Ethics: Twelve Lectures on the Philosophy of Morality
This is an unusually pleasing introductory (but neither elementary nor trite) work in ethics. Time spent in David Wiggins's company is time well and pleasantly spent. This book is accessible to educated and thoughtful readers of all sorts. In a time when much work in ethics is so laden with one (usually unattractive) philosophical theory or another, it is refreshing to find a work by a major philosopher who wishes his audience to rely only on a grasp of moral notions 'preferably undisturbed by theory.' I know of no other recent (or nonrecent) book that occupies quite the philosophical territory that this one does, and certainly none that does so with such quiet effectiveness and graciousness. (C. D. C. Reeve, Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and author ofLove's Confusions)Wiggins has a distinctive take on the subject that aims to draw important insights from contending traditions and canonical figures. His guiding line is not to stint on morality's demandingness or categoricality, related to an appropriate conception of reciprocity and human dignity (Kantian themes), but always to insist on finding a place for ethical ideas within human psychology as we find it, taking the full measure of our psychic resources (a Humean theme), never to overreach in the degree of precision the subject admits of, and always to be firmly rooted in practical life as we experience it (an Aristotelian theme). In a slogan: Moral theory with a human face. (Stephen Darwall, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan and author ofThe Second-Person Standpoint)It is virtually impossible to give a summary ofEthicsthat does justice to the depth and breadth of topics covered in David Wiggins' new introduction to moral theory.Ethicsis both highly informative, providing detailed expositions of the arguments of main figures in the history of moral philosophy, and engagingly polemical, offering an overall argument for a pluralistic, Humean conception of morality...It is a book well-worth spending time with, not only for the compelling and challenging arguments Wiggins makes on behalf of a Humean approach to morality, but also for the remarkably detailed and incisive presentation of the ground he covers. (Sirine ShebayaMetapsychology2006-08-29)There are few moral philosophers who will not learn something by studying this book and giving it the concentration it demands. Whether he is talking about Kant or John Stuart Mill, Rawls or John Mackie, Wiggins has subtle and interesting things to say. (Simon BlackburnTimes Higher Education Supplement2006-09-08)