After passing through deism, pantheism, and sundry atheistic visions of life, Vladimir Solovyov emerged as a Christian thinker of irrepressible conviction and uncommon genius.
The Justification of the Good, one of Solovyov's last and most mature works, presents a profound argument for human morality based on the world's longing for and participation in God's goodness.
In the first part of the book Solovyov explores humanity's inner virtues and their full reality in Christ, weaving his moral philosophy with threads drawn from Orthodox theology. In the second part Solovyov discusses the practical implications of Christian goodness for such areas as nationalism, war, economics, legal justice, and family.
This edition of
The Justification of the Good reproduces the English edition of 1918 and is the only new publication of this work since that date. The book includes explanatory footnotes by esteemed scholar Boris Jakim and a bibliography, compiled by Jakim, of Solovyov's major philosophical and religious works. 480pp Paper (2005)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword, by David Bentley Hart
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition (A Preliminary Conception of the Moral Meaning of Life) The General Question as to the Meaning of Life
Introduction - Moral Philosophy as an Independent Science
Part I - The Good in Human Nature
I. The Primary Data of Morality
II. The Ascetic Principle in Morality
III. Pity and Altruism
IV. The Religious Principle in Morality
V. Virtues
VI. The Spurious Basis of Practical Philosophy (A Critique of Abstract Hedonism in Its Different Forms)
PART II - The Good Is from God
I. The Unity of Moral Principles
II. The Unconditional Principle of Morality
III. The Reality of the Moral Order
PART III - The Good through Human History
I. The Individual and Society
II. The Chief Moments in the Historical Development of the Individual-Social Consciousness
III. Abstract Subjectivism in Morality
IV. The Moral Norm of Social Life
V. The National Question from the Moral Point of View
VI. The Penal Question from the Moral Point of View
VII. The Economic Question from the Moral Point of View
VIII. Morality and Legal Justice
IX. The Meaning of War
X. The Moral Organisation of Humanity as a Whole
Conclusion: The Final Definition of the Moral Meaning of Life and the Transition to Theoretical Philosophy
Selective Index
About the Author(s) Vladimir S. Solovyov, See Info Under Category: AUTHORS / Soloviev
