Reading Ethics

Introduction

1. Goodness

Introduction

Introduction to Aristotle
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (extracts from Book I)
Commentary on Aristotle

Introduction to Mill
J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism (extracts from Ch. 2, 'What Utilitarianism Is')
Commentary on Mill

Introduction to Foot
Philippa Foot, 'Utilitarianism and the Virtues' (extracts)
Commentary on Foot

2. Justice

Introduction

Introduction to Plato (and Socrates)
Plato, Republic (extracts from Books II-IV)
Commentary on Plato

Introduction to Rawls
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (extracts from Ch.1, 'Justice as Fairness')
Commentary on Rawls

3. Reasons for Action

Introduction

Introduction to Hume
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (extracts from II.III.iii, 'Of the Influencing Motives of the Will', and III.I.i, 'Moral Distinctions Not Derived from Reason')
Commentary on Hume

Introduction to McDowell
John McDowell, 'Are Moral Requirements Hypothetical Imperatives?' (extracts)
Commentary on McDowell

4. Subjectivism and Objectivism

Introduction to the Problem

Introduction to Mackie
J. L. Mackie, Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong (extracts from Ch.1, 'The Subjectivity of Values'
Commentary on Mackie

Introduction to Nagel
Thomas Nagel, The View from Nowhere (extracts from Ch. VIII, 'Value')
Commentary on Nagel

5. Morality and Obligation

Introduction to the Problem

Introduction to Kant
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (extracts from Section II, 'Transition from Popular Moral Philosophy to Metaphysics of Morals')
Commentary on Kant

Introduction to Williams
Bernard Williams, Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy (extracts from Ch. 10, 'Morality, the Peculiar Institution')
Commentary on Williams

6. Boundaries of Moral Philosophy

Introduction to the Problem

Introduction to Nussbaum
Martha Nussbaum, Love's Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature (extracts from essay 4, 'Flawed Crystals: James's The

Miranda Fricker is Reader in Philosophy at Birkbeck, London. She is the author of Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing (2006), and co-editor of the Cambridge Companion to Feminism in Philosophy (2007).

Samuel Guttenplan is Professor in Philosophy at Birkbeck, London. He is author of Mind's Landscape (Blackwell Publishing, 2000), and The Languages of Logic (Second Edition, Blackwell Publishing, 1997), editor of A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind (Blackwell Publishing, 1995) and executive editor of the journal Mind & Language. His book Objects of Metaphor was published in 2005.

"Reading Ethics is a highly original and creative approach to introducing ethics which not only encourages beginners to understand and think about primary sources, but will also challenge, renew and enliven the interest of experienced philosophers and their interpretation of familiar arguments. There is simply nothing else available that introduces primary works in a way so likely to capture the interest and imagination." Michael Lacewing, Heythrop College