The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory is a major new reference work in ethical theory consisting of commissioned essays by leading moral philosophers. Ethical theories have always been of central importance to philosophy, and remain so; ethical theory is one of the most active areas of philosophical research and teaching today. Courses in ethics are taught in colleges and universities at all levels, and ethical theory is the organizing principle for all of them. The Handbook is divided into two parts, mirroring the field. The first part treats meta-ethical theory, which deals with theoretical questions about morality and moral judgment, including questions about moral language, the epistemology of moral belief, the truth aptness of moral claims, and so forth. The second part addresses normative theory, which deals with general moral issues, including the plausibility of various ethical theories and abstract principles of behavior. Examples of such theories are consequentialism and virtue theory. As with other Oxford Handbooks, the twenty-five contributors cover the field in a comprehensive and highly accessible way, while achieving three goals: exposition of central ideas, criticism of other approaches, and putting forth a distinct viewpoint. ~ Product Description

Table of Contents

• • Introduction : meta-ethics and normative ethics    3
  • 1    Moral realism    39
  • 2    Theological voluntarism    63
  • 3    Ethical naturalism    91
  • 4    Non-naturalism    122
  • 5    Anti-realist expressivism and quasi-realism    146
  • 6    Biology and ethics    163
  • 7    Sensibility theory and projectivism    186
  • 8    Moral sentimentalism and moral psychology    219
  • 9    Moral relativism and moral nihilism    240
  • 10    Human theory of practical rationality    265
  • 11    Morality and practical reason : a Kantian approach    282
  • 12    Free will and moral responsibility    321
  • 13    Value theory    357
  • 14    Some forms and limits of consequentialism    380
  • 15    Deontology    424
  • 16    Moral rights    459
  • 17    Kantian normative ethics    480
  • 18    Virtue ethics    515
  • 19    The ethics of care    537
  • 20    Particularism and anti-theory    567
  • 21    Intuitions in moral inquiry    595
  • 22    Theory, practice, and moral reasoning    624