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  3. Morality and Action
  • Cited by 19
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
June 2012
Print publication year:
1994
Online ISBN:
9781139172677
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139172677
Subjects:
Philosophy: General Interest, Ethics, Philosophy
Series:
Cambridge Studies in Philosophy
Information

Book description

Warren Quinn was widely regarded as a moral philosopher of remarkable talent. This collection of his most important contributions to moral philosophy and the philosophy of action has been edited for publication by Philippa Foot. Quinn laid out the foundations for an anti-utilitarian moral philosophy that was critical of much contemporary work in ethics, such as the anti-realism of Gilbert Harman and the neo-subjectivism of Bernard Williams. Quinn's own distinctive moral theory is developed in the discussion of substantial, practical moral issues. For example, there are important pieces here on the permissibility of abortion, the justification (if any) of punishing criminals when no particular good seems likely to result, and on the distinction between killing and allowing to die, a distinction crucial to the subject of euthanasia and other topics in medical ethics. The volume would be ideally suited to upper-level undergraduate courses and graduate seminars on the foundations of ethics.

Reviews

"Quinn's writings were always the product of lengthy reflection and great care and precision in argument: they are intellectually packed and elegantly written. And they make distinctive contributions at three different levels of moral philosophy: metaethics, moral theory, and applied ethics....I use most of these essays in my own teaching, and they are standard references for those working in the field. Putting them together would create a book of lasting value, which displayed the range and insight of an outstanding moral philosopher." Thomas Nagel

"In reading Quinn's essays, and especially these later papers, we are, I think, clearly witnessing the development of a major figure." The Philosophical Review

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