Morality and Self-Interest in Protagoras, Antiphon and Democritus
This is a scholarly work devoted to reconstructing the moral views of three pre-Platonic thinkers. Without the benefit of the vocabulary of moral theory, they wrestled with the question of how morality and self-interest are related. It was clear to Protagoras that immoral action harms others, and so morality benefits everyone as recipients of the moral actions of others. But what about the question of whether morality benefits the agents of such action? Relying on the idea that a rational action is one that benefits the agent, Antiphon questioned the reason to be moral, at least if one can get away with acting otherwise. That set up the philosophical search for reasons why morality benefits agents. Democritus advanced this project, positing a view of human good that includes moral action. His take eventually leads up to Plato’s more philosophically-sophisticated attempts to demonstrate that moral action is part of what constitutes the good for human beings, even if one had a magic ring that allowed one successfully to escape notice in acting immorally. The search for compelling reasons for human beings to act morally has remained a relevant issue to moral theory through the ages—and indeed one that confronts us all as we determine how best to act. (See below to purchase and read reviewer quotes.)
Quotes from Reviewers
It sets out clearly the context of Platonic ethics. And it shows us these sophists as comprehensible moral theorists in their own right. Too often ‘pre-Socratic thinkers excite a kind of intellectual relativism in their interpreters….Nill shows convincingly that, while these thinkers have no word or matching concept for “moral”, they are talking about morality, that they clearly see a problem with it, and that their problem is recognizably the same as what we call the problem of morality and self-interest. –Julia Annas, Times Literary Supplement
The discussion of these three thinkers is elaborate, learned and sophisticated, not least because we have to distinguish at almost every stage between two intertwined threads, namely first what were the basic moral and political doctrines in each case, and secondly how these basic positions stand in relation to the problem of morality and self-interest…. –G B Kerferd, Polis
To sum up, Mr. Nill has written a fine and reliable monograph on a subject which may interest not only classical scholars but also moral philosophers. –R. Ferwerda, De Novis Libris Iudicia
The value of Nill’s work rests in its provocation to think about the origins and credentials of the evergreen conflict between morality and self-interest in human behavior. –M.R. Wright, Ancient Philosophy
Cet excellent ouvrage d’introduction se recommande par sa lisibilité, sa rigueur et la linéarité de son argumentation. –-P.-Ph. Druet, Les Etudes Classiques