Philosophical Ethics: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy

by Tom L. Beauchamp

This survey with readings can be used as the main book for courses in moral philosophy or as a supplement for courses in applied ethics. It offers an accessible, comprehensive overview of classical and modern moral theory; unique coverage of rights, justice, liberty and law; and real-life cases that introduce each chapter. While the book's content is theoretical material in ethics rather than applied ethics, Beauchamp consistently applies these theories to practical moral problems. This new edition gives greater attention to Hume, moral psychology theories, and feminist theory.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Tom Lamar Beauchamp was an American philosopher specializing in the work of David Hume, moral philosophy, bioethics, and animal ethics. He was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Georgetown University, where he was Senior Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics.
Beauchamp authored or co-authored several books on ethics and on Hume, including Hume and the Problem of Causation (1981, with Alexander Rosenberg), Principles of Biomedical Ethics (1985, with James F. Childress), and The Human Use of Animals (1998, with F. Barbara Orlans et al). He was the co-editor with R. G. Frey of The Oxford Handbook of Animal Ethics (2011). He was also the co-editor of the complete works of Hume, The Critical Edition of the Works of David Hume (1999), published by Oxford University Press.

Reviews

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I read all the way till chapter 6, covering the three main ethical theories as well as metaethics. The readings are often much more difficult to understand than what the author wrote, but philosophy tends to be like that. I learnt quite a lot from this book