Table Of Contentwhat is this thing
called ethics?
What is morality? How do we define what is right and wrong? How does moral
theory help us deal with ethical issues in the world around us?
This second edition provides an engaging and stimulating introduction to philo-
sophical thinking about morality. Christopher Bennett provides the reader with
accessible examples of contemporary and relevant ethical problems, before looking at
the main theoretical approaches and key philosophers associated with them. Topics
covered include:
• life and death issues such as abortion and global poverty;
• the meaning of life, whether life is sacred and which lives matter;
• major moral theories such as utilitarianism, Kantian ethics and virtue ethics;
• critiques of morality from Marx and Nietzsche.
What Is This Thing Called Ethics? has been thoroughly revised and updated
throughout, with a new final chapter on meta-ethics.
With boxed case studies, discussion questions and further reading included within
each chapter, this textbook is the ideal introduction to ethics for philosophy students
coming to the subject for the first time.
Christopher Bennett is Reader in Philosophy at the University of Sheffield, UK.
His research interests include moral, political and legal philosophy. His previous
publications include The Apology Ritual: A Philosophical Theory of Punishment (2008).
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CHRISTOPHER BENNETT
what is this
thing called
ethics?
second edition
•
First published 2010
This second edition published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2010, 2015 Christopher Bennett
The right of Christopher Bennett to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Bennett, Christopher, 1972-
What is this thing called ethics? / By Christopher Bennett. -- Second edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Ethics. I. Title.
BJ1012.B455 2015
170--dc23
2014035414
ISBN: 978-0-415-83232-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-83233-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-49418-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Berling LT Std by
Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
CONTENTS
Preface to the second edition ix
Acknowledgements x
Introduction xi
WHAT IS MORAL THINKING? xi
WHAT IS MORAL THEORY? xii
WHY DO WE NEED MORAL THEORY? xiv
IS MORALITY ALL RELATIVE? xv
WHAT SHOULD WE LOOK FOR IN A MORAL THEORY? xix
THE STRUCTURE OF THIS BOOK xx
• PART I: LIFE AND DEATH 1
1 Death and the meaning of life 3
IS DEATH BAD FOR THE PERSON WHO DIES? 3
COULD LIFE BE MEANINGLESS? 7
HEDONISM: THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE 8
HIGHER PLEASURES? 10
ARISTOTELIANISM: MEANING IN ACTIVITY 12
ELITISM 13
THE OZYMANDIAS PROBLEM 15
CONCLUSION 17
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 17
FURTHER READING 17
NOTES 18
2 Which lives count? 19
SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT KILLING 19
A STRANGE SUGGESTION 20
HUMAN LIFE AS SACRED 22
WHY THINK THAT HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED? 24
THE “SANCTITY OF LIFE” IN PRACTICAL DEBATES 26
CRITICISMS OF THE SANCTITY OF LIFE 31
vi • contents
CONCLUSION 35
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 35
FURTHER READING 36
NOTES 36
3 How much can morality require us to do for one another? 37
GLOBAL POVERTY: A RADICAL VIEW 38
DO OTHERS HAVE A RIGHT TO OUR HELP? 41
THE LIMITS OF THE DUTY TO HELP? 44
THE RADICAL’S RESPONSE: ABOLISHING DUTY AND CHARITY 47
CONCLUSION 49
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 50
FURTHER READING 51
NOTES 52
• PART II: THREE STARTING POINTS IN MORAL THEORY 53
4 Utilitarianism 55
WHAT UTILITARIANISM IS 55
UTILITARIANISM IN PRACTICE: PUNISHING AND PROMISING 59
SOME FURTHER PROBLEMS – THE HARD LIFE OF A UTILITARIAN 62
TOWARDS A SOLUTION: RULE-UTILITARIANISM 64
CRITICISMS OF RULE-UTILITARIANISM 66
SOME CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ABOUT THE NATURE OF HAPPINESS 70
CONCLUSION 72
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 73
FURTHER READING 73
NOTES 74
5 Kantian ethics 75
HUMAN DIGNITY 75
WHAT IS WRONG WITH TREATING A PERSON AS A MERE MEANS? 77
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WE ARE FREE? 78
