Brody, Howard.:Placebos and the Philosophy of Medicine: Clinical, Conceptual, and Ethical Issues.
- Paperback 1980, ISBN: 9780226075310
Hardcover
Indianapolis, IN Bobbs-Merrill Educational Publishing, 1969. Paperback First Edition Thus (1969), Seventh Printing (1978). The names of three of the author's of the Critical Essays … More...
Indianapolis, IN Bobbs-Merrill Educational Publishing, 1969. Paperback First Edition Thus (1969), Seventh Printing (1978). The names of three of the author's of the Critical Essays are UNDERLINED IN INK. Else, Very Good+ in Wraps: shows indications of light use: just a touch of wear to the extremities; moderate rubbing to wrapper covers; a former college bookseller's rubber-stamp at the front endpaper and an inventory sticker at the inside of the rear cover; the binding shows the slightest lean, but remains perfectly secure; the text itself is clean. Free of any creases to the covers. Free of creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels, besides the bookseller's noted above. A handsome copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing a couple marks, mild wear, and several minor cosmetic flaws. Flawed, but remains close to 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (8.25 x 5.45 x 1 inches). xii, 318 pages. Introduction, with Critical Essays Edited by Robert Paul Wolff. Translation by Lewis White Beck. Language: English. Weight: 14.5 ounces. First Edition Thus (1969), Seventh Printing (1978).Academic Press Paperback. Essays by Julius Ebbinghaus, George A. Schrader, Lewis White Beck, Paul Dietrichson, Jonathan Harrison, J. Kemp, Robert K. Shope, and Pepita Haezrahi. Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is probably the single most influential work of philosophical ethics since Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. While Kant himself considered this a sort of introduction to ethical thinking, it's come to be his most influential and widely read work on ethics. Despite its length--it's less than a hundred pages--this is a work of remarkable depth and intellectual insight. This isn't an easy work, however. It needs to be read and re-read (and, I suppose, re-read) to be fully understood and appreciated. I've never found Kant as difficult and obscure as his reputation would suggest, but as a writer of philosophical prose he's certainly not to be compared with, say, Hume or Hobbes, Santayana, or Descartes. Still, Kant's ideas in the Groundwork, while subtle and sometimes elusive, are profound and original, and this book is a must-read for anyone interested in philosophical ethics. I should also note that the importance of this book isn't solely historical since there has been a recent resurgence of Kantian moral thinking in the English-speaking world. Kant's aim in the Groundwork is to discover the fundamental principle of morality. In the first section he attempts to derive this fundamental principle from ordinary moral thought. In particular, he attempts to derive this principle from considerations concerning what is unconditionally good. Kant claims that the only thing that is unconditionally good is a good will. Moreover, its goodness is not a matter of the results of acting on a good will; it is good in itself. As a matter of fact, Kant claims that the results of an action done with a good will and the aims and inclinations of the agent with the good will are morally insignificant. What, then, is it to act with a good will? It is, Kant argues, a matter of doing one's duty for duty's sake, regardless of one's feeling and the results of doing so. What is it to act from duty's sake? It is to act from principles that accord with the fundamental principle of morality. And here we get the first formulation of the fundamental principle of morality: act only on maxims that you can consistently will to be universal laws. In other words, if one is unable to will the principle of one's action to become a universal law, the action is morally impermissible. In the second section of the Groundwork Kant attempts to draw the same conclusion from some philosophical points about the nature of duty. He begins by claiming that our knowledge of our duty is a priori and based on the exercise of reason. He then argues that facts about our duties are necessary facts, and that this shows that they must be based on a categorical imperative: that is, that our duties apply to us insofar as we are rational beings, irrespective of the contingent aspects of their nature. And, Kant argues, the one categorical imperative is the fundamental principle of morality mentioned above. He then applies this principle to some examples in order to display just how it grounds our duties in particular cases. The rest of the second section is filled with lots of interesting, albeit abstruse, ideas. First, Kant attempts to ground the categorical imperative in something that is of unconditional worth. What is that something? The existence of rational beings, which, he says, is an end in itself. And this leads to a second formulation of the categorical imperative: (ii) act only in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in the person of yourself or someone else, as an end and never merely as a means. This section also includes a third formulation of the categorical imperative: (iii) act only on maxims that you could will to become universal laws legislated by your own will. This formulation encapsulates Kant's claim that we can achieve autonomy only by acting in accordance with the moral law. Conformity with the moral law does not constrain our freedom since we legislate the moral law for ourselves. The moral law is not forced on us from without; its source is to be found in our own rational nature. Indeed, it is only by acting morally that we are able to achieve genuine freedom by transcending the contingent desires and inclinations that are beyond our control. Beck's translation of Kant's text is fairly clear. Kant's main ideas come through quite well in this translation and the Essays are engaging. , Bobbs-Merrill Educational Publishing, 1969., Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965. Paperback. Acceptable. Oliver A. Johnson. - Ethics. Inexpensive items will ship in an envelope.Softcover bound book.. * * * * * * * * * * {FREE Media Mail Shipping! Images available for any item, just ask. Any images shown next to the listing that have our www.aCastleofBooks.com watermark on them are the exact item you will receive, all other images are for reference only. Free delivery confirmation for domestic orders. Books with Author signatures are guaranteed authentic. We understand collectors needs in terms of accurate grading and proper packaging. We stand behind our descriptions 100%. All items will be shipped securely to insure that they arrive in exactly the same condition in which they left. May have small easily erasable pencil markings on first page. Our Packing Slips do not contain any pricing information so you may order items as Gifts or for Dropship without concern. We ship every Monday, Wednesday & Friday morning. All items subject to prior sale. Why the odd prices? We run a percent discount for our Biblio listings, which insures Biblio has our lowest prices online, but does give odd change.}, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980. Hardback small, good plus condition, jacket blurb laid down front & rear pastedowns. 164 pp. American philosopher-physician examines the placebos, wherein patients sometimes improve when given sham treatment. He firstly constructs a rigorous definition of the placebo (based on case studies), then states his capacity theory, based on language and symbol-taking. He discusses ethical issues in placebo use. One can often elicit a placebo effect without using a placebo proper, thereby avoiding the moral dilemma of deception., University of Chicago Press, 1980<