Philosophical Ethics: An Historical And Contemporary Introduction

Philosophical Ethics introduces students to ethics from a distinctively philosophical perspective, one that weaves together central ethical questions such as What has value? and What are our moral obligations? with fundamental philosophical issues such as What is value? and What can a moral obligation consist in? Throughout, the reader is invited to dorather than just read aboutphilosophical ethics and, in doing so, to think through questions that face all thoughtful human beings. Themes include the nature of value and moral obligation, freedom and choice, human flourishing, excellence and merit, radical critiques of morality, and the importance of relationships for human life. Why is ethics part of philosophy? Stephen Darwalls Philosophical Ethics introduces students to ethics from a distinctively philosophical perspective, one that weaves together central ethical questions such as Wh at has value? and What are our moral obligations? with fundamental philosophical issues such as What is value? and What can a moral obligation consist in?With one eye on contemporary discussions and another on classical texts, Philosophical Ethics shows how Hobbes, Mill, Kant, Aristotle, and Nietzsche all did ethical philosophyhow, for example, they sought to gain insight into what has value through understanding what value itself is. After an introductory section, and one on main approaches to metaethics, chapters discuss modern philosophical moralistsHobbes, Mill, and Kantand pre- and postmodern philosophical approaches to ethics in Aristotle, Nietzsche, and the ethics of care.Throughout, the reader is invited to dorather than just read aboutphilosophical ethics and, in doing so, to think through questions that face all thoughtful human beings. Themes include the nature of value and moral obligation, freedom and choice, human flourishing, excellence and merit, radical critiques of morality, and the importance of relationships for human life.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; What Is Philosophical Ethics?; Metaethics; Metaethics: The Basic Questions; Naturalism; Theological Voluntarism; Rational Intuitionism; The Ideal Judgment Theory; The Error Theory and Ethical Relativism; Noncognitivism; Interlude; Philosophical Moralists; Hobbes I; Hobbes II; Mill I; Mill II; Kant I; Kant II; Philosophical Ethics Without Morality?; Nietzsche; Aristotle I; Aristotle II; Ethics of Care.

About the Author :
Stephen Darwall is professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and is the author of Impartial Reason and The British Moralists and the Internal "Ought" 1640-1740.