1st Edition

Russell on Ethics Selections from the Writings of Bertrand Russell

By Bertrand Russell, Charles Pigden Copyright 1999

    Russell on Ethics presents a coherent and comprehensive collection of Russell's ethical writings, drawing on a wide range of his publications on ethical concerns, many of which have been difficult to access by students and general readers. Charles Pigden provides an accessible introduction to the papers, situating them within the field of ethics as a whole and detailed annotations on the papers themselves, analysing their arguments and exploring their relevance to current concerns. Russell on Ethics represents a valuable insight into Russell as an ethicist, which will be useful to both specialist and non-specialist alike.

    Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction Part I. A Moralist in the Making: The Pre-principia Writings. Part II. Meta-Ethics. Part III. Reasons and the Passions. Part IV. The Function of Morality. V. Contemplation and the Good Life. Bibliography

    Biography

    Charles Pidgin is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, University of Otago, New Zealand. He is the author of a number of papers on Bertrand Russell and on meta-ethics generally, including the chapter 'Naturalism' in Peter Singer's prize winning A Companion to Ethics(Oxford 1991)

    Excellent introduction notes by the editor. Required reading for students of Russell's work' - Network