[Oneworld Beginner's Guide 01] • Ethics

How ought we to live? Should we aim to maximise happiness? Are there certain characteristics that we should try to foster within ourselves? From Utilitarianism to Kant's Categorical Imperative, from the Ancient Greeks to Sartre, Peter Cave presents ethics through a fascinating global historical lens, and relates it to everyday life and 21st century politics. He traces the development of this key branch of philosophy up to the present day, introducing readers to all the main schools of thought. With his characteristic wit and clarity, Cave takes on good and evil, existentialism and relativism, and handily guides us around some of the most common potholes in ethical reasoning. Applying moral theory to topical and controversial issues like the environment, abortion, and animal welfare, this is the essential primer to the subject.