Date Thesis Awarded
4-2019
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
Philosophy
Advisor
Timothy M. Costelloe
Committee Members
Timothy M. Costelloe
Robert S. Leventhal
Aaron M. Griffith
Abstract
I attempt to understand the cause of divergence between the ethical philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and Albert Schweitzer, both of whom belong to a meta-ethical school dubbed "ethics-of-will." Ethics-of-will is that subset of moral thought which advocates moral action on the basis of the metaphysical propositions that the world is Will and all that exists to human perception is representation of the Will. Schweitzer and Schopenhauer fall into this school, yet advocate radically different ethics, such that Schweitzer may be considered an optimist advocating ethics which seek life- and world-affirmation and Schopenhauer may be considered a pessimist advocating ethics which seek world- and life-negation. In attempting to understand this divergence, I look to the two philosopher's respective methodologies and perspectives on the will-to-live.
Recommended Citation
Herndon, Bryce, "On the Divergence of Schopenhauerian and Schweitzerian Ethics-of-Will" (2019). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1376.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1376
