Fundamentals of Ethics

In The Fundamentals of Ethics, Seventh Edition, author Russ Shafer-Landau employs a uniquely engaging writing style to introduce students to the essential ideas of moral philosophy. Offering more comprehensive coverage of the good life, normative ethics, and metaethics than any other text of its kind, this book also addresses issues that are often omitted from other texts, such as the doctrine of doing and allowing, the doctrine of double effect, ethical particularism, the desire-satisfaction theory of well-being, moral error theory, and Ross' theory of prima facie duties. Shafer-Landau carefully reconstructs and analyzes dozens of arguments in depth, at a level that is understandable to students with no prior philosophical background. Changes to this edition include (but are not limited to) combining previous edition chapters 1 and 2 into a single chapter on Hedonism (chapter 1) and combining chapters 3 and 4 into a single chapter on Desire Satisfaction Theory (chapter 2). A brand-new chapter 3 on Objectivism about The Good Life has been added.