Fundamental to living the good life in every sense, ethics is the most relevant of all subjects.  But it is always moving on; its theories and principles may remain the same, but the issues and their relative importance are always changing, challenging us to think again about moral questions.

---

Mary Warnock

A really good biography of Mary Warnock - a wonderful contributor to ethical thinking, public policy and practical ethics, including the nature and purpose of education, infertility and IVF and assisted dying - is available FREE direct from the publishers.

Click the cover for my brief review and to get your free copy.

---

'In terms of secular ethics, Aquinas embraced Aristotle and strangled him at the same time!'

To see my views on Natural Law, written for A-level students and originally published in Dialogue maagazine click here. And for a general introduction to Natural Law click here. (The image shows Aquinas practising his strangle-hold!)

Here are notes on the two ethical theories that have dominated much modern discussion:

Kant's Ethical Theory, Utilitarianism,

Here's a general introduction to the challenge posed by Logical Positivism, the resulting theories of emotivism and prescriptivism, and what ethical language is about generally:

Meta Ethics

---

Your basic introductions to the subject.

From an Amazon review of the earlier edition - Understand Ethics:

'A great book either to dip into or to read cover-to-cover. The sheer clarity and accessibility of the language (and hence of the descriptions of complex concepts) never fails to amaze me.'

It is also available as Ethics for Life, with an up-dated text and a personal twist. Just click either cover for more details.

'Ethical Theory' is for students who want a straightforward but substantial outline of the main ethical theories, this is my new edition of the textbook originally published by Hodder Education and used by thousands of A-level students.

Available in paperback, or as an e-book from only £1.99 or $2.99. Click the cover for details.

---

Can the study of ethics make you a morally better person?

Can studying ethics be a quick root to sainthood? Is there a danger that you might become morally smug? Could ethics make you cynical about human nature?

You can study religion without becoming religious. Can you study ethics without becoming more sensitive to moral issues? Read more

---

Thought Experiments in Ethics

Fed up with diverting trolleys, pushing fat men off bridges or killing one hostage to save twenty? Not sure whether you are prepared to be medically hooked up to a famous violinist for nine months or whether that pig really does want to be eaten? Thought experiments have become an common feature of ethical arguments, but how should we treat them and what are their limitations?

Here is the draft text of a talk, given by Richard Baron in June 2017, on this fascinating topic.  To download the pdf file, and to see some other stuff on thought experiments, click here.

---