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A substantial collection of seminal articles, Foundations of Ethics covers all of the major issues in metaethics.

• Covers all of the major issues in metaethics including moral metaphysics, epistemology, moral psychology, and philosophy of language.


• Provides an unparalleled offering of primary sources and expert commentary for students of ethical theory.


• Includes seminal essays by ethicists such as G.E. Moore, Simon Blackburn, Gilbert Harman, Christine Korsgaard, Michael Smith, Bernard Williams, Jonathan Dancy, and many other leading figures of ethical theory.

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Applied or practical ethics is perhaps the largest growth area in philosophy today, and many issues in moral, social, and political life have come under philosophical scrutiny in recent years. Taken together, the essays in this volume – including two overview essays on theories of ethics and the nature of applied ethics – provide a state-of-the-art account of the most pressing moral questions facing us today.

• Provides a comprehensive guide to many of the most significant problems of practical ethics
• Offers state-of-the-art accounts of issues in medical, environmental, legal, social, and business ethics
• Written by major philosophers presently engaged with these complex and profound ethical issues

Customer Reviews (1)

the best philosophers have to offer the public
This is a really excellent collection of articles on all sorts of really interesting topics in applied ethics.Anyone who thinks that academic philosophers aren't "practical" or aren't concerned with "real world" issues and problems should take a look at this book.It's just full of interesting and important stuff.All the entries I've read are exceedingly clear and well written and provide a great introduction to the topic.I hope it eventually comes out in paperback so it's easier to purchase! ... Read more

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n Aquinas, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion, Thomas Hibbs recovers the notion of practice to develop a more descriptive account of human action and knowing, grounded in the venerable vocabulary of virtue and vice. Drawing on Aquinas, who believed that all good works originate from virtue, Hibbs postulates how epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, and theology combine into a set of contemporary philosophical practices that remain open to metaphysics. Hibbs brings Aquinas into conversation with analytic and Continental philosophy and suggests how a more nuanced appreciation of his thought enriches contemporary debates. This book offers readers a new appreciation of Aquinas and articulates a metaphysics integrally related to ethical practice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

seeing versus knowing, Res significata, analogy,
Its been a while since I read this book but I remember its very good on signification and offers something compatible with Bernard Montagne's "Analogy of Being" and a slight alternative to McInerny's views where modus significandi directly modifies res significata and they must be taken together to determine the significance. Analogy seems to apply to both the mode of signifying (and the way this is modified among the grades of analogy) and the thing signified in a way not made explicit by McInerny and more compatible with Montagne's "grades of being" pointing to God with names applied analogously (via emminence) to the thing. It seems to me to be a way of understanding or partially comprehending how all the transcendentals (being, one true good) refer to One thing relying on continuity of intelligiblity of different analogues (grades)and unity of reference.
Also an analysis of literary practice underscores the difference between seeing and knowing - in the sense that seeing and a general understanding of a thing (e.g. that Pretty girl) don't in themselves bring love in its fullness especially if you are in Ireland undertaking an Odyssey.
... Read more

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How can you use philosophical to make progress toward solving environmental problems? ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: AN INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY introduces you to ethical theory in new and easily understood ways. But most of all, this environmental ethics textbook shows you how we can work together to build a better future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Absolute Gibberish!
I had to buy this 4th edition book for an environmental ethics class. I find the author's attempt to make the book long enough to be qualified as a text book down right PATHETIC. He adds way too many "big" words and unnecessary sentances. I'm sure he has some good points.But his endless babble will completely throw you off the trial, it's not worth the effort.It is a very difficult to read book, and even my professor admited that each chapter has to be read about 4 times to actually understand that point.Why my professor still uses this book is beyond me.By the way, this book is rediculously priced.I have to take this class for my environmental sustainability degree, but if that were't the case, you couldn't pay me $70 to read it. THIS BOOK IS A WASTE OF TIME.

Interesting topics, very thought provoking
I purchased this book for an environmental ethics class, and found it to be very interesting!The many changes in our environment are truly thought-provoking, and to look at them through the eyes of an ethicist was enjoyable.The reading is compelling, and good fodder for many interesting dinner table conversations.

Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy
Book arrived in great shape and in a very timely fashion

Well written outlines of major ideas
This review is based on the 2nd edition. This book presents a good introduction to the major ideas of ethical thinking about the environment. He presents ideas on how rights might be derived as a gradation from purely human interest, rights based on whether animals suffer, and nature with its own right.Throughout the book questions of individual versus community rights are discussed. Each chapter starts with a short essay that highlights some of the complexities; for example whether Mountain Goats should be introduced or eliminated in Olympic National Park. Each chapter is concluded with discussion questions that also help the reader grapple with the issues.

He presents many of the major ideas and criticisms of animal rights, energy use, the land ethic, deep ecology, and ecofeminism.Particularly in the areas of deep ecology he presents the diversity of views. Perhaps he is weak in presenting third world views and the impact that "Deep ecology" might have on poor and agrarian populations. He is lacking discussion of religious based environmental ethics ("Theocentric ethics"). Christian Ecology seeks to develop a stewardship view, and Native American, and Eastern religions center on respect for nature.I think this book works best when read with selections from the authors discussed; for example read some of Leopold's "Sand County Almanac", then read the chapter on "The Land Ethic."

