Introduction

While a case can be made for saying that human beings share features with non-human animals, there are nonetheless many reasons to regard human beings as set apart from other animals. Our linguistic abilities – something not matched in any real sense by non-human animals – is often cited as one such feature, but our propensity to value certain actions as right, certain character traits as virtues and certain kinds of life as more worthy than others, must surely figure on any list of our special features. Like all other animals, we do things because of the desires, needs and interests we have, but we are also sensitive to value in a way that seems simply absent from the lives of non-human animals. This is not to say that human beings always, or even often, do the right thing or seek virtue and worthiness. It is perfectly consistent with a view of ourselves as moral animals to find that we are also capable of the most appalling acts and lives. But the very fact that morality counts for us and not for other creatures is something that cries out for an explanation. What is it to value in the way that we do? What is it to have an ethical viewpoint? What, in short, is morality that it can and does play the roles it does in our lives? (Note that most philosophers use the terms ‘ethics’ and ‘moral philosophy’ interchangeably, and they are so used in this guide.)

In this course, we will look in detail at the work of five historical philosophers who have undertaken to answer these sorts of question. These philosophers are: Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant and Mill. However, their works are not merely of historical importance to the development of moral philosophy. They continue to shape contemporary discussion and, even more importantly, they are part of the fabric of our culture.

In each chapter, there will be a main text and, taking the advice given in the reading list on primary texts, you should aim to read the work carefully and critically. Though I have provided accompanying explanatory material – both about the relevant texts and the problems they raise – you will benefit from, and need to read, the items in the Recommended essential reading. These will not only help to deepen your understanding of the relevant works, they will also help in your critical assessment of them. As you might expect, given the fundamental importance of the works discussed in this course, there is a huge literature accompanying each of them. The reading lists provided are, therefore, highly selective. However, I have also included Further reading which, if you develop a special interest in one of the texts, will help guide you into the literature. Note too that many of the items in the Recommended essential and Further reading lists include yet more bibliographic information.

Some of the Essential readings that appear in the chapters that follow are available through the Student Portal, either:

  1. 1. single chapters of books, which have been made available on the VLE, or
  2. 2. articles from different journals, which can be found in the Online Library (for the most part in JSTOR).

These have been marked with an * before the author’s name. Other readings are available online. Public internet resources are accessed by clicking links (shown in the standard way selected by your text viewer, and typically changing colour after they have been clicked). Most books recommended in this guide are widely available for purchase from online booksellers.