Virtues and Vices

Foot stands out among contemporary ethical theorists because of her conviction that virtues and vices are more central ethical notions than rights, duties, justice, or consequences--the primary focus of most other contemporary moral theorists. This volume brings together a dozen essays published between 1957 and 1977, and includes two new ones as well. In the first, Foot argues explicitly for an ethic of virtue, and in the next five discusses abortion, euthanasia, free will/determination, and the ethics of Hume and Nietzsche. The final eight essays chart her growing disenchantment with emotivism and prescriptivism and t heir account of moral arguments. All the essays embody to some extent her commitment to an ethics of virtue. Foot's style is straightforward and readable, her arguments subtle, ingenious, and some of them important.

• Preface to 2002 Edition ; Preface ; Introduction ; Acknowledgements ; 1. Virtues and Vices ; 2. The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect ; 3. Euthanasia ; 4. Free Will as Involving Determinism ; 5. Hume on Moral Judgement ; 6. Nietzsche: The Revaluation of Values ; 7. Moral Arguments ; 8. Moral Beliefs ; 9. Goodness and Choice ; 10. Reasons for Actions and Desires ; 11. Morality as a System for Hypothetical Imperatives ; 12. A Reply to Professor Frankena ; 13. Are Moral Considerations Overriding? ; 14. Approval and Disapproval ; Index