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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.