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PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHYTHE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR PHILOSOPHY IN PRACTICEwww.practical-philosophy.org.uk www.society-for-philosophy-in-practice.org |
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PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHYTHE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR PHILOSOPHY IN PRACTICEwww.practical-philosophy.org.uk www.society-for-philosophy-in-practice.org |
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The Good Life: alternatives in ethics (3rd edition)
Burton F. Porter
2001 Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield,
pp. xviii + 305.ISBN 0742502015 (hb), £30.95
Practical Philosophy (Book Reviews) Autumn 2002 Volume 4.2
Reviewed by: Trevor Curnow
This book is primarily intended to be used as a text book, but it might just as well serve as a handy overview of moral theory. It does not pretend to go into its subject matter in great depth, but its scope is considerable. As Porter says in his afterword, it examines ‘two basic problems in ethics, determinism and relativism’ while also exploring ‘a variety of theories concerning the good life’ (p. 275). Among these theories are hedonism, naturalism, evolutionism, existentialism and virtue ethics. Religious perspectives are not neglected, and in addition to considering problems that emerge within the Christian perspective, Porter also takes a look at Confucianism and Buddhism. It is one of the strengths of the book that many different resources are drawn upon.
The text-book approach means that Porter does not set out to convince the reader of the superiority of any particular approach. Instead he tries to make the reader aware of both the strengths and the weaknesses of each of them. Given the amount of material he tries to cover within a relatively modest compass, he sets himself the goal of achieving brevity without sacrificing clarity, and in this he is successful. The book could be thought of as a collection of ‘nutshell’ guides for beginners. Even to those familiar with the topics he discusses, his concise expositions of the salient issues can serve as useful reminders of what the central bones of contention are. It is, of course, in the nature of things that others might challenge some of his judgements, but they nowhere appear to be eccentric.
There are, however, some problems. Not having seen the earlier editions of the book, I am unable to judge how far it improves or expands on them. Some indication of this in the preface would have been helpful. In chapter 3, all but one of the footnotes are missing. Quotations in chapter 11 are given without proper references; indeed, no bibliographical information is given there at all. The same is true of chapter 13. These are substantial and irritating oversights. As Oscar Wilde might have said, for it to happen in one chapter could be regarded as a misfortune, but when it happens in two it looks like carelessness. Fortunately, although these are genuine annoyances, it remains a good book despite them.
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