The Fundamentals of Ethics
"The book is written in a crystal-clear, accessible style that makes it an ideal choice for introductory courses in ethics. Indeed, this is one of the best textbooks on any subject I've ever come across. The organization and flow of the presentation, both within and across chapters, is terrific."--Philip Robbins, University of Missouri"I believe this to be the best such introduction available. Shafer-Landau's The Fundamentals of Ethics surpasses Rachels' in several ways. First of all, Shafer-Landau's text is better organized. In short, whereas Rachels' text provides a laundry list, Shafer-Landau's offers a taxonomy, one that will help students to understand the relations among the various issues. Secondly, Shafer-Landau's text is both broader, covering more issues than Rachels' text, and deeper, covering those issues with more care and detail. Thirdly, I find Shafer-Landau's introduction to be more comprehensive and useful than Rachels' first chapter. Fourthly, Shafer-Landau's text includes a glossary of key terms. Shafer-Landau's is surely the best introductory text in ethics available."--Eugene Marshall, Wellesley College"The writing is as clear as any I've seen in a philosophy textbook. I planned to use Rachels' two books in my redesigned course until I discovered Shafer-Landau's. Fundamentals and Elements are similar books. The main advantage of the former over the latter is that Shafer-Landau addresses more arguments. Shafer-Landau is much stronger on metaethics, as is especially apparent in Chapter 21. Overall, I find the discussions in Fundamentals of Ethics to be richer and deeper than those in Rachels' Elements of Moral Philosophy."--Jeffrey Brand-Ballard, George Washington University"Shafer-Landau's book is top notch. I'm convinced that it's the clearest, most accessible introduction to ethics available. I've already told my students that they should model their writing on Shafer-Landau's; I think that he's one of the clearest writ