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Document Details : Title: Introduction Author(s): PATTYN, Bart , CUYPENS, Stefaan E. Journal: Ethical Perspectives Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Date: April 1998 Pages: 1-2 DOI: 10.2143/EP.5.1.563099 Abstract : n the world of academia, clearly written texts are more the exception than the rule. This is why it is so refreshing to read the work of Harry Frankfurt. His analyses of what motivates people are uncommonly clear, forthright and discerning. We all know of course that an idea does not derive its force from the fact that other wellknown academics have also formulated it, or that it can be ascribed to one or another great thinker whose authority cannot be disputed; an idea is only meaningful because it reveals some meaningful phenomenon. Yet confidence in this is often lacking, and many authors feel the need to supply additional justification, as if they had doubts that a candid and lucid reasoning would testify to its own quality. In the case of Frankfurt, this supposed need for external strategies of justification is entirely absent. His ideas speak for themselves. |
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