Ethics and moral philosophy Books

In Utilitarianism in the Early American Republic James E. Crimmins provides a fresh perspective on the history of antebellum American political thought.Based on a broad-ranging study of the dissemination and reception of utilitarian ideas in the areas of...

Virtually every figure in the climate justice literature agrees that states are presently failing to discharge their duties to take action on climate change. Few, however, have attempted to think through what follows from that fact from a moral point of...

Originally published in 1972, this book clarifies 'ethical' concepts such as 'values', 'norms' and 'precepts'. It begins with a discussion of the conceptual problems faced by any inquiry into moral codes. The author looks in particular at the numerous...

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in evolutionary debunking arguments directed against certain types of belief, particularly moral and religious beliefs. According to those arguments, the evolutionary origins of the cognitive mechanisms...

D. D. Raphael provides a critical account of the moral philosophy of Adam Smith, presented in his first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Whilst it does not have the same prominence in its field as his work on economics, The Wealth of Nations,...

Striving To be Humanexamines what our moral values are, how we came to have them, and how we can add a spiritual dimension to them.Westerners live in liberal, secular democracies. The religious and moral certainties of the past have lost their influence...

The first book of its kind, Buddhist Moral Philosophy: An Introduction introduces the reader to contemporary philosophical interpretations and analyses of Buddhist ethics. It begins with a survey of traditional Buddhist ethical thought and practice,...

Philosophers, anthropologists and biologists have long puzzled over the question of human nature. It is also a question that Kant thought about deeply and returned to in many of his writings. In this lucid and wide-ranging introduction to Kant's...

The death of a friend is a source of pain and grief for anyone. For David B. Burrell, it is also a source of reflection on the role of friendship in our ongoing pursuit of truth. In this small but penetrating book, Burrell offers five essays that explore...

A short pithy saying that sums up a general truth, the aphorism is the oldest written art form. Following in such a long tradition from Ancient Greeks like Plato and Heraclitus to Romans like Seneca and Cicero all the way to moderns like Nietzsche, the...

Having children is probably as old as the first successful organism. It is often done thoughtlessly. This book is an argument for giving procreating some serious thought, and a theory of how, when, and why procreation may be permissible.Rivka Weinberg...

This book describes how, in the era of megamedia culture, aggression in communication constitutes a threat to the communication community.Based on the theoretical incorporation of transcendental pragmatics, the book explores how conceptualizing the...

This book offers a philosophical analysis of the moral and legal justifications for the use of force. While the book focuses on the ethics self-defense, it also explores its relation to lesser evil justifications, public authority, the justification of...

The heart of forestry in America has an irregular heartbeat.  The Berea College Forest is one of the oldest continously managed forests in the United States and provides a model of egalitarian forestry unmatched anywhere else.  The author...

This book explores the experiences, causes, and consequences of food insecurity in different geographical regions and historical eras. It highlights collective and political actions aimed at food sovereignty as solutions to mitigate suffering. Despite...

Discussing Plato's views on knowledge, recollection, dialogue, and epiphany, this ambitious volume offers a systematic analysis of the ways that Platonic approaches to education can help students navigate today's increasingly complex moral environment...

Climate change confronts us with our most pressing challenges today. The global consensus is clear that human activity is mostly to blame for its harmful effects, but there is disagreement about what should be done. While no shortage of proposals from...

This book celebrates Professor Margaret Brazier's outstanding contribution to the field of healthcare law and bioethics. It examines key aspects developed in Professor Brazier's agenda-setting body of work, with contributions being provided by leading...

This volume brings together internationally recognised Schopenhauer scholars to develop new perspectives on his moral philosophy.Despite anticipating and engaging with many of the arguments now recognisable in Anglophone moral philosophy, Arthur...

This book delves into the ethical dimension of urban life: how should one live in the city? What constitutes a 'good' life under urban condition? Whose gets to live a 'good' life, and whose ideas of morality, propriety and 'good' prevail? What is the...

Joining insights from social science and philosophy, this book offers a nuanced view on the discourse of evil, which has been on the rise in the West in recent years. Exploring the famous 'Pear Theft' episode in St Augustine's Confessions, it looks...

This book brings together seven original essays on the subject of evil in international relations. It considers questions of moral agency associated with the perpetration of evil acts by individuals and groups in the international sphere, and the range of

This collection explores the nature and role of ethics within anarchist thought and practice, examining normative, meta-ethical and applied ethical issues through some of the theoretical insights of anarchism. It comprises contributions from...

John Stuart Mill was one of the most important figures in political philosophy but little has been published on his ideas on justice. This impressive collection by renowned Mill scholars addresses this gap in Mill studies and theories of justice.

Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: PRAGMATISM AND NORMATIVITY Pragmatism, Causal Explanation, and Normative Facts Pragmatism and Rationality Pragmatism, Relativism, and Normative Discourse PART II: PRAGMATISM AND MORALITY Interests and Morality...

Along with advances in knowledge about why we age, the potential of biotechnologies for manipulating human biology means the prospects of living longer, healthier lives are greatly improving. Medical enhancements, which may include extending life spans,...

The recent revival of natural law theory in modern moral philosophy has been an exciting and important development. This book brings together an international group of moral philosophers who make original contributions to the project of developing...

Could there have been nothing? is the first book-length study of metaphysical nihilism - the claim that there could have been no concrete objects. It critically analyses the debate around nihilism and related questions about the metaphysics of possible...

Introduction What are Policy Values? Value Conflict and Policy Change Implementing Fairness The Impact of Efficiency Values and Policy Instruments Where Policy Meets the Personal Values and Public Management Green-ness and Growth Universality and Choice...

Evoking the contemporary Zeitgeist of looming ecological, political and economic disaster, The Catastrophic Imperative brings together a distinguished group of thinkers who invite a compelling reconsideration of the ways we, as representing subjects,...

What does it mean to say that imagination plays a role in moral reasoning, and what are the theoretical and practical implications? Engaging with three traditions in moral theory and confronting them with three contexts of moral practice, this book...

This book presents an array of investigation in the area of hospital communication, including internists negotiating end-of-life issues, spinal clinicians addressing the organization of surgery, and laboratory scientists coping with the introduction of a...

Some arguments for the objectivity of ethical claim have a 'companions in guilt' form. These arguments defend the objective credentials of ethical claims by comparing them with other claims the objective credentials of which are not in doubt, but which...

The existence of pornography is a contemporary moral problem par excellence. Its production, exchange and consumption raise a host of moral and political concerns: coercion, exploitation, harm, freedom of expression and the promulgation of sexist...

Examining stem cell biology from a philosophy of science perspective, this book clarifies the field's central concept, the stem cell, as well as its aims, methods, models, explanations and evidential challenges. The first chapters discuss what stem cells...

Repression receives little attention in philosophical literature. This study of cases of repression that inhibit an agent's deliberative access to his reasons argues that an agent cannot correctly deliberate about a reason to overcome repression as if he...

Going beyond the present controversy surrounding personhood in various non-philosophical contexts, this book seeks to defend the renewed philosophical interest in issues connected with this topic and the need for a more credible philosophical conception...

Air Transport and the European Union investigates the emergence of the EU as a major policy actor in aviation and examines how Europeanization has transformed the governance, organization and structure of the sector since the mid1980s. It addresses the...

Mainstream philosophical discussions of ethics usually involve either a search for a problem-solving theory (such as utilitarianism), or an exploration of ontological status (of things like obligations or reasons). This book will argue that such efforts...

This book presents a comparative historical overview of the transformation of the position of women in interconnected spheres of social life across the Mediterranean region. Many Mediterranean countries share a common historical background characterized...