The Elements of Moral Philosophy
The Elements of Moral Philosophy is a 1986 ethics textbook by the philosophers James Rachels and Stuart Rachels. It explains a number of moral theories and topics, including cultural relativism, subjectivism, divine command theory, ethical egoism, social contract theory, utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, and deontology. The book uses real-life examples in explaining the theories. The author considers some problems such as relativism and moral subjectivism, religion and its relations with morality, the ethical and psychological selfishness of people, at the same time that he shows us some very important normative theories, such as Kantianism, utilitarianism , ethics. of virtue, feminist ethics and contractualist theories. The book is not intended to give a clear and unified theory about the "truth" of the analyzed topics, but rather offers a vision of a set of ideas, theories and competent arguments since philosophy as morality itself is first of all or others. an exercise of reason. Topics. The moral. The book tells us that morality refers to, at the very least, the effort to guide our behavior for reasons. This refers to doing something for which there are better reasons while giving equal weight to the interests of each person  who will be affected by what we do. It also gives us a clear picture of what it means to be morally responsible. He is someone who looks out impartially for the interests of everyone who is affected by his actions, someone who carefully distinguishes facts and evaluates their implications, someone who accepts principles of conduct after carefully analyzing them to be sure that are concrete, be willing to listen to reason even when it means for him to have to review his own previous convictions and finally be willing to act on the consequences of his consideration. Ethical Egoism . Within the chapter of ethical egoism, it is discussed how people act in or carry out their activities in a disinterested way. Many people in the day to day carry out actions in which they help and benefit each other. Community work, donations, foundations and social service work are many examples of people who act in a disinterested way always thinking of helping their neighbor, however in this chapter a theory of human nature called "psychological selfishness" is mentioned in which tells us that no one is capable of acting disinterestedly since the aforementioned is an illusion and all people  act always thinking in themselves. Does Morality depend on religion? The discussion between whether there is a connection between morality and religion and its influence within it are topics that this chapter addresses. People's assumptions tend to see religious entities as moral representatives and take them as good moral advisers but it is because it is viewed from a non-religious perspective in which the world without religion is a cold and meaningless place for many people. Editions. James Rachels wrote the first edition in 1986. He revised the book three times, adding a chapter on "The Ethics of  Virtue" in 1993 and a chapter on "Feminism and the Ethics of Care" in 1999. The fourth edition appeared in 2003, the year Rachels died. Since then, his son Stuart has written the fifth edition and the sixth edition, which was released in April 2009. An 8th edition was released in October 2014. The book has been translated into Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish, Persian and Albanian. It is known for its accessibility to a wide readership. Elements of Moral Philosophy. Morality is how we determine what is good. Morality is the standard by which we determine  what is good. According to classical ideals, being good has five elements: pleasure, happiness, excellence, creativity and harmony. Ethics are the rules we use to guide our moral behaviors. The Elements of Moral Philosophy by James Rachels and Stuart Rachels is a best-selling text for undergraduate courses in ethics. Thirteen thought-provoking chapters introduce readers to major moral concepts and theories in philosophy through clear, understandable explanations and compelling discussions. Author. James Rachels (1941-2003) was University Professor of Phi losophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It was also author of The End of Life: Euthanasia and  Morality (1986), Created from Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism (1990) and Can Ethics Provide Answers? And Other Essays in Moral Philosophy (1997) 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. The Elements of Moral Philosophy The