The Structure of Normative Ethics
& Other Essays in Moral Philosophy
Will be published approx. on 25. August 2026
Book
Hardback
280 pages
978-0-19-782532-7 (ISBN)
Description
This volume contains a selection of essays on the structure and methods of normative ethics by Shelly Kagan.
The essays are grouped in three parts. Part I contains a cluster of essays on the structure of normative ethics. These essays provide a systematic survey of the basic normative factors, introduce the concept of evaluative focal points, and examine competing theories about the foundations of normative ethics. The essays in Part II explore the various methods of normative ethics, critically examining the role of thought experiments and the practical difficulty of following moral principles given various epistemic limitations. Part III brings together two essays relating to practical ethics, in particular on whether consequentialist theories can adequately deal with collective action problems, and on whether speciesism is morally wrong. The volume also contains a preface by Kagan, an introduction co-written by the two editors, and a commentary by the two editors that identifies interrelations between Kagans published works and points to criticisms and developments of his work by other philosophers.
This volume is the first in a two-volume collection of Kagans essays. Its successor, Rethinking Intrinsic Value & Other Essays on the Good, collects essays on value, well-being, and desert.
The essays are grouped in three parts. Part I contains a cluster of essays on the structure of normative ethics. These essays provide a systematic survey of the basic normative factors, introduce the concept of evaluative focal points, and examine competing theories about the foundations of normative ethics. The essays in Part II explore the various methods of normative ethics, critically examining the role of thought experiments and the practical difficulty of following moral principles given various epistemic limitations. Part III brings together two essays relating to practical ethics, in particular on whether consequentialist theories can adequately deal with collective action problems, and on whether speciesism is morally wrong. The volume also contains a preface by Kagan, an introduction co-written by the two editors, and a commentary by the two editors that identifies interrelations between Kagans published works and points to criticisms and developments of his work by other philosophers.
This volume is the first in a two-volume collection of Kagans essays. Its successor, Rethinking Intrinsic Value & Other Essays on the Good, collects essays on value, well-being, and desert.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-19-782532-7 (9780197825327)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Shelly Kagan is Clark Professor at Yale University. He is the author of The Limits of Morality (1989), Normative Ethics (1998), Death (2012), The Geometry of Desert (2012), How to Count Animals, more or less (2019), and Answering Moral Skepticism (2023). His work has appeared in various journals, including Ethics, Philosophy & Public Affairs, and Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. Videos of Kagan's course on death have been very popular online. Kagan is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Huub Brouwer is Assistant Professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy at Tilburg University. His work has appeared in various journals, including the Journal of Applied Philosophy, the Journal of Ethics, Philosophical Studies, and the Journal of Moral Philosophy. Professor Brouwer received an individual research grant (Veni) from the Netherlands Research Council to work on a four-year research project on philosophy of taxation. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Ethics.
Benjamin Mullins is a PhD candidate at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a member of the Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics. His current work analyses how well both consequentialist and non-consequentialist theories fare with respect to various collective action problems. He has been a visitor at Yale University and at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. He is editor of the Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics.
Huub Brouwer is Assistant Professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy at Tilburg University. His work has appeared in various journals, including the Journal of Applied Philosophy, the Journal of Ethics, Philosophical Studies, and the Journal of Moral Philosophy. Professor Brouwer received an individual research grant (Veni) from the Netherlands Research Council to work on a four-year research project on philosophy of taxation. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Ethics.
Benjamin Mullins is a PhD candidate at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a member of the Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics. His current work analyses how well both consequentialist and non-consequentialist theories fare with respect to various collective action problems. He has been a visitor at Yale University and at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. He is editor of the Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics.
Author
Clark Professor of PhilosophyClark Professor of Philosophy, Yale University
Editor
Assistant Professor of Ethics and Political PhilosophyAssistant Professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Tilburg University
PhD CandidatePhD Candidate, Erasmus School of Philosophy, Erasmus University
Content
Part 1. Structure 1: The Structure of Normative Ethics 2: Evaluative Focal Points 3: Kantianism for Consequentialists
Part 2. Methods 4: The Additive Fallacy 5: The Paradox of Methods 6: Thinking About Cases
Part 3. Practical Ethics 7: Do I Make a Difference? 8: What's Wrong with Speciesism? Editorial Commentary & Further Reading
Part 2. Methods 4: The Additive Fallacy 5: The Paradox of Methods 6: Thinking About Cases
Part 3. Practical Ethics 7: Do I Make a Difference? 8: What's Wrong with Speciesism? Editorial Commentary & Further Reading