02221nam a22003498a 4500 CR9781139629348 UkCbUP 20180107143410.0 m|||||o||d|||||||| cr|||||||||||| 121203s2013||||enk s ||1 0|eng|d 9781139629348 (ebook) 9781107040786 (hardback) 9781107687721 (paperback) UkCbUP UkCbUP rda E332.2 .H46 2014 973.4/6092 23 Helo, Ari, author. Thomas Jefferson's Ethics and the Politics of Human Progress : The Morality of a Slaveholder / [electronic resource] Ari Helo. Thomas Jefferson's Ethics & the Politics of Human Progress Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013. 1 online resource (298 pages) : digital, PDF file(s). text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Cambridge Studies on the American South Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 09 Oct 2015). Could Jefferson claim any consistency in his advocacy of democracy and the rights of man while remaining one of the largest slaveholders in Virginia? This extensive study of Jefferson's intellectual outlook suggests that, once we fully acknowledge the premises of his ethical thought and his now outdated scientific views, he could. Jefferson famously thought the human mind to be 'susceptible of much improvement … most of all, in matters of government and religion'. Ari Helo's thorough analysis of Jefferson's understanding of Christian morality, atheism, contemporary theories of moral sentiments, ancient virtue ethics, natural rights, and the principles of justice and benevolence suggests that Jefferson refused to be a philosopher, and did so for moral reasons. This book finds Jefferson profoundly political in his understanding of individual moral responsibility and human progress. Print version: 9781107040786 Cambridge Studies on the American South. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139629348 Cambridge Books Online 236367 236367