[...]... 2002), and Konkrete Ethik: Grundlagen der Natur- und Kulturethik (Suhrkamp, 2004) This page intentionally left blank Introduction Christopher Gill Scholarly Context: Debate about Ancient and Modern Ethics This volume of new essays discusses issues in ancient and modern philosophy about the nature and grounding of ethical norms and concepts, including virtue, and, in particular, the idea that ethics. .. importance in the second part Outline of the Volume Issues in Ancient and Modern Theory: The Nature and Grounding of Ethical Norms There are two main issues in the first part of the volume One is that of the overall shape of ethical theory and the nature of ethical concepts in ancient and modern philosophy (Chapters 1–3) The other is that of the grounding of ethical norms, including virtue, especially the question... The Nature and Grounding of Ethical Norms, the chapters examine subjects which figure in both ancient and modern theory or focus directly on the relationship between ancient and modern ideas In the second part, Readings in Ancient Philosophy: Ethical Virtue and Objective Knowledge, the chapters offer new interpretations of specific features of ancient theories, ranging from Socrates to Alexander of Aphrodisias... consists, essentially, in commentary on that tradition, Sharples argues that it also makes some important independent moves within the debate and in that way enlarges our understanding of ancient arguments for ethical objectivity PART I Issues in Ancient and Modern Theory The Nature and Grounding of Ethical Norms This page intentionally left blank 1 In What Sense are Ancient Ethical Norms Universal? Christopher... that a complete Introduction 11 understanding of the good would depend on the integrated understanding of logic (including what is now known as ‘semantics’), ethics, and physics Readings in Ancient Philosophy: Ethical Virtue and Objective Knowledge The chapters in this part of the volume offer fresh and challenging interpretations of the ethical theories of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the Aristotelian... Pyrrhonian and Academic Sceptics (on which, see Algra et al 1999: 241–59, 323–51) 28 Heinaman (1995) on Aristotle and ‘moral realism’ is a particularly relevant earlier treatment 23 Introduction 9 breaks new ground, raising original questions and offering searching and sustained analyses of salient issues in this connection This volume is subdivided into two parts In the first part, Issues in Ancient and Modern. .. of interpersonal emotions, such as Kant’s theory and Stoicism, recognize a role for manners as an index of underlying attitude and character, a point illustrated especially in Seneca’s On Doing Kindnesses (de Beneficiis) The next two chapters explore questions about the grounding of virtue ethics, in both modern and ancient versions Ludwig Siep asks what kind of objectivity can be attributed to virtue. .. both within ancient thought and among modern interpreters In the Platonic dialogues, for instance, there are several, rather different, ways in which the understanding of happiness and virtue is presented as dependent on, or integrated with, knowledge of reality in a universal form In the Republic, the stress falls on the idea that practical ethical and political expertise must be grounded in knowledge... ‘nature’, in some sense (Chapters 4–7) The volume begins with three chapters on the character and interrelationship of normative concepts in ancient and modern ethical theory Christopher Gill asks how far we can find an equivalent in ancient philosophy for the idea, prominent in some versions of modern theory, notably Kantian and Utilitarian, that moral norms are necessarily universal ones and that... guarantee of objectivity He suggests that the main role for universality in ancient thought lies in the idea that ethical belief and action can be informed by an understanding of ethical concepts and of reality, both conceived in a broad (universal) sense Objectivity in ancient theory is tied to knowledge of ethical truth rather than to universality Sarah Broadie distinguishes two ways of understanding the . about Ancient and Modern Ethics This volume of new essays discusses issues in ancient and modern phil- osophy about the nature and grounding of ethical norms and concepts, including virtue, and, in. class="bi x0 y0 w0 h1" alt="" VIRTUE, NORMS, AND OBJECTIVITY This page intentionally left blank Virtue, Norms, and O bjectivity Issues in Ancient and Modern Ethics CHRISTOPHER GILL CLARENDON. moral concerns of virtue ethics and other modern theories (including Kantian and consequentialist ones), in spite of their differing conceptual frame- works. 19 In Individual and Conflict in Greek Ethics