Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics

Simon Blackburn is a Philosophy Professor at the University of Cambridge. He was the Edna J. Doury Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina until recently, and he was a Fellow and Tutor at Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1969 to 1999. Among his many books are The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (1994) and the best-selling Think (OUP, 1999).

In this lively book, Simon Blackburn tackles the fundamental questions of ethics with wit and elegance, highlighting the complications and troubling issues that arise from the very simple question of how we ought to live. Blackburn examines the various reasons why we are skeptical of ethics. Using examples from history, politics, religion, and everyday personal experience, he demonstrates how cynicism and self-consciousness can paralyze us into believing that ethics is a hopeless pursuit. He assures us that ethics is not a frivolous or irrelevant pursuit, but rather an integral part of the most important issues of life—birth, death, happiness, desire, freedom, pleasure, and justice. Indeed, our everyday struggles are rife with ethical issues, from moral quandaries about abortion and euthanasia to our obsession with personal rights to our longing for a sense of meaning in life. Blackburn boils down Hume, Kant, and Aristotle's arguments to highlight the timeless relevance of our conscience, the dangers of complacency, and our concerns about truth, knowledge, and human progress.

Being Good is an important statement on our current disenchantment with ethics, thanks to Blackburn's rare combination of depth, rigor, and sparkling prose, as well as his distinguished ranking among contemporary philosophers. It encourages us to consider our ethical climate more carefully and to reconsider our own standards of behavior.

Author: Simon Blackburn

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0192853775/

Ratings: 4.3 out of 5 stars (from 186 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #361,986 in Books

#58 in Ethics

#1,112 in Philosophy of Ethics & Morality