Customer Reviews

Beginning Lives

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I was introduced to Hursthouse's superb writings via this text - prescribed as part of a graduate course in ethics I attended several years ago.

In this book, Hursthouse focusses on issues surrounding human interactions where care-giving is either essential, or a perceived responsibility, and uses a selection of such cases as a means of introducing and illustrating the practical application of virtue theory.

The central theme and binding topic of the book is abortion, but she also deals extensively with related issues like euthanasia, child rearing, "duty" of care towards infants, children, the elderly, the physically and mentally challenged. Her examples are biased towards interactions of individuals rather than the duty of society towards those requiring care, as one would expect of a text that centers on pregnancy and abortion - involving as it does a relationship as intimate and as essential as two individuals could ever be.

In addition to providing a practical exploration of virtue ethics, Hursthouse also uses the case studies as a means of illustrating the viewpoints of opposing ethics systems. Over the course of the book a well considered amount of introductory material is provided covering the history and background of various ethics systems. Her treatment of competing viewpoints is well balanced and not overly biased - but the differences in approach are very incisively analyzed. She has an excellent feel for choosing and presenting precisely the kind of test cases that supremely illustrate how different ethical approaches
yield different results or different decisions when practically applied. Her material will give insights, even to those who already have more than superficial familiarity with various systems of ethics - and can indeed serve as a starting point for discussions on other ethics systems.

Her treatment of all topics is scholarly, responsible, and highly erudite. Her writing is lucid, easily assimilated, and often also highly entertaining. This book was written with the lay person in mind and does not require extensive pre-reading or even co-reading.

It is more than just a book on abortion, and it is more than just an introduction to virtue ethics. It is really an illustration of how to think ethically in all situations life may present us with. True: If you happen to be considering abortion, and long for better understanding of your ethical position, then this text is highly recommended. But anyone CAN read it, and everyone SHOULD.