Moral Theory: An Introduction

What makes an action right or wrong? Why is something good or bad? How does one make moral decisions about what is right and good? These are among the main questions of ethics. This book explores some of the most historically important and currently debated moral theories about the nature of the right and good.
After introducing students in the first chapter to some of the main aims and methods of evaluating a moral theory, the remaining chapters are devoted to an examination of various moral theories including the divine command theory, moral relativism, natural law theory, Kant's moral theory, moral pluralism, virtue ethics, and moral particularism.
Providing an introduction to moral theory that explains and critically examines the theories of such classical moral philosophers as Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, Bentham, Mill, and Ross, this book acquaints students with the work of contemporary moral philosophers.

Mark Timmons is professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis and author of Morality without Foundations (Oxford, 1999). He has published extensively in the areas of ethics and moral theory.