Ethics: The Essential Writings

by Gordon Marino

In Ethics: The Essential Writings, philosopher Gordon Marino skillfully presents an accessible, provocative anthology of both ancient and modern classics on matters moral. The philosophers represent 2,500 years of thought—from Plato, Kant, and Nietzsche to Alasdair MacIntyre, Susan Wolf, and Peter Singer—and cover a broad range of topics, from the timeless questions of justice, morality, and faith to the hot-button concerns of today, such as animal rights, our duties to the environment, and gender issues. Featuring an illuminating preamble, concise introductory essays on the giants of ethical theory, and incisive chapter headnotes to the modern offerings, this Modern Library edition is a perfect single-volume reference for students, teachers, and anyone eager to engage in reflection on ethical questions, including “What is the basis for our ethical views and judgments?”
 
Gordon Marino is professor of philosophy and director of the Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. A recipient of the Richard J. Davis Ethics Award for excellence in writing on ethics and the law, he is the author of Kierkegaard in the Present Age, co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Kierkegaard, and editor of the Modern Library’s Basic Writings of Existentialism. His essays have appeared in The New York Times.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Politics, Reference, School, Psychology, Classics

642 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Gordon Marino is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Professor Marino took his doctorate from the Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago. Before coming to St. Olaf in 1995, he taught at Harvard, Yale, and Virginia Military Institute.

A recipient of the Richard J. Davis Ethics Award for excellence in writing on ethics and the law, Marino is the author of Kierkegaard in the Present Age, co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Kierkegaard, and editor of the Modern Library’s Basic Writings of Existentialism and Ethics: The Essential Writings. In addition to his scholarly publications, Marino’s essays have appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, and many other national and international publications.

A former boxer, Dr. Marino has been a USA Boxing coach since 1995. He was the head coach of boxing at Virginia Military Institute and currently trains both amateurs and professionals in Minnesota. He is also an award-winning boxing writer for among other venues, the Wall Street Journal.

Reviews

[Reece Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great review of ethical literature over an expansive period of time. Each selection was interesting in its own right and seemed to be carefully chosen so as to allow connections between essays. This was mostly true of the modern essays, but it was really rewarding to be able to draw parallels between contemporary philosophers (i.e noticing bits of Susan Wolf in Peter Singer) or to see how contemporary philosophers reference older ones (near constant use of Kant and Mill). The introductions to each author were also very interesting and were often helpful in contextualizing and illuminating some of the views espoused in each essay. Really, the only thing I would have wished for in this book would be a section for Further Readings, but you kind of get that anyway when the authors of the various essays reference other works. Overall, super helpful, a great read (if time consuming), and a great intro to ethics.

Favorite essays:
Nichomachean Ethics by Aristotle
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
Parerga and Paralipomena by Arthur Schopenhauer
On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche
Existentialism and Human Emotion by Jean-Paul Sartre
From Cruelty to Goodness by Philip Hallie
Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education by Nel Noddings
Moral Saints by Susan Wolf
A Sand County Almanac: The Land Ethic by Aldo Leopold

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of ethical writings from Plato to the moderns. A little heavy on the modern thinkers but overall a great selection. I used this text to teach Humanities 420.

[Ruby Jusoh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethics: The Essential Writings edited by Gordon Morino. An extremely academic book, it contains many important texts on ethics, morality and the notion of right and wrong by thinkers like Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer and many more. There is a brief intro and summary before each text by the editor and that helped me understand these things more easily. Haha. Because I am hopeless when it comes to philosophy.
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I got to understand Kant and Mill for the first time, I feel. Kant judged right and wrong based on intention wheres Mill was utilitarian - if it is good for the majority, it is right. I also loved Schopenhauer's writings. Not as a person, though. He sounded like a bitter boy. I also loved Philip Hallie's arguments. This book exposed me to a variety of thinkers whose ideas are still quite unfamiliar to me.

[Steven Pennebaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well chosen collection and the editor's introductory essays are excellent.

[Minh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro to Ethics with relevant authors.

[Jerel Cowdell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ethics: The Essential Writings is an amazingly well-written book, not my cup of tea. The book was well written in the sense it covered everything quite well. From the introduction of texts to commentary, for example, the first pages cover Socrates and his final moments allowing the reader to through the text on their own and then explain the text in the following chapter. Although some parts were hard to understand due to the nature of philosophy in the end I was able to understand most of it. My one complaint is the length of the book and the sometimes boring nature of the subject. Would suggest if you are really into philosophy and if you have a moderate to advanced comprehension of philosophy.

[Tony Senanayake · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of primary ethical texts supplemented with informative, contextual introductions. I would highly recommend this text to anyone looking to grapple with ethics through the writings of a wide variety of philosophers, ethicists, and practical thinkers. One thing I really appreciated about this compilation is the ordering of the texts. The editors have evidently thought long and hard about how to sequence the texts to allow the reader to better comprehend more modern texts that rely on earlier authors.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting introduction to the field of ethics.
I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more in the anthology from classic texts.
Most of the contemporary selections were more specific in their scope, and as such, I was less interested in their subjects, so chose not to finish those sections.
All in all, it made me want to dive deeper, and I suppose from the editor's point-of-view, was largely the point.

[Tera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this set of writings. Completely relevant to our day and age which is not a surprise, I suppose.
If you want a book that has all the writings to make you question your ideas, highly recommend this one.

[Xandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5, no Max Stirner.
Seriously, this was a pretty good intro to ethics. Not confusing or oversimplified. Good selection of text, although a little biased towards Western theories of ethical thought. This book looks big but really doesn't feel too long once you get into it.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of essays is imperative for understanding morality in the modern western context. They aren’t fun, they aren’t particularly interesting, but they’re contemplative and should be required reading before any individual freely uses the word “immoral” in a public forum.

[Haley Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

i had to read this book for ethics… the book itself was organized well and included pieces from all of the important philosophers. however, as a Christian, i do not agree with a lot of philosophy, so i did not enjoy most of this book.

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

oMG so boring. I learned nothing.

[Luke Mager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great… for western ethics. Very comprehensive if title was edited to more clearly state it’s limited global scope.

[finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is like actually a 3.5 stars. I had to read it for an ethical decisions class. Pretty interesting topics in here

[Gavin Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ethics class. Didn’t read all of the chapters 🙏

[Muaz Jalil · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute delight to read. Great intro to Ethics. Good reference! Has a paper by Susan Wolf on why Moral Saints are by definition going to be bore....my limited empirical evidence tend to agree with the thesis ;)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of the chapters. Some were very interesting and there was some confusing parts. Great philosophy book.