Ethics 101

“Ethics 101: From altruism and utilitarianism to Bioethics and Political Ethics, an Exploration of the Concepts of Right and Wrong” is a philosophy book written by Brian Boone.

The book serves as a crash course for ethics and morality as perceived through numerous lenses.

Ethics has been a subject of debate for over 2,000 years, discussing the factors that motivate humans to behave a certain way.

Boone describes ethics as the bridge that connects the big questions that philosophy asks to the daily life applications of morality.

The book consists of ten chapters that summarize the history of ethics in an enjoyable way, concisely including what Boone believes most relevant. Chapter one kick-starts with placing ethics in the context of Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Sophocles, Plato and aristotle, and talks about sixth century notions and thoughts on the subject.

Chapter three on consequentialist ethics stood out to me the most as it suggests that the ethical weight of a subject relies on the person’s actions and their consequences.

Boone makes the distinction between utilitarianism, rule utilitarianism, and ethical altruism, specifically focusing on the positive impact of human behavior. he is an author and editor for the “uncle John’s Bathroom Reader,” the bestselling line of trivia and humor books, and earned his bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism and theater arts from the university of oregon, where he also studied English literature, edited magazines and worked on comic plays.