Wiley-Blackwell Ethics: The Big Questions (Philosophy: The Big Questions)

This anthology focuses on the central questions of ethics: What is the nature of morality? Why be moral? What are the requirements of morality? Review "This ethics anthology can be especially recommended as attractive material for students" – Bert Gordijn, Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy "The primary strength of this volume is that its grounding in traditional readings and approaches from the history of ethics is complemented by contemporary readings and concerns that have come to shape the discipline. In addition to conveying the vitality of ethical discourse, it also accomplishes pedagogical goals through the organization and presentation of these writings. This volume would be attractive even to those who see themselves inclined only to teach primary texts. Jill Gordon, Colby College "This is a beautiful collection of interesting materials for an ethics course. It begins with general topics about the nature of morality and its justification, goes through the standard topics (utility, duty, virtue), and ends with the contemporary issues of feminism, environmentalism, and postmodernism. It would be hard to find a more exciting and comprehensive collection than this volume." T. K. Seung, University of Texas at Austin<!––end––> From the Back Cover This anthology focuses on the central questions of ethics: What is the nature of morality? Why be moral? What are the requirements of morality? It draws together the best available classical and contemporary readings to make these questions come alive for today′s students. Utilitarian, Kantian, and Aristotelian viewpoints are all well represented. Unique about the anthology is that it covers the three main challenges to ethics: form feminism, which shows how gender is relevant to morality; form environmentalism, which raises the question who is to count in morality; and form postmodernism, which emphasizes the importance of different perspectives in morality. These must be met if morality is to be justified and, surprisingly, this is the only ethics anthology on the market that presents all three challenges to students for their consideration. About the Author James P. Sterba is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, where he teaches ethics and political philosophy. He has written more than 120 articles and published 15 books, including How to Make People Just (1988), Earth Ethics (1994), Feminist Philosophies, 2nd edition (1995), Morality in Practice, 5th edition (1996), and, most recently, Justice for Here and Now (1997). He is a past president of the North American Society for Social Philosophy, of the Concerned Philosophers for Peace, and of the International Society for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (American section). He has lectured widely in the United States and Europe.