Tag: Demands

Free Download Descartes on the Human Soul: Philosophy and the Demands of Christian Doctrine By C. F. Fowler O.P. (auth.)
1999 | 442 Pages | ISBN: 9401060177 | PDF | 21 MB
The author’s aim of providing an understanding of the development, content and presentation of two aspects of Descartes’ philosophy of the human soul – immortality and body-soul union – has been achieved and executed with rigour, scholarship and philosophical acuity. Fowler combines close textual analysis with a consideration of the philosophical arguments and the theological background against which these arguments were developed. This contextual approach enables him to provide new insights into the nature of Descartes’ philosophy, and indeed of early modern philosophy more generally. Despite the massive scholarly documentation, this finely structured and clearly written study is eminently readable. The work is a significant contribution to the world of Cartesian scholarship which professors and graduate students of Descartes, as well as the world’s libraries, must have.

Free Download Liam B. Murphy, "Moral Demands in Nonideal Theory"
English | 2003 | pages: 179 | ISBN: 0195171950, 0195079760 | PDF | 9,2 mb
Is there a limit to the legitimate demands of morality? In particular, is there a limit to people’s responsibility to promote the well-being of others, either directly or via social institutions? Utilitarianism admits no such limit, and is for that reason often said to be an unacceptably demanding moral and political view. In this original new study, Murphy argues that the charge of excessive demands amounts to little more than an affirmation of the status quo. The real problem with utilitarianism is that it makes unfair demands on people who comply with it in our world of nonideal compliance. Murphy shows that this unfairness does not arise on a collective understanding of our responsibility for others’ well being. Thus, according to Murphy, while there is no general problem to be raised about the extent of moral demands, there is a pressing need to acknowledge the collective nature of the demands of beneficence.