Now in an expanded and revised second edition, this book offers a clear, penetrating examination of the central questions of ethics through study of the most important ethical theories in Western philosophy. Readers are introduced not only to the main ideas of each theory but also to contemporary developments and defenses of those ideas. Among theories the book covers are egoism, the eudaimonism of Plato and Aristotle, act and rule utilitarianism, modern natural law theory, Kant's moral theory, and existentialist ethics. Two new chapters add to this coverage expositions of Hume's ethics, Sidgwick's program for defending utilitarianism, and Rawls's hypothetical contractarianism. The discussions throughout draw the reader into philosophical inquiry through argument and criticism that illuminate the profundity of the questions under examination. Students will find this book to be a helpful guide to how philosophical inquiry is undertaken as well as to what the major theories of ethics hold.

Clear and comprehensive presentation of the most important theories and central questions of ethics in Western philosophy.

About the Author
John Deigh is Professor of Philosophy and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Sources of Moral Agency (Cambridge, 1996), Emotions, Values, and the Law (2008), and From Psychology to Morality (2018).

Reviews
'A tightly integrated and exceptionally well-written survey of the central questions of ethics ... I recommend Deigh's book to those wanting a sophisticated introduction for undergraduates, to non-specialists prepared to engage with a serious text, and to every graduate student in philosophy.' Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, Praise for the first edition



Book Information
ISBN 9781009060967
Author John Deigh
Format Paperback
Page Count 300
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press