The Elements of Moral Philosophy [Paperback]

James Rachels (Author), Stuart Rachels (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0073386715 | ISBN-13: 978-0073386713 | Publication Date: 2010 | Edition: 6th

Firmly established as the standard text for undergraduate courses in ethics, this concise, lively book takes the reader on an in-depth tour of the major moral theories, always illustrating abstract ideas with concrete examples. Separate, self-contained chapters examine such theories as Egoism, Kantianism, Utilitarianism, Virtue Ethics, and the Social Contract Theory. Through this conceptual framework, the text addresses timely and provocative issues, including abortion, racism, euthanasia, poverty, marijuana, homosexuality, the death penalty, and vegetarianism. The text's versatility makes it an ideal choice for use not only in ethical theory courses, but also in applied ethics courses of all kinds.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Rachels, the distinguished American moral philosopher, was born in Columbus, Georgia, graduating from Mercer University in Macon in 1962. He received his Ph.D. in 1967 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He taught at the University of Richmond, New York University, the University of Miami, Duke University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he spent the last twenty-six years of his career. 1971 saw the publication of Rachels’ groundbreaking textbook Moral Problems, which ignited the movement in America away from teaching ethical theory towards teaching concrete practical issues. Moral Problems sold 100,000 copies over three editions. In 1975, Rachels wrote “Active and Passive Euthanasia,” arguing that the distinction so important in the law between killing and letting die has no rational basis. Originally appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, this essay has been reprinted roughly 300 times and is a staple of undergraduate education. The End of Life (1986) was about the morality of killing and the value of life. Created from Animals (1990) argued that a Darwinian world-view has widespread philosophical implications, including drastic implications for our treatment of nonhuman animals. Can Ethics Provide Answers? (1997) was Rachels’ first collection of papers (others are expected posthumously). Rachels’ McGraw-Hill textbook, The Elements of Moral Philosophy, is now in its fourth edition and is easily the best-selling book of its kind. Over his career, Rachels wrote 5 books and 85 essays, edited 7 books and gave about 275 professional lectures. His work has been translated into Dutch, Italian, Japanese, and Serbo-Croatian. James Rachels is widely admired as a stylist, as his prose is remarkably free of jargon and clutter. A major theme in his work is that reason can resolve difficult moral issues. He has given reasons for moral vegetarianism and animal rights, for affirmative action (including quotas), for the humanitarian use of euthanasia, and for the idea that parents owe as much moral consideration to other people’s children as they do to their own. James Rachels died of cancer on September 5th, 2003, in Birmingham, Alabama.

STUART RACHELS is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama. He has revised several of James Rachels’ books, including Problems from Philosophy (second edition, 2009) and The Right Thing to Do (fifth edition, 2010), which is the companion anthology to this book. Stuart won the United States Chess Championship in 1989, at the age of 20, and he is a Bronze Life Master at bridge. His website is www.jamesrachels.org/stuart.

Product Details

• Paperback: 193 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 6th edition (2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0073386715
• ISBN-13: 978-0073386713
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #65 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great text for intro level ethics courses, March 17, 2000

By 

Robert Lane - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Elements of Moral Philosophy (Paperback)

I use this book (in conjunction with _The Right Thing to Do_, edited by Rachels) as a text for an intro-level ethics course that I teach. I can't recommend it highly enough. Rachels is a sharp philosopher, as well as an interesting and lucid writer. In this book he covers all the basics (Divine Command Theory, Cultural Relativism, Subjectivism, Utilitarianism, Kant...), and does a fine job of drawing examples from applied ethics (gay rights, euthanasia, animal rights...) to illustrate the theories he discusses. This is not to suggest that you will find no fault with any of Rachels' arguments. I myself am less than satisfied with his criticisms of emotivism and Kantianism -- but all things considered, this a minor complaint. The book still deserves five stars. If you are teaching ethics at the college level and are looking for an introductory level text, suitable for students with no previous exposure to philosophy, this is the one -- I know of none better.

80 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Despite it being popular, I cannot recommend this book, March 28, 2006

By 

Norman Schultz "another critic" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Elements of Moral Philosophy with Dictionary of Philosophical Terms (Paperback)

I teach college-level ethics and decided to give the Rachels text a try for one of my courses this semester. It being probably the most popular ethics text, I thought it surely would be at least adequate. It is not.

Pros: Rachels' section on cultural relativism is probably the best discussion of the topic in print. Use it as a pivotal reference. His sections on "Absolute Moral Rules" and "Kant and Respect for Persons" are solid, and his section "The Idea of Social Contract" is a decent discussion of an oft-slighted moral theory. He also includes a not-too-shabby discussion of feminist ethics.

Cons: I must list these.
1) Rachels' section on utilitarianism is extremely poor, hardly mentioning the very important distinction between Bentham and Mill over the object of utility or Bentham's "Calculus of Felicity" which is an extremely important utilitarian first-step.
2) In the section on utilitarianism and in a few other places (inexplicably), Rachels forgoes an adequate explanation of the theory at hand, instead choosing to discuss it in the context of an applied problem like euthanasia or homosexuality. In doing so, he tries to accomplish far too much in far to short a time without a foundation.
3) His section "Subjectivism in Ethics" is hopelessly muddled between the view that morality is up to individual tastes or doesn't exists at all, and proper metaethical concerns about the meaning of moral statements (propositions or expressions of emotion?). The two are actually separate matters, and regardless they cannot both be adequately covered in 16 4"x8" pages. Better to leave out some material than cover it badly.
4) The book is too expensive. $32 for a text that is the length of a short paperback novel is obscene. Of course, this is a systemic problem with academic texts, but I have to say something.

I would recommend Pojmans "Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong" or Timmons "Conduct and Character" over this text. The Pojman text is a little slanted to the conservative right, but that can actually work well in that it can create positive tension upon which to discuss the core issues. And Pojman covers every base (and then some). Timmons has collected top-notch accessible primary source readings on moral theory, and so is another wise choice.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introductory Text, June 19, 2003

By 

TiZ - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Elements of Moral Philosophy with Dictionary of Philosophical Terms (Paperback)

People often argue about particular moral issues, and often enter into debates with entirely different conceptions of how morality works, with different metaethical and normative ethical frameworks. Some people believe that which is moral is that which maximizes happiness, while other people believe that there are absolute moral rules which should never be transgressed (even if this were to increase happiness), still others believe that there are no objective, universal moral principles at all.
This book is a clear and thorough introduction to moral philosophy. Rachels explores Cultural Relativism, Subjectivism, Divine Command Theory, Ethical Egoism, Utilitarianism, Kantian Ethics, Social Contract Theory, Virtue Ethics and other currently relevant issues in ethics. Each ethical theory is described quite systematically and Rachels offers the popular arguments both for and against each theory. But the text isn't dry or tiring; the book is enjoyable and easy to read, and Rachels offers many colourful examples to illustrate his points.
As with almost all philosophy texts, introductory or otherwise, and especially when ethics is the subject and such topics as affirmative action and abortion are discussed, albeit briefly, don't expect to agree with every argument of the author. The book ends with suggestions for further reading for each chapter, which may also be very helpful.
This book was prescribed for a course in moral philosophy I attended, but I recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. This review refers to the third edition of this book.