Moral reasoning

the long version

A history of Western ethics, all the way from Confucius (East and West start together), through the Greeks, the Romans, the Middle Ages, Early Modern and Contemporary eras. Lots of first hand material. The emphasis is on virtue ethics; later developments such as deontology (Kant) and utilitarianism (Mill, Bentham) are placed within the larger framework of virtue ethics. Readable; a much more comprehensive survy of great thinkers in ethics than is usually available. The book tries to synthesize all these different views to produce a critical approach to moral evaluation. The book is respectful of diverse religious traditions and competing strands of thought.