer, religion and morality : the humble path to ethics / Gerard Mannion.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mannion, Gerard, 1970-2019.

Series:

Ashgate new critical thinking in philosophy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Schopenhauer, Arthur, 1788-1860.

Schopenhauer, Arthur.

Religion--Philosophy.

Religion.

Ethics.

Physical Description:

xii, 314 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Aldershot, Hants, England ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate, [2003]

Contents:

Part I Schopenhauer and Religion

1 Schopenhauer's Worldview: Hope or Despair? 11

1 The Misery of Existence 12

2 A Tragic World? 15

3 The Worst of All Possible Worlds? 21

4 A Priori Pessimism and Possible 'Solutions': a Non-absolutist Interpretation 26

Conclusion: The Pessimism of a Philosopher 34

2 'Militant Atheist'? Introducing Schopenhauer on Religion 39

Part I Religion and Schopenhauer 41

1 'The Militant Atheist' 41

2 The Initial Formation of Schopenhauer's Religious Thought 43

3 The 'Better Consciousness' 47

Part II Schopenhauer's Critique of Natural Theology 52

1 God and The World 52

2 The Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason: Schopenhauer on Explanatory Hypotheses 53

3 Theistic Explanations of the World 56

3 Metaphysics of the People: Schopenhauer, Religion and Truth 65

Part I 'Lover of the Truth' or 'Friend of the People'? 65

1 The Relationship between Religion and Philosophy 66

2 Metaphysics of the People 67

Part II 'Overcoming the World': Soteriological Grand Narratives 71

1 Schopenhauer's Own System in Relation to Religious Belief Systems 71

2 Schopenhauer's Mystical Leanings 77

3 Truth, Morality and Salvation 80

4 Transcendence and the Limits of Enquiry 81

5 The Way of Transcendence in Schopenhauer: towards a Moral Interpretation of Religion 86

Conclusion: Truth and Transcendence 88

Part II Schopenhauer and Morality

4 Reason and the Foundation of Ethics: Schopenhauer's Rejection of the Kantian Moral System 93

1 Laying the Foundation of Ethics 94

2 Kant's Argument in the Grundlegung 95

3 Schopenhauer's Basis of Morality 98

4 Schopenhauer's Rejection of the Kantian Foundation of Morality 100

Part II Objections to Kant's Ethical Formalism 101

1 Method in Ethics 101

2 An 'Empty Shell' in Kantian Ethics? 105

3 The Categorical Status of Kant's Moral Principle: a Question of Efficacy? 106

Part III Egoism and the Kantian Moral System 110

1 Egoism, Formalism and Theology 110

2 Self-Interest, Psychological Egoism and the Categorical Imperative 112

3 Selfish Maxims and the Force of Duty 116

5 Kant, Religion and Morality: First Steps on the 'Humble Path' 135

Part I Respect for the Moral Law and the Defeat of Egoism 136

1 Defining 'Respect for the Moral Law' 136

2 Bridging the 'Moral Gap' in Kant's Explanatory Hypothesis 140

Part II The Theological Basis of Kantian Ethics 141

1 The 'Theological Circle' in the Kantian Moral System 142

2 The Function of the Theological Ideas: Context and Coherence 147

Part III The Use of Theology and Metaphysics in Ethics 150

1 Crossing the Frontiers of Moral Enquiry 150

2 The Autonomy of Moral Philosophy 151

3 Kant and The 'Humble Path' to Ethics 159

6 Mitleid and Morality: Interpreting Schopenhauer's Ethics 189

1 The Character of Schopenhauerian Ethics 189

2 Egoism: the Prime 'Antimoral Incentive' 192

3 Establishing the Moral Incentive 198

4 The Significance of Mitleid 200

5 Metaphysics and Mitleid 207

6 The Religious Implications of Schopenhauer's Ethics 213

7 Virtue in Religion and Morality 216

8 Schopenhauer and the Highest Good 217

Part III Schopenhauer's Humble Path

7 Schopenhauer and the Moral Gap: the Thing-in-itself, the Will and Beyond 223

1 The Thing-in-itself, the Will and Beyond 223

2 'Beyond' the Doctrine of the Will: 'Knowing' the Thing-in-itself 224

3 The 'Humble Path': a Different Form of 'Knowing' 232

4 Contradiction or Via Negativa? 237

5 The Thing-in-itself and the Road to Salvation 243

Conclusion: Mystery and Paradox 247

8 The Religion of Schopenhauer: Searching for Meaning and Salvation 251

1 Parallel Quests for Meaning and Salvation 252

2 From Agnosis to Humility to Hope: an Explanatory Hypothesis of its Time 254

3 In Search of a Theology? Schopenhauer's Doctrine of the Denial of the Will 260

4 The 'Peace that is Higher than All Reason' 269.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-302) and index.

ISBN:

0754608239

OCLC:

50285015