Philosophy and the good life : reason and the passions in Greek, Cartesian, and psychoanalytic ethics
Can philosophy enable us to lead better lives through a systematic understanding of our human nature? John Cottingham's thought-provoking study examines the contrasting approaches to this problem found in three major phases of Western philosophy. Starting with attempts of Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics and Epicureans to cope with the recalcitrant forces of the passions, he moves on to examine the fascinating and hitherto little-studied moral psychology of Descartes, and his effort to integrate the physical and emotional aspects of our humanity into a rational blueprint for fulfilment
xiii, 230 pages ; 23 cm
9780521473101, 9780521478908, 0521473101, 0521478901
37353753
Acknowledgements
Notes on references
Introduction
1. Philosophy and how to live
2. Ratiocentric ethics
3. The ethics of science and power
4. Ethics and the challenge to reason
Notes
Bibliography
Index