Abstract
Hans Jonas in his book, Das Prinzip Verantwortung, argues that the presuppositions of all previous ethical systems are no longer valid, and that we must therefore look for new principles of action.1 In support of this theory, he points out that we can no longer start from the assumption that the human good can be reasonably determined on the basis of the unchanging characteristics of human nature. More specifically, he maintains that human capacities have developed to such an extent that the nature of human action has fundamentally changed and precisely this change calls for a basic change in ethics.
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Notes
H. Jonas, Das Prinzip Verantwortung, Frankfurt am Main, 1984.
I. Kant, Werke, Akademie Ausgabe, Berlin, 1968.
Cf.: H. Hofmeister, “Das Gewissen als Ort sittlicher Urteilfassung,” Zeitschrift für Evangelische Ethik 25/1, 1981.
G. F. W. Hegel, Sämtliche Werke — Jubiläumsausgabe, Stuttgart — Bad Cannstatt, 1964.
Cf.: H. Hofmeister, “Philosophische und theologische Ethik,” Wiener Jahrbuch für Philosophie XI, 1978.
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© 1987 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Hofmeister, H. (1987). Conscience and Moral Responsibility. In: Tymieniecka, AT. (eds) Morality within the Life - and Social World. Analecta Husserliana, vol 22. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3773-4_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3773-4_15
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