HOW TO RESPECT PERSONS AS RATIONAL AGENTS 79
DOES KANTIAN ETHICS LEAVE US DEFENCELESS? 80
MORAL REQUIREMENTS AS REQUIREMENTS OF RATIONALITY 84
THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE 85
UNIVERSAL LAW 86
CRITICISMS OF THE UNIVERSAL LAW PROCEDURE 88
CONCLUSION 90
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 91
FURTHER READING 91
NOTE 92
contents • vii
6 Aristotelian virtue ethics 93
MOTIVATIONS FOR VIRTUE ETHICS 93
VIRTUE ETHICS: BASIC IDEAS 96
THE HUMAN FUNCTION AND THE GOOD HUMAN BEING 99
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN AND THE RATIONALITY OF THE PASSIONS 101
VIRTUE ETHICS AND EGOISM 105
CONCLUSION 110
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 110
FURTHER READING 110
NOTES 111
• PART III: FURTHER DIRECTIONS FOR MORAL THINKING 113
7 Ethics and religion 115
DOES ETHICS NEED RELIGION? 116
WHAT PROOF DO WE HAVE OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD? 119
THE EUTHYPHRO PROBLEM 121
ORTHODOXY, REVELATION AND INTERPRETATION 124
CONCLUSION 129
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 129
FURTHER READING 130
NOTES 130
8 Morality as contract 131
HOBBES: MORALITY AS RATIONAL SELF-INTEREST 131
PSYCHOLOGICAL EGOISM 134
HOBBES AND THE JUSTIFICATION OF MORALITY 137
THE “FREE-RIDER” PROBLEM 139
THE FAIR PLAY SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY 140
KANTIAN CONTRACTUALISM 143
CONCLUSION 148
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 148
FURTHER READING 149
NOTES 149
9 Critiques of morality 151
MARX ON MORALITY 151
THE NIETZSCHEAN CRITIQUE 154
WHAT SHOULD WE THINK OF MARX AND NIETZSCHE? 158
MORALITY AND PROJECTION 159
CAN MORALITY SURVIVE CRITIQUE? 160
CONCLUSION 163
viii • contents
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 163
FURTHER READING 164
NOTE 164
10 So, this thing called ethics – what kind of thing is it? 165
INTRODUCTION 165
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH “THE WHOLE IDEA OF MORALITY”? 166
MORALITY AND THE CHALLENGE FROM SCIENCE 170
OBJECTIVELY PRESCRIPTIVE AND MOTIVATIONALLY EFFECTIVE: HOW MORALITY
WOULD LIKE TO SEE ITSELF 171
IS MORALITY NECESSARY TO EXPLAIN WHY HUMAN BEINGS ACT AS THEY DO? 174
MACKIE ON THE TWO MAIN ARGUMENTS AGAINST MORALITY’S SELF-IMAGE 175
RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGE: TWO STRATEGIES 177
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 179
CONCLUSION 184
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 184
FURTHER READING 184
NOTES 185
Conclusion 186
Glossary of terms 191
Index 194
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to prepare a second edition of this
book, and I hope this new edition continues to help students and general readers get
to grips with the theoretical understanding of ethical life. I would like to thank
numerous readers who commented on the strengths and weaknesses of the first
edition, and who made suggestions for improvement. I have not been able to act on
all of these suggestions, but I have been very grateful for the engagement.
In this edition I have broadened the scope of the survey of “ethics” by including a
chapter on “meta-ethics”, that is, the study of the kind of thing that morality is. This
is now Chapter 10, in the “Further Directions for Moral Thinking” section – a good
topic for reflection, I think, once one has a firm grasp of the kinds of things morality
deals with and the substantive claims that are made for it. The questions considered
in this chapter – in particular the issues of morality’s alleged objectivity or rela-
tivity, and its compatibility with the outlook of modern science – are perennial
questions in contemporary public (and private) thinking about morality, and hence
it seemed a very helpful addition to the book to include a survey of these debates. In
addition to refreshing the material throughout the book, I have also added “case
studies” for almost every chapter – exemplifying and extending the material being
discussed by bringing it to bear on real-life cases and decisions. These case studies
can provide discussion in their own right; but can also show how reflective moral
theorising and the intricacies of ethical decision-making in everyday life can and
should illuminate one another.
