The Fundamentals of Ethics
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$29.95 (04)Description
In The Fundamentals of Ethics, author Russ Shafer-Landau employs a uniquely engaging writing style to introduce students to the essential ideas of moral philosophy. Offering more comprehensive coverage of the good life, normative ethics, and metaethics than any other text of its kind, this book also addresses issues that are often omitted from other texts, such as the doctrine of doing and allowing, the doctrine of double effect, ethical particularism, the desire-satisfaction theory of well-being, and moral error theory. Shafer-Landau carefully reconstructs and analyzes dozens of arguments in depth, at a level that is understandable to students with no prior philosophical background. Ideal for courses in introductory ethics and contemporary moral problems, this book can be used as a stand-alone text or with the author's companion reader, The Ethical Life: Fundamental Readings in Ethics and Moral Problems, which offers original readings exploring the topics covered in The Fundamentals of Ethics.Reviews
"The Fundamentals of Ethics is a superb book: accessible, illuminating, and comprehensive. Shafer-Landau begins where students first confronting moral philosophy begin: with their everyday assumptions, expectations, and vocabulary. Through engaging questions and lively thought experiments, keeping jargon and overt instruction to an absolute minimum, he leads the reader to an articulate and self-aware grasp of the fundamental issues. In sum: the best such introductory text I know of."--Niko Kolodny, University of California, Berkeley
"This is a great introduction to ethics, the finest that I am aware of. I am eager to use it in my classes. . . . It is similar in structure to the wildly popular Rachels introductory ethics text but better. . . . Shafer-Landau's writing is perfect for his intended audience."--David Sobel, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
"The main strength in my mind is the clarity of the writing. Shafer-Landau has a gift for conveying the core ideas of different ethical theories, as well as fairly presenting their various strengths and weaknesses. Students will come away from reading The Fundamentals of Ethics with a very good understanding of philosophical thinking about a wide variety of issues in ethical theory."--Christian Miller, Wake Forest University
