''The Theory of Good and Evil'' is a 1907 book about

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

by the English philosopher

Hastings Rashdall Hastings Rashdall (24 June 1858 – 9 February 1924) was an English philosopher, Theology, theologian, historian, and Anglican priest. He expounded a theory known as Utilitarianism#Ideal utilitarianism, ideal utilitarianism, and he was a maj ...

. The book, which has been compared to the philosopher

G. E. Moore George Edward Moore (4 November 1873 – 24 October 1958) was an English philosopher, who with Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein and earlier Gottlob Frege was among the initiators of analytic philosophy. He and Russell began de-emphasizing ...

's ''

Principia Ethica ''Principia Ethica'' is a book written in 1903 by British philosopher G. E. Moore. Moore questions a fundamental pillar of ethics, specifically what the definition of "good" is. He concludes that "good" is indefinable because any attempts to do ...

'' (1903), is Rashdall's best known work, and is considered his most important philosophical work. Some commentators have suggested that, compared to ''Principia Ethica'', it has been unfairly neglected.

Summary

''The Theory of Good and Evil'' is dedicated to Rashdall's teachers, the philosophers Thomas Hill Green and

Henry Sidgwick Henry Sidgwick (; 31 May 1838 – 28 August 1900) was an English Utilitarianism, utilitarian philosopher and economist and is best known in philosophy for his utilitarian treatise ''The Methods of Ethics''. His work in economics has also had a ...

. In the work, Rashdall discusses ethics; Rashdall states that the work is designed mainly to meet the needs of undergraduate philosophy students. Subjects addressed include

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...

, the work of the philosopher

, including ''Principia Ethica'', the work of the philosopher F. H. Bradley, and

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Ch ...

. In his second volume, he deals with potential objections to his views.

Publication history

''The Theory of Good and Evil'' was first published by the

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

in 1907. In 2004, it was republished by Elibron Classics.

Reception

''The Theory of Good and Evil'' is Rashdall's best known work, and is considered his most important philosophical work. The philosopher Richard Wollheim described the book as "a compendious work marred by priggishness". The philosopher Alan Stout argued that while it "made no distinctively original contribution to ethics", it was one of the best general introductions to the subject written before the development of

meta-ethics In metaphilosophy and ethics, metaethics is the study of the nature, scope, ground, and meaning of moral judgment, ethical belief, or values. It is one of the three branches of ethics generally studied by philosophers, the others being normativ ...

and the application of philosophical analysis to ethics. He praised Rashdall's "through and comprehensive" treatment of ethics, and his use of "illuminating expositions and criticisms of theories of classical moral philosophers". The philosophers

John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral philosophy, moral, legal philosophy, legal and Political philosophy, political philosopher in the Modern liberalism in the United States, modern liberal tradit ...

and

Thomas Hurka Thomas Hurka (born 1952) is a Canadian philosopher who holds the Jackman Distinguished Chair in Philosophical Studies at the University of Toronto and who taught previously, from 1978 to 2002, at the University of Calgary. Education and career ...

have compared Rashdall's ethical views to those of Moore; the philosopher R. S. Downie maintained that Rashdall had been "unfairly eclipsed as a moral philosopher" by Moore. Hurka suggested that because ''The Theory of Good and Evil'' was published four years after ''Principia Ethica'', it was unfairly neglected, despite presenting a more extensive treatment of some subjects. He considered Rashdall's most important contribution to be "to show how virtue can be valued intrinsically within a consequentialist framework". The philosopher Daniel Shannon criticized Rashdall's evaluation of Christian theology in ''The Theory of Good and Evil''.

References

Bibliography

;Books * * * * * * * ;Journals * 1907 non-fiction books Books by Hastings Rashdall Contemporary philosophical literature English-language non-fiction books English non-fiction books Ethics books Works about utilitarianism Clarendon Press books {{ethics-book-stub

Summary

Publication history

Reception

See also

References

Bibliography