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All for the Good
Author(s) -
Oderberg David S.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
philosophical investigations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.172
H-Index - 14
eISSN - 1467-9205
pISSN - 0190-0536
DOI - 10.1111/phin.12070
Subject(s) - immorality , morality , metaphysics , epistemology , orientation (vector space) , philosophy , moral evil , good and evil , corollary , perspective (graphical) , set (abstract data type) , computer science , mathematics , artificial intelligence , geometry , pure mathematics , programming language
The Guise of the Good thesis has received much attention since Anscombe's brief defence in her book Intention . I approach it here from a less common perspective ‐ indirectly, via a theory explaining how it is that moral behaviour is even possible. After setting out how morality requires the employment of a fundamental test, I argue that moral behaviour involves orientation toward the good. Immoral behaviour cannot, however, involve orientation to evil as such, given the theory of evil as privation. There must always be orientation to good of some kind for immorality even to be possible. Evil can, nevertheless, be intended, but this must be carefully understood in terms of the metaphysic of good and evil I set out. Given that metaphysic, the Guise of the Good is a virtual corollary.