Thinking Deeply about the Environment, and Why it Matters
I read the first edition of this book (1993) and have no doubt that the third edition will surpass its scope and clarity.In a few hundred pages, Joseph Des Jardins unspools the thread of western philosophical tradition and makes it relevant for today's urgent environmental issues.Each chapter begins with a timely case study--salmon and economic develoment, nuclear waste and the rights of future generations to a clean environment--then develops the philosophical arguments required to more deeply understand just what is at stake in these and similar issues.Des Jardins' style is easy-going and eminently accessible.He wastes no words, gets to heart of the matter, and leaves the reader wanting more.Footnotes and additional readings lead to original material if the reader wants to delve more thoroughly into the topics.But you can just stop with Des Jardins if you are not a scholar, and still gain a firm grasp on how the big thinkers of western philosophy brought us to a critical divide in our environmental future.Edition One included late-breaking news from the social environmental and eco-feminist fronts, and I am confident the 2000 edition will be just as current. ... Read more

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This anthology takes the ever-controversial discussion of pornography out of solely academic circles; it expands the questions about porn that academics might tackle and opens the conversation to those who know it best—the creators and users of porn.

• Features essays on non-traditional issues in porn, including celebrity sex tapes, virtual sex, S&M, homosexual porn, and technology’s impact on the porn industry
• Features fascinating insights from psychologists, a lawyer, and an English professor, as well as industry insiders such as Dylan Ryder
• A fun, entertaining, and philosophically provocative approach to pornography, written for the general reader

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A Companion to Environmental Philosophy is a pioneering work in the burgeoning field of environmental philosophy. This ground-breaking volume contains thirty-six original articles exemplifying the rich diversity of scholarship in this field.

• Contains thirty-six original articles, written by international scholars.
  
• Traces the roots of environmental philosophy through the exploration of cultural traditions from around the world.
  
• Brings environmental philosophy into conversation with other fields and disciplines such as literature, economics, ecology, and law.
  
• Discusses environmental problems that stimulate current debates.
  

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent introduction to the field
This is an anthology of essays on environmental thinking.The topics covered range from the history of viewing the environment in diverse cultures and times(Indigenous populations, India, China, Christianity etc. to various scientific and philosophical modes of treating environmental aspects (Ecology, Deep Ecology, Aesthetics, Populations, Law, Climate etc.) Although as in any anthology the essays vary in quality and usefulness, on the whole it is a very good over-view of the issues and the field.All the essays have in depth bibliographies and almost all the authors have an internet link listed if you wishto contact them for furher information. Recommended. ... Read more

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Firmly established as the standard text for undergraduate courses in ethics, this concise, lively book takes the reader on an in-depth tour of the major moral theories, always illustrating abstract ideas with concrete examples. Separate, self-contained chapters examine such theories as Egoism, Kantianism, Utilitarianism, Virtue Ethics, and the Social Contract Theory. Through this conceptual framework, the text addresses timely and provocative issues, including abortion, racism, euthanasia, poverty, marijuana, homosexuality, the death penalty, and vegetarianism. The text's versatility makes it an ideal choice for use not only in ethical theory courses, but also in applied ethics courses of all kinds. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (43)

Good Read
The book itself is a easy read, but the price of the book is WAY overpriced. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this book. Definitely a good beginning philosophy course book.

interesting stuff
I got this for a class on philosophical inquiry. It is a nice overview of different theories/conceptions of morality.

AMAZING
This book is really worth buying even if its used. Honestly it looks new and the quality is amazing!
So I recommend people to buy this book(:

Intense Reading for Ethics..
This book is in great condition.. but wow, it really makes you think. But that's Philosophy for you. Rachels is a great Edition to Ethics

amazing service!!!!!!
ordered the book on the 6th and received it by the 11th! superfast service and the book was more than what i expected!
thank you! ... Read more

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In this volume, some of today's most distinguished philosophers survey the whole field of ethics, from its origins, through the great ethical traditions, to theories of how we ought to live, arguments about specific ethical issues, and the nature of ethics itself. The book can be read straight through from beginning to end; yet the inclusion of a multi-layered index, coupled with a descriptive outline of contents and bibliographies of relevant literature, means that the volume also serves as a work of reference, both for those coming afresh to the study of ethics and for readers already familiar with the subject. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Overview of Normative Ethics
I have used this text to teach ethics several times, and I will continue to do so. It has concise and clear articles by leading philosophers on a wide range of subjects, from the evolution and anthropology of ethics, to the various ethical theories, to meta-ethics and topics in ethics. Not only do I use it to teach, I use it as a quick handbook and reference when I need to refresh myself about specific arguments and ideas in ethics.

I hope that Peter Singer will bring a new edition to market sooner rather than later. But even if he does not, the current edition will continue to hold-up well. And even where one prefers to assign (primarily) primary texts to one's students in introductory ethics, this volume can be precisely what its title suggests - a great companion.

Great introduction, some defects
I found this book to be a great introduction to all aspects of ethics. It leaves no area untouched: everything from Buddhist ethics to deontology, consequentialism, virtue theory, the nature of morality, and much much more is covered here. Indeed, I would say that anyone who wants a survey of this area of philosophy need look no further.

But the book has several glaring flaws. Notably, it appears that some of the choices of essays were slightly biased. A case in point: the two essays on comtemporary deontology and consequentialism. The essay on deontology appears to not be written by an actual deontologist, and the author spent most of the essay bringing up silly objections that even I, as a first year undergraduate philosophy major, could answer. This is in stark contrast to the essay on consequentialism, written in a tone that barely escapes arrogance by its end.

There is nothing wrong with having a die-hard supporter of consequentialism write an essay introducing people to the topic. If this book were better, all of the essays would've been written with just that goal in mind. To pick essays not written by people who actually subscribe to the ethical theory in question is simply poor editing, because often the writer reveals her ignorance. This reduces the quality of the book, instead of giving each ethical theory the best possible promulgation. Indeed, it's not as if deontology is so unpopular that Singer couldn't have found one to write about it.

