Moral Dilemmas, Identity, and Our Moral Condition: A Guide for the Ethically Perplexed

Moral dilemmas are bedeviling situations in which incompatible actions appear to be morally required. Moral Dilemmas, Identity, and Our Moral Condition takes moral dilemmas seriously and uses them to structure ethical inquiry. Following Cicero and other ancient philosophers, the book views ethics in terms of the question of who and what sort of person one ought to be. Understanding our moral condition requires an ability to think productively about that question.

Perry develops a novel way of thinking about our moral condition through moral dilemmas and by looking at how identity can serve to ground moral norms. Moral dilemmas lead us to look for grounding, but traditional approaches are wanting. Identity can provide grounding—facts about who we are can serve to ground norms.

The work develops an understanding of identity in terms of a complex web of roles and applies this approach to moral dilemmas and other ethical problems. In doing so, it develops a framework for engaging in ethical thought that avoids reliance on any grand theories; it articulates a useful tool for engaging in ethical thought. Moral Dilemmas, Identity, and Our Moral Condition develops a new and fruitful ethical framework. provides the reader with a critical, philosophical, and accessible approach to ethics.

Michael Shaw Perry holds an BA in Philosophy from Dartmouth College and was awarded the Francis Gramlich Philosophy Prize and Barrett All-Around Achievement Cup. He earned an MA and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University, working primarily in epistemology. He also holds a JD from the University of Michigan Law School. This book is the result of his personal and intellectual struggles with the framework for ethical thinking and trying to figure out how to live a purposeful, fulfilling life.