Reasons, Rights, and Values

Description

A central concern in recent ethical thinking is reasons for action and their relation to obligations, rights, and values. This collection of recent essays by Robert Audi presents an account of what reasons for action are, how they are related to obligation and rights, and how they figure in virtuous conduct. In addition, Audi reflects in his opening essay on his theory of reasons for action, his common-sense intuitionism, and his widely debated principles for balancing religion and politics. Reasons are shown to be basic elements in motivation, grounded in experience, and crucial for justifying actions and for understanding rights. Audi's clear and engaging essays make these advanced debates accessible to students as well as scholars, and this volume will be a valuable resource for readers interested in ethical theory, political theory, applied ethics, or philosophy of action.

Robert Audi is John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He has published numerous books and papers, including The Good in the Right: A Theory of Intuition and Intrinsic Value (2004), Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision (2006), Moral Value and Human Diversity (2007), Democratic Authority and the Separation of Church and State (2011), Moral Perception (2013), and is Editor-in-Chief of The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 3rd edition (forthcoming, 2015). He is also a past president of the American Philosophical Association and a former editor of the Journal of Philosophical Research.

'Reasons, Rights, and Values is an excellent collection by one of the leading figures in contemporary philosophy. Audi writes with great insight and clarity, advancing our understanding of a broad range of issues in ethics, moral epistemology, and political philosophy.' Mark Timmons, University of Arizona 'This volume brings together twelve well-chosen essays that epitomize the central features in Robert Audi's distinctive moral and political philosophy. The collection, which includes application of Audi's perspectives to the relation between religion and the state, will be eminently useful.' Elizabeth Radcliffe, The College of William and Mary