If anything, a better choice of essays would've made this book more useful than it actually is. Indeed, one of the interesting things about the essay on "universal perscriptivism" by R.M. Hare, was that the table of contents actually claims that the article is written by the theory's originator and best spokesman. If all the essays were written by their respective theory's "best spokesman," than this book would have 5 stars.

Apart from these glaring flaws, the book remains a well edited companion to ethics. There is coverage (even if sometimes poor) given to almost every possible ethical theory, the history of ethics, applied ethics (just war, business ethics, etc.), and various ethical views (i.e., realism, naturalism, relativism, etc.). Anyone interested in a breif overview of the entire field of morality should start here.

My review is a single-sentence one.
The selection of the articles in this book is excellent: not too deep in any of the subjects and gives a wide range overlook on the field of ethics, I read it with eas and joy. ... Read more

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Written by an experienced teacher and examiner, the book introduces the discipline of religious ethics and moral decision-making in general and then proceeds to introduce the major concepts, key thinkers and schools of thought including Natural Law, Empiricism, Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism. The final section of the book focuses on a range of ethical 'issues' and introduces ways of approaching the moral challenges of the world in which we live. ... Read more

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What is the good life? How can we attain true happiness? How are we to understand the concepts of good, bad, right, wrong, virtue, and vice as they intermingle and pervade the human actions that make up society? In one of the earliest and most comprehensive attempts to offer a systematic treatment of ethics and the principles upon which it rests, the Greek philosopher Aristotle seeks to give substance and meaning to human action and to the manner in which we judge our own behaviour and that of others. Here Aristotle not only offers a discussion of morality that later culminated in a full-blown analysis of political life, but he also sets forth principles and advice that served as the touchstone for many subsequent moral philosophies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

We Reach Our Complete Perfection Through Habit
I read this book for a graduate seminar on Aristotle.I think Aristotle's ethics is his most seminal work in philosophy.In the early 1960's virtue ethics came to fore.It is a retrieval of Aristotle.It has very close parallels to the ancient Chinese philosophy of Confucius and the modern philosophy espoused in the 1970's called Communitarianism.

For Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics, (EN) is about human life in an embodied state.Area of inquirery for EN is "good" this is his phenomenology.What does "good" mean?He suggests good means "a desired end."Something desirable.Means towards these ends.Such as money is good, so one can buy food to eat because "eating is good."In moral philosophy distinction between "intrinsic good" vs. "instrumental good."Instrumental good towards a desire is "instrumental good" like money.Thus, money is an "instrumental good" for another purpose because it produces something beyond itself.Instrumental good means because it further produces a good, "intrinsic good" is a good for itself, "for the sake of" an object like money."Intrinsic good" for him is "Eudemonia=happiness."This is what ethics and virtues are for the sake of the organizing principle.Eudemonia=happiness.Today we think of happiness as a feeling.It is not a feeling for Aristotle.Best translation for eudaimonia is "flourishing" or "living well."It is an active term and way of living for him thus, "excellence."Ultimate "intrinsic good" of "for the sake of."Eudaimonia is the last word for Aristotle.Can also mean fulfillment.Idea of nature was thought to be fixed in Greece convention is a variation.What he means is ethics is loose like "wealth is good but some people are ruined by wealth."EN isn't formula but a rough outline.Ethics is not precise; the nature of subject won't allow it.When you become a "good person" you don't think it out, you just do it out of habit!

You can have ethics without religion for Aristotle.Nothing in his EN is about the afterlife.He doesn't believe in the universal good for all people at all times like Plato and Socrates.The way he thought about character of agent, "thinking about the good."In addition, Aristotle talked about character traits.Good qualities of a person who would act well.Difference between benevolent acts and a benevolent person.If you have good character, you don't need to follow rules.Aretç=virtue, in Greek not religious connotation but anything across the board meaning "excellence" high level of functioning, a peak.Like a musical virtuoso.Ethical virtue is ethical excellence, which is the "good like."In Plato, ethics has to do with quality of soul defining what to do instead of body like desires and reason.For Aristotle these are not two separate entities.

To be good is how we live with other people, not just focus on one individual.Virtue can't be a separate or individual trait.Socrates said same the thing.Important concept for Aristotle, good upbringing for children is paramount if you don't have it, you are a lost cause.Being raised well is "good fortune" a child can't choose their upbringing.Happenstance is a matter of chance.

Pleasure cannot be an ultimate good.Part of the "good life" involves external goods like money, one can't attain "good life" if one is poor and always working.Socrates said material goods don't matter, then he always mooched off of his friends!Aristotle surmises that the highest form of happiness is contemplation.In Aristotle's Rhetoric, he lists several ingredients for attaining eudaimonia.Prosperity, self-sufficiency, etc., is important, thus, if you are not subject to other, competing needs.A long interesting list.It is common for the hoi polloi to say pleasure=happiness.Aristotle does not deny pleasure is good; however, it is part of a package of goods.Pleasure is a condition of the soul.In the animal world, biological beings react to pleasure and pain as usual.Humans as reasoning beings must pursue knowledge to fulfill human nature.It must be pleasurable to seek knowledge and other virtues and if it is not there is something wrong according to Aristotle.These are the higher pleasures and so you may have to put off lower pleasures for the sake of attaining "higher pleasures."

