This book is a continuation of the enterprise which the author began with 'The Language of Morals and Freedom and Reason'. In the present work, R.M. Hare has fashioned, out of the logical and linguistic theses of his earlier books, a full-scale but readily intelligible account of moral argument.

In this volume, R. M. Hare has collected a number of essays which fill in the theoretical background of his thought and which together give an overall picture of his views on a variety of questions.Each essay is self-contained, and topics covered include the objectivity and rationality of moral thinking, the issue between the ethical realists and their opponents, the place in our moral thought of appeals to common convictions, and how to tell whether a feature of a situation is morally relevant. His central theme is the paradox that, if moral judgements were just statements of fact, relativism would be inescapable. We can treat moral thinking as a rational activity only because moral judgements are more than this.

Even after twenty-three centuries Plato's work remains the starting-point for the study of logic, metaphysics, and moral and political philosophy. But though his dialogues retain their freshness and immediacy, they can be difficult to follow. Professor Hare has provided a short introduction to Plato's thought that makes their meaning clear.

R. M. Hare, one of the most widely discussed of today's moral philosophers, presents a selection of essays in which he brings ethical theory lucidly to bear on moral problems arising in politics. He examines our obligation to obey the law; the limits of legitimate lawbreaking, civil violence, and war; rights of various sorts and their supposed conflict with utility; justice, distributive and retributive; and care of the environment. His arguments are amply illustrated by specific examples. The volume substantiates the author's claim that help with such problems can be found in philosophy, and particularly in his own ethical theory, which draws together the best insights of Kant and utilitarians.

R.M. Hare is well known both for his fundamental work in ethical theory and for his applications of it to practical issues. For this volume he has selected the best of his writings on medical ethics and related topics. The book's chief theoretical interest lies in its synthesis between utilitarian and Kantian ethics, which are shown to have the same practical consequences. The main practical thesis in the book is that we can harm possible people by preventing them from becoming actual people. This thesis, if understood and accepted, would radically alter the terms of the public debate about embryo experimentation and population policy, and (perhaps surprisingly) support a fairly liberal view on abortion. There are also general introductions to medical and psychiatric ethics, and essays on the concept of health, on the morality of experimentation on children, on health care policy, on free will, and on vegetarianism.

This collection of R.M. Hare's essays in moral philosophy span the whole range of his ethical interests, from the most abstract to the most down-to-earth.

R. M. Hare, one of the most widely discussed of today's moral philosophers, here presents his most important essays on religion and education, in which he brings together the theoretical and the practical. The book opens with an exposition of his ideas on the meaning of religious language. There follow several essays, theoretical and practical, on the relations between religion and morality, which have deep implications for moral education. The central question addressed in the rest of the volume is how children can be educated to think for themselves, freely but rationally, about moral questions; and Professor Hare examines the effects on society of failure to achieve this. He argues that those who want to dispense with morality are in effect resigning from a vital educational task. Attitudes to euthanasia and to equality of educational opportunity are taken as examples of how our thinking can go wrong. 'The former Professor of Moral Philosophy at Oxford . . . has brought together a collection of papers exploring, with his customary clarity of thought and elegance of expression, the light which moral philosophy can shed on certain religious and educational questions . . . it is illuminating to follow an eminent philosopher at work on matters of great practical importance, and in prodding theologians to think more clearly.' Church Times '[a] cogent and compelling vision, enunciated with all the intelligence, elegance and vigour for which Hare is justly renowned' Times Literary Supplement 'All the essays are a delight to read: clear, succinct, precisely expressed, and devoid of technical jargon. The collection will be welcomed by philosophers of education.' Theology 'an important resource for persons interested in clarifying the language of moral education in a religiously pluralist society' Religious Studies Review 'admirably clear and straightforward' IJournal of the American Academy of Religion 'It is . . . a pleasure to receive for review a book by someone who is palpably expert in a particular discipline, and able to deploy that discipine on topics which have a demonstrably practical relevance to education. Most books satisfy neither criterion; this one satisfies both. Add Hare's well-known clarity of style and presentation, and we have something really worth reading.' Oxford Review of Education

This collection of thirteen original essays by such well-known philosophers as Thomas Nagel, Peter Singer, J.O. Urmson, David A.J. Richards, James Griffin, R.B. Brandt, John C. Harsanyi, T.M. Scanlon, and others discusses the philosophy of R.M. Hare put forth in his book Moral Thinking, including his thoughts on universalizability, moral psychology, and the role of common-sense moral principles. In addition, Professor Hare responds to his critics with an essay and a detailed, point-by-point criticism.