Philosophical Ethics: An Historical And Contemporary Introduction (Dimensions of Philosophy Series)

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D A R WA L L

Philosophical Ethics introduces students to ethics from a distinctively philosophical perspective, one that weaves together central ethical questions such as “What has value?” and “What are our moral obligations?” with fundamental philosophical issues such as “What is value?” and “What can a moral obligation consist in?” Throughout, the reader is invited to do—rather than just read about—philosophical ethics and, in doing so, to think through questions that face all thoughtful human beings. Themes include the nature of value and moral obligation, freemorality, and the importance of relationships for human life.

Dimensions of Philosophy NORMAN DANIELS

AND

K E I T H L E H R E R , Series Editors

The traditional problems of philosophy take on new meaning and different color in the light of each generation’s unique character. It is not only the history of philosophy that must be reexamined; the same is true for our understanding of any philosophical problem or topic.

Philosophical Ethics

dom and choice, human flourishing, excellence and merit, radical critiques of

Philosophical Ethics S T E P H E N D A R WA L L

Dimensions of Philosophy is dedicated to the next generation of philosophers and their students. It will present some of our most distinguished philosophers interpreting the traditional issues of philosophy for the 1990s. STEPHEN DARWALL is professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and is the author of Impartial Reason and The British Moralists and the Internal “Ought:” 1640‒1740. WESTVIEW PRESS 5500 Central Avenue • Boulder, Colorado 80301-2877 12 Hid’s Copse Road • Cumnor Hill • Oxford OX2 9JJ www.westviewpress.com Cover Design: Rebecca Finkel, F+P Graphic Design

ISBN-13: 978-0-8133-7860-2 ISBN-10: 0-8133-7860-5

Dimensions of Philosophy Series

(cloth)

ISBN-10: 0-8133-7860-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-8133-7860-2 (pbk.)