This volume offers collective exploration of major aspects of Christian Wolff's ethics. It focuses on what is arguably Wolff's most important and influential text on moral philosophy, namely his Rational Thoughts on the Action and Omission of Human Beings for the Promotion of their Happiness, originally published in 1720 and commonly referred to as the German Ethics to distinguish it from his later Latin works on ethics. The contributions cover a range of topics, including the systematic structure of the text itself and the relation between Wolff's ethics and the preceding natural law tradition, and many of the chapters consider the development of the basic tenets of Wolff's moral theory in his later Latin writings. Throughout the volume, special attention is given to the core concepts of Wolff's moral philosophy, such as obligation, perfection, the highest good, and happiness. Other notable topics include Wolff's conception of moral judgment and moral education, as well as the role of psychology and anthropology in his ethical thought. The volume also includes discussion of the influence of Wolff's ethics on subsequent figures such as C.A. Crusius, G.F. Meier, and Kant. As a whole, the volume seeks to show the importance of Wolff's German Ethics within the history of ethics as well as inspire others to engage with his thought.

Moses Mendelssohn, the author of numerous works on natural theology and ethics, was also the first modern philosopher of Judaism. This book places Mendelssohn's thought within the context of the Leibnizian-Wolffian school, the writings of Kant and Lessing and other major figures of the Enlightenment, and within the age-old tradition of Jewish rationalism. More than any previous treatment of this subject, it questions the extent to which Mendelssohn truly succeeded in reconciling his allegiance to the philosophy of the Enlightenment with his adherence to Judaism.

Stefanie Buchenau explores the philosophical and conceptual origins of aesthetics and the philosophy of art.

Over the last two decades, scholarship on Kant and modern German philosophy has become increasingly focused on understanding their historical roots. Central to this development is the work of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-62), whose textbooks profoundly influenced later generations of German philosophers. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), in particular, lectured from Baumgarten's textbooks, including those on moral and legal philosophy, for well over thirty years. Following the recent English translation of Baumgarten's key works, this volume is the first comprehensive reappraisal of the relationship between his and Kant's thoughts on the grounding principles of moral philosophy. The chapters--all written by leading researchers who have shaped or are now reshaping the field--cover the whole range of key concepts in the foundations of practical philosophy: obligation, law, goodness, motivation, imputation, conscience, the relationship between ethics and right, and many more. Later chapters provide a comparative look at Kant's and Baumgarten's place within the wider tradition of natural law. Scholars familiar with the field will discover new perspectives on well-received findings, while newcomers will find a comprehensive introduction to the key topics and debates of current research.

This volume investigates the impact of the Radical Enlightenment on German culture during the eighteenth century, taking recent work by Jonathan Israel as its point of departure. The collection documents the cultural dimension of the debate on the Radical Enlightenment. In a series of readings of known and lesser-known fictional and essayistic texts, individual contributors show that these can be read not only as articulating a conflict between Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment, but also as documents of a debate about the precise nature of Enlightenment. At stake is the question whether the Enlightenment should aim to be an atheist, materialist, and political movement that wants to change society, or, in spite of its belief in rationality, should respect monarchy, aristocracy, and established religion. Contributors are: Mary Helen Dupree, Sean Franzel, Peter Höyng, John A. McCarthy, Monika Nenon, Carl Niekerk, Daniel Purdy, William Rasch, Ann Schmiesing, Paul S. Spalding, Gabriela Stoicea, Birgit Tautz, Andrew Weeks, Chunjie Zhang

The editors, working with a team of 325 renowned authorities in the field of ethics, have revised, expanded and updated this classic encyclopedia. Along with the addition of 150 new entries, all of the original articles have been newly peer-reviewed and revised, bibliographies have been updated throughout, and the overall design of the work has been enhanced for easier access to cross-references and other reference features. New entries include * Cheating * Dirty hands * Gay ethics * Holocaust * Journalism * Political correctness * and many more.

A revised, expanded and updated edition with contributions by 325 renowned authorities in the field of ethics. All of the original articles have been newly peer-reviewed and revised, bibliographies have been updated throughout, and the overall design of the work has been enhanced for easier access to cross-references and other reference features.

Presenting a comprehensive portrayal of the reading of Chinese and Buddhist philosophy in early twentieth-century German thought, Chinese and Buddhist Philosophy in Early Twentieth-Century German Thought examines the implications of these readings for contemporary issues in comparative and intercultural philosophy. Through a series of case studies from the late 19th-century and early 20th-century, Eric Nelson focuses on the reception and uses of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in German philosophy, covering figures as diverse as Buber, Heidegger, and Misch. He argues that the growing intertextuality between traditions cannot be appropriately interpreted through notions of exclusive identities, closed horizons, or unitary traditions. Providing an account of the context, motivations, and hermeneutical strategies of early twentieth-century European thinkers' interpretation of Asian philosophy, Nelson also throws new light on the question of the relation between Heidegger and Asian philosophy. Reflecting the growing interest in the possibility of intercultural and global philosophy, Chinese and Buddhist Philosophy in Early Twentieth-Century German Thought opens up the possibility of a more inclusive intercultural conception of philosophy.

In The Problem of Being Modern, Thomas P. Saine provides a lucid introduction to German thought in the eighteenth century and the struggle of Enlightenment philosophers and writers to come to grips with the profound philosophical and theological implications of new scientific developments since the seventeenth century. He concentrates on those points at which the essential modernity and the secular viewpoint of the Enlightenment conflicted with traditional thought structures rooted in the religious world view that governed attitudes and behavior far into the eighteenth century.

Readership: Readers with an interest in the European Enlightenment; intellectual and cultural historians; scholars and students of philosophy.