Citation Information
Article Title: Ethics
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 12 August 2019
URL: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-philosophy
Access Date: August 16, 2019
Additional Reading General works
For an introduction to the major theories of ethics, the reader should consult James Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy, 4th ed. (2003), an excellent brief textbook. Simon Blackburn, Being Good (2001), is another short introduction to the issues. Peter Singer (ed.), A Companion to Ethics (1991, reissued 2000), is a collection of specially written essays that covers many of the topics discussed more briefly in this article, while the same editor’s Ethics (1994) is an anthology of classical and modern writings. James Rachels (ed.), Ethical Theory (1998), is a two-volume collection, the first volume covering metaethics, the second normative ethics. Louis Pojman (ed.), Ethical Theory, 4th ed. (2002), is another useful collection of previously published writings. Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte B. Becker (eds.), Encyclopedia of Ethics, 2nd ed., 3 vol. (2001), is a comprehensive reference work. Origins of ethics
Joyce O. Hertzler, The Social Thought of the Ancient Civilizations (1936, reprinted 1975), is a wide-ranging collection. Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, new ed. (1989, reissued 1999), is brilliant but often misunderstood by careless readers. Robert Wright, The Moral Animaclass="underline" Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life (1994); and Matt Ridley, The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation (1996), both provide fuller evolutionary accounts of the origins of ethics. On psychology, the neurosciences, and ethics, the reader should consult Antonio R. Damasio, Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain (1994, reissued 2000); Jonathan Haidt, “The Emotional Dog and Its Rational Tail,” Psychological Review, 108(4):814–834 (October 2001); and J. Greene et al., “An fMRI Investigation of Emotional Engagement in Moral Judgment,” Science, 293(5537):2105–08 (September 14, 2001). History of Western ethics
Henry Sidgwick, Outlines of the History of Ethics for English Readers, 6th enlarged ed. (1931, reissued 1996), is a triumph of scholarship and brevity, though now a little dated. William Edward Hartpole Lecky, History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne, 3rd rev. ed., 2 vol. (1877, reprinted 1975), is another classic. Among more recent histories, Alasdair MacIntyre, A Short History of Ethics, 2nd ed. (1998, reissued 2002), is a readable personal view. Vernon J. Bourke, History of Ethics (1968, reissued in 2 vol., 1970), is remarkably comprehensive. J.B. Schneewind, The Invention of Autonomy: A History of Modern Moral Philosophy (1998), is a scholarly history of modern moral philosophy. Warren Ashby, A Comprehensive History of Western Ethics (1997), is broader in scope, going well beyond the usual array of philosophers. Robert L. Arrington, Western Ethics: An Historical Introduction (1998), contains chapters on the major ethical thinkers from Plato onward. Timothy Shanahan and Robin Wang (eds.), Reason and Insight: Western and Eastern Perspectives on the Pursuit of Moral Wisdom (1996), offers introductory accounts of the major ethical traditions of both East and West, supplemented by extracts from the key texts. Indian ethics
The reader should begin with Sue Hamilton, Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction (2001). Surama Dasgupta, Development of Moral Philosophy in India, 2nd ed. (1994), is a clear discussion of the various schools. Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics (2000), is a substantial account of that tradition. Chinese ethics
Hyun Hochsmann, On Philosophy in China (2004), is a general introduction and overview. A standard work is Fung Yu-Lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, trans. from the Chinese by Derk Bodde, 2 vol. (1952–53, reprinted 1983). Also recommended are Jacques Gernet, A History of Chinese Civilization, trans. from the French by J.R. Foster and Charles Hartman, 2nd ed. (1996, reissued 2002); and A.C. Graham, Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China (1989). Ancient Greek and Roman ethics
Jonathan Barnes, The Presocratic Philosophers, rev. ed. (1982, reissued 1999), treats Greek ethics before Socrates. Introductions to the ethical thought of this period include Pamela M. Huby, Greek Ethics (1967, reissued 1998); Christopher Rowe, An Introduction to Greek Ethics (1976); and William J. Prior, Virtue and Knowledge: An Introduction to Ancient Greek Ethics (1991). Early and medieval Christian ethics
Arthur Stephen McGrade, R. John Kilcullen, and M.S. Kempshall (eds.), Cambridge Translations of Medieval Philosophical Texts (2000), is a selection of major texts from the period. On the history of the transition from Roman ethics to Christianity, Lecky’s classic work, cited above, is splendid reading. Henry Chadwick, Augustine: A Very Short Introduction (1986, reissued 2001), is a useful study. John Finnis, Aquinas: Moral, Political and Legal Theory (1998), treats the most influential Scholastic writer on ethics. The British tradition from Hobbes to the utilitarians
Selections of the major texts of this period are brought together in D.D. Raphael (ed.), British Moralists, 1650–1800, 2 vol. (1969, reissued 1991); and in D.H. Monro (ed.), A Guide to the British Moralists (1972). Useful introductions to separate writers include J. Kemp, Ethical Naturalism (1970), on Hobbes and Hume; W.D. Hudson, Ethical Intuitionism (1967), on the intuitionists from Cudworth to Price and the debate with the moral sense school; and J.B. Schneewind, Sidgwick’s Ethics and Victorian Moral Philosophy (1977, reissued 2000). C.D. Broad, Five Types of Ethical Theory (1930, reissued 2000), includes clear accounts of the ethics of Butler, Hume, and Sidgwick. J.L. Mackie, Hume’s Moral Theory (1980, reissued 1993), brilliantly traces the relevance of Hume’s work to current disputes about the nature of ethics. The continental tradition from Spinoza to Nietzsche
Among the easier introductory studies are Robert Wokler, Rousseau: A Very Short Introduction (2001); Roger J. Sullivan, An Introduction to Kant’s Ethics (1994); Michael Tanner, Nietzsche: A Very Short Introduction (2001); and Peter Singer, Hegeclass="underline" A Very Short Introduction (2001), and Marx: A Very Short Introduction (2000). Broad’s work, cited above, contains readable accounts of the ethics of both Spinoza and Kant. Metaethics