Where did the notion of 'moral duty' come from? In The Invention of Duty: Stoicism as Deontology, Jack Visnjic argues that it was the Stoics who first developed a robust notion of duty as well as a deontological ethics.

How do ethical norms relate to human nature? This comprehensive and interdisciplinary volume surveys the latest thinking on natural law.

Practical answers to the urgent moral questions of our time from the ancient philosophy of Stoicism Twenty-three centuries ago, in a marketplace in Athens, Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, built his philosophy on powerful ideas that still resonate today: all human beings can become citizens of the world, regardless of their nationality, gender, or social class; happiness comes from living in harmony with nature; and, most important, humans always have the freedom to choose their attitude, even when they cannot control external circumstances. In our age of political polarization and environmental destruction, Stoicism’s empowering message has taken on new relevance. In Being Better, Kai Whiting and Leonidas Konstantakos apply Stoic principles to contemporary issues such as social justice, climate breakdown, and the excesses of global capitalism. They show that Stoicism is not an ivory-tower philosophy or a collection of Silicon Valley life hacks but a vital way of life that helps us live simply, improve our communities, and find peace in a turbulent world.

What distinguishes evils from ordinary wrongs? Is hatred a necessarily evil? Are some evils unforgivable? Are there evils we should tolerate? What can make evils hard to recognize? Are evils inevitable? How can we best respond to and live with evils? Claudia Card offers a secular theory of evil that responds to these questions and more. Evils, according to her theory, have two fundamental components. One component is reasonably foreseeable intolerable harm -- harm that makes a life indecent and impossible or that makes a death indecent. The other component is culpable wrongdoing. Atrocities, such as genocides, slavery, war rape, torture, and severe child abuse, are Cards paradigms because in them these key elements are writ large. Atrocities deserve more attention than secular philosophers have so far paid them. They are distinguished from ordinary wrongs not by the psychological states of evildoers but by the seriousness of the harm that is done. Evildoers need not be sadistic:they may simply be negligent or unscrupulous in pursuing their goals. Cards theory represents a compromise between classic utilitarian and stoic alternatives (including Kants theory of radical evil). Utilitarians tend to reduce evils to their harms; Stoics tend to reduce evils to the wickedness of perpetrators: Card accepts neither reduction. She also responds to Nietzsches challenges about the worth of the concept of evil, and she uses her theory to argue that evils are more important than merely unjust inequalities. She applies the theory in explorations of war rape and violence against intimates. She also takes up what Primo Levi called the gray zone, where victims become complicit in perpetrating on others evils that threaten to engulf themselves. While most past accounts of evil have focused on perpetrators, Card begins instead from the position of the victims, but then considers more generally how to respond to -- and live with -- evils, as victims, as perpetrators, and as those who have become both.

Explore the mysteries of morality and the concept of right and wrong with this accessible, engaging guide featuring basic facts along with an overview of modern-day issues ranging from business ethics and bioethics to political and social ethics. Ethics 101 offers an exciting look into the history of moral principles that dictate human behavior. Unlike traditional textbooks that overwhelm, this easy-to-read guide presents the key concepts of ethics in fun, straightforward lessons and exercises featuring only the most important facts, theories, and ideas. Ethics 101 includes unique, accessible elements such as: -Explanations of the major moral philosophies including utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, and eastern philosophers including Avicenna, Buddha, and Confucius. -Classic thought exercises including the trolley problem, the sorites paradox, and agency theory -Unique profiles of the greatest characters in moral philosophy -An explanation of modern applied ethics in bioethics, business ethics, political ethics, professional ethics, organizational ethics, and social ethics From Plato to Jean-Paul Sartre and utilitarianism to antirealism, Ethics 101 is jam-packed with enlightening information that you can’t get anywhere else!

This major collection of essays offers the first serious challenge to the traditional view that ancient and modern ethics are fundamentally opposed. In doing so it has important implications for contemporary ethical thought, as well as providing a significant reassessment of the work of Aristotle, Kant and the Stoics. The contributors include internationally recognised interpreters of ancient and modern ethics.

A new edition of the bestselling guide which equips readers with the skills necessary for engaging in ethical reflection The Ethics Toolkit offers an engaging and approachable introduction to the core concepts, principles, and methods of contemporary ethics. Explaining to students and general readers how to think critically about ethics and actually use philosophical concepts, this innovative volume provides the tools and knowledge required to engage intelligently in ethical study, deliberation, and debate. Invaluable as both a complete guide and a handy reference, this versatile resource provides clear and authoritative information on a diverse range of topics, from fundamental concepts and major ethical frameworks to contemporary critiques and ongoing debates. Throughout the text, Fosl and Baggini highlight the crucial role ethics plays in our lives, exploring autonomy, free will, consciousness, fairness, responsibility, consent, intersectionality, sex and gender, and much more. Substantially revised and expanded, the second edition of The Ethics Toolkit contains a wealth of new entries, new recommended readings, more detailed textual references, and numerous timely real-world and hypothetical examples. Uses clear and accessible language appropriate for use inside and beyond the classroom Contains cross-referenced entries to help readers connect and contrast ideas Engages both non-Western and Western philosophy Offer insights into key issues in ethics with a firm grounding in the history of philosophy Includes an appendix of tools for the practice of ethics, including links to podcasts, web and print resources, and prominent ethics organizations Written by the authors of the popular The Philosophers’ Toolkit, this new edition of The Ethics Toolkit is a must-have resource for anyone interested in ethics, from general readers to undergraduate and graduate students.