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An Introduction. Presents an accessible and engaging introduction to right and wrong in the context of a variety of contemporary issues actively debated in moral philosophy today.Additional resources are available at thisisphilosophy.com.
List of contents
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xix
Part One What's in Our Interests? 1
1 Pleasure 3
Three Questions about Pleasure 4
What Is Pleasure? 6
The sensation view 7
The attitude view 7
The desire view 8
Physiology of pleasure* 10
Value of Pleasure 11
Hedonism 12
Argument in favor of hedonism 1: Discernible differences 13
Argument in favor of hedonism 2: Motivation 13
Higher pleasures 13
Pluralism about prudential value 15
Nozick's experience machine argument 15
Two responses to Nozick 16
Pessimism about the value of pleasure* 17
Summary and Questions 19
Annotated Bibliography 20
Online Resources 22
2 Happiness, Well-being, and the Meaning of Life 25
Hedonism, Again 27
Objection 1: Trivial pleasures 28
Objection 2: The role of happiness in deliberation 28
Satisfaction Theories 29
Desire satisfaction theories of well-being 29
Objections to desire satisfaction theories 30
Objection 1: Which desires count? 30
Objection 2: Expensive tastes 31
Life satisfaction theories of happiness 32
An objection to life satisfaction theories 33
Objective List Theories 34
Objections to the objective list theories 35
The Capability Approach* 37
Happiness and the Meaning of Life 39
Emotional state theory of happiness* 40
The question of the meaning of life 41
Susan Wolf 's fitting fulfillment theory 42
Summary and Questions 43
Annotated Bibliography 44
Online Resources 47
Part Two Normative Ethics 51
3 Egoism and Altruism 53
Different Forms of Egoism and Altruism 55
Feldman's objection to ethical egoism 56
Two Arguments for Ethical Egoism 57
The "ought implies can" argument 58
The practical reasons argument 58
Two Objections to Psychological Egoism 59
The everyday objection 59
The evolutionary objection 60
Moore's Argument against Ethical Egoism* 62
Problems of Moore's argument* 63
Gauthier's Contractarianism 64
The paradox of social cooperation 65
Contractarianism as a solution 67
The compliance problem 68
Reason one: Risk of exclusion 69
Reason two: Risk of revealing your true motives 69
Summary 69
Problems with Gauthier's Theory 70
Objection 1: Scope of moral concern 70
Objection 2: Deception 70
Objection 3: Acting for right reasons 71
Summary and Questions 71
Annotated Bibliography 73
Online Resources 75
4 Consequentialism and Kantian Ethics 79
Consequentialism 80
Utilitarianism 82
Deliberation procedure vs. criterion of rightness 83
Direct vs. indirect forms of consequentialism 83
Utilitarianism vs. richer conceptions of value 84
Actual vs. expected value 85
Maximizing vs. satisficing 86
Mill's Argument for Utilitarianism 86
The problems with Mill's argument 88
Saving Mill's argument 89
Kantian Ethics 90
The good will 90
The universalization test 92
Duties, right and wrong 94
Why do the right thing? 95
Reason 1: Exceptions 95
Reason 2: Freedom 96
Counterexamples and Convergence 97
Counterexamples to utilitarianism 98
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