Moral Problems: A Coursebook Paperback - 1995

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of introductory textbooks in philosophy: collections of original texts, and single-author introductions to a whole range of ideas. For the student the difficulty with the former is the lack of background information. The problem with the latter is that one may never in fact read the original philosophical texts, and must rely on a particular author's interpretation. Moral Problems, first published in Europe in 1991 to great acclaim, is both a single-author introduction to ethics and a sourcebook containing primary texts. Moral Problems takes particular account of the needs of both teacher and student. It is not a compendium of ethical theories but a coursebook, providing the instructor, student, and general reader with a step-by-step introduction to the major ethical theories. For each topic, Palmer has provided a lengthy introduction and critique, comprehension exercises, essay questions, and an extensive bibliography. He relates each ethical theory to a contemporary issue, with an introductory discussion followed by excerpts from the original sources. Moral Problems is intended for the beginning student of philosophy. It requires no previous knowledge of philosophy but aims to teach precision in language and clarity in argument. As such it will prove ideal for students and teachers in universities, colleges, high schools, and adult study programs.