banner

Handouts by Michael Taber

 

Here is an annotated list of links to material I've written. I hope that most of this material is true, and, where not true, at least thought provoking. Your comments are welcome.

The Etymology of Happiness, and Some Related Words -- If you want a different word than "happiness" with which to discuss so many important philosophical issues, here is a list of the histories of some alternatives.

The Euthyphro Objection to the Divine Command Theory of Morality -- an explanation of one problem with holding that what's right is right because god wills it.

Moral Relativism and Moral Subjectivism -- a discussion of the reasons for two positions on morality: moral cultural relativism and moral subjectivism, together with some objections to each position.

The Objectivity of Happiness -- some arguments for the apparently absurd position that it's possible to think that you're happy and be mistaken.

On Overtaking Zeno's Paradoxes: Or What's Weird about Infinity and What's Not -- a discussion of four best known paradoxes described by Zeno of Elea, with special attention to the role of the notion of infinity in his Achilles and Arrow paradoxes.

Outline of Ch. II of Mill's Utilitarianism -- a simple outline, using Hackett Publishing Company's edition, by George Sher

Parmenides on Non-Being -- an explanation of the Parmenidean objection to non-being, and the associated reasoning for the view that many claims which we usually take to make perfectly good sense are actually nonsense.

Reading notes for Aristotle selections in Reeve & Miller (2nd edition, Hackett, 2015)

Reading notes for Aristotle selections in Irwin & Fine (Aristotle: Introductory Readings, Hackett, 1996)

Reading notes for Hamlyn’s edition of Aristotle's De Anima -- a running commentary on the selections from this work on the nature of the psyche which appear in the Clarendon Aristotle Series edition, D. W. Hamlyn, translator and commentator:  With a Report on Recent Work and a Revised Bibliography by Christopher Shields: D. W. Hamlyn, Aristotle’s De Anima, Books II and III (Oxford: Clarendon Press; copyright 1993, reprinted 2002)

Reading Notes for Cohen, Curd, & Reeve’s Aristotle's De Anima – similar to the above, a running commentary on the selections from this work on the nature of the psyche which appear in Fine and Irwin's translation, in Cohen, Curd, and Reeve's Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy (Hackett Publishing, 1995). 

Reading Notes for Kant’s Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals -- thoughts to help elucidate the first two sections of this work, using Ellington' translation in the edition from Hackett Publishing.

Reading Notes for Mill's Utilitarianism -- some points to bear in mind in reading chapters II-V of this work.

Reading Notes for Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morals -- some thought questions to accompany reading the first and third essays of this work, using Kaufmann's translation.

Review of Six Recent Books about Nietzsche (1994) -- from the journal Literature and Theology

Some Notes Leading to (and from) Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue -- an overview of both the problem MacIntyre's 1984 (2nd ed.) book sets out to solve and what his solution is. I conclude by posing some objections to his solution.

Some Positions on the Logic of Moral Goodness -- an explanation of the positions of three different schools (emotivists, descriptivists, and Kantians) on similarities and differences among different uses of the word "good" (e.g., "good hammer" and "good person").

Vocabulary Guide for Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek -- a page-by-page guide to Dillard's delightfully obscure terms.


Send me mail:  mstaber at smcm dot edu

Go to Michael Taber's home page.

Go to SMCM's home page.