Materialist ethics and life-value / Jeff Noonan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Noonan, Jeff.

Series:

McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Ideas

McGill-Queen's studies in the history of ideas ; 56

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethics.

Materialism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (251 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Current patterns of global economic activity are not only unsustainable, but unethical - this claim is central to Materialist Ethics and Life-Value. Grounding the definition of ethical value in the natural and social requirements of life-support and life-development shared by all human beings, Jeff Noonan provides a new way of understanding the universal conception of "the good life." Noonan argues that the true crisis affecting the world today is not sluggish rates of economic growth but the model of measuring economic and social health in terms of money-value. In response, he develops an alternative understanding of good societies where the breadth and depth of life-activity and enjoyment are dependent on dominant institutions. The more social institutions satisfy the necessary requirements of human life, the more they empower each person to develop and enjoy the capacities that make human life valuable and meaningful. A well-reasoned synthesis of traditional philosophical concerns and contemporary critiques of global capitalism, this book is a forward-looking treatise that defends political struggle and reconsiders what is most important for a happy life.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""Copyright""; ""Contents""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""INTRODUCTION Ethics and Materialist Philosophy""; ""1 THE HISTORY OF MATERIALIST ETHICS: HEDONISM AND LIFE-REQUIREMENT SATISFACTION""; ""2 MATERIALISM, NATURALISM, AND VALUE""; ""3 MATERIALIST ETHICS AND LIFE-VALUES""; ""PART ONE Materialism, Human Finitude, and Ethics""; ""1 Materialism""; ""1.1 INTRODUCTION: HISTORICAL OUTLINES OF MATERIALIST PHILOSOPHY""; ""1.2 ETHICALLY RELEVANT MATERIALISM AND THE NATURAL UNIVERSE""; ""1.3 MATERIALISM AND HUMAN SOCIETY""; ""2 The Life-Ground of Value in Human Life-Requirements""

""2.1 LIFE, LIFE-REQUIREMENTS, AND THE LIFE-GROUND OF VALUE""""2.2 ORGANIC LIFE-REQUIREMENTS""; ""2.3 SOCIO-CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS OF HUMAN LIFE""; ""2.4 THE TEMPORAL REQUIREMENTS OF FREE HUMAN LIFE""; ""PART TWO Life-Grounded Materialist Ethical Criticism""; ""3 The Emergence of System-Requirements""; ""3.1 SYSTEM-REQUIREMENTS, RULING VALUE SYSTEMS, AND THE COMMON LIFE-INTEREST""; ""3.2 THE HISTORICAL EMERGENCE OF THE CONTRADICTION""; ""3.3 THE PLACE OF HUMAN AGENCY IN THE REPRODUCTION OF CONTRADICTORY SOCIETIES""; ""4 The Life-Blind Logic of Social Expansion""

""4.1 THE CONTRADICTION BETWEEN RULING VALUE SYSTEMS AND LIFE-VALUE IN THE JUSTIFICATION OF COLONIAL DOMINATION""""4.2 SHARED HUMANITY AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCE""; ""5 The Instrumentalization of Life-Value: The Material Irrationality of Global Capitalism""; ""5.1 THE CONFLATION OF LIFE-VALUE AND MONEY-VALUE IN CAPITALISM""; ""5.2 LIFE-VALUE AS END IN ITSELF""; ""5.3 THE INSTRUMENTALIZATION OF HUMAN LIFE-REQUIREMENTS AND CAPACITIES""; ""PART THREE Life-Grounded Materialist Ethics and the Human Good""; ""6 The Human Good as Free Life-Capacity Expression and Enjoyment""

""6.1 GOOD FOR SELF AND GOOD FOR WORLD""""6.2 FREE CAPACITY REALIZATION AND THE GOOD FOR HUMAN BEINGS""; ""6.3 LIFE-VALUE AND THE CAPABILITIES APPROACH TO SOCIAL JUSTICE""; ""CONCLUSION Institutional and Political Implications""; ""Bibliography""; ""Index""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [219]-230) and index.

ISBN:

9780773588103

0773588108

9780773590953

0773590951