What Is This Thing Called Ethics?

'This is an excellent introduction to ethics, and will be of great help and interest to undergraduate students, their tutors, and their lecturers … It presents a very fair and balanced – not to mention comprehensive and subtle – examination of the subject … The chapters are full of interesting and thought-provoking examples, and the writing is clear and engaging.' – Michael Brady, University of Glasgow, UK
What is morality? How do we define what is right and wrong? How does moral theory help us deal with ethical issues in the world around us?
This engaging introduction explores these central questions and more in a highly readable manner. Christopher Bennett eases the reader in with examples of contemporary and relevant ethical problems, before looking at the main theoretical approaches and key philosophers associated with them. Topics covered include:

life and death issues such as abortion and global poverty
the meaning of life
major moral theories such as Utilitarianism, Kantian Ethics and Virtue Ethics
critiques of morality from Marx and Nietzsche.
What is this thing called Ethics? contains many helpful student-friendly features. Each chapter concludes with a useful summary of the main ideas discussed, study questions, and annotated further reading. This is an ideal introduction to ethics not only for philosophy students but for anyone coming to the subject for the first time.

Christopher Bennett is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Sheffield, UK. His research interests include moral, political and legal philosophy. His previous publications include The Apology Ritual: A Philosophical Theory of Punishment (2008).

Introduction Part 1: Life and Death 1. Death and the Meaning of Life 2. Which Lives Count? 3. How Much Can we be Expected to do for One Another? Part 2: Three Starting Points in Moral Theory 4. Utilitarianism 5. Kantian Ethics 6. Aristotelian Virtue Ethics Part 3: Further Directions for Moral Thinking 7. Ethics and Religion 8. Morality and Contract 9. Critiques of Morality. Conclusion