Ethics - The Fundamentals

Ethics: The Fundamentals explores core ideas and arguments in moral theory by introducing students to different philosophical approaches to ethics, including virtue ethics, Kantian ethics, divine command theory, and feminist ethics.



The first volume in the new Fundamentals of Philosophy series.

Presents lively, real-world examples and thoughtful discussion of key moral philosophers and their ideas.

Constitutes an excellent resource for readers coming to the subject of ethics for the first time.

Julia Driver is Professor of Philosophy at Dartmouth College. She is author of Uneasy Virtue (2001) as well as numerous articles in journals, including The Journal of Philosophy, The Philosophical Quarterly, and Noûs.

"Students looking for a readable introduction to ethics will find it here." (Pacific Journal of Baptist Research, 2007)
“Julia Driver’s admirably clear and concise account of the fundamentals of ethics will serve as an excellent text for introductory courses and beyond, as well as being a good place for the interested lay person to start. She discusses the major questions thoroughly and insightfully, with reference to historical and contemporary works, and uses vivid and entertaining examples.”
–Elinor Mason, University of Edinburgh

“An outstanding and highly useful contribution. Driver’s introduction to ethics is more responsive to the contemporary philosophical scene than any other that I know of.”
–Michael Slote, University of Miami

“Driver’s introductory textbook discusses the theories that should be discussed, and does so in an engaging and fair-minded way. The book is not only clear enough for students confronting moral philosophy for the first time but also penetrating enough for more advanced students.”
–Brad Hooker, University of Reading

Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
1. The Challenge to Moral Universalism.
2. God and Human Nature.
3. Classical Utilitarianism.
4. Contemporary Consequentialism.
5. Kantian Ethics.
6. Social Contract Theory.
7. Intuitionism.
8. Virtue Ethics.
9. Feminist Ethics.
10. Moral Nihilism.
Index