EBOOK Being Good:A Short Introduction to Ethics

It is not only in our dark hours that scepticism, relativism, hypocrisy, and        nihilism dog ethics. Whether it is a matter of giving to charity, or sticking to        duty, or insisting on our rights, we can be confused, or be paralysed by the fear        that our principles are groundless. Many are afraid that in a Godless world science        has unmasked us as creatures fated by our genes to be selfish and tribalistic, or        competitive and aggressive. Simon Blackburn, author of the best-sellingThink,        structures this short introduction around these and other threats to ethics.          Confronting seven different objections to our self-image as moral, well-behaved        creatures, he charts a course through the philosophical quicksands that often engulf        us. Then, turning to problems of life and death, he showshow we should think about        the meaning of life, and how we should mistrust the sound-bite sized absolutes that        often dominate moral debates. Finally he offers a critical tour of the ways the        philosophical tradition has tried to provide foundations for ethics, from Plato and        Aristotle through to contemporary debates.