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'Being and Freedom' is a panoramic account of ethics in Europe from the French Revolution to the end of the nineteenth century. John Skorupski explores the interaction of philosophical ideas with social influences across Europe during this period, including Kantian ethics, Hegel's holism, and the British utilitarian tradition.

1. The Milllian philosophy -- 2. The analysis of language -- 3. Verbal propositions and apparent interference -- 4. The justification of deduction -- 5. Empiricism in logic and mathematics -- 6. Induction and inductivism -- 7. Induction, perception and consciousness -- 8. The logic of the moral sciences -- 9. Utilitarianism -- 10. Liberty.

AbstractThis paper shows how moral concepts are definable in terms of reasons for the blame sentiment. It then shows how, given that definition, the categoricity of moral obligation follows from some plausible principles about reasons for blame. The nature of moral agency is further considered in this light. In particular, in what sense is it self-governing agency? Self-governing actors must be at least self-determining: that is, they must be able to think about what reasons they have, in order in order to assess what they have sufficient reason to believe, feel, or do. Thus any moral assessment implies that the person assessed is capable of self-governance in that sense. Furthermore, this notion of self-governance implies that an agent's moral obligations are relative to the agent's warranted beliefs. However it does not entail that moral agents must be autonomous, in the strong sense intended by Kant. Some consequences for modern conceptions of morality are considered.

Ernest Gellner's cultural criticism, Postmodernism, Reason and Religion (1992 [see abstract 93c01704]) contrasts three irreducible positions: religious fundamentalism, romantic relativism, & Enlightenment fundamentalism. The most recent version of the last is postmodernism, which Gellner has long challenged in the name of modern scientific rationality. Gellner's response to the critics of modernity is based on his thesis that the prosperity & technical mastery of rationality inevitably introduce the demand for rational legitimacy into every aspect of society. Gellner's faith in reason mirrors David Hume's (1740) rational fundamentalism, although Gellner's understanding of reason's disenchanting effects is also influenced by Immanuel Kant & Max Weber. Gellner's final embrace of scientific method is predicated on a pragmatic account of the success of rationality that commits him to a cognitivist understanding of the basis of modern social order. 20 References. H. von Rautenfeld