First published 1999
Ethics comes alive through the marriage of literature and philosophy in this comprehensive anthology. Louis Pojman assembles 87 readings that use literary works as gateways into moral philosophy. Students encounter Hugo, Hawthorne, Melville, Tolstoy, Ibsen, Huxley, Orwell, Camus, LeGuin, and Styron alongside philosophers like Aristotle, Sartre, Bernard Williams, Jane English, and Thomas Hill Jr. The collection spans four major areas: the nature of morality, moral theories, specific moral issues, and applied ethics. Literary selections introduce concepts like relativism, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics, while exploring practical questions about freedom, relationships, and environmental responsibility. Each reading includes biographical sketches, abstracts, and study questions. The anthology emphasizes the personal dimension of ethical thinking, showing how moral dilemmas play out in human experience rather than remaining abstract theoretical problems.
Genres: philosophy, literary-fiction, academic
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: academic, literary-analysis
960 pages · Paperback · Oxford University Press