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11Ethics a–ZEdinburgh University Press. 2005.Jacobs introduces the issues, language, concepts and positions central to ethical theorizing. Entries range from antiquity to the present and basic to advance. Cross-referencing allows readers to explore topics in depth. Items explain complex issues of normative ethics, metaethics and moral psychology in non-technical language.
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8Moral Theory and Moral PsychologyIn Jonathan A. Jacobs (ed.), Dimensions of Moral Theory: An Introduction to Metaethics and Moral Psychology, Wiley-blackwell. 2002.This chapter contains section titled: Moral Motivation Virtue and Motivation Self‐interest and Morality What about Luck? Are Moral Considerations Overriding? Where Now? Questions for Discussion and Reflection Thinkers and Their Works, and Further Reading Notes.
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4Objectivity and SubjectivityIn Jonathan A. Jacobs (ed.), Dimensions of Moral Theory: An Introduction to Metaethics and Moral Psychology, Wiley-blackwell. 2002.This chapter contains section titled: Interpretations of Objectivity Monism and Pluralism This Way to Subjectivism Subjectivity and Sentiment Subjectivism and Skepticism Relativism Where Now? Questions for Discussion and Reflection Thinkers and Their Works, and Further Reading Notes.
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7Forms of Moral TheoryIn Jonathan A. Jacobs (ed.), Dimensions of Moral Theory: An Introduction to Metaethics and Moral Psychology, Wiley-blackwell. 2002.This chapter contains section titled: Consequentialism Kantian Non‐consequentialism Intuitionist Non‐consequentialism The Virtue‐centered Approach Contractarianism Theories, Duties, and Metaethics Where Now? Questions for Discussion and Reflection Thinkers and Their Works, and Further Reading Notes.
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ConclusionIn Jonathan A. Jacobs (ed.), Dimensions of Moral Theory: An Introduction to Metaethics and Moral Psychology, Wiley-blackwell. 2002.The prelims comprise: Half Title Title Copyright Contents Preface Acknowledgments.
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10Naturalism and Non‐NaturalismIn Jonathan A. Jacobs (ed.), Dimensions of Moral Theory: An Introduction to Metaethics and Moral Psychology, Wiley-blackwell. 2002.This chapter contains section titled: Naturalism The Modern Debate about Naturalism Reconstructed Naturalism Non‐cognitivist Alternatives Hume and Naturalism Reconnecting Facts and Values Aristotle and Naturalism Moral Facts and Explanation What about God? Where Now? Questions for Discussion and Reflection Thinkers and Their Works, and Further Reading Notes.
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1Moral agency in Eastern and Western thought: perspectives on crafting character (edited book)Routledge. 2025.This volume explores how individuals use moral agency to craft the moral dispositions and moral capabilities needed for living well-lived lives. It draws on Eastern and Western philosophical and ethical traditions to formulate and address key issues concerning character development and moral agency. In both Eastern and Western traditions, the complexities of shaping an individual's moral agency focus on sustained processes of inner self-cultivation. The chapters in this volume highlight the ways…Read more
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34Divine command ethics: Jewish and Christian perspectives. By Michael J. HarrisHeythrop Journal 49 (3). 2008.
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26Theism, blame and perfectionHeythrop Journal 41 (2). 2000.Blame and also punishment do not reach many agents in the sense that many agents are not motivated to ethically self‐correct, and in fact, may be worsened by these practices. The main reasons agents may not be reached by them are that the agent's second nature may make inaccessible to him a sound appreciation of ethical considerations, and the fixity of mature character may make ethical self‐correction practically impossible. Still, when they are ethically rationalized, blame and punishment seem…Read more
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26Saadia GaonIn H. Lagerlund (ed.), Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy, Springer. pp. 1171--1173. 2011.
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18A Contest of Wills (review)Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 3 (2). 2002.Jonathan Jacobs reviews The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand, in which David Kelley responds to Objectivists who refuse to dialogue with libertarians, and examines the debate among Objectivists over the interpretation of Rand's thinking. Kelley argues that Rand presents crucial insights and claims and that these need to be developed and elaborated and not viewed as a fixed doctrine. Jacobs focuses on where Kelley situates himself among Objectivists, and raises critical concerns about the effectivene…Read more
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4“Forgiveness and Perfection,”In David Konstan Charles Grisowld (ed.), Ancient Forgiveness, Cambridge University Press. 2013.A study of the ways Maimonides and Aquinas both borrow from Aristotle and depart from him, in regard to the issue of forgiveness. The paper explicates moral-psychological issues and normative issues, connecting them to the perfectionism of the philosophical anthropology shared by the three thinkers. The theistic commitments of Maimonides and Aquinas ground important departures from Aristotle regarding the possibility of moral change and regarding moral relations between persons.
