A Short History of Ethics

The following questions will serve to give the reader a general idea of the nature of the problems which Ethics attempts to solve: – Is happiness the ultimate end of action? Is virtue preferable to pleasure? How do pleasure and happiness differ? What is meant by saying that I ought to perform some particular action, or to respect some general precept such as the keeping of promises? Am I under any obligation to seek the welfare of other persons, as well as my own? If so, what is the right proportion. between the two welfares? What is meant by "freedom of the will"? Is feeling or reason the right guide to conduct? What do the terms "good," "right," "obligation," "duty," "conscience" signify, practically and theoretically? These problems and others associated with them form the subject-matter of Ethics, which may be described as the science which investigates the general principles for determining the true worth of the ultimate ends of human conduct.

Contents:
Part I. Greek Ethical Systems
Chapter I. The Sophists, Socrates, and the Socratic Schools. A. The Sophists. B. Socrates. C. The Cynics. D. The Cyrenaics
Chapter II. Plato. A. The Idea of Justice. B. The Theory of Ideas. C. Pleasure, Good, and Rational Order
Chapter III. Aristotle. General View of the Ethics of Plato and Aristotle
Chapter IV. Epicurus. Ethics. Criticism of Egoistic Hedonism
Chapter V. The Stoics. Ethics. Criticism
Chapter VI. General Survey of Greek Ethics
Part II. Modern Ethical Systems. Introduction
Chapter I. Earlier Naturalism. A. Egoistic Naturalism – Hobbes. B. Rationalistic Naturalism – Spinoza
Chapter II. English Intuitionism. A. Rational Intuitionism – Cudworth and Clarke. B. Aesthetic Intuitionism. C. Sympathetic Intuitionism
Chapter III. English Intuitionism (continued). D. Autonomic Intuitionism – Butler
Chapter IV. Sympathetic Naturalism – Hume
Chapter V. Moral Purism – Kant. Permanent Influence of Kant
Chapter VI. German Rational Idealism. A. Fichte. B. Schelling. C. Hegel. D. Remarks on the Ethics of German Rational Idealism
Chapter VII. Utilitarianism. A. Egoistic Utilitarianism – Jeremy Bentham. B. Sympathetic Utilitarianism – J. S. Mill. C. Intuitional Utilitarianism – Sidgwick. D. General Criticism of Utilitarianism
Chapter VIII. Evolutional Naturalism – Darwin and Spencer. A. Darwin. B. Herbert Spencer. C. Different Types of Evolution
Chapter IX. English Rational Idealism. Green. Concluding Remarks