Ethics: An Introduction to the Western Schools of Thought in Moral Philosophy

Ethics: An Introduction to the Western Schools of Thought in Moral Philosophy is an introductory textbook in moral philosophy. It provides an outline of the main schools of thought in the Western philosophical traditions, with a brief analysis of each school of thought and the views of its critics.

This text is designed to cover the major theories and schools of thought in moral philosophy: the divine command theory; the deontological theories; natural law theory; virtue ethics; other teleological theories including egoism and hedonism; the ethics of community; utilitarianism; existentialist ethics; individualism and radical individualism; relativism; realist and absolutist theories; feminist ethics; environmentalist ethics; the focus on the need for individual judgment and moral commitment; and contextualism.

About the Author

Rev. James L. Breed, Ph.D. grew in the tiny farming community of Apple River, in the northwest corner of Illinois. He entered college at the University of Dubuque, in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1962 with the intent of becoming an electrical engineer, and so majored in mathematics and intended to major in physics also. Instead, he completed his Master of Divinity degree and became a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) where he served for 35 years. In the process, he earned his Master of Sacred Theology in Old Testament studies, then entered the Ph.D. program in Historical Theology at Aquinas Institute of Theology, then located in Dubuque. Along with his pastoral work, Dr. Breed taught part-time in two community colleges for 24 years before retiring in 2016.

Rev. Breed and his wife, Monika, have three children and six grandchildren. They have been married for forty-eight years.