Ethics: Origin and Development

A classic in philosophy and ethics, and one of the foundational texts of the anarchist movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Starting with the moral principle in nature, to the moral conceptions of primitive people, Kropotkin traces the development of moral teachings from ancient Greece, Christianity and the Middle Ages through to the 19th century philosophers. In this way Ethics gives answers to two fundamental problems of morality: its origin and historical development, and its goals and standards. Kropotkin is still today one of the most influential moral voices in the quest for universal human happiness. He wanted this book ''to inspire the young generation to struggle, to implant in them faith in the justice of social revolution, and to light in their hearts the fire of self-sacrifice.'' This was Kropotkin's final masterpiece, which was left unfinished at his death and is the swan song of this great humanitarian, scientist, and anarchist. It constitutes the crowning work and the resume of all his scientific, philosophical, and sociological views, at which he arrived in the course of his long and unusually rich life.