Ethics: Selections from Classical and Contemporary Writers

Western tradition, from Plato to John Rawls and other contemporary writers. Chronologically oriented, the book's unbiased and comprehensive coverage fosters a firm grasp of many seminal ideas and thinkers in the history of Western ethics. This latest edition of Johnson's classic anthology features a significant revision of Part III, "The Contemporary Period." In addition to providing a historical introduction to moral philosophy, the book now provides a very timely introduction to the main currents in contemporary moral philosophy, such as contemporary deontology, Kantianism, consequentialism, contractarianism, and virtue theory. Newly added contemporary readings that articulate well with the classical sources demonstrate the continuity between historical and contemporary concerns, for example showing how the ideas of the classical writers have been taken up and developed by contemporary philosophers.