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John Kekes, The Human Condition

John Kekes, The Human Condition John Kekes, The Human Condition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 256 pages. ISBN: 9780199588886 (hbk.). Hardback: £35.00 In The Human Condition, John Kekes argues that we ought to reject the false comforts of religion, as well as such pessimistic doctrines as fatalism, nihilism, epistemic relativism, and skepticism. For there is available a secular outlook on life that is non-ideological, realistic, and hopeful. Despite our fallibility and our vulnerability to contingencies, we can increase our control through critical reflection and thereby improve our lives. Such reflection will lead us to a better understanding of well-being, which requires a coherent set of values that are in sync with our biological and psychological needs and anchored in unconditional commitments. We must stay loyal to these values, but also face up to the fact that there is evil in the world. For human nature is not good and rational but ambivalent: we all have malevolent desires, and we can be tempted by false ideologies that license malevolence. Still, we can deal with evil-doers by blaming them and combating the widespread boredom that makes evil-doing appealing. We have the resources for overcoming such boredom in the plurality of values embedded in Western aesthetic, http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Moral Philosophy Brill

John Kekes, The Human Condition

Raibley, Jason R.
Journal of Moral Philosophy , Volume 9 (4): 596 – Jan 1, 2012
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2012 by Koninklijke Brill N.V., Leiden, The Netherlands
Subject
Book Reviews
ISSN
1740-4681
eISSN
1745-5243
DOI
10.1163/17455243-00904005
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

John Kekes, The Human Condition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 256 pages. ISBN: 9780199588886 (hbk.). Hardback: £35.00 In The Human Condition, John Kekes argues that we ought to reject the false comforts of religion, as well as such pessimistic doctrines as fatalism, nihilism, epistemic relativism, and skepticism. For there is available a secular outlook on life that is non-ideological, realistic, and hopeful. Despite our fallibility and our vulnerability to contingencies, we can increase our control through critical reflection and thereby improve our lives. Such reflection will lead us to a better understanding of well-being, which requires a coherent set of values that are in sync with our biological and psychological needs and anchored in unconditional commitments. We must stay loyal to these values, but also face up to the fact that there is evil in the world. For human nature is not good and rational but ambivalent: we all have malevolent desires, and we can be tempted by false ideologies that license malevolence. Still, we can deal with evil-doers by blaming them and combating the widespread boredom that makes evil-doing appealing. We have the resources for overcoming such boredom in the plurality of values embedded in Western aesthetic,

Journal

Journal of Moral Philosophy – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2012

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