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9Tradition, rationality, and moral life : medieval Judaism's insightIn Judaic Sources and Western Thought: Jerusalem's Enduring Presence, Oxford University Press. pp. 127. 2011.
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Character, punishment, and the liberal orderIn Alberto Masala & Jonathan Mark Webber (eds.), From Personality to Virtue: Essays on the Philosophy of Character, Oxford University Press Uk. 2016.
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Moral education, skills of civility, and virtue in the public sphereIn James Arthur (ed.), Virtues in the Public Sphere: Citizenship, Civic Friendship and Duty, Routledge Press. 2018.
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19The Routledge Handbook of Criminal Justice Ethics (edited book)Routledge. 2016.The enormous financial cost of criminal justice has motivated increased scrutiny and recognition of the need for constructive change, but what of the ethical costs of current practices and policies? Moreover, if we seriously value the principles of liberal democracy then there is no question that the ethics of criminal justice are everybody’s business, concerns for the entire society. _The Routledge Handbook of Criminal Justice Ethics_ brings together international scholars to explore the most s…Read more
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21Judaic Sources and Western Thought: Jerusalem's Enduring Presence (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2011.The essays in this volume bring into relief the distinctly Judaic origins of many of them and explicate how they remain valuable resources for moral and ...
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5MaimonidesIn James Fieser & Bradley Dowden (eds.), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge. 2011.
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40The Epistemology of Moral TraditionReview of Metaphysics 64 (1): 55-74. 2010.An explication of the Maimonidean view that tradition--even when anchored in revelation---can be a mode of access to rationally justified moral requirements. The discussion focuses on the mutually reinforcing roles of enlarging understanding on the one hand, and engagement in practice on the other. Deepened understanding of the 'reasons for the commandments' can motivate commitment to practice, which in turn can aid in deepening understanding.
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46Why Is Virtue Naturally Pleasing?Review of Metaphysics 49 (1): 21-48. 1995.A great deal is compressed into this passage; pleasure is associated in important ways with our nature; it has a crucial role in moral education; we can be pleased and displeased correctly or incorrectly, and this has a place in making character; and pleasure is something that matters all through a human life. Some of the themes are introduced and discussed at earlier places in the Ethics; some receive fuller treatment in book 10. The idea that some things are naturally pleasant and that the vir…Read more
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37Punishing Society: Incarceration, Coercive Corruption, and the Liberal PolityCriminal Justice Ethics 33 (3): 200-219. 2014.Criminal justice in the United States is beset with several serious problems and challenges. While the issues are not entirely unique to the U.S. and can be found to some extent in other liberal de...
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7Note from the EditorCriminal Justice Ethics 40 (2): 85-85. 2021.As mentioned in the April 2021 issue of the journal, we are including some articles on Artificial Intelligence and ethics, and computer technology and ethics more broadly. In February 2020, the Ins...
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15Note from the EditorCriminal Justice Ethics 40 (1): 1-1. 2021.In this issue of the journal and in the August 2021 issue we are including some articles concerning Artificial Intelligence and ethics, and computer technology and ethics more broadly. Developments...
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6EditorialCriminal Justice Ethics 32 (3): 185-186. 2013.Criminal Justice Ethics publishes articles by authors in different disciplines and areas of specialization. The journal reaches across several disciplinary boundaries and its contents are evidence...
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40Some Remarks on Criminology and Moral PhilosophyCriminal Justice Ethics 38 (3): 198-220. 2019.Recent developments in philosophy and in criminology indicate that there are significant respects in which the two disciplines can be mutually informing. Many philosophers are increasingly interested in exploring empirical aspects of philosophical claims, and criminologists are finding their way past the alleged fact/value distinction and are rediscovering the moral significance of facts, especially regarding punishment and desistance. In some recent criminological studies there are implicit lin…Read more
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16Note From the EditorCriminal Justice Ethics 32 (1): 19-19. 2013.Gordon Lloyd's article takes up issues of constitutional interpretation by the Supreme Court, examining the arguments in some key, early Court decisions. The discussion does not address criminal ju...
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32Aristotle and MaimonidesAmerican Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 76 (1): 145-163. 2002.Maimonides uses Aristotelian philosophical idiom to articulate his moral philosophy, but there are fundamental differences between his and Aristotle’s conceptions of moral psychology and the nature of the moral agent. The Maimonidean conception of volition and its role in repentance and ethical self-correction are quite un-Aristotelian. The relation between this capacity to alter one’s character and the accessibility of ethical requirements given in the Law is explored. This relation helps expla…Read more
Areas of Specialization
Meta-Ethics |
Philosophy of Law |
Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Meta-Ethics |
Philosophy of Law |
Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy |