Consequences of Compassion : An Interpretation and Defense of Buddhist Ethics - Charles Goodman

Consequences of Compassion

An Interpretation and Defense of Buddhist Ethics

By: Charles Goodman

Hardcover | 20 March 2009

At a Glance

Hardcover


RRP $306.00

$180.50

41%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $45.13 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 5 to 10 business days

When will this arrive by?
Enter delivery postcode to estimate

To many Westerners, the most appealing teachings of the Buddhist tradition pertain to ethics. Many readers have drawn inspiration from Buddhism's emphasis on compassion, nonviolence, and tolerance, its concern for animals, and its models of virtue and self-cultivation. There has been, however, controversy and confusion about which Western ethical theories resemble Buddhist views and in what respects. In this book, Charles Goodman illuminates the relations between Buddhist concepts and Western ethical theories. Every version of Buddhist ethics, says Goodman, takes the welfare of sentient beings to be the only source of moral obligations. Buddhist ethics can thus be said to be based on compassion in the sense of a motivation to pursue the welfare of others. On this interpretation, the fundamental basis of the various forms of Buddhist ethics is the same as that of the welfarist members of the family of ethical theories that analytic philosophers call 'consequentialism.' Goodman uses this hypothesis to illuminate a variety of questions. He examines the three types of compassion practiced in Buddhism and argues for their implications for important issues in applied ethics, especially the justification of punishment and the question of equality.

Other Editions and Formats

Paperback

Published: 13th November 2014

More in Non-Western Philosophy

The Golden Road : How Ancient India Transformed the World - William Dalrymple
The Art of War & Other Classics of Eastern Philosophy : Leather-bound Classics - Confucius
The Prophet : Penguin Classics Hardcover - Kahlil Gibran

RRP $32.99

$30.25

Ikigai : The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life - Hector Garcia
Ikigai : 43 Japanese words to live by - Mari Fujimoto

RRP $27.99

$26.50

The Heart of Yoga : Developing a Personal Practice - T. K. V. Desikachar
Meditations : The Philosophy Classic - Marcus Aurelius

RRP $24.95

$23.75

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Swami  Satchidananda
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind : 50th Anniversary Edition - Shunryu Suzuki
The History of Philosophy - A. C. Grayling

RRP $24.99

$23.75

The Tibetan Book of the Dead : First Complete Translation - Graham Coleman
The Tao of Pooh 40th Anniversary Gift Edition - BENJAMIN HOFF