Classic Texts in Ethics

Many major works in the history of ethics are now available on-line in electronic versions. Some are simply ASCI or text files; as such, they contain a minimum of formating, but otherwise are quite serviceably. These can easily be searched or downloaded, and take up relatively little room in proportion to the amount of text they contain. Other files are in RTF, Rich Text Format, a standard developed by Microsoft that most word processors can use. These contain formatting niceties such as italics not found in ASCI files. A few files, although none currently on this list, are in Adobe Acrobat format, a very robust format that allows extensive formatting possibilities. A viewer for these files is available without charge from Adobe. Finally, some files are in HTML, hypertext markup language. 

Special note should be made of the files available at the Perseus Project at Tufts University. They are HTML files that make full use of the hypertext character of HTML. Click on any highlighted word (e.g., a proper name in one of Plato's dislogues), and you will automatically be taken to the entry for that name in a classical encyclopedia. This is the wave of the future

The following list is arranged in chronological order.

Plato (c. 429-347BC)

• Apology. Hypertext. Perseus Project, Tufts University.
• Crito. Hypertext. Perseus Project, Tufts University.
• Euthyphro. Hypertext. Perseus Project, Tufts University.
• Meno. Hypertext. Perseus Project. Tufts University.
• Phaedo. Hypertext. Perseus Project. Tufts University
• Philebus. Hypertext. Perseus Project, Tufts University.
• Republic. Hypertext. Perseus Project, Tufts University.
• Symposium. Hypertext. Perseus Project, Tufts University

Aristotle (384-322BC)

• Eudemian Ethics. Perseus Project, Tufts University. English with Greek links.
• Nichomachean Ethics. Hypertext at Perseus.
• Nichomachean Ethics. Ethics Updates
• Politics. Hypertext. Perseus Project, Tufts University.
• Politics. Ethics Updates
• Rhetoric. Hypertext. Perseus Project, Tufts Univesity
• Rhetoric. Ethics Updates
• Poetics. Ethics Updates
• On Interpretation. Ethics Updates
• Virtues and Vices. Hypertext. Perseus Project. Tufts University

• Aristotle's Political Philosophy Page by Clifford A. Bates Jr.
• The Sophia Project: Aristotle

Epictetus

• The Discourses

Marcus Aurelius

• Meditations. Long, trans.

Augustine (354-430)

• Confessions
• City of God
• Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love
• On Christian Doctrine

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

• Summa Theologica. Maintained by the English Dominican Province

Montaigne

• Essays. Charles Cotton, trans. Ethics Updates

Pascal

• Provincal Letters. Ethics Updates

Hobbes (1588-1679)

• The Leviathan.
• Elements of Law Natural and Politics
• The Citizen: Liberty - Dominion - Religion (1651)

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1674)

• On the Improvement of the Understanding
• The Ethics - Parts I , II , III , IV , V
• A Theologico-Political Treatise
• A Political Treatise
• Elwes' Introduction to his Spinoza Translations
• Joseph B. Yesselman's Spinoza site; dedicated to Spinoza's Insights.

Locke (1632-1704)

• Second Treatise of Government.
• A Letter Concerning Toleration, translated by William Popple
• Essay Concerning Humane Understanding
• Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)

Hume (1711-1776)

• An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Ethics Updates
• The Natural History of Religion
• My Own Life
• Essays on Suicide & the Immortality of the Soul. Unauthorized 1783 Edition.
• Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

• On Liberty.
• The Subjection of Women.
• Speech in Favor of Capital Punishment
• Autobiography
• Utilitarianism.
• Principles of Political Economy
• Representative Government. Ethics Updates

Mary Wollstonecraft

• Vindiction of the Rights of Woman. 1792

Additional Resources

• Ethics Updates Utilitarianism Page

Kant (1724-1804)

• The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics. Abbott translation.
• Introduction to the Metaphysics of Morals. Hastie translation. Ethics Updates
• The Science of Right. Hastie translation. Ethics Updates
• Critique of Practical Reason. Abbott translation.
• Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals. Abbott translation. Ethics Updates
• Critique of Judgment.
• Was ist Aufklärung?; What is Enlightenment?

Additional Resources

• Ethics Updates Kant Page

Fredrich Nietzsche

• The Antichrist , trans. by H. L. Mencken (HTML at Friedrich Nietzsche Society)
• Beyond Good and Evil , trans. by Helen Zimmern (Gutenberg text)
• The Birth of Tragedy , trans. by Ian C. Johnston (HTML in Canada)
• Human, All Too Human , trans. by Helen Zimmern (HTML at publicappeal.org)
• On the Genealogy of Morals , trans. by Ian C. Johnston (HTML in Canada)
• On the Use and Abuse of History for Life , trans. by Ian C. Johnston (HTML in Canada)
• Thus Spake Zarathustra , trans. by Thomas Common
  • text at eserver.org
  • Gutenberg text

Servers that list Electronic Texts

• The On-line Books Page at Carnegie-Mellon.
• Philosophy in Cyberspace. Excellent selection of resources on the net. Maintained by Dey Alexander at Monash University
• Christian Classics Ethereal Library
• Lists of Philosophical works available on-line. Maintained at the Free University of Berlin
• Humanities Text Initiative at the University of Michigan.
• Index of /ftp.items/Library/Classic/. Wiretap Spies

If you know of any other important texts in moral philosophy that should be be listed on this page, please e-mail its url to me at the address below.

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