God and Morality A Philosophical History

History itself can affect the evolution of ideas. God and Morality evaluates the ethical theories of four principle philosophers, Aristotle, Duns Scotus, Kant, and R.M. Hare. While focusing ethical theory on the options of virtue, will, duty, and consequence, Hare keeps a careful eye on the larger context in which the philosopher's thoughts belong, presenting their work as a map through the historical advancement of ethical thought during four great periods in western philosophical history. This text also defies traditional modes of comparisons between the philosopher's by focusing attention not on the differences in their thought, but on the genuine similarities that exist among them. Additionally, an emphasis is put on the often circumvented relationship between each of the philosophers and theism.

John E. Hare is Noah Porter Professor of Philosophical Theology at Yale University. His books include The Moral Gap (1996), God's Call (2001), and Why Bother Being Good? (2002). He has also written on Greek philosophy, international relations, Kant, evolutionary ethics, and biomedical ethics.