Ethical Theories ed. by A. I. Melden, Moral Philosophy by Richard T. Garner and Bernard Rosen, Making Moral Decisions by Louis D. Kattsoff (review)

BOOK REVIEWS Ethical Theories. A Book of Readings. Second edition, with revisions. Edited by A. I. Melden. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1967. Pp. 550, with index. $7.95. Moral Philosophy. A Systematic Introduction to Ethics and Meta-Ethics. By Richard T. Garner and Bernard Rosen. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1967. Pp. 367, with index. $6.95. Making Moral Decisions. An Existential Analysis. By Louis D. Kattsoff. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1965. Pp. 279, with index. Paper. The Melden book has already achieved a well established reputation in the first and second editions of the work. The advantage of the book then, and now in its revised second edition, is that it contains, for the most part, complete essays, avoiding the tendency elsewhere observed to present many authors in an abbreviated and too fragmentary manner. To some extent, this advantage of the Melden book is somewhat tempered by the fact that, in an effort to represent adequately selections from past great authors in moral philosophy, the book stops short of the contemporary period (the last entry being Prichard's well-known essay in 1912 on "Does Moral Philosophy Rest on a Mistake? ") . The omission of the lively contemporary period in ethics limits the usefulness of the book; no doubt, consideration of length and the desire to present lengthy excerpts from great moral philosophers of the past dictated this choice for Melden, and it is true, on the whole, that his selections of past authors are well chosen for an approach to, and understanding of, the extensive contemporary period. The book would be best used, then, where a two semester course in ethics permits one semester's being devoted to the contents of the Melden book and the other to the contemporary period. The present work is a revision of the second edition. In this version, the author has handled better the choice of selections from St. Augustine; Mill's essay on utilitarianism is now presented in its entirety; Aquinas is at least represented with his treatise on law; and Nietzsche also gets some space. Somehow, the appearance of the selections in double columns (though not observed in the Bentham selection) is not attractive. The introductory essay, "On the Nature and Problems of Ethics," seems rather rambling and not too helpful an illumination of just what the nature of ethics is and what constitutes its problems. But the main appeal of the book, comprehensive selections from representative great moral philosophers up to the contemporary period, remains intact. 608 BOOK REVIEWS 509 The Garner and Rosen book is an interesting and worthwhile attempt to do two things somewhat at once: summarize views on major topics in moral philosophy; and support the views the authors think are correct, with reasons given for rejecting the views they consider wrong or inadequate. The second effort is a refreshing one; too oft~n books in philosophy seek merely to present views all the while indulging in the fiction that views can be presented with utter objectivity and lack of commitment on the part of the respective authors. Garner and Rosen argue forthrightly for moral positions while presenting various views in moral philosophy, and the net result is a book that engages the reader while informing him. Moral philosophy comes alive in this sort of presentation. Part One considers the more important normative theories in ethics, including an opening chapter on how to evaluate theories in ethics, followed by a chapter on the place and function of logic in normative ethics. The remaining chapters of Part One consider the teleological theories concerning judgments of moral obligation under the topics of egoism and utilitarianism, with the authors arguing for a version of utilitarianism; deontological theories of obligation are next considered, and here the authors argue for "act deontology"; theories of value are then examined, with the authors maintaining the position that there are intrinsic values; this position leads to a consideration of what things have intrinsic value under the general question of what the good is, and here the authors somewhat skirt a comprehensive resolution, contenting themselves with saying that there are a number of things with intrinsic value, notably pleasure. Part Two, on "Related...