Description
Book SynopsisShortlisted for 2004 Saskatchewan Book Award: Best Scholarly Writing
What is a hypocrite? What role does hypocrisy play in our lives? Why is it thought to be such an ugly vice? Is it ever acceptable? What do we lose in our indifference to it?
Hypocrisy: Ethical Investigations seeks to illuminate the concept of hypocrisy by exploring its multiple roles in our moral and political lives and struggles. The authors provide a critical examination of a wide range of perspectives on the nature, varieties, and significance of hypocrisy, arguing that it is a key concept in the investigation of the field of morality in general, including its moralizing excesses.
Trade Review“The pervasiveness and power of the charge of hypocrisy make it one of the most shared concepts in both historical and contemporary moral experience. At the same time hypocrisy has been a surprisingly unattended and underdeveloped area of moral discourse. With one thoughtful and thorough treatise Szabados and Soifer have not only wonderfully remedied a very serious shortcoming within moral philosophy, but they have produced the seminal work on what promises to be a fresh and important discussion in ethical theory and applied ethics alike.” ― Michael Nelson, University of Idaho
“Szabados and Soifer are to be congratulated for a fine intellectual collaboration. They proceed with clarity, gentleness and an admirably unhurried and untechnical use of argument and observation. It is a joy to find moral seriousness and the enjoyment of intellectual pursuits so harmoniously combined.” ― Terence Penelhum, University of Calgary
“I have read Hypocrisy with much pleasure and enlightenment. In an age dominated by ‘spin,’ a sane and subtle account of hypocrisy is much needed. One emerges from the book with a deeper appreciation of the authentic moral life, of its challenges and its rewards.” ― Roger Shiner, Okanagan University College
“A pleasure to read, this book will engage nonprofessional philosophers while also offering insights to philosophers.” ― M.A. Michael, Austin Peay State University
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Introduction
PART I: ORIGINS, METHOD, AND CASES
- Historical Sketch of a Concept
- Remarks on Method
- A Catalogue of Cases
PART II: MORAL THEORY
- Virtue Ethics: Hypocrisy After Aristotle
- Consequentialism and Hypocrisy
- Kant and Hypocrisy
- Egoism and Hypocrisy
PART III: PRIVACY, TOLERANCE, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
- Politics and Hypocrisy
- Privacy and Hypocrisy
- Tolerance and Hypocrisy
- Double Standards and Equality
PART IV: DECEPTION: ASPECTS AND ROLES
- Hypocrisy and Deception
- Self-Deceptive Hypocrisies: The Complacent, the Self-Righteous, and the Cynical
- Hypocrisy, Change of Mind, and Weakness of Will
PART V: IRONY, HYPOCRISY, AND SOCRATES
- Irony and Hypocrisy
- The Complex Figure of Socrates
- Socrates, Style, and Us
Concluding Reflections
Select Bibliography
Index
