Simon Blackburn is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. Until recently he was Edna J. Doury Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, and from 1969 to 1999 a Fellow and Tutor at Pembroke College, Oxford. His books include Spreading the Word (1984), Essays in Quasi-Realism (1993), The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (1994), Ruling Passions (1998), and Truth (co-edited with Keith Simmons, 1999), and the best-selling Think (1999). He edited the journal Mind from 1984 to 1990.

Preface; List of Illustrations; Introduction; SEVEN THREATS TO ETHICS; 1. The Threat of the Death of God; 2. The Threat of Relativism; 3. The Threat of Egoism; 4. The Threat from Evolutionary Theory; 5. The Threat of Determinism and Futility; 6. The Threat of Unreasonable Demands; 7. The Threat of False Consciousness; SOME ETHICAL IDEAS; 8. Birth; 9. Death; 10. Desire and the Meaning of Life; 11. Pleasure; 12. The Greatest Happiness of the Greatest Number; 13. Freedom from the Bad; 14. Freedom and Paternalism; 15. Rights and Natural Rights; FOUNDATIONS?; 16. Reasons and Foundations; 17. Living Well and Doing Good; 18. The Categorical Imperative; 19. Contracts and Discourse; 20. The Common Point of View; 21. Confidence Restored; Further Reading; Index