The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory

Oxford Handbooks in Philosophy

by David Copp (Editor)

The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory is a major new reference work in ethical theory consisting of commissioned essays by leading moral philosophers. Ethical theories have always been of central importance to philosophy, and remain so; ethical theory is one of the most active areas of philosophical research and teaching today. Courses in ethics are taught in colleges and universities at all levels, and ethical theory is the organizing principle for all of them.

The Handbook is divided into two parts, mirroring the field. The first part treats meta-ethical theory, which deals with theoretical questions about morality and moral judgment, including questions about moral language, the epistemology of moral belief, the truth aptness of moral claims, and so forth. The second part addresses normative theory, which deals with general moral issues, including the plausibility of various ethical theories and abstract principles of behavior. Examples of such theories are consequentialism and virtue theory. As with other Oxford Handbooks, the twenty-five contributors cover the field in a comprehensive and highly accessible way, while achieving three exposition of central ideas, criticism of other approaches, and putting forth a distinct viewpoint.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

680 pages, Hardcover

First published November 24, 2005

About the author

David Copp is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Florida. He is the author of Morality, Normativity, and Society and of many articles in moral and political philosophy.

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Reviews

[Jacob Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m pretty sold on moral realism and consequentialism, but I also don’t feel like I’ve read as much in defense of other views as I have about those, so this was an attempt to broaden my knowledge. There was some interesting stuff, but also a lot of boring stuff and I didn’t often feel like it was really helping me get closer to truth.

My notes on each chapter are available here. A few books that were mentioned that I’d like to read: T. M. Scanlon’s Being Realistic about Reasons, Jonathan Dancy’s Ethics without Principles on particularism, and Nel Noddings’s Starting At Home on ethics of care.

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[Spencer Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly very dry, but there is a multitude of information regarding meta-ethics and normative ethical theories. Must read if you're interested in ethics. Less fun if you aren't.

[Greg Gauthier · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely useful and insightful anthology of ethical theory. This volume helped me through two different undergraduate exams on ethics. Highly recommended.