Author: Simon Blackburn
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Published: 2002-03-14
Total Pages: 172
ISBN-13: 0191647314
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →It is not only in our dark hours that scepticism, relativism, hypocrisy, and nihilism dog ethics. Whether it is a matter of giving to charity, or sticking to duty, or insisting on our rights, we can be confused, or be paralysed by the fear that our principles are groundless. Many are afraid that in a Godless world science has unmasked us as creatures fated by our genes to be selfish and tribalistic, or competitive and aggressive. Simon Blackburn, author of the best-selling Think, structures this short introduction around these and other threats to ethics. Confronting seven different objections to our self-image as moral, well-behaved creatures, he charts a course through the philosophical quicksands that often engulf us. Then, turning to problems of life and death, he shows how we should think about the meaning of life, and how we should mistrust the sound-bite sized absolutes that often dominate moral debates. Finally he offers a critical tour of the ways the philosophical tradition has tried to provide foundations for ethics, from Plato and Aristotle through to contemporary debates.
Author: Wolff, Jonathan
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company
Published: 2020-09-01
Total Pages: 9
ISBN-13: 0393428176
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →From respected philosopher and writer Jonathan Wolff, this brief introduction to ethics stimulates independent thought, emphasizes real-world examples, and provides clear and engaging introductions to key moral theories and the thinkers behind them. The new Second Edition offers expanded coverage of moral reasoning, as well as two thoughtful and contemporary new chapters on applying moral philosophy and the ethics of race. A companion primary source collection, Readings in Moral Philosophy, amplifies issues discussed in the text, connecting them to problems in applied ethics.
Author: Edward Craig
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Published: 2002-02-21
Total Pages: 144
ISBN-13: 0191500747
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →How ought we to live? What really exists? How do we know? This book introduces important themes in ethics, knowledge, and the self, via readings from Plato, Hume, Descartes, Hegel, Darwin, and Buddhist writers. It emphasizes throughout the point of doing philosophy, explains how different areas of philosophy are related, and explores the contexts in which philosophy was and is done. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Author: Robert G. Olson
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Published: 2003-01-01
Total Pages: 180
ISBN-13: 9780486428628
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Concise and clearly written, this volume surveys the doctrines of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant; presents major issues in metaphysics and the relationship between philosophy and science; considers moral responsibilities and ethical problems; discusses the philosophy of religion; and explores recent philosophical trends.
Author: Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2017-07-20
Total Pages: 144
ISBN-13: 0191044539
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Utilitarianism may well be the most influential secular ethical theory in the world today. It is also one of the most controversial. It clashes, or is widely thought to clash, with many conventional moral views, and with human rights when they are seen as inviolable. Would it, for example, be right to torture a suspected terrorist in order to prevent an attack that could kill and injure a large number of innocent people? In this Very Short Introduction Peter Singer and Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek provide an authoritative account of the nature of utilitarianism, from its nineteenth-century origins, to its justification and its varieties. Considering how utilitarians can respond to objections that are often regarded as devastating, they explore the utilitarian answer to the question of whether torture can ever be justified. They also discuss what it is that utilitarians should seek to maximize, paying special attention to the classical utilitarian view that only pleasure or happiness is of intrinsic value. Singer and de Lazari-Radek conclude by analysing the continuing importance of utilitarianism in the world, indicating how it is a force for new thinking on contemporary moral challenges like global poverty, the treatment of animals, climate change, reducing the risk of human extinction, end-of-life decisions for terminally-ill patients, and the shift towards assessing the success of government policies in terms of their impact on happiness. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Author: John Deigh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2010-03-04
Total Pages: 255
ISBN-13: 052177246X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book examines the central questions of ethics through a study of the great ethical works of Western philosophy.
Author: R. A. Hope
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2004-09-23
Total Pages: 168
ISBN-13: 0192802828
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Issues in medical ethics are rarely out of the media and it is an area of ethics that has particular interest for the general public as well as the medical practitioner. This short and accessible introduction deals with moral questions such as euthanasia as well as asking how health care resources can be distributed fairly.