A Guide to Ethics and Moral Philosophy - by Brent Adkins (Paperback)

About the Book

Brent Adkins traces the history of ethics and morality by examining six thinkers: Aristotle, Spinoza, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche and Levinas. You'll learn what the philosophers actually said about how to live the best kind of life and, more importantly, why.

Book Synopsis

How should we live? How should we act? How might we live? These are the three questions of moral philosophy.
Brent Adkins traces the history of ethics and morality by examining six thinkers: Aristotle, Spinoza, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche and Levinas. The book is divided into 3 sections - Ethics, Morality and Beyond. Two thinkers are paired in each section to show you how the important questions of moral philosophy have been answered so that you might better answer them for yourself. You'll learn what the philosophers actually said about how to live the best kind of life and, more importantly, why.

From the Back Cover

A student's guide to ethics and moral philosophy in its historical context How should we live? How should we act? How might we live? These are the three questions of moral philosophy. Brent Adkins traces the history of ethics and morality by examining six thinkers: Aristotle, Spinoza, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche and Levinas. The book is divided into 3 sections:  Ethics, Morality and Beyond. Two thinkers are paired in each section to show you how the important questions of moral philosophy have been answered so that you might better answer them for yourself. You'll learn what the philosophers actually said about how to live the best kind of life and, more importantly, why. Key Features - Each chapter includes definitions of key terms - The end of each chapter includes summaries and discussion questions which reinforce and apply the material - The discussion of each thinker is centred on a specific text for ease of reference and clarity of understanding - Texts analysed include: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Spinoza's Ethics, Kant's Groundwork, Mill's Utilitarianism, Nietzsche's Genealogy and Levinas' 'Ethics as First Philosophy' - Includes a glossary as well as a helpful timeline to contextualise each philosopher's life and work Brent Adkins is Professor of Philosophy at Roanoke College. Cover image: Eros, Paul Klee, 1923 (c) akg-images Cover design: [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN [PPC] 978-1-4744-2277-2 ISBN [cover] 978-1-4744-2278-9 Barcode

Review Quotes

Brent Adkins has written a really good introductory textbook which includes a more critical approach to ethics. The 12-chapter structure is perfect for the average semester.--Stefan Bird-Pollan, University of Kentucky

This textbook will be terrific for undergraduate students of philosophy but also for students from other disciplines where ethics, both from the historical and practical perspective, is taught.--Fredrika Spindler, Williams College

About the Author

Brent Adkins is Professor of Philosophy at Roanoke College. He is the author of A Guide to Ethics and Moral Philosophy (Edinburgh University Press, 2017, Deleuze and Guattari's A Thousand Plateaus: A Critical Introduction and Guide (Edinburgh University Press, 2015), Rethinking Philosophy and Theology with Deleuze: A New Cartography (Bloomsbury, 2013), True Freedom: Spinoza's Practical Philosophy (Lexington Books, 2009) and Death and Desire in Hegel, Heidegger, and Deleuze (Edinburgh University Press, 2007).