Is there an objective moral standard that applies to all our actions? To what extent should I sacrifice my own interests for the sake of others? How might philosophers of the past help us think about contemporary ethical problems?
As the most recent addition to the Blackwell Readings in Philosophy series, History of Ethics: Essential Readings with Commentary brings together rich and varied excerpts of canonical work and contemporary scholarship to span the history of Western moral philosophy in one volume. Editors Star and Crisp, noted scholars in their fields, expertly introduce the readings to illuminate the main philosophical ideas and arguments in each selection, and connect them to broader themes. These detailed and incisive editorial commentaries make the primary source texts accessible to students while guiding them chronologically through the history of Western ethics.
Structured around a thematic table of contents divided into three distinct sections, History of Ethics charts patterns in the development of ethical thought across time to highlight connections between intellectual movements. Selections range from the work of well-known figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, and Mill to the work of philosophers often overlooked by such anthologies, including Butler, Smith, Sidgwick, Anscombe, Foot, and Frankena. Star and Crisp skillfully arrange the collection to connect readings to contemporary issues and interests by featuring examples such as Aquinas on self-defense and the doctrine of double effect, Kant on virtue, and Mill’s The Subjection of Women.
Written for students and scholars of ethics, History of Ethics is a comprehensive collection of readings with expert editorial commentary that curates the most important and influential work in the history of ethics in the Western world.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements vii
List of Sources ix
Introduction xi
Part I Ancient and Medieval Ethics 1
1 Gorgias and Republic: The Authority of Morality 3
Plato
2 Republic (Continued): Justice and Virtue 25
Plato
3 Republic (Continued): The Good 41
Plato
4 Nicomachean Ethics: The Good Life 53
Aristotle
5 Nicomachean Ethics (Continued): The Nature of Virtue 67
Aristotle
6 Nicomachean Ethics (Continued): Responsibility and Practical Wisdom 77
Aristotle
7 Epicurus to Menoeceus and Principal Doctrines 91
Epicurus
8 The Discourses of Epictetus and the Manual, or Enchiridion 99
Epictetus
9 The Enchiridion 113
Saint Augustine
10 Summa Contra Gentiles and Summa Theologica 121
Saint Thomas Aquinas
Part II Modern Ethics 137
1 Leviathan 139
Thomas Hobbes
2 Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel and Dissertation II: On the Nature of Virtue 147
Joseph Butler
3 A Treatise of Human Nature and An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals: Reason and the Passions 165
David Hume
4 An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals: Virtue and Utility 183
David Hume
5 The Theory of Moral Sentiments 201
Adam Smith
6 Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and the Metaphysics of Morals: Reason and the Good Will 219
Immanuel Kant
7 Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Continued): The Categorical Imperative 231
Immanuel Kant
8 An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation 247
Jeremy Bentham
9 Utilitarianism and the Subjection of Women 255
John Stuart Mill
10 On the Genealogy of Morality 281
Friedrich Nietzsche
11 The Methods of Ethics 299
Henry Sidgwick
Part III Foundations of Contemporary Ethics 331
1 Principia Ethica 333
G. E. Moore
2 The Right and the Good 343
W. D. Ross
3 Language, Truth and Logic 359
Alfred Jules Ayer
4 The Naturalistic Fallacy 367
W. K. Frankena
5 Modern Moral Philosophy 377
G. E. M. Anscombe
6 The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect 389
Philippa Foot
7 Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong 397
J. L. Mackie
8 A Theory of Justice 411
John Rawls
9 Ethical Theory and Utilitarianism 431
R. M. Hare
Index 443
