Empirical Realism: Meaning and the Generative Foundation of Morality

by David Clark

Overview

"Only in the darkest of hours will a few seriously entertain the haunting possibility, almost unthinkable, that at the end of the day our best sense of the world, and of what is abidingly good, is an error." Does then the universe really have a guiding moral structure which is at once integral to the quality of human life? Empirical Realism is Clark's sustained, challenging and original argument for moral realism, one which not only provides the badly needed account of normativity—of what it is exactly that constitutes genuine moral obligation—but which also anchors that account within a comprehensive philosophical theory. The author's position, rigorously developed and defended, provides a trek through issues central to classical and contemporary philosophy. Masterfully navigating his readers through the global realism/antirealism debate in Parts I and II, his erudition—sensitive yet unflinching—knows no shortcuts. David Clark's first book goes on to show how intrinsic value, a value which is inherent and not conferred, is the independently real feature which both generates obligation and is the ground by which it is to be honored. This three-Part text has direct implications for metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, value theory, environmental ethics, and moral theory generally.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739107669
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	11/25/2003
Pages:	417
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.42(d)

About the Author

David K. Clark is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Montana. Specializing in ethics, metaphysics and philosophy of mind-with an emphasis on literature and film-he teaches both philosophy and liberal studies on a part-time basis.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction and Overview Chapter 2 In Search of the World Well Lost: Realism vs Antirealism Chapter 3 The Midas Touch: The Enigma of Empiricism and the Dogma of Pragmatism Chapter 4 Harnessing the Midas Touch: The World Recovered Chapter 5 Psychological Meaning: Intrinsic to Internal Processes? Chapter 6 Enjoying Your Experience and Having It Too Chapter 7 The Transition to Morality Chapter 8 The Face of Moral Realism Chapter 9 Moral Realism Under Fire Chapter 10 No Exit: The Exclusive Disjunction Chapter 11 The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Monism vs Pluralism Chapter 12 Beyond Focal Things and Practices Chapter 13 Dignity of Meaning and Being Chapter 14 Adjudication: Convergence and Vision

Editorial Reviews

Very few philosophers would take on the scope and reach of this volume. Fewer would manage the task with as much eloquence and elegance as David Clark. Spanning a range of integrated topics in metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and ethics, Clark offers a highly novel and spirited defense of realism which includes substantive discussion of core issues in philosophy of technology and environmental ethics—two topics not usually covered in such conversations. This book will surely thrill some and outrage others. Whatever one's response, the ride Clark takes us on with this ambitious volume is well worth the trip.

Andrew Light

David Clark's book is an ambitious and far-reaching defense of a robust form of moral realism. Overall Clark's book engages the contemporary analytic literature in a wide range of key areas, including the latest work on moral realism. His position is novel and challenging, rooted in an abiding respect for our everyday moral experience, yet at the same time sensitive to the ways in which that experience can be corrupted or distorted by culture and moral tradition. His sensibilities are poetic, and his account of the dignity we can discover in the objects of everyday experience is courageous and powerful.

Gregory Velazco y Trianosky

David Clark takes up Richard Sylvan's famous challenge to create a new environmental ethic....Additionally, his identification of prohibitions against the destruction of a rich life and the infliction of horrifying experience upon another being seem promising normative principles for the treatment of human and non-human others and go some way towards solving the anthropocentrism problem. As well, those interested in the possibilities for a Heideggerian ethics will find valuable material for reflection here.

Richard Matthews

David Clark's book is an ambitious and far-reaching defense of a robust form of moral realism. Overall Clark's book engages the contemporary analytic literature in a wide range of key areas, including the latest work on moral realism. His position is novel and challenging, rooted in an abiding respect for our everyday moral experience, yet at the same time sensitive to the ways in which that experience can be corrupted or distorted by culture and moral tradition. His sensibilities are poetic, and his account of the dignity we can discover in the objects of everyday experience is courageous and powerful.--Gregory Velazco y Trianosky, California State University

David Clark takes up Richard Sylvan's famous challenge to create a new environmental ethic....Additionally, his identification of prohibitions against the destruction of a rich life and the infliction of horrifying experience upon another being seem promising normative principles for the treatment of human and non-human others and go some way towards solving the anthropocentrism problem. As well, those interested in the possibilities for a Heideggerian ethics will find valuable material for reflection here.--Richard Matthews, Mount Allison University

Very few philosophers would take on the scope and reach of this volume. Fewer would manage the task with as much eloquence and elegance as David Clark. Spanning a range of integrated topics in metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and ethics, Clark offers a highly novel and spirited defense of realism which includes substantive discussion of core issues in philosophy of technology and environmental ethics--two topics not usually covered in such conversations. This book will surely thrill some and outrage others. Whatever one's response, the ride Clark takes us on with this ambitious volume is well worth the trip.--Andrew Light, New York University

From the Publisher