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Ends Quotes by Allen W. Wood

10 Ends quotes by Allen W. Wood

All Ends quotes Allen W. Wood’s page

Looking for a concise look at how a philosopher treats the notion of finality? Allen W. Wood’s ten remarks gather his insights on endings, offering a focused snapshot that’s easy to digest. It’s a solid starter for readers who want a taste of his analytical style without a deep dive.

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Consequentialist theories begin with a very simple and undoubtedly valid point: Every action aims at a future end, and is seen as…

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In fact people do not know enough about themselves and what is good for them to form a sufficiently definite conception of…

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We cannot predict the effects of our actions, especially our collective actions over generations or centuries, to use instrumental reasoning toward these…

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One rational standard of action is how well it promotes the end it seeks. Another standard is whether it aims at ends…

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Kant does not regard freedom as an item of faith because it is too basic to our agency to be related to…

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Kant considers belief in God and immortality to be items of "faith" because he relates faith to the pursuit of ends -…

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Consequentialist theories pretend that we can set some great big ends (the general happiness, human flourishing), provide ourselves with definite enough conceptions…

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Kant does not think that the silly commandment "universalize your maxims" is the be-all and end-all of ethics or that it provides…

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It is rational to choose the right means to your ends to develop very elegant abstract formal theories of rational choice, and…

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When people think that moral problems can be solved by some simple strategy of calculation, that sets them up for ghastly overreaching.…

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More by Allen W. Wood

For the utilitarian, there is a fact of the matter about the good (the general happiness, or whatever conception of the good the utilitarian…

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No theory about our bodies as mere objects of observation and calculation (as distinct from partners in communicative interaction, assumed to be free) can…

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Kantian ethical theory distinguishes three levels: First, that of a fundamental principle (the categorical imperative, formulated in three main ways in Kant's Groundwork); second,…

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Some empirical feelings, such as sympathy, are indispensable parts of certain moral virtues.

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We commit not only theoretical error but also moral wrong in objectifying ourselves or other rational beings, ignoring their capacities for free action and…

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Kant certainly was sympathetic with the metaphysical tradition of rational theology that he criticized.

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That Hegel's theory is derivative from Fichte's does not prevent it from being strikingly original and of independent value.

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It is sad to witness the persistence in our society of the racism and xenophobia that seems to be a permanent part of our…

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It is rational to choose the right means to your ends to develop very elegant abstract formal theories of rational choice, and then turn…

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We can never prove that we are free or integrate our freedom in any way into our objective conception of the causal order of…

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Kant regards the universalizability test for maxims as focused on a very special sort of situation: one where the agent is tempted to make…

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My own view is that Kant's conception of the duality of the good (morality and happiness, the good of our person and the good…

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