The Elements of Moral Philosophy

One of the most widely used introductions to ethics. Rachels begins by asking what morality is, then examines a series of views in turn: cultural relativism, subjectivism, the idea that morality depends on religion, psychological and ethical egoism, social contract theory, utilitarianism, Kant's ethics of absolute rules and respect for persons, feminism and the ethics of care, and virtue ethics. Each chapter explains the view sympathetically, tests it against concrete cases, and assesses the main objections. The book ends with Rachels' own sketch of what a satisfactory moral theory might look like. After his death in 2003 the book was revised in later editions by his son, the philosopher Stuart Rachels, who updated the examples while keeping the structure. The prose is direct and unpretentious, aimed at students with no prior philosophy.

It is the clearest and most engaging way into the main theories of ethics, built around real cases rather than abstractions.