The Elements of Moral Philosophy

Preface About the Sixth Edition CHAPTER 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 CHAPTER 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 Can Be Learned from Cultural Relativism CHAPTER 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 CHAPTER 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 CHAPTER 5: ETHICAL EGOISM 5.1. Is There a Duty to Help Starving People? 5.2. Psychological Egoism 5.3. Three Arguments for Ethical Egoism 5.4. Three Arguments Against Ethical Egoism CHAPTER 6: THE IDEA OF A SOCIAL CONTRACT 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 CHAPTER 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 CHAPTER 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.

James Rachels is University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birminghamand is widely respected in the field of moral philosophy. He is also the author of THE END OF LIFE: Euthanasia and Morality and CREATED FROM ANIMALS: The Moral Implications of Darwinism.