The Ethics of Deference
Subtitle: Learning from Law's Morals (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Law)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: November 18, 2002
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 206
ISBN-13: 9780521810470
Subjects: Social & political philosophy; Philosophy; Ethics (Specific Aspects); Rule of law; General; Natural Law; Philosophy / General; Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Law and ethics; Obedience (Law)
First sentence: When we say of someone, "He has the morals of...(an animal) (a saint)," we engage in a commonsense way in the same activity that sociologists pursue in a professional way: (1) we construct from the description of a person's behavior the implicit normative principles that guide the person's actions; (2) we separate the descriptive parts of an inquiry (what are the principles guiding the behavior?) from the ultimate evaluative issue (should this person's morals be approved/condemned?).