Are moral principles actually principles of rational choice? Starting from the view that it is rational always to choose what will give one the greatest expectation of value or utility--and the common counter-claim that this procedure, applied in many situations, will actually leave people worse off than need be--Gauthier instead proposes a principle of cooperation whereby each must choose in accordance with a principle to which all can agree. He shows that not only does such a principle ensure mutual benefit and fairness, but also that each person may expect greater utility from actually...

The distinguished philosopher David Gauthier examines Rousseau's evolving notion of freedom, particularly in his later works, where he focuses on a single quest: Can freedom and the independent self be regained? Rousseau's first answer is given in Emile, where he seeks to create a self-sufficient individual, neither materially nor psychologically enslaved to others. His second answer comes in the Social Contract, where he seeks to create a citizen who identifies totally with his community, so that he experiences his dependence on it only as a dependence on himself. Implicitly recognizing the...

Martin Heidegger, Emmanuel Levinas, and the Politics of Dwelling explores the ethical and political implications of the debate between Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas on the question of Place. Throughout his philosophical career, Heidegger exhibited concern about the uprooting of man that accompanies the modern oblivion of Being and vividly described the consequences of modern deracination as manifest in everything from everyday inauthenticity to the growth of world technology. In response to this perceived crisis, Heidegger propounds a series on ontological models that illuminate the...