Ethical Empowerment: Virtue Beyond the Paradigms

ABOUT Arthur D. Schwartz

Arthur D. Schwartz
I am a lifelong student of philosophy and director of Integral Hypnosis, a hypnotherapy and philosophical counseling practice located in Newton, MA USA. I am also host of the Philosophic Perspectives radio show on the ArtistFirst Radio Network.

Six years of research and seven y More...

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Description

Ethics has long been burdened with a certain perplexity: Is self-interest or altruism the primary ethical imperative? Ethical Empowerment: Virtue Beyond the Paradigms presents an ethical theory designed to encourage ethical thinking from multiple perspectives that go beyond ideology and dogma. By so doing it develops an understanding of ethics and morality that transcends rigid or inapplicable rules by returning to the principle of universal love. The result is an ethical framework for unconventional ideas and research that challenges traditional beliefs that are vested in ideological, financial and political interests that--through various mechanisms, seek to maintain the status quo.

The philosophical principles developed in this book make it possible to examine difficult moral conundrums and seemingly intractable social, economic and political issues from new perspectives. The limitations of classical ethics have never been more apparent than in today's dysfunctional world. Filled with controversial ideas, this is a book that is designed to engage the reader and spark healthy debate. Among the many issues that are discussed and critiqued--in light of the ethical theory developed, are the current monetary and economic systems, the meaning of social entitlements, the dubious virtue of political parties, and the potential abuse of scientific paradigms. Also discussed are the grounds for belief or disbelief in various claims concerning the suppression of technology and invention, and conspiracy theories. From the perspective of an ethics that is in harmony with the basic essence of morality, a long-term view of a peaceful and flourishing world is not merely possible but may, with time, become inevitable.

My inspiration is tied to a personal search for the fundamental nature of morality and ethical thinking. Almost from the beginning of my fascination with philosophy I was intrigued by the unifying characteristics of ethical reasoning that coexists, simultaneously, with the diversity of expression that is vital to beauty when it is understood as a function of the diversity that springs from underlying unity. E pluribus unum. Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man," a drawing concerning the proportions of human body, for me has meaning beyond proportionality and touches on the issue of the One and the Many. I think that others share this interpretation. But the struggle to see the one in the many, to find unity in diversity, has been the primary theme that has influenced my thinking over the course my adulthood and my philosophical reflections. I have also been greatly influenced by the great philosophers, most specifically I think, by Nietzsche and by Wittgenstein. But my interest is broad, as I am as comfortable with Hume as I am with mystical conjecture.