It’s obviously impossible to cover all of moral theory in ten pages, but what I intended to provide in this introduction is simply a road map—more accurately, perhaps, a freeway map without any of the local roads—to major points in ethical theories. When I discuss specific moral topics, I inevitably contrast deontological and utilitarian concerns and also mention Aristotelian concerns about character issues. This introduction just provides students with a very brief overview of these and other positions.

If you want to supplement this book with a separate introduction to ethical theory, there are several good books. James Rachels has a very nice, readable introduction to moral theory called The Elements of Moral Philosophy, 2^nd edition (New York: Random House, 1993). Louis Pojman has done a very accessible introduction that defends moral realism in his Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong (Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1990). I have also tried my hand at moral theory recently, working out a pluralistic account in my Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory (Fort Worth: Harcourt, Brace, 1994, 1997). (For further information about my ethical theory book, see my web site described below or e-mail me at hinman@sandiego.edu.)

If you want to supplement this book with additional primary sources, many of these are available on the world wide web. See the section above on on-line texts in ethics. Also see the updated links available in the "Reference Room" of Ethics Updates.

There is a danger in any taxonomy of moral theories, such as the one given in my introduction, that students will conclude that there is so much disagreement in ethics that there is no need to think about these theories seriously. This is a type of nihilism, a giving up on the possibility of truth in this domain.

In presenting these theories, I inevitably stress the ways in which I think these theories are all right—each giving valuable insights into the nature of the moral life, none giving the entire story. It is not necessary for students to choose one theory and to refute the others. Rather, they can recognize that each theory may shed important moral light on the issue at hand. It is their task as individuals to reach wise judgments on these issues in light of the various theories.

Ask students to examine their own moral decision making process by examining a particular instance in which they had to make a personal decision about what the morally right course of action was. What type of concerns—consequences, self-interest, duty, intentions, character—typically matter to them? Are they all important? Do some have priority over others?

I have tried to organize a number of the internet resources available in ethical theory on my web page in the ethical theory sections. These include the texts of most major moral philosophers, bibliographies, etc. Please check out the theory sections (including sections on moral relativism, ethical egoism, utilitarianism, Kant, Aristotle, rights theory, and diversity) in Ethics Updates at

This site contains such texts as Plato’s dialogues; Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics, the Eudemian Ethics, the Politics, and the Rhetoric; Epictetus’ Discourses; Marcus Aurelius’ Mediations; Augustine’s Confessions; Aquinas’ Summa Theologica; Montaigne’s Essays; Hobbes’ Leviathan’ Locke’s Second Treatise and his Letter Concerning Toleration, Hume’s Essay on Suicide and the Immortality of the Soul; Mill’s On Liberty, Utilitarianism, and The Subjection of Women; Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman; and most of Kant’s works on moral philosophy, including The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics (Abbott translation), Introduction to the Metaphysics of Morals (Hastie translation), The Science of Right (Hastie translation), Critique of Practical Reason (Abbott translation), Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals (Abbott translation), and the German text of "Was ist Aufklärung?".