Theories of Morality
Part 3 (“Theories of Morality”) is about apply- ing critical reasoning to moral theories. Chapter 4 explains how moral theories work and how they are related to other important elements in moral experience: considered judgments, moral argu- ments, moral principles and rules, and cases and issues. It reviews major theories and shows how students can evaluate them by applying plausible criteria. The rest of Part 3 (Chapters 5 through 7) covers key theories in depth—utilitarianism, ethi- cal egoism, Kant’s theory, natural law theory, and the ethics of virtue. Students see how each theory is applied to moral issues and how those issues’ strengths and weaknesses are revealed by applying the criteria of evaluation.