W. J. Mander examines the nature of idealist ethics: the form and content of ethical belief most typically adopted by philosophical idealists. He identifies a tradition of idealist ethics, before going on to argue that such an approach offers an attractive way of looking at moral questions and has much to contribute to contemporary discussion.

• PART I


• 1: What Is Idealism?


• 2: The Notion of Idealist Ethics


• Part II


• 3: Idealism and the Fact-Value Distinction (I)


• 4: Idealism and the Fact-Value Distinction (II)


• Part III


• 5: The Argument from Value and Valuing


• 6: The Kantian Argument from Autonomy


• 7: The Axiarchic Argument


• 8: Teleology


• 9: The Heart of Idealist Meta-Ethics


• Part IV


• 10: Idealist Hedonism


• 11: Idealism and the Will


• 12: Idealism and Self-Realization


• Part V


• 13: The Ethics of Idealization


• 14: The Ideal and the Real


• Part VI


• 15: Idealism and Altruism


• 16: Idealism, Society, and Community


• Part VII


• 17: Idealism and Free Will


• 18: Idealism and Holism


• 19: The Idealistic View of the Universe


• Bibliography


• Index

W. J. Mander is Professor of the History of Modern Philosophy at Oxford University, where he is also a Fellow of Harris Manchester College. He was educated at University College London and Corpus Christi College Oxford. His main area of research is the British Idealists, although he is also interested in Early Modern Philosophy and Nineteenth Century Philosophy in general.