Phronçsis= "intelligence," really better to say "practical wisdom."The word practical helps here because the word Phronçsis for Aristotle is a term having to do with ethics, the choices that are made for the good.As a human being, you have to face choices about what to do and not to do.Phronçsis is going to be that capacity that power of the soul that when it is operating well will enable us to turn out well and that is why it is called practical wisdom.The practically wise person is somebody who knows how to live in such a way so that their life will turn out well, in a full package of "goods."For Aristotle, Phronçsis is not deductive or inductive knowledge like episteme; Phronçsis is not a kind of rational knowledge where you operate in either deduction or induction, you don't go thru "steps" to arrive at the conclusion.Therefore, Phronçsis is a special kind of capacity that Aristotle thinks operates in ethics.Only if you understand what Aristotle means by phronesis do you get a hold on the concept.My way of organizing it, it is Phronçsis that is a capacity that enables the virtues to manifest themselves.

What are the virtues?Phronçsis is the capacity of the soul that will enable the virtues to fulfill themselves.Virtue ethics is the characteristics of a person that will bring about a certain kind of moral living, and that is exactly what the virtues are.The virtues are capacities of a person to act well.All of the virtues can be organized by way of this basic power of the soul called Phronçsis.There are different virtues, but it is the capacity of Phronçsis that enables these virtues to become activated.Basic issue is to find the "mean" between extremes; this is how Aristotle defines virtues.

Humans are not born with the virtues; we learn them and practice them habitually."We reach our complete perfection through habit."Aristotle says we have a natural potential to be virtuous and through learning and habit, we attain them.Learn by doing according to Aristotle and John Dewey.Then it becomes habitual like playing a harp.Learning by doing is important for Aristotle.Hexis= "state," "having possession."Theoria= "study."The idea is not to know what virtue is but to become "good."Emphasis on finding the balance of the mean.Each virtue involves four basic points.

1. Action or circumstance.Such as risk of losing one's life.
2. Relevant emotion or capacity.Such as fear and pain.
3. Vices of excess and vices of deficiency in the emotions or the capacities.Such as cowardice is the excess vice of fear, recklessness is the excess deficiency.
4. Virtue as a "mean" between the vices and deficiencies.Such as courage as the "mean."

No formal rule or "mean" it depends on the situation and is different for different people as well.For example--one should eat 3,000 calories a day.Well depends on the health and girth of the person, and what activity they are engaged in.It is relative to us individually.
All Aristotle's qualifications are based on individual situations and done with knowledge of experience.Some things are not able to have a "mean" like murder and adultery because these are not "goods."
Akrasia= "incontinence" really "weakness of the will.Socrates thought that all virtues are instances of intelligence or Phronçsis.Aristotle criticizes Socrates idea of virtue, virtue is not caused by state of knowledge it is more complicated.Aristotle does not think you have to have a reasoned principle in the mind and then do what is right, they go together.

The distinctions between continent and incontinent persons, and moderate (virtue) and immoderate (not virtuous) persons is as follows:

1. Virtue.Truly virtuous people do not struggle to be virtuous, they do it effortlessly, very few people in this category, and most are in #2 and #3.
2. Ethical strength.Continence.We know what is right thing to do but struggle with our desires.
3. Ethical weakness.This is akrasia incontinence.Happens in real life.
4. Vice.The person acts without regret of his bad actions.

What does Aristotle mean by "fully virtuous"?Ethical strength is not virtue in the full sense of the term.Ethical weakness is not a full vice either.This is the critique against Socrates idea that "Knowledge equals virtue."No one can knowingly do the wrong thing.Thus, Socrates denies appetites and desires.Aristotle understands that people do things that they know are wrong, Socrates denies this.Socrates says if you know the right thing you will do it, Aristotle disagrees.The law is the social mechanism for numbers 2, 3, 4.A truly virtuous person is their own moral compass.

I recommend Aristotle's works to anyone interested in obtaining a classical education, and those interested in philosophy.Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers and the standard that all others must be judged by.

Doing the right thing
Aristotle was a philosopher in search of the chief good for human beings. This chief good is eudaimonia, which is often translated as 'happiness' (but can also be translated as 'thriving' or 'flourishing'). Aristotle sees pleasure, honour and virtue as significant 'wants' for people, and then argues that virtue is the most important of these.

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle makes the claim that happiness is something which is both precious and final. This seems to be so because it is a first principle or ultimate starting point. For, it is for the sake of happiness that we do everything else, and we regard the cause of all good things to be precious and divine. Moreover, since happiness is an activity of the soul in accordance with complete and perfect virtue, it is necessary to consider virtue, as this will be the best way of studying happiness.

How many of us today speak of happiness and virtue in the same breath? Aristotle's work in the Nicomachean Ethics is considered one of his greatest achievements, and by extension, one of the greatest pieces of philosophy from the ancient world. When the framers of the American Declaration of Independence were thinking of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, there is little doubt they had an acquaintance with Aristotle's work connecting happiness, virtue, and ethics together.

When one thinks of ethical ideas such as an avoidance of extremes, of taking the tolerant or middle ground, or of taking all things in moderation, one is tapping into Aristotle's ideas. It is in the Nicomachean Ethics that Aristotle proposes the Doctrine of the Mean - he states that virtue is a 'mean state', that is, it aims for the mean or middle ground. However, Aristotle is often misquoted and misinterpreted here, for he very quickly in the text disallows the idea of the mean to be applied in all cases. There are things, actions and emotions, that do not allow the mean state. Thus, Aristotle tends to view virtue as a relative state, making the analogy with food - for some, two pounds of meat might be too much food, but for others, it might be too little. The mean exists between the state of deficiency, too little, and excessiveness, too much.

