ABSTRACT

Published in 2001, Ethics and Reality presents a new collection of Jenny Teichman's most important essays across a wide spectrum of ethical issues. Teichman explores a range of human problems including: war and peace, tyranny and terrorism, sex and gender and life and death. Focusing particularly on philosophical scepticism and reality, Teichman argues that if scepticism is irrefutable then ethical reasoning has no connection with reality and what look like genuine human dilemmas must be purely imaginary. The essays in the first part of this book are intended to show that scepticism can be rebutted; those in the second and third sections exemplify the application of moral reasoning to inescapable quandaries.

part I|2 pages

Against Scepticism

chapter Chapter 1|4 pages

Sceptics and scepticism

chapter Chapter 2|2 pages

Berkeley’s incompatible predicates

chapter Chapter 3|9 pages

Nietzsche and scepticism

chapter Chapter 4|7 pages

Richard Rorty and the philosophy of We

chapter Chapter 5|9 pages

Deconstruction and aerodynamics

chapter Chapter 6|4 pages

An empiricist dream

chapter Chapter 7|2 pages

A false pregnancy

chapter Chapter 8|6 pages

Nihilism refuted? Wilson’s attempt

chapter Chapter 9|3 pages

Thomas Nagel’s last word

chapter Chapter 10|3 pages

Susan Haack: on the side of truth

chapter Chapter 11|5 pages

The flights of the enchanter

chapter Chapter 12|3 pages

The Niagara of philosophy

chapter Chapter 13|3 pages

Moral truth and moral tradition

part II|2 pages

Ethics and Reality: Sex and Gender, Life and Death

chapter Chapter 14|5 pages

Sex and gender

chapter Chapter 15|8 pages

The intellectual capacity of David Stove

chapter Chapter 16|9 pages

Intention and sex

chapter Chapter 17|8 pages

Illegitimacy and literature

chapter Chapter 18|6 pages

Love on the couch

chapter Chapter 19|10 pages

‘The grisly science of embryo cloning’

chapter Chapter 20|8 pages

Bio-ethics and utility

chapter Chapter 21|8 pages

The false philosophy of Peter Singer

chapter Chapter 22|7 pages

Free speech and the public platform

chapter Chapter 23|7 pages

The uses and abuses of philosophy

chapter Chapter 24|10 pages

What is sacred?

chapter Chapter 25|8 pages

Life and its meanings

part III|2 pages

Ethics and Reality: Tyranny and Terrorism, War and Peace

chapter Chapter 26|4 pages

Politicians

chapter Chapter 27|5 pages

On Hannah Arendt

chapter Chapter 28|6 pages

‘Your terrorist is my freedom fighter’

chapter Chapter 29|10 pages

How to define terrorism

chapter Chapter 30|11 pages

The just war