The Philosophical and Theological Foundations of Ethics : An Introduction to Moral Theory and Its Relation to Religious Belief

This study is an introduction to the problems of moral philosophy designed particularly for students of theology and religious studies. It offers an account of the nature and subject matter of moral reasoning and of the major types of moral theory current in contemporary moral philosophy. The account aims to bring out the major issues in moral theory, to present a clear, non-technical articulation of the structure of moral knowledge and to explore the relation between religious belief and morality. This book explores the central issues of moral philosophy with a view to giving an account of the relation between religious belief and ethics. It examines the definition of morality and defends the idea that there is something called moral knowledge which all human beings possess. It grounds moral knowledge in conscience as rooted in our experience of making choices and of the moral structure of human relationships. It examines the moral structure of human action. Central chapters are devoted to the three major forms of moral theory current in contemporary philosophy. Each theory is related to a morally relevant facet of action. A virtues-based theory of the good and the right is defended as giving the best overall account of the structure of moral knowledge. Two chapters apply this theory to the intellectual problems of secular and religious ethics respectively. This second edition includes a new chapter on feminist moral theory, together with a new preface and bibliography This study is an introduction to the problems of moral philosophy designed particularly for students of theology and religious studies. It offers an account of the nature and subject matter of moral reasoning and of the major types of moral theory current in contemporary moral philosophy. The account aims to bring out the major issues in moral theory, to present a clear, non technical articulation of the structure of moral knowledge and to explore the relation between religious belief and morality Front Matter....Pages i-xii The Nature and Objectivity of Morality....Pages 1-20 Conscience, Moral Experience and Moral Theory....Pages 21-39 The Moral Structure of Action....Pages 40-62 Consequentialist Moral Theory....Pages 63-85 Deontological Moral Theory....Pages 86-107 Aretaic Moral Theory....Pages 108-128 Morality without Religion....Pages 129-144 Morality with Religion....Pages 145-162 Back Matter....Pages 163-197