What is this thing called Ethics?

by Christopher Bennett

'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 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.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[Abigail Warren · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring af

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dull read at times.

[Richard Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting, accessible and helpful introduction to ethics. It is a nicely written introduction to the topic of ethics, of use to both students and someone just interested in the topic. I liked the ordering of the chapters and the way the subject is introduced, and found the inclusion of Marxist and Nietzschian criticisms of ethics helpful. My only criticism, which is minor but just shaded me off giving the book 5 stars is that the first few chapters whilst helpful do sometimes pose too many questions. I know this is to stimulate the reader's thinking, but it did irritate me a tiny bit. If you want to study ethics seriously you will very soon get beyond this book, but it is a good place to start.