Aristotle proposes many different examples of virtues and vices, together with their mean states. With regard to money, being stingy and being illiberal with generosity are the extremes, the one deficient and the other excessive. The mean state here would be liberality and generosity, a willingness to buy and to give, but not to extremes. Anger, too, is highlighted as having a deficient state (too much passivity), an excessive state (too much passion) and a mean state (a gentleness but firmness with regard to emotions).

Aristotle states that one of the difficulties with leading a virtuous life is that it takes a person of science to find the mean between the extremes (or, in some cases, Aristotle uses the image of a circle, the scientist finding the centre). Many of us, being imperfect humans, err on one side or the other, choosing in Aristotle's words, the lesser of two evils. Aristotle's wording here, that a scientist is the only one fully capable of virtue, has a different meaning for scientist - this is a pre-modern, pre-Enlightenment view; for Aristotle, the person of science is one who is capable of observation and calculation, and this can take many different forms.

Aristotle uses different kinds of argumentation in the Nicomachean Ethics. He uses a dialectical method, as well as a functional method. In the dialectical method, there are opposing ideas held in tension, whose interactions against each other yield a result - this is often how the mean between extremes is derived. However, there are other times that Aristotle seems to prefer a more direct, functional approach. Both of these methods lead to the same understanding for Aristotle's sense of the rational - that humanity's highest or final good is happiness.

There is a discussion of the human soul (for this is where virtue and happiness reside). Aristotle argues that virtue is not a natural state; we are not born with nor do we acquire through any natural processes virtue, but rather through 'habitation', an embedding process or enculturation that makes these a part of our soul. However, it is not sufficient for Aristotle's virtue that one merely function as a virtuous person or that virtuous things be done. This is not a skill, but rather an art, and to be virtuous, one must live virtuously and act virtuously with intention as well as form.

Of course, one of the implications here is that virtue is a quantifiable thing, that periodically resurfaces in later philosophies. How do we calculate virtue?

This is a difficult question, and not one that Aristotle answers in any definitive way. However, more important than this is the key difference that Aristotle displayed setting himself apart from his tutor Plato; rather than seeing the possession of 'the good' or 'virtue' as the highest ideal, Aristotle is concerned with the practical aspects, the ethics of this. Based on Aristotle's lectures in Athens in the fourth century BCE, this remains one of the most important works on ethical and moral philosophy in history.

Many matters of life.
Aristotle provides observations on many facets of life. Taking into considerations that slavery was in place and that women were treated as second class citizens, some of the theroies fall short. ... Read more

Product Description
In 2003, South African writer J. M. Coetzee was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his riveting portrayals of racial repression, sexual politics, the guises of reason, and the hypocrisy of human beings toward animals and nature. Coetzee was credited with being "a scrupulous doubter, ruthless in his criticism of the cruel rationalism and cosmetic morality of western civilization." The film of his novelDisgrace, starring John Malkovich, brought his challenging ideas to a new audience.Anton Leist and Peter Singer have assembled an outstanding group of contributors who probe deeply into Coetzee's extensive and extraordinary corpus. They explore his approach to ethical theory and philosophy and pay particular attention to his representation of the human-animal relationship. They also confront Coetzee's depiction of the elementary conditions of life, the origins of morality, the recognition of value in others, the sexual dynamics between men and women, the normality of suppression, and the possibility of equality in postcolonial society.With its wide-ranging consideration of philosophical issues, especially in relation to fiction, this volume stands alone in its extraordinary exchange of ethical and literary inquiry. ... Read more

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The essays in this volume present the latest beliefs of some leading contemporary moral and political philosophers on the issue of assisting the foreign poor. Topics focus around the themes of political responsibility of governments of affluent countries to relieve poverty abroad and the personal responsibility of individuals to assist the distant needy. This timely volume will interest scholars in ethics, political philosophy, political theory, international law and development economics, as well as policy makers, aid agency workers, and general readers interested in the topics. ... Read more

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The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory is a major new reference work in ethical theory consisting of commissioned essays by leading moral philosophers. Ethical theories have always been of central importance to philosophy, and remain so; ethical theory is one of the most active areas of philosophical research and teaching today. Courses in ethics are taught in colleges and universities at all levels, and ethical theory is the organizing principle for all of them.

The Handbook is divided into two parts, mirroring the field. The first part treats meta-ethical theory, which deals with theoretical questions about morality and moral judgment, including questions about moral language, the epistemology of moral belief, the truth aptness of moral claims, and so forth. The second part addresses normative theory, which deals with general moral issues, including the plausibility of various ethical theories and abstract principles of behavior. Examples of such theories are consequentialism and virtue theory. As with other Oxford Handbooks, the twenty-five contributors cover the field in a comprehensive and highly accessible way, while achieving three goals: exposition of central ideas, criticism of other approaches, and putting forth a distinct viewpoint. ... Read more

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In this graceful, incisive book, writer-philosopher André Comte-Sponville reexamines the classical virtues to help us understand "what we should do, who we should be, and how we should live." In the process, he gives us an entirely new perspective on the value, relevance, and charm of the Western ethical tradition. Drawing on thinkers from Aristotle to Simone Weil, by way of Aquinas, Kant, Rilke, Nietzsche, Spinoza, and Rawls, among others, Comte-Sponville elaborates on the qualities that constitute the essence and excellence of humankind. Starting with politeness-almost a virtue-and ending with love-which transcends all morality-A Small Treatise takes us on a tour of the eighteen essential virtues: fidelity, prudence, temperance, courage, justice, generosity, compassion, mercy, gratitude, humility, simplicity, tolerance, purity, gentleness, good faith, and even, surprisingly, humor.

