Transcendental Guilt
Reflections on Ethical Finitude
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Lexington Books
Published:17th Mar '11
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
In Transcendental Guilt: Reflections on Ethical Finitude, Sami Pihlsröm argues that the concept of guilt is fundamental to moral philosophy and to our self-understanding as moral agents. As the author emphasizes the constitutive role played by this concept, or by our capacity to experience the corresponding moral emotion(s), he labels the both ethically and metaphysically fundamental kind of guilt to be discussed transcendental guilt. However, the book does not merely illuminate this specific ethical concept. It also seeks to intensify our understanding of the nature of moral thought itself, especially of the seriousness of the moral point of view. Thus, Transcendental Guilt poses a challenge to our ethical self-conceptions, and also to our philosophical attempts to understand them. This book does not attempt a new ethical theory. Rather, it is critical of the very idea of ethical theory, especially if by ethical theory we mean a systematically organized structure setting us universal or absolute moral norms and principles. Nor does Pihlström engage in metaethical theorizing about the meaning of ethical concepts. Rather, the book engages in moral reflection, which is something significantly broader than (meta)ethical theorizing. In moral reflection, we are not establishing theoretically justified normative principles or constructing theories about the meaning of moral language; instead, we are reflecting on our finite human lives—our lives with other human beings—as presenting us with personal yet fundamental moral demands. Moreover, the moral reflection practiced in the book is both historically informed and philosophically systematic. Scholars, graduate or advanced undergraduate students, and general educated readers interested in fundamental issues in ethics will appreciate the novel perspective presented, which challenges mainstream ideas about moral theories and the foundations of ethical thought.
This is a brave book, taking on a number of unthinkable topics with a human touch. Not only does Sami Pihlström make guilt the foundation stone of morality, but he rethinks guilt in such a way that none of us escape the experience, or should even want to, for to do so would be less than human. Writing on the borderline between philosophy and psychology, the author shows that guilt not only gives meaning to our lives, but that moral guilt is constantly endangered by ethical solipsism and nihilism. Sharing much with Emmanuel Levinas, Pihlström writes with a clarity and style quite remarkable for the philosophical depth and seriousness of the topic. -- C. Fred Alford, University of Maryland, College Park
In this imaginative study, Sami Pihlström argues that the human capacity to feel guilty is constitutive of the possibility of morality. Appropriating insights from Kant, Wittgenstein, Dostoevsky, and Levinas, he argues that guilt is not only an empirical concept but also a transcendental concept that structures ethical seriousness. Although transcendental guilt is related to the concept of original sin, it does not presuppose theological or religious beliefs. Pihlström probes the issues of ethical solipsism, our responsibility to others, and the meaning of life. A highly original, bold, and provocative approach to fundamental questions of morality. -- Richard J. Bernstein, Professor of Philosophy, New School for Social Research
Transcendental Guilt is a rigorous and gripping account of guilt as the moral emotion that is constitutive of the moral point of view. Drawing on the work of Kant, Wittgenstein, Levinas, Gaita, and the American pragmatists, Philstrom forges a compelling and provoking account of one's embeddedness in the 'metaphysically tragic nature of morality' where ethical seriousness demands that one recognize oneself as guilty in the face of the reality of the other. Transcendental Guilt is deeply personal and, at the same time, insightful and informative to the professional philosophical side of any reflective reader struggling to come to grips with the basis of human moral action in an at best difficult world. It is one of those rare books that shifts one's vision and reorients one's understanding of oneself as an ethical agent. -- Kathleen Wallace, Hofstra University
ISBN: 9780739164365
Dimensions: 239mm x 163mm x 17mm
Weight: 376g
144 pages