There is no shortage of introductory books on most branches of philosophy, and especially on ethics. This crowded marketplace means, of course, that any proposed new entry is worthy of consideration only if it meets at least two conditions. First, it must be competitive with the best existing works in the field. To do that, it must be as clearly written, in an accessible style, as they are; it must deal, comprehensively, with the issues which are the major sources of debate in the relevant philosophical community; and it must show readers just why they should be interested in these topics. The second condition is that the book must have something distinctive to offer, something which marks it out from the crowd, in its approach to the field in general, in its way of linking up one issue with another, or even its very style of presentation. There must be some reason for a reader to choose this introductory book from others which are equally well-written, comprehensive and engaging. A review which is to be of any use must look to the extent to which the book satisfies these two conditions, especially the second, and that is what I shall attempt to do in this review. It hardly needs saying that a philosopher of Professor Attfield's distinction and a teacher of his experience is capable of producing an introduction to ethics which will present the major issues in a way which is both solidly grounded in knowledge of the literature and lucidly explained, and he amply manifests this capacity in the present work. I shall therefore concentrate on the other criteria mentioned above.

The book's claim to comprehensiveness is asserted in its subtitle: it is ‘An Overview’. By this, Attfield appears to mean that it covers all the areas of philosophical reflection about ethics which are nowadays discussed in university courses. These include metaethics, normative ethics and various branches of applied ethics, together with discussions of related topics like ideas of the good life and the concepts of free-will and responsibility. Attfield admits that this kind of coverage can be achieved, in a book of this size, only ‘in outline’, and there is indeed a certain feeling of sketchiness in some parts of the text. The first section, for instance, offers a very quick run through the history of Western moral philosophy, touching on only Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, and Mill's version of Utilitarianism. If there is to be a section like this at all, these are probably the best authors to focus on, as examples of the main kinds of approach to thinking about morality that have been influential in Western philosophy: but the discussion of each author is so brief and superficial that one wonders whether it is worth including this section at all. There is much to be said for a historical treatment of philosophy, if only in making it clear that the issues have not always been seen in the way favoured by current orthodoxy. But to do that well requires the historical account to go into much more detail than is found here, and perhaps than is appropriate in an introductory work of this type. Students should indeed learn what is meant by concepts like eudaimonia, duty, utility, and so on, but that could probably have been done by introducing them in the context of the later sections on metaethics and normative ethics.

Use of the term ‘overview’ does not, as I understand it, imply coverage of all topics that could be included under the heading ‘ethics’, or of any topic in exhaustive detail. It is quite reasonable, therefore, for Attfield to omit from his section on applied ethics such areas of current debate as business ethics (which he admits to leaving out) and psychiatric ethics, journalistic ethics, sports ethics, and so on (which he does not even mention). His own main expertise and interest in applied ethics is in environmental and development ethics, and, not surprisingly, his chapters on those areas are one of the best parts of the book, revealing a knowledge, understanding and enthusiasm which are bound to make the relevance of their discussions to the world at large apparent to readers.

Another admitted omission from the book is any extended discussion of ‘continental’ ethics. Like many other British philosophers, Attfield appears to mean by this term any philosophical reflection on morality which is not in the familiar ‘analytic’ mould, and to assume that all and only philosophers working on the mainland of Europe approach moral philosophy in the same, ‘non-analytic’, way. As many others have pointed out, this is a very questionable assumption. The only ‘continental’ philosophers (in this sense) that Attfield refers to are Nietzsche and Sartre, whose views he summarises and criticises with extreme brevity, for example, on page 94, in terms which are so vague that I do not believe any student would find his account illuminating. These two are probably the ‘continental’ philosophers who are most likely to be referred to by Anglo-American writers on ethics, which gives some justification for selecting them in a mainly ‘analytic’ account. But both deserve, even from that point of view, to be treated more fully and with greater respect.

The layout of the book has a number of features aimed to assist teaching and learning which are, in principle, commendable. Every chapter, for instance, includes study questions related to the themes of the chapter, notes, and a list of relevant readings. There are also helpful tables within some chapters. For example, in the chapter on the history of ethics there are tables described as ‘Timelines’, listing the influences on a particular philosopher (such as Plato's influence on Aristotle) and naming later thinkers who have been influenced by him in turn. Again, in the chapter on medical ethics, there is a table setting out the Hippocratic Oath. Apart from these features of the book itself, there is also, apparently, a website in which can be found summaries of the chapters, learning objectives, essay titles, reading-lists, PowerPoint slides, and also (in connection with some chapters) case studies or multiple choice questions. Many teachers, especially those who are less experienced, could well find the slides, case studies and suggestions for essay topics useful; and most students could be stimulated by well-chosen study questions into trying to argue for and against particular positions for themselves, which is the only real way to learn to be a philosopher. It has to be said, however, that some of the study questions are not really all that exciting (e.g., on page 35: ‘Can you distinguish between act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism? What do they each say when keeping a promise conflicts with saving a life?’). If an important part of the purpose of writing a textbook such as this is to inspire students to want to go on to do some more philosophy, one needs to be much more provocative and less pedestrian than this.

In many ways, this sums up my most essential criticism of this book. It is very clearly written and thoughtful, the work of someone who has reflected deeply over many years on the problems of moral philosophy, and has made his own distinguished contributions to the subject as a result. This reflection has not been merely academic, but has sprung from a real personal engagement, especially with many of the issues of applied ethics. But, valuable as these qualities are, they are not sufficient to make the work stand out as an introductory textbook for students. Ethical issues arise in everyone's life, both in the form of personal dilemmas and in that of topical debates in the wider society – current examples of the latter might be the differences of opinion about ‘gay marriage’, or about the possibility of conflict between the requirements of economic growth and those of preventing damage to the environment. For most students, this kind of discussion is the obvious place to start in arousing their sense of the interest and value of a philosophical approach to ethics. Reflecting about the kinds of reasoning used in the general discussion of these personal and social dilemmas (and, equally important, the part played by non-rational and irrational considerations in our thinking) naturally leads to consideration of topics which philosophers can recognize as belonging to metaethics and normative ethics. Ultimately, the arguments presuppose views about the nature of the good life for human beings, which students can be encouraged to tease out. A presentation of ethics along these lines would have a coherence which seems to me to be lacking in Attfield's book: he attempts to achieve comprehensiveness by having separate sections on metaethics, normative ethics, and so on, but this only leads to fragmentation. He certainly tries to overcome this fragmentation by means of frequent cross-references: but this only tends to make the lack of inner coherence more obvious. A more systematic treatment could also treat the same range of topics in a more economical way, reducing the need to rush rather breathlessly over the ground.

To repeat what was said earlier, this is a book written with great care by someone who is distinguished in the field, and who has sought to make it as useful as possible both to students and teachers by such devices as suggesting questions for further discussion in class and providing bibliographies and a website. All students would benefit from these aids to learning, and all teachers will appreciate the teaching-aids. Some students – probably those with most potential to do further work in philosophy – will respond to Attfield's general approach. But, regrettably, I think most students will find the book too ‘academic’ (in the bad sense) to excite their interest.