Contemporary moral philosophers have produced an enormous amount of rich and varied published work on virtually all the issues falling within the scope of ethics and moral philosophy. Morality and the Good Life is a comprehensive survey of contemporary ethical theory which collects thirty-four selections on morality and the theory of value. Emphasizing value theory, metaethics, and normative ethics, it is non-technical and accessible to a wide range of readers. Selections are organized under six main topics: (1) Concepts of Goodness, (2) What Things are Good?, (3) Virtues and Ethics, (4) Realism vs. Anti-Realism, (5) Value and Obligation, and (6) The Value and Meaning of Life. The text includes both a substantial general introduction featuring explanatory summaries of all the selections and an extensive topical bibliography, which enhance the volume's research and pedagogical utility. The most up-to-date and wide-ranging survey of its kind, Morality and the Good Life is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in contemporary ethical theory, moral philosophy, and theory of value.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 499-514) and index.
INTRODUCTION PART I. CONCEPTS OF GOODNESS
A. Cognitivist Approaches
1. The Subject-Matter of Ethics, G. E. Moore
2. Ethical Absolutism and the Ideal Observer, Roderick Firth
B. Nonognitivist Approaches: Defense and Criticism
3. Critique of Ethics, A. J. Ayer
4. Critique of Ayer, W. D. Ross
5. Reply to Critics, A. J. Ayer
6. Expressivism, Allan Gibbard
7. Selections from Descriptive Meaning and Principles, R. M. Hare
8. Moral Beliefs, Phillipa Foot
C. Kinds of Goodness
9. Two Distinctions in Goodness, Christine Korsgaard
PART 11. WHAT THINGS ARE GOOD?
A. Hedonism: Defense and Criticism
10. Ultimate Good, Henry Sidgwick
11. Value and Pleasure, Robert Nozick
B. The Desire-Satisfaction Theory: Defense and Criticism
12. The Good of Man, G. H. von Wright
13. Desire and the Human Good, Richard Kraut
C. Objectivist Theories
14. The Ideal, G. E. Moore
15. What things are Good? and Moral Goodness, W. D. Ross
16. Perfectionism, Thomas Hurka
17. What Makes Someone's Life Go Best?, Derek Parfit
PART III. VIRTUES AND ETHICS
18. Modern Moral Philosophy, G. E. M. Anscombe
19. Virtues and Vices, Phillipa Foot
20. The Nature of the Virtues, Alasdair MacIntyre
PART IV. REALISM VS. ANTI-REALISM
21. The Subjectivity of Values, J. L. Mackie
22. Values and Secondary Qualities, John McDowell
23. Errors and the Phenomenology of Value, Simon Blackburn
24. Moral Explanations, Nicholas Sturgeon
PART V. VALUE AND OBLIGATION
25. Results the Test of Right and Wrong, G. E. Moore
26. Act-Utilitarianism and Rule-Utilitarianism, J. J. C. Smart
27. The Real and Alleged Problems of Utilitarianism, Richard Brandt
28. What Makes Right Acts Right?, W. D. Ross
29. Obligation and Motivation in Recent Moral Philosophy, W. K. Frankena
30. A Modified Divine Command Theory of Ethical Wrongness, Robert M. Adams
PART VI. THE VALUE AND MEANING OF LIFE
31. My Confession, Leo Tolstoy
32. Meaning and Value of Life, Paul Edwards
33. Morality and the Meaning of Life: Some First Thoughts, Norman Dahl
34. Goods and Lives, Michael Slote
BIBLIOGRAPHY ON CONTEMPORARY ETHICAL THEORY
INDEX