Philippa Foot has for many years been one of the most distinctive and influential thinkers in moral philosophy. Long dissatisfied with the moral theories of her contemporaries, she has gradually evolved a theory of her own that is radically opposed not only to emotivism and prescriptivism but also to the whole subjectivist, anti-naturalist movement deriving from David Hume. Dissatisfied also with both Kantian and utilitarian ethics, she claims to have isolated a special form of evaluation that predicates goodness and defect only to living things considered as such: she finds this form of evaluation in moral judgements. Her vivid discussion ranges over topics such as practical rationality, erring conscience, and the relation between virtue and happiness, ending with a critique of Nietzsche's immoralism. Natural Goodness is the long-awaited exposition of a highly original approach to moral philosophy, representing a fundamental break away from the assumptions of recent debates. Foot challenges many prominent philosophical arguments and attitudes; hers is not, however, a work of dry theory, but full of life and feeling, written for anyone intrigued by the deepest questions about goodness and human life. This beautifully written book offers a new beginning for moral philosophy.

About the Author
Philippa Foot is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles, Honourary Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the British Academy.

Reviews
Philappa Foot's Natural Goodness has been long awaited. It is her first book, and it comes after a long and distinguished career in ethics ... Natural Goodness turns out to have been well worth waiting for ... its richness and the depth of its awareness of philosophical issues would repay the reading of anyone seriously interested in ethics. * Mind *
A short and beautifully pellucid philosophical study. * Times Literary Supplement *
Natural Goodness is an exciting and provoking book, more interesting than most books in moral philosophy ... What she has given us both in this book and elsewhere deserves nothing but intellectual and moral gratitude.' * Alasdair MacIntyre, Philosophical Quarterly *
For those of us who feel that bioethics is rather unphilosophical today, Foot's work is a welcome challenge and support in remedying that defect. * Medicine, Healthcare and Philosophy *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198235088
Author Philippa Foot
Format Hardback
Page Count 136
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Dimensions(mm) 211mm * 141mm * 15mm