Ethics: The Classic Readings

This is the second volume in a new series of classic readings in philosophy and collects together the central texts in the history of moral philosophy thus representing many of the most important topics in the field. It will serve as an invaluable resource for students of all levels taking courses in ethics or moral theory. The texts selected range from Plato to Stevenson, and include the classics of western moral philosophy such as Aristotle′s remarks on man′s proper "function", Kant′s discussion of "the good will" and Nietzsche′s notorious "genealogy" of our moral concepts. The volume also includes some classics from other traditions such as the debate between the two Confucians, Mencius and Hsun Tzu, and the early chapters from The Bhagavad Gita. The editor provides guidance to both the field and to each reading by including a substantial general introduction on the nature and history of philosophical ethics. There are also informative short introductions to the individual texts.

Series Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction. 1. Plato, Gorgias, 482–4, 488–500. 2. Aristole, Nicomachhean Ethics, Book I. 3. Epicurus, ′Letter to Menoeceus′ and ′Leading Doctrines′. 4. Mencius, ′Human Nature is Good′: Hsun Tzu, ′Man’s Nature is Evil′. 5. The Book of Change Tzu, Chapters 9, 13–14. 6. The Bhagavad Gita, Chapters 1–5. 7. Santideva, The Bodhicaryavatara, Chapter 8 (Verses 89–140). Tsongkapa and Pabongka Rinpoche, ′The Second Path′. 8. St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I–II, Questions 55, 58, 61–3. 9. Joseph Butler, Sermon ′Upon the Love of Our Neighbour′. 10. David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, Book III, Part I (Sections 1–2). 11. Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Preface and Section I. 12. Sören Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, Problems I. 13. John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism, Chapter 2. 14. Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, First Essay, Sections 2–14, 16. 15. G.E. Moore, Principia Ethica, Chapter I, Sections 1–2, 5–15. 16. W.D. Ross, The Right and the Good, Chapter 2. 17. Charles L. Stevenson, ′The Emotive Meaning of Ethical Terms′. Index.

David E. Cooper is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Durham. He is the author of a number of books including Metaphor (1986), Existentialism (1990) and World Philosophies (Blackwell Publishers, 1996) and is also editor of A Blackwell Companion to Aesthetics (Blackwell Publishers, 1992) and Aesthetics: The Classic Readings (1997).