Value theory books
Value theory books to start from. Open one to see books like it, or tell BookSense what you loved for four picks made for you.
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New to the genre? These 5 are the books to read first.
Ethics
William K. FrankenaA short, widely used introductory textbook that sets out the main positions in value theory and normative ethics clearly.
Anarchy, State, and Utopia
Robert NozickIts 'experience machine' thought experiment is a standard test of whether well-being consists only in experiences or also in contact with reality.
Principia Ethica
George Edward MooreArgues that 'good' is a simple, indefinable property, and introduces the 'open question argument' that shaped twentieth-century metaethics and value theory.
Reasons and Persons
Derek ParfitIntroduces the Repugnant Conclusion and extended work on population ethics, one of the most discussed problems in value theory.
The Methods of Ethics
Henry SidgwickA systematic treatment of utilitarianism and of how competing moral intuitions and principles relate to one another.
Chosen and described with AI from our notes on the genre.
More value theory books
- The Right and the Good
The Right and the GoodWilliam David Ross - A Theory of Justice
A Theory of JusticeJohn Rawls - Well-Being
Well-BeingJames Griffin - Perfectionism
PerfectionismThomas Hurka - What We Owe to Each Other
What We Owe to Each OtherThomas Scanlon - The Geometry Of Desert
The Geometry Of DesertShelly Kagan - Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take A
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take ActionSimon Sinek2009 - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle MaintenanceRobert M. Pirsig1974 - The ROAD LESS TRAVELED
The ROAD LESS TRAVELEDM. Scott Peck1978 - Justice
JusticeMichael J. Sandel2007 - The nature of human values
The nature of human valuesMilton Rokeach1973 - How to live on 24 hours a day
How to live on 24 hours a dayArnold Bennett1900