Dimensions of Moral Theory: An Introduction to Metaethics and Moral Psychology by Jonathan Jacobs

by Jonathan Jacobs

"Dimensions of Moral Theory examines the key presuppositions and philosophical committments that support and shape moral theories." "Many of the topics discussed belong to "metaethics," the study of moral concepts, language, and thought rather than a study of moral issues themselves. Other topics are under the heading of "moral psychology" and concern fundamental issues about the nature of moral agents, moral motivation, and the roles of reason, desire, and pleasure in moral action and experience. The book introduces metaethical and moral psychological positions and arguments and shows how they are generated and why they are important. It thereby brings to light some of the most important philosophical problems raised by moral theorizing." This volume formulates these issues of moral epistemology, the metaphysics of moral value, and moral motivation in a clear and rigorous but non-technical manner.

Genres: Philosophy

Paperback

First published December 30, 2002

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

For people new to ethics it gives a nice overview of different ideas and people in the field. However, the structure could have been clearer, and it is not interesting for people that already know the field. Not my favourite, but could be a helpful start into moral theory.

[Lukas · Rating 3 out of 5]

textbook. does it's job, not very pleasant to read, not very exciting, but providing some general overview as a starting point.

[Gin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won’t pretend that I understood everything that I read in the book, but I thought that it was a pretty useful introduction to the topic. Divided into four chapters, each chapter deals with a specific subject matter. Jacobs writes as simply as possible but as someone new to the topic, it was a struggle to get through it. But it remains accessible, and will give one unfamiliar with this topic a good sense of the issues and debate surrounding it.

[Dmk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it could be a good book for someone with no previous knowledge in metaethics, but for everyone with some basic knowledge it's not right choice. There's good overview of metaethical foundations of some of theories in normative ethics (which is usualy omitted theme) but this book is just too slow and unentertaing.