Abstract
Jean-Marie Guyau is an unjustifiably forgotten figure in the history of ethics. This chapter examines Guyau's contribution to moral philosophy in the light of his philosophy of life. It begins by showing how he seeks to ground ethics by focusing on the dynamics of life, notably the trend of life's activity in its aspect of fecundity. It then analyses Guyau's engagement with Kant as the modern thinker who challenged the transcendent positive content of the moral law, and who sought in the individual and his self-legislating capacity a new ground for moral action. The chapter also examines Guyau's critique of a morality of pleasure from the perspective of his philosophy of life in showing that, for Guyau, hedonists and utilitarians mistakenly focus on the end of moral action and neglect its efficient cause: life itself.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Oxford Handbook of Modern French Philosophy |
Editors | Daniel Whistler, Mark Sinclair |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Chapter | 9 |
Pages | 138-150 |
Number of pages | 13 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780198914587 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780198841869 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 16 Jul 2024 |
Keywords
- Anomy
- Ethics
- Fecundity
- Moral variability
- Philosophy of life