Judith A. Boss earned her PhD in 1990 from Boston University, her MA from Dalhousie University in Canada in 1971, and her BA from the University of Western Australia in 1969. Prior to pursing a career in academia, she worked as a writer/researcher for the Nova Scotia Museum. She was on the faculty of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Rhode Island from 1988 to 1995 and worked as Assistant Director of Curriculum Affairs at Brown University School of Medicine until 2004, when she "retired" to return to full-time writing. She remained at Brown University as a visiting scholar with the philosophy department for several years while working on her textbooks. In addition to her philosophical interests, she completed a MS in Human Development at URI in 1991 and has led faculty workshops and written extensively on the topic of college student development. She was recipient of a URI Foundation Grant to study the effects of community service learning on students' moral development and has served as a grant application reviewer for the Corporation for National Service. The author of nine books, her publications include ANALYZING MORAL ISSUES and ETHICS FOR LIFE, both with McGraw-Hill. Her textbook THiNK, also with McGraw-Hill, just came out in 2009. She is published in, among other, The Journal of Moral Education, Public Affairs Quarterly, The Journal of Medical Ethics, Academic Medicine, Educational Theory, Free Inquiry, and The Journal of Experiential Education. During her spare time she volunteers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and is active in the Appalachian Mountain Club. An avid traveler, she has traveled with students from the University of Rhode Island and Brown Medical School to work with underserved, indigenous people in Guatemala and Mexico. Her favorite travel destination, however, is Antarctica, and Blue Ice, a suspense/thriller she wrote that is set in Antarctica, is coming out in print next year. She lives in Rhode Island with her daughter, son-in-law and twin granddaughters.

• Section I The Study of EthicsCHAPTER 1 Ethics an OverviewCHAPTER 2 Moral ReasoningCHAPTER 3 Conscience and Moral DevelopmentSection II Ethical RelativismCHAPTER 4 Ethical Subjectivism: Morality Is Just a Matter of Personal FeelingCHAPTER 5 Divine Command Theory and Civil ReligionCHAPTER 6 Cultural Relativism: Is Morality Dependent on Culture?Section III Morality as UniversalCHAPTER 7 Ethical Egoism: Morality Is Acting in Our Best Self-InterestCHAPTER 8 Utilitarianism: The Greatest Happiness PrincipleCHAPTER 9 Natural Law Theory: Morality Is Part of Rational NatureCHAPTER 10 Deontology: The Ethics of DutyCHAPTER 11 Rights EthicsCHAPTER 12 Virtue Ethics and the Good LifeAfterward: Applying Moral Theory in Real Life