Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot (Hoover Institution Press Publication Book 431)

by James B. Stockdale

READING LIST These were the reading assignments for Foundations of Moral Obligation. This list, except for minor revisions, is the same one offered when the Stockdale-Brennan team taught the course for the first time in the fall of 1978. Week One: From 20th-Century Technology to the World of Epictetus. The Meaning of Moral Philosophy. J. B. Stockdale, “The World of Epictetus.” Atlantic Monthly, April 1978. A. Koestler, Darkness at Noon. R. A. Gabriel, “The Nature of Military Ethics.” M. Walzer, “Prisoners of War.” Week Two: The Book of Job. Life Is Not Fair. The Problem of Evil. The Book of Job. Old Testament. A. Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Week Three: Socrates. Doctrine and Example. Civil Disobedience. Can Virtue be Taught? Soul and Body. Plato, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. Week Four: Aristotle. Happiness as Living Well and Faring Well. The Moral and Intellectual Virtues. Courage as Balance and Endurance. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics. J. Conrad, Typhoon. Week Five: Kant and Hart. Ethics of Moral Duty and Civic Law. Motives and Consequences. “Ought” and “Right.” The Meaning of Natural Law. I. Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals. H. L. A. Hart, The Concept of Law, chapters 8 and 9. Week Six: Mill. Morality as Social Utility. Justice and the Greatest Happiness Principle. J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism and On Liberty. F. Dostoyevsky, Notes from the Underground, part I. Week Seven: Individualism and the Col...