Description

Can we trust our intuitive judgments of right and wrong? Are moral judgments objective? What reason do we have to do what is right and avoid what is wrong? In Conversations on Ethics, Alex Voorhoeve elicits answers to these questions from eleven outstanding philosophers and social scientists:

Ken Binmore
Philippa Foot
Harry Frankfurt
Allan Gibbard
Daniel Kahneman
Frances Kamm
Alasdair MacIntyre
T. M. Scanlon
Peter Singer
David Velleman
Bernard Williams

The exchanges are direct, open, and sharp, and give a clear account of these thinkers' core ideas about ethics. They also provide unique insights into their intellectual development--how they became interested in ethics and how they conceived the ideas for which they became famous.

Conversations on Ethics will engage anyone interested in moral philosophy.

Features

• Brings contemporary moral philosophy to life in insightful exchanges
• Organized to productively contrast competing answers to the big moral questions
• Discusses key challenges to the views of major thinkers like Philippa Foot, Alasdair MacIntyre, Peter Singer, and Bernard Williams
• Many of the interviews are published here for the first time
• Accompanied by previously unpublished portraits by Steve Pyke, one of the world's leading portrait photographers

Reviews

"I have rarely enjoyed a philosophy book as much. Voorhoeve's bold effort really works. He cunningly brings ethical theory to life through insightful conversations with key philosophers and scientists. Not only do the issues come alive, but the participants do as well. Don't miss the chance to eavesdrop on these conversations."--Norman Daniels, Harvard University

"This volume is an extraordinarily rich resource. Alex Voorhoeve has interviewed many of the most interesting and influential recent thinkers on ethical topics, expertly focusing on their core positions and arguments in a series of insightful philosophical dialogues. In doing so he has produced not only a comprehensive introduction to contemporary ethical thought, but also a real sense of the human beings behind the writings."--Jonathan Wolff, University College London

About the Author(s)