Ethics: Essential Readings in Moral Theory

by Sher; George

• ISBN13: 9780415782319
• ISBN10: 0415782317
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-01-10
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Ethics: Essential Readings in Moral Theory is an outstanding anthology of the most important topics, theories and debates in ethics, compiled by one of the leading experts in the field. It includes sixty-six extracts covering the central domains of ethics: Why be moral? The Meaning of moral language Morality and Objectivity Consequentialism Deontology Virtue and character Value and well-being Moral psychology Applications: including abortion, famine relief and consent. Included are both classical extracts from Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant and Mill as well as contemporary classics from philosophers such as Thomas Nagel, Thomas Scanlon, Martha Nussbaum, Derek Parfit, and Peter Singer. A key feature of the anthology is that it covers the perennial topics in ethics as well as very recent ones, such as moral psychology, responsibility and experimental philosophy. Each section is introduced and placed in context by the editor, making this an ideal anthology for anyone studying ethics or ethical theory.

Author Biography

George Sher is Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Philosophy at Rice University, USA. He is the author of Desert (1987), Beyond Neutrality: Perfectionism and Politics (1997), Approximate Justice: Studies in Non-Ideal Theory (1997), In Praise of Blame (2006), and Who Knew? Responsibility Without Awareness (2009).

Table of Contents

Permissions	p. xi
Preface	p. xvii
Why be moral?	p. 1
Introduction to Section I	p. 3
The Ring of Gyges	p. 7
Psychological Egoism	p. 14
Morality and Self-Interest	p. 23
Morality and Advantage	p. 34
The Authority of Norms	p. 43
Morality as a System of Hypothetical Imperatives	p. 55
Moral Rationalism	p. 62
The meaning of moral language	p. 73
Introduction to Section II	p. 75
Morality and Natural Sentiment	p. 79
Goodness as Simple and Indefinable	p. 96
The Emotive Theory of Ethics	p. 103
Expressivism	p. 110
A Critique of Non-Cognitivism	p. 119
Euthyphro	p. 125
A New Divine Command Theory	p. 135
Morality, objectivity, and knowledge	p. 145
Introduction to Section III	p. 147
The Challenge of Cultural Relativism	p. 151
Ethics and Observation	p. 159
Moral Explanations	p. 164
The Subjectivity of Values	p. 181
The Objectivity of Ethics	p. 195
Moral Skepticism	p. 209
But I Could be Wrong	p. 224
Normative ethics: consequentialism	p. 235
Introduction to Section IV	p. 237
Utilitarianism	p. 241
A Critique of Utilitarianism	p. 253
Classical Utilitarianism	p. 262
Alienation, Consequentialism, and the Demands of Morality	p. 266
Rule-Consequentialism	p. 281
Scalar Morality	p. 296
Should the Numbers Count?	p. 310
Normative ethics: deontology	p. 321
Introduction to Section V	p. 323
Morality and Rationality	p. 327
Reading Kant's Groundwork	p. 343
The Right to Lie: Kant on Dealing with Evil	p. 360
Maria Von Herbert's Challenge to Kant	p. 377
A Theory of Justice	p. 387
Contractualism and Utilitarianism	p. 403
What Makes Right Acts Right?	p. 410
Particularism	p. 418
Virtue and character	p. 427
Introduction to Section VI	p. 429
The Nature of Moral Virtue	p. 433
Non-Relative Virtues: An Aristotelian Approach	p. 446
Virtue and Vice	p. 460
Beyond Morality	p. 474
Persons, Character, and Morality	p. 489
Moral Saints	p. 500
Virtue Ethics	p. 514
A Situationist Theory of Character	p. 525
Value and well-being	p. 541
Introduction to Section VII	p. 543
Pleasure as the Good	p. 547
The Experience Machine	p. 550
The Good Life	p. 552
Goodness as the Satisfaction of Informed Desire	p. 558
Facts and Values	p. 570
Perfectionism	p. 576
What Makes Someone's Life go Best?	p. 590
The Buck - Passing Account of Value	p. 598
Responsibility and moral psychology	p. 609
Introduction to Section VIII	p. 611
Freedom of The Will and The Concept of a Person	p. 615
The Genesis of Shame	p. 626
Freedom and Resentment	p. 643
Responsibility and the Limits of Evil: Variations on a Strawsonian theme	p. 659
Moral Luck	p. 675
Moral Responsibility and Determinism: The Cognitive Science of Folk Intuitions	p. 685
Applications	p. 725
Introduction to Section IX	p. 727
The Secret Joke of Kant's Soul	p. 730
A Defense of Abortion	p. 731
Subsidized Abortion: Moral Rights and Moral Compromise	p. 743
Famine, Affluence, and Morality	p. 750
Beneficence, Duty and Distance	p. 759
What is Wrong with Slavery	p. 774
Between Consenting Adults	p. 786
Death	p. 803
Index	p. 809
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