Sophisticated, lucid, and full of wit, this modestly titled yet immensely important work provides an indispensable guide to finding what is right and good in everyday life.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

a great "Grand Tour"
This is a great 'grand tour' of some of the virtues, at least the ones that Comte-Sponville deems important. Our views differ on theism and so too our views on the virtues covered. Intrinsically, this is a good detailed summary of the historical views as well to some degree. Much work went into this treatise, but much work remains to be done to fully understand the virtues, and their part in everyday life. If the reader is truly looking for a handbook on living the virtues in everyday life, in my humble opinion, this book will be of aid but will fall short on the answers.

Still... an interesting interpretation that will give a different perspective.

My Regards

Great book
It is n enjoyable and at the same time provocative reading. Sometimes it demands a certain background in Philosophy. One of the very few grweat books about the same issues available in English.

Practical Philosophy, Both light and deep. Buy It.
André Comte-Sponville, A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues, translated by Catherine Temerson (New York, Holt Paperbacks, 2001)

The short of it is that this book will make you feel good about being good.

The long of it is:

I was doing a paper on `value ethics', and my experience was that in the world of professional philosophy, especially since 1903, with the publishing of G. E. Moore's Principia Ethica and his promulgation of the `naturalistic fallacy', the consideration of values and character had virtually disappeared. This general impression was confirmed when I looked at a few scholarly ethics texts from the 1960's and they confirmed in plain speaking, that the study of ethics had become an analysis of language, given the King Kong sized influence of the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and the Mighty Joe Young sized works of J. L. Austin, a direct descendent of the influence of G. E. Moore's style of philosophy.

But I kept following my nose and in a very recent ethics book by Terry Eagleton, Trouble With Strangers, he criticized both European psychologized ethics of Jacques Lacan and the 'high-toned' morality talk of law, right, duty, principle, and obligation traceable to Immanuel Kant. Eagleton also cited a relatively new collection of papers, Virtue Ethics, which headlined an important 1958 paper by Wittgenstein student, G.E.M. Anscombe on `Modern Moral Philosophy' which began a return to virtue ethics. The irony is that the flaw Anscombe pinpointed in moral philosophy is the absence of sound analysis in `philosophical psychology', a subject which always sounded odd to me, as the history of philosophy, especially from the ancient Greeks up to Descartes, was a spinning off of disciplines to children such as physics, mathematics, and psychology. But ethics, especially virtue ethics and the various flavors of Utilitarianism stand and fall by what they mean by mental states such as `pleasure' and `happiness'. So, in retrospect, I was not too surprised when I searched amazon.com for `virtues' and character, and came up with nothing but books on self-help, psychology, and `Christian values'. That last is no surprise, as the contemporary academic moral philosophy is all about rules and values for the group. It spends virtually no time on the moral perspective on the individual. But I did find one practical book on `moral values' which is a fitting complement to the new theoretical work on virtues. This is the book cited above, by a modern French professor of philosophy at the Sorbonne. According to the thumbnail biographical sketch, this book has been translated into 19 languages and has been a bestseller in France.

My very first reactions were that the book was not a superficially saccharine treatment of the subject and that it did offer serious reflections on the virtues which relied on thoughts from many great philosophers and essayists such as Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Augustine, Descartes, Epicurus, Sigmund Freud, Immanuel Kant, Montaigne, Friedrich Nietzsche, Pascal, Plato, Spinoza, and Simon Weil. And those are just the high points. When the title says `great virtues, I half expect to find the seven virtues of Catholic theology or `the seven heavenly virtues' which contrast the seven deadly sins. Instead, I find eighteen, with far more congruence with Aristotle than with the church fathers. These eighteen, in a somewhat intuitive order, are:
(Sorry, Amazon squeezes out all the tabs and extra spaces)

Politeness Fidelity Prudence Temperance
Courage Justice Generosity Compassion
Mercy Gratitude Humility Simplicity
Tolerance Purity Gentleness Good Faith
Humor Love

The insight of prudence may have been one of Aristotle's greatest contributions to moral philosophy. It is the property which tempers the slavish devotion to rules to something which accurately reflects common sense in life.

One irony of virtue ethics is that on the one hand, it is seen as a means to establish a moral theory independent of a belief in God, while it also seems to be a far better embodiment of the Christian ethics of the Gospels than the rules based thinking of Kant or the `greatest good for the greatest number' utilitarianism of Mill. These are both `Apollonian' styles of ethics. Without checking my Nietzsche texts, I suspect `virtue ethics' is a more balanced mix of the Apollonian with the Dionysian, grounded in intuition, emotion, slightly unstable, and with an appreciation of the chaotic.

eros - philia - agape
I enjoyed this book immensely, not the least for the wonderful quotes such as this one from Marcus Aurelius: 'Men are born for each other's sake, so either teach people or endure them'.

Comte-Sponville's focus is, of course, Western philosophy. And even though he professes to be an atheist there is much from Christianity and the classical religious writers. Perhaps I might have liked a wider reflection on the virtues as seen in diverse cultures - the East, of course, but also what we know of historic sophisticated societies (Maya, Khmer, Egyptian etc.) and less self-conscious societies (Maasai, Australian aboriginal etc.). Maybe that would have made the short treatise anything but short!

At the end of the book the big focus is on love - the greatest of the virtues. Once again classical ideas come to the fore (eros - love driven by physical intimacy, philia - love of friends and family, and agape - love of enemies). For me eros is never love. Love gives an opportunity to express eros, but most of the people I love I would never dream of having an erotic relationship with. For me philia is love. So what need do we have for agape - why divide philia? It would be easier not to have enemies - if that is achievable. I would like to think that I have no enemies and can afford philia for all I am close to. But I now realise that, while the individuals may not be my enemy (and I can feel philia for them), their actions often cause me great distress - often actions to third parties and not myself, third parties I do feel philia for. It is not the individual who is my enemy, it is their actions. Perhaps I need agape for those actions.

