In Defense of Westermarck

Stroup, Timothy

doi:10.1353/hph.2008.0251

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Westermarck's writings also include questions typically examined in philosophical meta-ethics, such as the analysis of moral concepts and the truth-value of moral judgements. However, as Stroup (1981) puts it, he approached ethics primarily 'from the standpoint of a sociologist observing an empirical phenomenon' (p. 217).…”

Section: Ethics As Social Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many philosophers during the twentieth century have read Westermarck as aiming to offer an analysis of the meaning and logical relations of moral concepts. However, this kind of interpretation tends to distort the nature of Westermarck's approach (Stroup, 1981;Salmela, 2003). Instead of analysing moral concepts from the logical and semantic perspective of analytical philosophy, Westermarck aimed at providing a genetic account of how these terms arise and come to be used (Stroup, 1981, p. 225).…”

Section: The Emotional Basis Of Moral Judgementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…19,emphasis added) This brings us back to Westermarck's thesis of objectification discussed in Chapter 3. His account is conspicuously indebted to Hume (Stroup, 1981(Stroup, , 1984. 32 Hume argues famously that 'the mind has a great propensity to spread itself on external objects' (T, p. 167) and that we 'gild' and 'stain' actions and character traits 'with the colours borrowed from internal sentiment' (E, p. 294).…”

Section: Moral Subjectivism and Objectificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scholarship on Westermarck's work on morality has been largely concerned with the moral-philosophical aspects and broader historical contexts of his thought (Stroup, 1981(Stroup, , 1982a(Stroup, , 1982bIhanus, 1999;Kronqvist, 2014;. This study examines Westermarck's theory of morality as a contribution to the social sciences and introduces his scholarly legacy to an audience which remains largely unfamiliar with his work.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…79-80);Wolf (1995, p. 509). 19 On these themes in Westermarck, seeStroup (1981). As regards von Wright's comment on Westermarck's 'rediscovery' of Hume's moral philosophy, JamesHarris (2005) summarises the reception of Hume's moral theory in British moral philosophy by noting that 'little of interest is said about it in the nineteenth century'.…”

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Morality Made Visible

Pipatti¹

2019

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While highly respected among evolutionary scholars, the sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher Edward Westermarck is now largely forgotten in the social sciences. This book is the first full study of his moral and social theory, focusing on the key elements of his theory of moral emotions as presented in The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas and summarised in Ethical Relativity. Examining Westermarck's evolutionary approach to the human mind, the author introduces important new themes to scholarship on Westermarck, including the pivotal role of emotions in human reciprocity, the evolutionary origins of human society, social solidarity, the emergence and maintenance of moral norms and moral responsibility. With attention to Westermarck's debt to David Hume and Adam Smith, whose views on human nature, moral sentiments and sympathy Westermarck combined with Darwinian evolutionary thinking, Morality Made Visible highlights the importance of the theory of sympathy that lies at the heart of Westermarck's work, which proves to be crucial to his understanding of morality and human social life. A rigorous examination of Westermarck's moral and social theory in its intellectual context, this volume connects Westermarck's work on morality to classical sociology, to the history of evolutionism in the social and behavioural sciences, and to the sociological study of morality and emotions, showing him to be the forerunner of modern evolutionary psychology and anthropology. In revealing the lasting value of his work in understanding and explaining a wide range of moral phenomena, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology and psychology with interests in social theory, morality and intellectual history.

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Section: Ethics As Social Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Emotional Basis Of Moral Judgementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Moral Subjectivism and Objectificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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