EBOOK: The Elements of Moral Philosophy

Preface

About the Seventh Edition

1. WHAT IS MORALITY?

1.1. The Problem of Definition

1.2. First Example: Baby Theresa

1.3. Second Example: Jodie and Mary

1.4. Third Example: Tracy Latimer

1.5. Reason and Impartiality

1.6. The Minimum Conception of Morality

2. THE CHALLENGE OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM

2.1. Different Cultures Have Different Moral Codes

2.2. Cultural Relativism

2.3. The Cultural Differences Argument

2.4. What Follows from Cultural Relativism

2.5. Why There Is Less Disagreement Than It Seems

2.6. Some Values are Shared by All Cultures

2.7. Judging a Cultural Practice to Be Undesirable

2.8. Back to the Five Claims

2.9. What We Can Learn from Cultural Relativism

3. SUBJECTIVISM IN ETHICS

3.1. The Basic Idea of Ethical Subjectivism

3.2. The Evolution of the Theory

3.3. The First Stage: Simple Subjectivism

3.4. The Second Stage: Emotivism

3.5. The Role of Reason in Ethics

3.6. Are There Proofs in Ethics?

3.7. The Question of Homosexuality

4. DOES MORALITY DEPEND ON RELIGION?

4.1. The Presumed Connection between Morality and Religion

4.2. The Divine Command Theory

4.3. The Theory of Natural Law

4.4. Religion and Particular Moral Issues

5. ETHICAL EGOISM

5.1. Is There a Duty to Help the Starving?

5.2. Psychological Egoism

5.3. Three Arguments for Ethical Egoism

5.4. Three Arguments against Ethical Egoism

6. THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY

6.1. Hobbes’s Argument

6.2. The Prisoner’s Dilemma

6.3. Some Advantages of the Social Contract Theory

6.4. The Problem of Civil Disobedience

6.5. Difficulties for the Theory

7. THE UTILITARIAN APPROACH

7.1. The Revolution in Ethics

7.2. First Example: Euthanasia

7.3. Second Example: Marijuana

7.4. Third Example: Nonhuman Animals

8. THE DEBATE OVER UTILITARIANISM

8.1. The Classical Version of the Theory

8.2. Is Pleasure All That Matters?

8.3. Are Consequences All That Matter?

8.4. Should We Be Equally Concerned for Everyone?

8.5. The Defense of Utilitarianism

8.6. Concluding Thoughts

9. ARE THERE ABSOLUTE MORAL RULES?

9.1. Harry Truman and Elizabeth Anscombe

9.2. The Categorical Imperative

9.3. Kant's Arguments on Lying

9.4. Conflicts between Rules

9.5. Kant's Insight

10. KANT AND RESPECT FOR PERSONS

10.1. Kant's Core Ideas

10.2. Retribution and Utility in the Theory of Punishment

10.3. Kant's Retributivism

11. FEMINISM AND THE ETHICS OF CARE

11.1. Do Women and Men Think Differently about Ethics?

11.2. Implications for Moral Judgment

11.3. Implications for Ethical Theory

12. VIRTUE ETHICS

12.1. The Ethics of Virtue and the Ethics of Right Action

12.2. The Virtues

12.3. Two Advantages of Virtue Ethics

12.4 Virtue and Conduct

12.5. The Problem of Incompleteness

12.6. Conclusion

13. WHAT WOULD A SATISFACTORY MORAL THEORY BE LIKE?

13.1. Morality without Hubris

13.2. Treating People as They Deserve

13.3. A Variety of Motives

13.4. Multiple-Strategies Utilitarianism

13.5. The Moral Community

13.6. Justice and Fairness

13.7. Conclusion

Notes on Sources

Index

Firmly established as the standard text for undergraduate courses in ethics, James Rachels and Stuart Rachels’ The Elements of Moral Philosophy introduces readers to major moral concepts and theories through eloquent explanations and compelling, thought-provoking discussions.