Hocbigg - Moral Philosophy (Ethics)

Introduction

Moral philosophy is the systematic investigation of how we ought to live, what makes actions right or wrong, and what constitutes human flourishing. Rather than merely describing how societies happen to behave, ethics examines the rational justifications behind our moral convictions, values, and institutions. Studying moral philosophy trains you to move past unexamined intuitions, recognize subtle fallacies, evaluate competing obligations, and construct coherent, defensible arguments in personal, professional, and civic life.

This curriculum is built for independent self-directed learners with no prior formal background in philosophy. It does not assume institutional support, academic prerequisites, or access to subscription databases. The focus is strictly on foundational literacy: mastering the central questions, conceptual frameworks, and analytical methods that every student of moral philosophy must understand before specializing.

How to Navigate the Curriculum

The curriculum is arranged in a deliberate pedagogical progression from analytical tools to historical emergence, normative theory, practical testing, and metaethical foundations:

Start with the foundations: Begin with Ethical Reasoning and Argumentation. This subject provides the logical toolkit you will use across all subsequent sections, training you to reconstruct premises, evaluate deductive validity, and avoid classic traps like the naturalistic fallacy.
Trace the historical foundations: Proceed through Ancient Moral Philosophy and Modern Moral Philosophy. These subjects establish the lineage of ethical thought, tracing the shift from classical Greek accounts of virtue and eudaimonia (human flourishing) to Enlightenment debates over whether morality is grounded in rational duty or human sentiment.
Master the four core normative theories: The theoretical core comprises Utilitarianism and Consequentialism, Deontological Ethics, Virtue Ethics, and Social Contract Theory and Contractualism. While you can study these four in any sequence once you understand their historical roots, studying them consecutively illuminates how each framework arose to solve the vulnerabilities and blind spots of the others.
Apply and interrogate the theories: Finish with Applied Ethics, where you test normative principles against concrete controversies such as global poverty and bodily autonomy, and Metaethics, where you examine the underlying metaphysical, semantic, and epistemological status of moral claims.

Beyond the Core

This curriculum covers only the essential core of moral philosophy. Once you have built this foundation, you can expand your studies across the other guides in this series: - Explore specialized subfields like bioethics, moral psychology, and technology ethics in Advanced Topics. - Practice constructing arguments, evaluating clinical dilemmas, and running ethical impact assessments in Projects. - Dive into influential monographs and seminal papers in Readings. - Watch comprehensive university lecture series and deep-dive courses in Courses.

Communities

Forums:
Subreddits:
Discord servers:
- The Philosophy Chat
You can also interact through GitHub issues. If there is a problem with a course, or a change needs to be made to the curriculum, this is the place to start the conversation. Read more here.

Curriculum

Ethical Reasoning and Argumentation

This subject introduces the logical tools and analytical methods essential for moral philosophy, including standard-form argument reconstruction, deductive validity, inductive cogency, the distinction between normative and descriptive claims, and the structure of moral dilemmas.

The Fundamentals of Ethics (Russ Shafer-Landau, Oxford University Press) - The primary comprehensive textbook anchor for the entire curriculum, methodically introducing moral reasoning, normative theories, and metaethics.

Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics (George Matthews ed., Rebus Community) - An open-access, cost-free alternative to Shafer-Landau that covers foundational moral reasoning and major ethical frameworks in accessible language.

A Rulebook for Arguments (Anthony Weston, Hackett Publishing) - A concise methodological handbook to use alongside your primary textbook for mastering premise-conclusion argument structures and identifying informal fallacies.

Ancient Moral Philosophy

This subject explores the roots of Western ethical inquiry in ancient Greece, focusing on the Socratic method, Plato's dialogues on virtue and justice, and Aristotle's teleological account of character and human flourishing.

The Trial and Death of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo (Plato, Project Gutenberg) - The primary public-domain text capturing Socratic dialectic on virtue, piety, and civic obligation; read this first before tackling systematic treatises.

Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo (Plato, trans. G.M.A. Grube & John M. Cooper, Hackett Publishing) - A modern alternative translation to the Gutenberg text, containing updated language, explanatory footnotes, and the transitional dialogue Meno.

