Abstract

A clear and thorough exposition which makes royce's subtle moral philosophy accessible to contemporary ethical theorists understandably put off by his style. fuss convincingly presents royce's moral philosophy as independent of his much ridiculed metaphysical absolutism and argues that his ethical theory is instead dependent on his surprisingly elaborate and sophisticated social psychology. much of this psychology is to be found in unpublished writings of which fuss makes extensive use, but he also performs a service by intelligently piecing together remarks scattered in the published works. significant unpublished meta-ethical remarks are also discussed. included is a treatment of his intricate and apparently unique argument for the principle of harmony as a second-order procedural moral principle. his famous insights into the relations between the individual and society are also painstakingly analyzed. (bp)