Normative Ethics (Dimensions of Philosophy) by Shelly Kagan

by Shelly Kagan

Providing a thorough introduction to current philosophical views on morality, Normative Ethics examines an act's rightness or wrongness in light of such factors as consequences, harm, and consent. Shelly Kagan offers a division between moral factors and theoretical foundations that reflects the actual working practices of contemporary moral philosophers.The first half of the book presents a systematic survey of the basic normative factors, focusing on controversial questions concerning the precise content of each factor, its scope and significance, and its relationship to other factors. The second half of the book then examines the competing theories about the foundations of normative ethics, theories that attempt to explain why the basic normative factors have the moral significance that they do.Intended for upper-level or graduate students of philosophy, this book should also appeal to the general reader looking for a clearly written overview of the basic principles of moral philosophy.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Academic

Unknown Binding

About the author

Shelly Kagan is Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale. After receiving his B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1976, and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1982, he taught at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Illinois at Chicago before coming to Yale in 1995. He is the author of the textbook Normative Ethics, which systematically reviews alternative positions concerning the basic rules of morality and their possible foundations, and The Limits of Morality, which challenges two of the most widely shared beliefs about the requirements of morality. He is currently at work on The Geometry of Desert.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kagan's Normative Ethics is an excellent book for those interested in a contemporary introduction to ethical theory. It covers the main (and rival) approaches to moral theory based on consent, consequences, and harm. It's well worth a read if you're looking for a solid, critical overview of normative ethics. If you're interested in more advanced topics in moral philosophy consider checking out Kagan's The Limits of Morality (1991) where he challenges key assumptions of normative ethics.

[Kramer Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very clearly written, informative look at the most significant moral theories. Kagan approaches his dissection and taxonomy of moral theories by teasing out many of the differences both between and within theories. He distinguishes many different aspects of moral theories and explains how they interact (for instance, how the fundamental justification of a theory may support different kinds of relevant normative factors). Although he does not go into great detail on the merits and demerits of any single theory, he suggests what some of the pros and cons may be, and leaves it up to the reader to find out more. This is a reasonable approach given the breadth of theories that Kagan reviews here.

Overall, a very useful book for anyone interested in normative ethics.

[Sean Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite introductory ethics textbook. Kagan's distinction between "factoral" and "foundational" moral theories is especially helpful, providing an analytic structure that is sorely lacking in introductory ethics courses. Be prepared, however, for some ostensibly pedantic discussions, as Kagan loves to refine things and consider as many cases as will fit.

[Lukas op de Beke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this as an undergraduate, especially the opening chapter in which Kagan discusses and contrasts various theories of well-being: mental state theories, desire-based or preference theories and lastly objectivist theories.

All in all, this is a really solid overview and detailed explanation of the various foundational moral theories and concepts. I particularly liked Kagan's definition of deontological theories in terms of constraints which have independent normative force and are not just rules of thumb. This I think is much clearer than framing deontology as, inter alia, the simple rejection consequentialism or a theory which either affirms absolute rules or assesses an act in terms of its intrinsic character. Kagan is right that these latter framings are inadequate even though they are bandied around.

Although consequentialism and deontology are often presented as diametrical opposities, Kagan argues convincingly that there is considerable overlap between them, as deontological theories can also value good results. Here Kagan distinguishes between moderate deontological theories and absolute deontological theories, the difference being that on the former, but not the latter, constraints come with certain thresholds (in terms of good results) which may lead them to being outweighed or overridden.

[Niels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although certainly interesting, I rather dislike the way this book is set-up. The chapters are just continuous lines of text where Kagan often takes a lot of words to explain the theory. I think adding more spacing and a few diagrams would be an improvement.

Nevertheless, Kagan does a good job at setting out the basics one needs to know about normative ethics. After ploughing your way through the book, you'll have a sense of the most important theories within the subject. I would recommend taking a look at the suggested readings at the end of the book after reading each chapter, to also get a grasp of who defended the theories in question.

[Nora Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kagan’s book is like a guide to different ethical theories. It’s meant for advanced philosophy students or grad students. Instead of talking about what real philosophers believed in the past, Kagan categorizes different ideas about ethics. He only mentions historical philosophers in the back of the book, so you need to know some ethics history to understand everything.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in ethics.

[Izzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

written in a really rambling style, this book could honestly have been 1/3 of the length. also kept referring to Black people as 'the blacks' which just rubbed me the wrong way. and this is required reading for my course which is frustrating

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books was a great introduction to Normative Ethics. It allowed the reader to explore possibilities before investigating Normative Theories.

[Sam Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Sarah]

yasssss cmon ethical theory

[vishy]

def kept going in and out of this book (it was for my class) but interesting read!

[Aino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tää oli tenttimatskua eikä ollu iha koko kirja mut idc haluun sen tänne näkyvii

[Kaleb Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly dense and repetitive at times, but altogether very interesting and informative.

[Adam Ehlert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a difficult book, but sill a great higher-level introduction to the field of normative ethics. I especially like Kagan's division of the field into factors and foundations, which makes for a more theoretically deep understanding of the theories involved. Not recommended for readers without a background in academic philosophy.

[Kyle York · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best introduction to contemporary normative ethics I've come across. I'd highly recommend it for any introduction to ethics class and anyone interested in this subject.