The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle (Aristotle, trans. F. H. Peters / D. P. Chase, Project Gutenberg) - Builds sequentially on Plato; this complete public-domain translation presents Aristotle's systematic account of eudaimonia, moral character as habit, and practical wisdom.

Nicomachean Ethics (Aristotle, trans. Roger Crisp, Cambridge University Press) - A recommended modern alternative translation of Aristotle's treatise with contemporary phrasing and comprehensive scholarly notes.

Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature (Tamar Gendler, Yale Open Courses PHIL 181) - An audiovisual companion lecture series connecting classical ancient virtue frameworks from Plato and Aristotle with empirical cognitive science.

Classics of Western Philosophy (Sally Haslanger, MIT OpenCourseWare 24.01) - An alternative study framework providing structured lecture notes, reading questions, and writing prompts for learners who prefer syllabus-guided independent reading.

Modern Moral Philosophy

This subject traces the development of secular ethical theory through the Enlightenment, focusing on the tension between reason and sentiment in the moral systems of Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and early utilitarians.

An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (David Hume, Hume Texts Online) - The primary historical text for this subject, offering a free scholarly edition of Hume's classic argument that morality is rooted in human sentiment and sympathy rather than pure reason.

An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (David Hume, ed. Tom L. Beauchamp, Oxford University Press) - An alternative print edition of Hume's Enquiry with extensive critical apparatus and historical commentary.

Ethics: History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues (Steven M. Cahn & Peter Markie eds., Oxford University Press) - A comprehensive supplementary physical anthology compiling primary sources from Hobbes through the nineteenth century; an optional compendium if you prefer a single printed book.

General Philosophy (Peter Millican, University of Oxford Podcasts) - University video lectures that provide intellectual context for early modern philosophy, focusing on Humean empiricism, the is-ought problem, and the foundations of secular ethics.

Utilitarianism and Consequentialism

This subject examines the normative ethical tradition asserting that the moral rightness of an act or rule depends exclusively on its consequences, specifically the promotion of aggregate well-being or pleasure over suffering.

Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill, Project Gutenberg) - The canonical, public-domain primary text defining the Greatest Happiness Principle, higher versus lower pleasures, and the consequentialist relationship between utility and justice.

Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill, ed. Roger Crisp, Oxford University Press) - A modern alternative print edition of Mill's essay featuring critical commentary, updated spelling, and detailed explanatory notes.

Utilitarianism: For and Against (J. J. C. Smart & Bernard Williams, Cambridge University Press) - A complementary debate book to read after Mill, pairing an influential modern defense of act-utilitarianism with Williams's celebrated critique concerning personal integrity.

Justice (Michael Sandel, Harvard University) - An audiovisual companion; watch lectures 01 through 04 before the primary texts for an intuitive introduction to utilitarian calculation and its critics through real-world dilemmas.

Deontological Ethics

This subject examines duty-based normative ethics, emphasizing moral obligations that bind independently of consequences, respect for persons, human rights, and the universal demands of practical reason.

Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals (Immanuel Kant, trans. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, Project Gutenberg) - The core public-domain primary text establishing the categorical imperative, universalizability, human autonomy, and the kingdom of ends.

Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Immanuel Kant, trans. Mary Gregor, Cambridge University Press) - A modern alternative translation that is significantly more accessible and attuned to contemporary English philosophical idiom than nineteenth-century translations.

Creating the Kingdom of Ends (Christine M. Korsgaard, Cambridge University Press) - A complementary contemporary commentary to read after Kant, clarifying how the categorical imperative functions as a practical principle of human agency.

Justice (Michael Sandel, Harvard University) - An audiovisual companion; watch lectures 06 and 07 to clarify Kant's demanding distinctions between duty and inclination, autonomy and heteronomy.

Virtue Ethics

This subject investigates character-based normative ethics, holding that virtuous character traits and practical wisdom are more fundamental to ethical living than following abstract rules or maximizing outcomes.

