Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics

My book review of Being Good: An Introduction to Ethics by Simon Blackburn published by Oxford University Press first published in 2001, ISBN 0-19-210052-1 $8.18. The book is about the beginning of ethics and its foundation.The author wanted to give the reader some threats to ethics, some ideas of ethics, the background and foundation for ethics. He wanted to put his own spin on ethics plus mix in the views of some of the greatest philosophers in our history. The work is mostly written from the author's point of view, but he does often offer the view of other philosophers and ordinary people. The author did not try to convince the reader on any of his views; he only wanted to state his opinion and that of other scholars. The general field for the book is ethics which the title suggests. The intended audience is the average person interested in understanding the legacy of ethics. The author's writing style is very informal. He does not use a lot of words that normal people would not understand. The book is organized into three parts, part one is titled the Seven Threats to Ethics, part two is titled Some Ethical Ideas and part three is titled Foundations. I think the book is very well organized. It starts out by explaining ethics and then goes into some ethical ideas by introducing the thoughts of other philosophers and gives you the foundations by which you should stand on your ethics. The author's style of writing does fit his intended audience. The chapters seem to flow in chronological order. The separation of the three parts of the book really helps the reader understand what is coming next. You can get a sense from reading the chapter that you are currently reading on what is coming next plus the author makes references to what will be covered in upcoming chapters. The book did not change the way I thought about things before I read it. I do not think this was the author's intent. I thought the examples that the author gave about the Old Testament of the Bible was interesting. In the Old Testament animals were mistreated, children were mistreated, people were allowed to be enslaved, and the mistreatment of women. The author went on to discuss how the New Testament was more compassionate. He stated that rules are different to different people based on their teachings and the society that they live in. The author did make one point that made me change a saying that I often say, "When in Rome do as the Romans". The author asked if the Romans were doing something nasty, am I supposed to do it too. The book was interesting. It covered many aspects of ethics and gave a general background. The book did not focus on one subject concerning ethics. I have never read a book that was completely about ethics. The author did keep my interest. The one thing that puzzled me about the author was the way the author talked about women. Whenever he gave a negative example about something he would use "she", but when he was using a positive example he would never say she. The author discussed that there were fewer women in countries like China and India, but based on the numbers and statistics there should be more women in those society. In summary the book was interesting reading. The author did discuss current issues like abortion, but did not state which side of the debate he was on. The author's goal was to give the reader a quick background on ethics from the beginning to its foundation. I think the author succeed in his goal. Another good point that the author made was that death was the greatest mystery, but if you believed in life after death there was no need to fear death. Overall this was a very good book to read. It kept my interest which is not easy to do.

Not adequate description of facts in the bible and interaction between Adler and Popper as if he doesn’t know them and have not read them properly. pretty biased I would say.

It’s a short book (which makes sense since it’s an introduction) and easy to read. The author clearly put thought into how to best present the material.

This is an elegantly written, easily accessible book on an important topic. It covers a lot of ground in a succinct manner. There are plenty of textbooks on ethics, but many require a solid grounding in philosophical concepts, which I don't have yet. I've recommended this book to others.

I bought this for my son for college and it arrived on time and as expected

A good introduction to many important issues in ethics, but it could vbe more clear about some of them. The language is good and a person who doesn't know much abou philosophy can enjoy it without geting bored.

I bought this book on the recommendation of one of my professors, and this combined with a few introductory books on philosophy really helped me gain a full understanding of what ethics really is and how to gain a good grasp on it without using the classic fall back of religion.

It should be noted that Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics contains the same content as Ethics: A Very Short Introduction by the same author. New wrapping, that's all. Other than that, it is an extremely good and concise overview of ethics.

Thoroughly concise and enjoyable piece by a respected author. After reading this and looking in the mirror, you may not see a saint, but you need not see a monster either.

Simon Blackburn is a genius in comprehensive writing on the psychological subject.Third book I've read and ploughed trough it, no worries: very good to read.

Book is good if you are into or studying philosophical thought. Some very interesting ideas, love it.

Moral issues explored in a condensed form.

I found this fascinating. Very well written, full of ideas, particularly relevant today. Clearly explains all kinds of concepts and ethical ideas which I hadn't really understood before.