Ethics and Finitude

Heideggerian Contributions to Moral Philosophy

Edited by Lawrence J. Hatab

Publication date:

24 May 2000

Length of book:

240 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780847696826

This book explores what anyone interested in ethics can draw from Heidegger's thinking. Heidegger argues for the radical finitude of being. But finitude is not only an ontological matter; it is also located in ethical life. Moral matters are responses to finite limit-conditions, and ethics itself is finite in its modes of disclosure, appropriation, and performance. With Heidegger's help, Lawrence Hatab argues that ethics should be understood as the contingent engagement of basic practical questions, such as how should human beings live?

Chapter 1 An Overview of Heidegger's Thought Chapter 2 Language, Pluralism, and Truth Chapter 3 Being-Ethical-in-the-World Chapter 4 Heidegger and Aristotle Chapter 5 Virtue Chapter 6 The Role of Empathy in Ethics Chapter 7 Selfhood, Freedom, and Community Chapter 8 Ethical Existence and Limits

"For the first time, we witness the enormous payoff of an attempt to traverse the interface between ethics and ontology, in a way which is equally compelling to both the Heideggerian specialist and the generalist concerned with the broad spectrum of ethical issues. As such, Hatab's book is unparalleled in its scope and clarity."