Sparkling introductions to the key topics in philosophy, written with zero jargon by leading philosophers.
Stephen Hetherington, What is Epistemology?
James P. Sterba, What is Ethics?
Charles Taliaferro, What is Philosophy of Religion?
polity
Copyright © James P. Sterba 2020
The right of James P. Sterba to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in 2020 by Polity Press
Polity Press
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Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK
Polity Press
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Medford, MA 02155, USA
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3104-2
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sterba, James P., author.
Title: What is ethics? / James P. Sterba.
Description: Medford, MA : Polity, 2019. | Series: What is philosophy? | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019020139 (print) | LCCN 2019981528 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509531011 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509531028 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781509531042 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Ethics.
Classification: LCC BJ1012 .S693 2019 (print) | LCC BJ1012 (ebook) | DDC 170--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019020139
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019981070
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Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.
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Ethics is the one field of study that we all need. This is because we all make choices and ethics is about the general norms that govern how we should make those choices. Not surprisingly, there is disagreement over what those norms are. What this book does is help you to work through that disagreement so that you can then make better choices.
I want to thank Oxford University Press and Pearson Education, Inc. for permission to reprint from previous work.