For as long as humans have pondered philosophical issues, they have contemplated "the good life." Yet most suggestions about how to live a good life rest on assumptions about what the good life actually is. Thomas Carson here confronts that question from a fresh perspective. Surveying the history of philosophy, he addresses first-order questions about what is good and bad as well as metaethical questions concerning value judgments.
Carson considers a number of established viewpoints concerning the good life. He offers a new critique of Mill's and Sidgwick's classic arguments for the hedonistic theory of value, employing thought experiments that invite us to clarify our preferences by choosing between different kinds of lives. He also assesses the desire- or preference-satisfaction theory of value in detail and takes a fresh look at both Nietzsche's Übermensch ideal and Aristotle's theory of the good life.
In exploring foundational questions, Carson observes that many established theories rest on undefended assumptions about the truth of moral realism. Arguing against this stand, he defends the view that "good" means "desirable" and presents a divine-preference version of the desire-satisfaction theory. In this he contends that, if there exists a kind and omniscient God who created the universe, then what is good or bad is determined by His preferences; if such a God does not exist, what is good or bad depends on what we as rational humans desire.
Value and the Good Life is the only book that defends a divine-preference theory of value as opposed to a divine-command theory of right and wrong. It offers a masterfully constructed argument to an age-old question and will stimulate all who seek to know what the good life truly is.
About the Author :
Thomas L. Carson is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University of Chicago, and is co-editor of Morality, Value, and the Good Life.
Review :
"[T]horough and wide-ranging book... Carson's book should be a useful guide to those who share his interest in developing a non-realist theory of value." —Mind
"This is a well-organized, well-informed, and thoughtfully written study of precisely the topics indicated by the title. This is an up-to-date, well-informed, and wide-ranging book. Carson's views are sensible and intelligently defended. Anyone interested in recent work in axiology or metaethics will find the book worthy of careful study." —Ethics
"Value and the Good Life is a very rich work, one that makes significant contributions to several contemporary debates, while also providing insights into the work of key historical figures.... Highly recommended." —Philosophy in Review
