Review Of "Ethics After Babel: The Languages Of Morals And Their Discontents" By J. Stout

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

1-1-1989

Published In

Choice

Abstract

Stout's clear, thoughtful, and spirited examination of the state of the various languages of morals and their discontents should be of interest to readers even mildly curious about what has been written about moral philosophy during the past decade. Except for A. Donagan's The Theory of Morality (CH, Mar '78), which Stout subjects to sustained criticism, all the other scholars discussed--G. Harman, B. Williams, A. MacIntyre, R. Rorty, among others--raise the specter of moral skepticism, nihilism, or relativism. The concessions to each author are balanced by criticisms designed to show that our situation is not so fragmented, so hopelessly chaotic, as they make out. In the last part of this engaging book, Stout aims to move beyond the debate between foundationalists and traditionalists, liberals and communitarians, cognitivists and skeptics in an effort to recover a grounding for rational moral discourse in a pluralist society. While not a seminal work, Stout's accurate exegesis and provocative but fair commentary on contemporary thinking in moral philosophy offer something not only for undergraduates and professional philosophers and moral theologians, but for the interested general reader as well. Highly recommended for all libraries.

Comments

This work is freely available courtesy of Choice Reviews. The review has been reproduced in full in the abstract field.

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