Ethics: The Fundamentals

by Julia Driver

Ethics: The Fundamentals explores core ideas and arguments in moral theory by introducing students to different philosophical approaches to ethics, including virtue ethics, Kantian ethics, divine command theory, and feminist ethics.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Social Science, Textbooks, Academia

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Fatima Al Shamasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

True to its title, this book sticks to delineating fundamental ethical theories that have had made significant contributions to ethical studies. In the introduction the author notes that the focus of the book will underly normative ethical theory instead of meta-ethical theory (and she stays true to her word) which makes the book a truly comprehensive and easy-to-understand introduction. The chapters follow the structure of description, criticism and counter-criticism, so despite the authors own personal opinions (which are rarely voiced) the readers are given the chance to formulate their own opinions regarding the theories.
I would recommend this to any ethics newbies and even non-newbies who wish to refine what they already know.

[Matt Egan · Rating 4 out of 5]

TIL I am an elbow nihilist

Fascinating intro to a lot of topics I knew nothing about. Very dense. Probably should read it a second time. Might be an easier read for someone who is not as dumb as I am.

Really appreciated the humor that the author was able to incorporate into some of the counterexamples.

[Moa B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lättläst bok som ger grundläggande och översiktlig info om olika etiska teorier

[Brook Warner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very basic, very simplistic, many assumptions. Could be good for 17-18 year olds

[Richard Beer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview, very general but does a good job of accomplishing its purpose which is to provide an introduction to Ethics.

[Max Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to read. And… classic ethics. No answers, only theories, problems for the theories, adjustments to those theories, and still more problems. Nevertheless, I still took away nuggets to gnaw on.

[Yomna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introductory book, exactly what I needed.

[Jada · Rating 4 out of 5]

well I understood about half of it, but at least I came out with more knowledge than I went in with. the writing style was engaging and direct

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got this as a loan from Jordan. I like to think I’m generally open to learning, especially about new fields/content I don’t have a lot of background knowledge of. And I really did give this book a shot. But by the end of reading it, I now know that I just don’t care about ethics as an academic subject. Don’t get me wrong, I understand its value and importance generally, but the argumentation of it is far too granular and tedious for me personally. Also, it requires so much active thought about every possible action we take throughout the day, and it just isn’t feasible to have that much cognitive thought about all of my actions all the time.

[Zachery Deleski-Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, this was a great book that laid out different theories of ethics when considering morality, while also providing important critiques of each theory. There is a section that also highlights the issues regarding philosophy's view of women throughout history and their lack of inclusion until recently. Overall, I believe this was a good book and was very informative for someone who has not studied ethics.

[Błażej · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very approachable introduction to the topic. Some unevenness in going into depth of the major moral theories, but the read is easy and pleasant. Sketches the landscape and footnotes how to fill in the gaps. In short: perfect for the advertised job.

[Ozten K]

read just a few chapters

[Jordyn Case · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and interesting intro to ethics!

[ani · Rating 3 out of 5]

it indeed offers the fundamentals to ethics.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

What looked at first glance to be a decent introduction to ethical theory turned out to be shallow and repetitive. There are much better books out there.

[Spyros Passas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A smooth introduction to ethics. The book is relatively small and hence lacks detail and depth of analysis, but it provides a nice overview on the most popular ethical theories. It is pleasant to read and its references provide material for further research. The advanced reader will probably not find anything particularly new, but as an introduction it serves its purpose rather well.

[Ada · Rating 5 out of 5]

After my disappointment in Simon Blackburn's 'Being Good'',Julia Driver's book was a breath of fresh air. She gives a thorough account of different philosophical approaches to ethics (including relativism, nihilism and feminist ethics) without the 21st century platitudes that Blackburn indulges in. Driver adds a 'further reading' section at the end of each chapter to satisfy those who want to learn more. This is an excellent, readable introduction for those beginning their study of ethics.