Table Of Content

what 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 philosophical 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). This page intentionally left blank 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.