There is some discussion of God and how there can or cannot be a God. Most of this is logic based, as if even God must obey logic. I do not see that. God can exist and not exist at the same time - logic is a worldly constraint not a heavenly one.

Other recommendations:
The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience by Clifford A. Pickover
Conditions of Love: The Philosophy of Intimacy by John Armstrong

A Small Treatise of the Great Virtues
An eztraordinary intelligent well written book, should be a must for everybody. The world would be a much better place. ... Read more

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This is the first comprehensive guide and only substantial undergraduate level introduction to ancient Greek ethics, covering the ethical theories of all the major philosophers (including Socrates, Plato, Aristotle) and schools (Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, Pyrrhonism) from the earliest times to the Hellenistic philosophers analyzing their main arguments and assessing their legacy. ... Read more

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In Aristotle's Ethics as First Philosophy, Claudia Baracchi demonstrates the indissoluble links between practical and theoretical wisdom in Aristotle's thinking. Referring to a broad range of texts from the Aristoteliancorpus, Baracchi shows how the theoretical is alwaysinformed by a set of practices, and, specifically, how one's encounter with phenomena, the world, or nature in the broadest sense, is always a matter of ethos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

We Reach Our Complete Perfection Through Habit
I read this book for a graduate seminar on Aristotle.I think Aristotle's ethics is his most seminal work in philosophy.In the early 1960's virtue ethics came to fore.It is a retrieval of Aristotle.It has very close parallels to the ancient Chinese philosophy of Confucius and the modern philosophy espoused in the 1970's called Communitarianism.

For Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics, (EN) is about human life in an embodied state.Area of inquirery for EN is "good" this is his phenomenology.What does "good" mean?He suggests good means "a desired end."Something desirable.Means towards these ends.Such as money is good, so one can buy food to eat because "eating is good."In moral philosophy distinction between "intrinsic good" vs. "instrumental good."Instrumental good towards a desire is "instrumental good" like money.Thus, money is an "instrumental good" for another purpose because it produces something beyond itself.Instrumental good means because it further produces a good, "intrinsic good" is a good for itself, "for the sake of" an object like money."Intrinsic good" for him is "Eudemonia=happiness."This is what ethics and virtues are for the sake of the organizing principle.Eudemonia=happiness.Today we think of happiness as a feeling.It is not a feeling for Aristotle.Best translation for eudaimonia is "flourishing" or "living well."It is an active term and way of living for him thus, "excellence."Ultimate "intrinsic good" of "for the sake of."Eudaimonia is the last word for Aristotle.Can also mean fulfillment.Idea of nature was thought to be fixed in Greece convention is a variation.What he means is ethics is loose like "wealth is good but some people are ruined by wealth."EN isn't formula but a rough outline.Ethics is not precise; the nature of subject won't allow it.When you become a "good person" you don't think it out, you just do it out of habit!

You can have ethics without religion for Aristotle.Nothing in his EN is about the afterlife.He doesn't believe in the universal good for all people at all times like Plato and Socrates.The way he thought about character of agent, "thinking about the good."In addition, Aristotle talked about character traits.Good qualities of a person who would act well.Difference between benevolent acts and a benevolent person.If you have good character, you don't need to follow rules.Aretç=virtue, in Greek not religious connotation but anything across the board meaning "excellence" high level of functioning, a peak.Like a musical virtuoso.Ethical virtue is ethical excellence, which is the "good like."In Plato, ethics has to do with quality of soul defining what to do instead of body like desires and reason.For Aristotle these are not two separate entities.

To be good is how we live with other people, not just focus on one individual.Virtue can't be a separate or individual trait.Socrates said same the thing.Important concept for Aristotle, good upbringing for children is paramount if you don't have it, you are a lost cause.Being raised well is "good fortune" a child can't choose their upbringing.Happenstance is a matter of chance.

Pleasure cannot be an ultimate good.Part of the "good life" involves external goods like money, one can't attain "good life" if one is poor and always working.Socrates said material goods don't matter, then he always mooched off of his friends!Aristotle surmises that the highest form of happiness is contemplation.In Aristotle's Rhetoric, he lists several ingredients for attaining eudaimonia.Prosperity, self-sufficiency, etc., is important, thus, if you are not subject to other, competing needs.A long interesting list.It is common for the hoi polloi to say pleasure=happiness.Aristotle does not deny pleasure is good; however, it is part of a package of goods.Pleasure is a condition of the soul.In the animal world, biological beings react to pleasure and pain as usual.Humans as reasoning beings must pursue knowledge to fulfill human nature.It must be pleasurable to seek knowledge and other virtues and if it is not there is something wrong according to Aristotle.These are the higher pleasures and so you may have to put off lower pleasures for the sake of attaining "higher pleasures."

Phronçsis= "intelligence," really better to say "practical wisdom."The word practical helps here because the word Phronçsis for Aristotle is a term having to do with ethics, the choices that are made for the good.As a human being, you have to face choices about what to do and not to do.Phronçsis is going to be that capacity that power of the soul that when it is operating well will enable us to turn out well and that is why it is called practical wisdom.The practically wise person is somebody who knows how to live in such a way so that their life will turn out well, in a full package of "goods."For Aristotle, Phronçsis is not deductive or inductive knowledge like episteme; Phronçsis is not a kind of rational knowledge where you operate in either deduction or induction, you don't go thru "steps" to arrive at the conclusion.Therefore, Phronçsis is a special kind of capacity that Aristotle thinks operates in ethics.Only if you understand what Aristotle means by phronesis do you get a hold on the concept.My way of organizing it, it is Phronçsis that is a capacity that enables the virtues to manifest themselves.

