A Handbook of Ethical Theory

A systematic survey examines widely accepted moral concepts and community codes such as justice, veracity, and the common good, then outlines methods for ethical inquiry and the materials of moral science. It analyzes human nature, impulses, desires, and the formation of will, and shows how individual aims interact with social institutions, custom, law, and public opinion. Major schools and positions—intuitionism, egoism, utilitarianism, perfectionism, evolutionist and pessimistic viewpoints, and treatments of Kant, Hegel, and Nietzsche—are presented with their arguments and difficulties. The final sections argue for an ethics of reason that clarifies moral concepts, cultivates capacities, and addresses individual and state responsibilities.