On Virtue Ethics (Rosalind Hursthouse, Oxford University Press) - The primary contemporary textbook for virtue ethics, demonstrating how neo-Aristotelian character traits and practical wisdom provide concrete action-guidance for moral dilemmas.

Virtue Ethics (Roger Crisp & Michael Slote eds., Oxford University Press) - A complementary anthology compiling the landmark papers by Anscombe, Foot, and MacIntyre that launched the modern revival; read after Hursthouse to explore theoretical debates.

Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature (Tamar Gendler, Yale Open Courses PHIL 181) - An audiovisual companion; watch the lectures on habituation, character formation, and eudaimonia to connect Aristotelian virtue with modern psychology.

This subject explores the grounding of moral and political obligations in mutual consent, fair terms of social cooperation, and principles that rational, equal persons cannot reasonably reject.

Leviathan (Thomas Hobbes, Project Gutenberg) - The primary public-domain text establishing the state of nature, the laws of nature, and the mutual surrender of rights that forms the foundation of modern contractarianism.

Leviathan (Thomas Hobbes, ed. Edwin Curley, Hackett Publishing) - An alternative modern edition with modernized spelling, index, and editorial notes for readers who find seventeenth-century syntax difficult.

A Theory of Justice (John Rawls, Revised Edition, Harvard University Press) - Builds sequentially on Hobbes, modernizing social contract theory into contemporary liberal contractualism via the original position and the veil of ignorance.

Moral Foundations of Politics (Ian Shapiro, Yale University / Coursera) - The primary video lecture course for this subject, tracing the evolution of social contract theory and political legitimacy from Hobbes through Locke and Rawls.

Justice (Michael Sandel, Harvard University) - A shorter audiovisual alternative to Shapiro; watch lecture 08 for a concise, targeted explanation of Rawls's hypothetical contract and distributive fairness.

Applied Ethics

This subject applies normative ethical frameworks to contentious contemporary moral problems, testing and refining moral principles against concrete issues like poverty, animal welfare, bodily autonomy, and biomedical intervention.

Practical Ethics (Peter Singer, 3rd Edition, Cambridge University Press) - The primary single-author textbook for applied ethics, applying preference utilitarianism to global poverty, animal rights, and bioethics in sustained, accessible prose.

The Ethical Life: Fundamental Readings in Ethics and Moral Problems (Russ Shafer-Landau ed., Oxford University Press) - A complementary anthology providing competing non-consequentialist perspectives on the exact dilemmas Singer addresses, including landmark essays on abortion, famine, and animal rights.

Effective Altruism (Peter Singer, Princeton University / Coursera) - An interactive, audit-mode online course alternative to Practical Ethics that focuses specifically on practical duties toward global poverty and catastrophic risk.

Ethics (Julia Markovits, MIT OpenCourseWare 24.231) - An alternative self-paced study course providing downloadable syllabi, reading handouts, and study questions on applied controversies like famine relief and trolley problems.

Metaethics

This subject investigates the underlying semantic, metaphysical, and epistemological status of morality, examining whether moral claims express objective facts, cultural constructs, error-prone fictions, or non-cognitive emotional attitudes.

Metaethics: An Introduction (Andrew Fisher, Routledge) - The primary foundational guide for this subject, systematically mapping the terrain of moral realism, emotivism, error theory, and moral epistemology.

Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong (J. L. Mackie, Penguin Books) - A seminal primary monograph to read after Fisher, presenting the classic error-theoretic challenge that objective moral values are metaphysically queer.

Moral Relativism and Moral Objectivity (Gilbert Harman & Judith Jarvis Thomson, Wiley-Blackwell) - A complementary dialogue book to read alongside Mackie, featuring direct point-counterpoint debates on cultural relativism versus universal objectivity.

Relativism (Duncan Pritchard, University of California, Irvine / Coursera) - An audiovisual companion course to Harman & Thomson, exploring the epistemology of cultural difference, truth relativism, and disagreement in audit mode.

Ethics (Julia Markovits, MIT OpenCourseWare 24.231) - A complementary set of university lecture notes analyzing Ayer's emotivism, Mackie's error theory, and moral realism for learners seeking structured academic handouts.