Comprehensive book on moral philosphy?

January 13, 2009 11:27 AM

What is a good introductory-level book on moral philosophy?

I'm looking for something that covers a lot of ground in terms of different approaches to morality. Is there a book/author who gives a particularly enjoyable and comprehensive look at the subject?

Note: Not really looking for something that strongly argues for a particular viewpoint, though it's okay if the author slightly favors a particular approach as long as it doesn't impede a fair and honest accounting of other approaches.

posted by the other side to religion & philosophy (15 comments total)

What you need is an ethics reader, something edited, that provides an overview of the popular theories within their historical content.

I don't have a specific suggestion, but you should hit up your local used book store and see what you can find under philosophy. Lot's of older college texts will fit the bill.
posted by wfrgms at 11:36 AM on January 13

I would suggest The Moral Life, edited by Pojman.

Like wfrgms suggested, this is a reader, meaning that the book is a collection of classic essays/selections from longer works. You get the actual texts that defined the field, along with some introductory remarks to explain what's going on in them. But, what makes this book different from all other ethics readers is that it includes selections from literature to help make the moral issues clearer and more poignant.
posted by Ms. Saint at 12:03 PM on January 13

Alasdair MacIntyre is a moral philosopher. His book After Virtue (I have been told, as I have never read it myself) is a great book on moral philsophy.
posted by slograffiti at 12:04 PM on January 13

Peter Singer's Practical Ethics is slightly skewed toward his views on animal rights, but is a good read.
posted by bonaldi at 1:07 PM on January 13

MacIntyre and Singer's books are both well known and I can personally vouch for the quality and influence of After Virtue but they are not, not, not, comprehensive introductory books. They are full of strong opinions and are making arguments for particular views, not just trying to present the material in a lively but dispassionate manner. (As a graduate of a great books program I know fuck all about textbook introductions, but wfrgms and Ms. Saint have the right idea.)
posted by felix grundy at 1:18 PM on January 13

Definitely not Practical Ethics, which is essentially Peter Singer's manifesto. You want Ethics, the reader edited by Singer, which is terrific and is, I think, pretty much exactly what you're after.
posted by stammer at 1:52 PM on January 13

If you want to "cover a lot of ground", you'll probably want to read something that includes a metaethical perspective, rather than just listing different ethical approaches.
E.g., you could have a look at Darwall's "Philosophical Ethics". Apart from describing different ethical viewpoints, it gives a good overview of metaethics, which helps you develop a toolbox for analysing diverse ways of doing ethics.
Mackie's "Inventing Right and Wrong" also has a meta-ethical approach and is (as far as I remember) quite easy to read and understand.
posted by The Toad at 2:26 PM on January 13

Well Define "Introductory". Do you mean introductory for a Layman or Introductory for a Philosophy Major.

Either way, I would suggest Elements of Moral Philosophy by James Rachels which incidentally I had to read for two separate classes when I was perusing my Philosophy Major (given, they were both Freshman and Sophomore level courses but still a good book).

Rachels does not have an ax to grind nor does he go off into useless jargon. He is really presenting a variety of basic elements of any moral philosophy. I assume the companion "red book" on Amazon is also good but I have not read it (my brother did when he got his philosophy major though).
posted by DetonatedManiac at 2:27 PM on January 13

FYI Rachels is not a "exhaustive" book (only 256 pages) or one that will get you any intellectual kudos sitting on your bookshelf, but it is one you might actually finish and get something useful from and enjoy while you are reading, as opposed to some massive and imposing looking tome you probably will never finish and fall asleep reading every time you try...
posted by DetonatedManiac at 2:34 PM on January 13

MacIntyre's A Short History of Ethics: A History of Moral Philosophy from the Homeric Age to the Twentieth Century is very good.

MacIntyre's After Virtue, while great, is not very readable for someone unversed in the field.

I also really like Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, by Bernard Williams. I think it fits what you are looking for in a book on moral philosophy.
posted by jayder at 2:57 PM on January 13

Previously.

I'm not familiar with it first-hand, but the Rachels book seems to be the most standard introductory ethics text.
posted by painquale at 3:35 PM on January 13

Even previouslier.

The Rachels book was mentioned in that thread as well (by, uh, me). But plenty more as well.
posted by mullacc at 4:03 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]

Well Define "Introductory". Do you mean introductory for a Layman or Introductory for a Philosophy Major.

I suppose I mean for introductory for a Layman? I've been reading Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy and I'm enjoying that quite a bit without feeling out of my depth. So I'm not sure where History of Western Philosophy would fall in terms of "Layman's" introduction or not, but I suppose I'm looking for something in that vein, but which focuses exclusively on morality, if that helps.

Certainly, some great recommendations in any case; thanks all.
posted by the other side at 4:14 PM on January 13

I've been reading Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy and I'm enjoying that quite a bit without feeling out of my depth.

Oh Lord. don't bother reading his chapter on Nietzsche.
posted by goethean at 5:26 PM on January 13

I took an Ethics philosophy class last summer and the text we used was Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. The first half of the book covers various ethical theories; from virtue ethics to Deontology, Natural Law, Divine Command, Utilitarianism, etc. It includes excerpts from the original texts in a addition to a clear explanation of the theories.

The second half of the book looked at contemporary ethics issues. Issues such as pornography, abortion, animal rights, and euthanasia are examined through the lens of the the various ethical theories discussed in the first half of the book. Each issue has both pro and con viewpoints presented.

By the time you finish the book, you will be able to think critically about ethical dilemmas today and understand how differing moral viewpoints stand on ethical issues.
posted by CarolynG at 7:54 PM on January 15