Ethics: (Oxford Readers)

About the Book

This book is not a conventional reader in moral philosophy. To capture the essentials of what we know about the origins and nature of ethics, Peter Singer has drawn on anthropology, history, observation of non-human animals, the theory of evolution, game theory, and works of fiction, in addition to moral philosophy. By choosing some of the finest pieces of writing, old and new, in and about ethics, he conveys the intellectual excitement of the search for basic questions about how we ought to live.

Table of Contents:
Introduction PART I: THE NATURE OF ETHICS: ITS ORIGINS, VARIATIONS, AND BASIS A. The Long Search for the Origins of Ethics Introduction 1. Morality as the Advantage of the Stranger: A Debate between Socrates and Thrasymachus , Plato 2. Moral Virtue, How Produced , Aristotle 3. Are Humans Good by Nature? A Debate between Chinese Sages , Mencius 4. Of the Natural Condition of Mankind and the Laws of Nature , Thomas Hobbes 5. The Natural State of Man , Jean-Jacques Rousseau 6. Affection of Humanity: The Foundation of Morals , David Hume 7. The Noble Descent of Duty , Immanuel Kant 8. The Material Basis of Morality , Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels 9. The Origin of the Moral Sense , Charles Darwin 10. The Origins of Herd Morality , Friedrich Nietzsche 11. The Cultural Super-Ego , Sigmund Freud 12. In a Different Voice , Carol Gilligan B. Common Themes in Primate Ethics Introduction I. Kinship 13. Helping Kin in Chimpanzees , Jane Goodall 14. A Universal Duty , Edward Westermarck 15. The Genetic Basis of Kinship , David Barash II. Reciprocity 16. Chimpanzee Justice , Frans De Waal 17. Live and Let Live , Tony Ashworth 18. Reciprocal Gift-Giving among the !Kung , Lorna Marshall 19. The Kula Ring , Bruno Malinowski 20. A Single Word , Confucius 21. The Law of Hammurabi 22. Turn the Other Cheek , Jesus 23. The Whole Torah, while Standing on One Foot , Hillel 24. The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism , Robert Trivers 25. Tit for Tat , Robert Axelrod III. Sexual Morality 26. Incest Avoidance among Chimpanzees , Jane Goodall 27. The Horror of Incest , Edward Westermarck 28. The Social Rules of Chimpanzee Sex , Frans De Waal 29. Adultery among the !Kung , Lorna Marshall 30. Incest and Adultery , The Bible 31. A Commentary on the Sixth Commandment , Martin Luther 32. The Double Standard , Donald Symons C. The Role of Reason Introduction 33. Reason and Passion , David Hume 34. Pure Practical Reason and the Moral Law , Immanuel Kant 35. Addin Ethical Substance to Kant's Empty Formalism , G.W.F. Hegel 36. The Axioms of Ethics , Henry Sidgwick 37. Society the School, Custom the Headmaster , Edward Westermarck 38. A Lecture on Ethics , Ludwig Wittgenstein 39. Ethics for Logical Positivists , A.J. Ayer 40. Condemned to Be Free , Jean-Paul Sartre 41. The Objective Basis of Morality , Thomas Nagel 42. The Argument from Queerness , J.L. Mackie 43. Evolution and the Basis of Morality , Colin McGinn 44. Reason, Gender and Moral Theory , Virginia Held 45. Realism , Michael Smith PART II: THE CONTENT OF ETHICS: JUDGING GOOD OUTCOMES AND RIGHT ACTS A. Ultimate Good Introduction 46. The Ceasing of Woe , The Buddha 47. The End for Human Nature , Aristotle 48. The Pursuit of Pleasure , Epicurus 49. A Stoic View of Life , Epictetus 50. The Sermon on the Mount , Jesus 51. The Saints of the Desert , W. B. H. Lecky 52. Story of a Good Brahmin , Voltaire 53. Push-Pin and Poetry , Jeremy Bentham 54. Higher and Lower Pleasures , John Stuart Mill 55. Good as the Satisfaction of Demands , William James 56. Desirable Consciousness , Henry Sidgwick 57. Beauty and Friendship , G. E. Moore 58. Truth and Ahimsa , M. K. Gandhi 59. The Right to Be Unhappy , Aldous Huxley 60. The Myth of Sisyphus , Albert Camus 61. The Experience Machine , Robert Nozick 62. The Basic Values , John Pinnis 63. What Makes Someone's Life Go Best? , Derek Parfit B. Deciding What Is Right Introduction I. Natural Law, Natural Rights |c. a. The Theory 64. Of the Natural Law , Aquinas 65. Our Rights in the State of Nature , John Locke 66. Declaration On Euthanasia , The Vatican 67. Absolute Human Rights , John Finnis 68. The Rationality of Side Constraints , Robert Nozick 69. Moral Aspects of Sterility Tests , Gerald Kelly b. Criticism 70. Provincial Letters , Pascal 71. Natural Rights , Jeremy Bentham 72. On Nature , John Stuart Mill II. Kant's Ethics of Duty a. The Theory 73. The Categorical Imperative , Immanuel Kant 74. On a Supposed Right to Lie from Altruistic Motives , Immanuel Kant b. Criticism 75. Maria von Herbert's Challenge to Kant , Rae Langton 76. The Conscience of Huckleberry Finn , Jonathan Bennett III. Consequentialism a. The Theory 77. The Principle of Utility , Jeremy Bentham 78. The Archbishop and the Chambermaid , William Godwin 79. Issues for Utilitarians , Henry Sidgwick 80. Desert Island Promises , J. J. C. Smart 81. The Structure of Ethics and Morals , R. M. Hare b. Criticism 82. Ivan's Challenge , Fyodor Dostoevsky 83. The Personal Character of Duty , W. D. Ross 84. The Separateness of Persons , John Rawls 85. Jim and the Indians , Bernard Williams 86. Moral Saints , Susan Wolf IV. Contract Ethics a. The Theory 87. The Separateness of Persons , John Rawls 88. Why Contractarianism? , David Gauthier b. Criticism 89. Duties concerning Islands , Mary Midgley Epilogue 90. How Both Human History and the History of Ethics May be Just Beginning , Derek Parfit Select Bibliography Biographical Notes Index

About the Author :
Peter Singer is Professor and Deputy Director at the Centre for Human Bioethics, Monash University, Victoria. He has made numerous TV appearances talking about ethics and animal rights; he is general editor of `Studies in Bioethics' (OUP); extremely well known in Australia and a big name in ethics throughout the world.