Originally published between 1921 and 2003, the 48 volumes in this set cover one of the most problematic areas of moral philosophy, and one which is a key component of many undergraduate philosophy degrees. The volumes in this set include volumes on all the main areas: Applied, normative, descriptive, consequentialist and metaethics and touch on the vital issues of objectivity and subjectivity, relativism and realism, reason and feeling, necessity and freedom.
By J. O. Urmson
August 26, 2022
Originally published in 1968, this book traces the development of the emotive theory of ethics from its outline by Ogden and Richards in The Meaning of Meaning to the elaborate presentation by Stevenson in Ethics and Language. Attention is paid to the positive features of the ethical theory whilst ...
By Alan Montefiore
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1958, this book shows how a systematic consideration of what exactly may be meant by calling anything ‘good’, inevitably leads on to the more general and fundamental problem of the relations between value-judgments and statements of fact. It does on to explain some of the ...
By Warner Fite
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1926, this book develops the Socratic thesis that morality is intelligence, that morality is not a matter of standards, laws and principles but in knowing what we do – in living self-consciously. The book develops this central theme in its bearings upon logic and science, ...
By William Lillie
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1948, and reprinted in 1955 and updated in 1961, this book is a straightforward account of moral philosophy for students. It discusses comprehensively the contributions made by 20th Century moralists, both in terms of the interpretation of their predecessors and original ...
By C. E. M. Joad
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1921, this book makes philosophical ethics accessible to the non-philosopher and applies them to problems of everyday life. The author maintains that morality is the rationalization of the impulse to blame and emphases the importance of impulses. He illustrates how modern ...
By David Lamb
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1985, this book examines the concept of death against the background of dramatic changes in medical technology. The book argues that ‘brain death’ can be precisely defined and that a biological concept of death such as ‘brain death’ can be philosophically well-grounded. It ...
By J. J. C. Smart
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1984, deals with meta-ethics – that is the semantics and pragmatics of ethical language. This book eschews the notions of meaning and analyticity on which meta-ethics normally depends. It discusses questions of free will and responsibility and the relations between ethics on...
By Stephen D. Hudson
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1986, this book explores the animating qualities of human character and moral thought and discusses how they place constraints on the adequacy of moral theories. It evaluates some of the major theories in the history of ethics, notably the moral thoughts of Sidgwick, Kant, ...
By Eunice Belgum
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1990, this book deals with the question of akrasia, weakness of will, or knowing better but doing worse. Versions of this principle are presupposed by Socrates and Plato, articulated as the ‘practical syllogism’ in Aristotle and play a central role in modern decision theory....
By Jennifer Radden
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1985, this book provides a philosophical analysis of the concepts of madness and moral responsibility. It challenges the view that because they are victims of mental illness, the insane should not be blamed for actions resulting from their condition. The author urges a ...
By D.D. Raphael
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1955, this book covers most of the problems of moral philosophy but concentrates on two of them: the criterion of right action and the nature of moral judgment. Rejecting Utilitarianism, it shows how principles of moral obligation may be unified under Kant’s formula of ...
By Anthony Holiday
June 01, 2022
Originally published in 1986, this book subverts an attitude towards the moral dimension of life which the author terms ‘ethical cynicism’. It discusses a theory of moral powers – a theory which shows that moral values are immensely potent sources of power. The author argues that there is a ...