Professors and Public Ethics : : Studies of Northern Moral Philosophers before the Civil War / / Wilson Smith.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Cornell University Press Archive Pre-2000
• VerfasserIn: Smith, Wilson,
• Place / Publishing House: Ithaca, NY : : Cornell University Press, , [2019]; ©1956
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (244 p.)

A relatively unexplored subject in the social and intellectual history of our country is the contribution made by the moral philosophers, the social scientists of their day. What was their place in the academic and practical world? What was the nature of their social ethics? Did they have a real voice in public affairs? What brought about the decline of their influence?These questions are dealt with in Professors and Public Ethics. In particular, Professor Smith discusses the beliefs and careers of some of the leading moral philosophers—William Paley, John Daniel Gros, Francis Lieber, Charles B. Haddock, Francis Wayland, James Walker, and others. Their writings and their views upon moral questions and the moral aspects of leading questions of their time are presented; among the problems dealt with are abolition of slavery, state rights, the Mexican War, Know-Nothing politics, agriculture and farm problems, the tariff, free trade, savings banks, recessions and booms, repudiation of state debts, and prison reform.Historians, as well as present-day social scientists and church leaders, should find Professors and Public Ethics a sound, thoughtful, and valuable contribution to our knowledge about the mid-nineteenth century.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Part I: The Mechanics of Conservative Morality -- I. The Moral Philosophers as Public Men -- II. The Pattern of Moral Philosophy -- III. William Paley's Theological Utilitarianism in America -- Part II: The Nature and Practice of Whiggish Ethics -- Introduction -- IV. John Daniel Gros and the Idea of a Respectful Citizenry -- V. Francis Lieber's Moral Philosophy -- VI. Purity and Progress in New Hampshire: The Role of Charles B. Haddock -- VII. Francis Wayland and the Dorr War -- Part III: The End of the Academic Enlightenment -- VIII. James Walker and the Problem of the Harvard Moral Philosophy -- IX. The Decline of Moral Philosophy -- Acknowledgments -- Appendixes -- Selected Bibliography -- Index