What are the virtues?Phronçsis is the capacity of the soul that will enable the virtues to fulfill themselves.Virtue ethics is the characteristics of a person that will bring about a certain kind of moral living, and that is exactly what the virtues are.The virtues are capacities of a person to act well.All of the virtues can be organized by way of this basic power of the soul called Phronçsis.There are different virtues, but it is the capacity of Phronçsis that enables these virtues to become activated.Basic issue is to find the "mean" between extremes; this is how Aristotle defines virtues.

Humans are not born with the virtues; we learn them and practice them habitually."We reach our complete perfection through habit."Aristotle says we have a natural potential to be virtuous and through learning and habit, we attain them.Learn by doing according to Aristotle and John Dewey.Then it becomes habitual like playing a harp.Learning by doing is important for Aristotle.Hexis= "state," "having possession."Theoria= "study."The idea is not to know what virtue is but to become "good."Emphasis on finding the balance of the mean.Each virtue involves four basic points.

1. Action or circumstance.Such as risk of losing one's life.
2. Relevant emotion or capacity.Such as fear and pain.
3. Vices of excess and vices of deficiency in the emotions or the capacities.Such as cowardice is the excess vice of fear, recklessness is the excess deficiency.
4. Virtue as a "mean" between the vices and deficiencies.Such as courage as the "mean."

No formal rule or "mean" it depends on the situation and is different for different people as well.For example--one should eat 3,000 calories a day.Well depends on the health and girth of the person, and what activity they are engaged in.It is relative to us individually.
All Aristotle's qualifications are based on individual situations and done with knowledge of experience.Some things are not able to have a "mean" like murder and adultery because these are not "goods."
Akrasia= "incontinence" really "weakness of the will.Socrates thought that all virtues are instances of intelligence or Phronçsis.Aristotle criticizes Socrates idea of virtue, virtue is not caused by state of knowledge it is more complicated.Aristotle does not think you have to have a reasoned principle in the mind and then do what is right, they go together.

The distinctions between continent and incontinent persons, and moderate (virtue) and immoderate (not virtuous) persons is as follows:

1. Virtue.Truly virtuous people do not struggle to be virtuous, they do it effortlessly, very few people in this category, and most are in #2 and #3.
2. Ethical strength.Continence.We know what is right thing to do but struggle with our desires.
3. Ethical weakness.This is akrasia incontinence.Happens in real life.
4. Vice.The person acts without regret of his bad actions.

What does Aristotle mean by "fully virtuous"?Ethical strength is not virtue in the full sense of the term.Ethical weakness is not a full vice either.This is the critique against Socrates idea that "Knowledge equals virtue."No one can knowingly do the wrong thing.Thus, Socrates denies appetites and desires.Aristotle understands that people do things that they know are wrong, Socrates denies this.Socrates says if you know the right thing you will do it, Aristotle disagrees.The law is the social mechanism for numbers 2, 3, 4.A truly virtuous person is their own moral compass.

I recommend Aristotle's works to anyone interested in obtaining a classical education, and those interested in philosophy.Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers and the standard that all others must be judged by.
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This book is an ethic of inclusion leading from genderand sexual difference through the social world of race and culture tothe natural world. ... Read more

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David Luban is one of the world's leading scholars of legal ethics. In this collection of his most significant papers he ranges over such topics as the moral psychology of organisational evil, the strengths and weaknesses of the adversary system, and jurisprudence from the lawyer's point of view. His discussion combines philosophical argument, legal analysis and many cases drawn from actual law practice, and he defends a theory of legal ethics that focuses on lawyers' role in enhancing human dignity and human rights. In addition to an analytical introduction, the volume includes two major previously unpublished papers, including a detailed critique of the US government lawyers who produced the notorious 'torture memos'. It will be of interest to a wide range of readers in both philosophy and law. ... Read more

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Aiming to improve students' ethical awareness, Media Ethics provides a solid foundation in the theoretical principles of ethical philosophies. It presents the Potter Box as a framework for uncovering the important steps in moral reasoning for analyzing the cases that follow. Focusing on a wide spectrum of ethical issues facing media practitioners, the cases in the text cover journalism, broadcasting, advertising, public relations and entertainment. The Seventh Edition features new and updated cases and includes more cases focusing on corporations, the World Wide Web and post-September 11 news coverage.

Customer Reviews (2)

Best Applied Ethics Text, Media or Otherwise
A previous reviewer criticizes the book because throught-provoking discussions are begun but not wrapped up or resolved. If they were, the book would not fulfill its function. It's a TEXTBOOK for college classroom settings like the one in which I've used it, and all previous editions, over the past 15 or so years. It's purpose is to provoke discussion so that readers will thrash out the available options and do their own moral reasoning.

Using the Potter Model for moral reasoning as a foundation, the case study approach provides ample and diverse application material from classic situations to current events. The value of the Potter Model approach is well worth securing any edition of the text - it's the case studies which change from edition to edition.

The only drawback is the exorbitant price - all part of this wretched "gotcha!" situation students find themselves in, where publishers seem to be getting away with charging prices that begin at more than double what the market would tolerate for an equivalent non-textbook. Longman employees should be ashamed of themselves for gouging college students $74 for a paperback book which is widely used and therefore not a specialty oddball.

It's still a great book if you want to learn how to DO moral reasoning, with broad application to one's personal life.

Mediocre
The book is a great discussion started but hardly resolves any of the problems it presents. ... Read more