James Rachels’s Followers (34)

James Rachels

Born

May 30, 1941

Died

September 05, 2003

Website

http://www.jamesrachels.org/

edit data

James Rachels, the distinguished American moral philosopher, was born in Columbus, Georgia, and graduated from nearby Mercer University in 1962. He received his Ph.D. in 1967 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, studying under Professors W. D. Falk and E. M. Adams. He taught at the University of Richmond, New York University, the University of Miami, Duke University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he spent the last twenty-six years of his career. 1971 saw the publication of his groundbreaking anthology Moral Problems, which helped ignite the movement from teaching metaethics in American colleges to teaching concrete practical issues. Moral Problems sold 100,000 copies over three editions. In 1975, Rachels James Rachels, the distinguished American moral philosopher, was born in Columbus, Georgia, and graduated from nearby Mercer University in 1962. He received his Ph.D. in 1967 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, studying under Professors W. D. Falk and E. M. Adams. He taught at the University of Richmond, New York University, the University of Miami, Duke University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he spent the last twenty-six years of his career. 1971 saw the publication of his groundbreaking anthology Moral Problems, which helped ignite the movement from teaching metaethics in American colleges to teaching concrete practical issues. Moral Problems sold 100,000 copies over three editions. In 1975, Rachels wrote "Active and Passive Euthanasia," arguing that the distinction so important in the law between killing and letting die has no rational basis. Originally appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, this essay has been reprinted 300 times and is a staple of undergraduate education. The End of Life (1986) broadened and deepened these ideas. Created from Animals (1990) argued that a Darwinian world-view has widespread philosophical implications, including drastic implications for our treatment of nonhuman animals. Can Ethics Provide Answers? (1997) was Rachels' first collection of papers; The Legacy of Socrates (2007) was his second. Rachels' textbook, The Elements of Moral Philosophy, is currently the best-selling book in philosophy. Shortly before being diagnosed with cancer, Rachels finished Problems from Philosophy, an introduction to his subject, published posthumously.

Over his career, Rachels wrote 6 books and 86 essays, edited 7 books and gave about 275 professional lectures. His work has been translated into Dutch, Korean, Norwegian, Italian, Japanese, Indonesian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Serbo-Croatian. He is widely admired as a stylist; his essays and books are remarkably free of jargon and clutter. A major theme in his work is that reason can resolve difficult moral issues. He has argued for moral vegetarianism and animal rights, for affirmative action (including quotas), for the humanitarian use of euthanasia, and for the idea that parents owe as much moral consideration to other people's children as to their own. ...more

Combine Editions
James Rachels’s books

Average rating: 3.74 · 3,320 ratings · 283 reviews · 60 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Elements of Moral Philosophy by James Rachels, Stuart Rachels 3.74 avg rating — 2,469 ratings — published 2003 — 59 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Right Thing To Do: Basic Readings in Moral Philosophy by James Rachels, Stuart Rachels 3.58 avg rating — 274 ratings — published 1989 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Problems from Philosophy 3.72 avg rating — 234 ratings — published 2004 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Created from Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism 4.22 avg rating — 94 ratings — published 1990 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Truth about the World: Basic Readings in Philosophy, 2nd Edition by James Rachels (Editor), Stuart Rachels (Editor) 3.87 avg rating — 38 ratings — published 2004 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The End of Life: Euthanasia and Morality 3.58 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 1986 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Can Ethics Provide Answers? 4.12 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 1996 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stefnur og straumar í siðfræði 3.53 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 1997	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Problems from Philosophy: An Introductory Text by James Rachels, Stuart Rachels 4.17 avg rating — 12 ratings — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Elements of Moral Philosophy 3.73 avg rating — 11 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by James Rachels…

Quotes by James Rachels (?)

“A psychological explanation of our feelings is not a moral explanation of our conduct.”
― James Rachels

tags: philosophy

8 likes

“Our triumphs seem hollow unless we have friends to share them, and our failures are made bearable by their understanding.”
― James Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy

4 likes

“The raw data of anthropologists can be misleading; it can make the differences in values between cultures appear greater than they are...It is only that life forces upon them choices that we do not have to make.”
― James Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy

2 likes

See all James Rachels's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: POSTING GUIDELINES (latest version in The Future of SRC)	9	203	Aug 16, 2010 12:30PM
Bookworm Bitches : 2015: Covers of the Rainbow Challenge	43	236	Oct 12, 2015 04:31PM

James Rachels’s Followers (34)

James Rachels

Combine EditionsJames Rachels’s books

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
James Rachels’s books