Morality: An Introduction to Ethics

Overview

Bernard Williams offers a clear, accessible introduction to central problems and approaches in moral philosophy. The book maps major ethical theories, classical utilitarianism, Kantian deontology, virtue ethics, emotivism and subjectivism, while keeping close attention to everyday moral thought and the psychological realities that shape moral judgment. The tone is conversational and critical rather than doctrinaire, aiming to equip readers with the tools to understand and evaluate competing moral claims.
Rather than presenting a single systematic theory, the work privileges careful diagnosis of problems that any adequate moral view must face. Themes include the relationship between reasons and motives, the demands that morality places on agents, the nature of moral judgment and responsibility, and what it means to live with moral integrity. The book blends conceptual analysis with philosophical examples and thought experiments to make abstract issues tangible.

Central problems and questions

The text frames ethics around a handful of core questions: What makes actions right or wrong? How should conflicts between personal commitments and impartial moral demands be resolved? What role do emotions and character play in moral appraisal? Williams treats these questions as interlocking rather than separable, showing how each theory handles, or fails to handle, them. The reader encounters standard objections and counterexamples that expose tensions internal to rival positions.
A recurring concern is the gap between moral theory as a system and the lived experience of moral agents. Williams emphasizes the importance of moral psychology: how motives, personal projects and attachments affect deliberation and responsibility. He draws attention to cases where theoretical prescriptions seem to demand a kind of amoral calculation at odds with the agent's continuity of identity and commitments.

Arguments and criticisms

Critical engagement with utilitarianism and Kantianism forms a large part of the discussion. Utilitarianism is praised for its clarity and appeal to impartial welfare, but criticized for treating persons as mere conduits for aggregate good and for sidelining the agent's integrity. Deontological approaches are valued for respecting rights and moral constraints, yet are examined for potential rigidity or for invoking formal duties without adequate account of motive and context. Williams also examines virtue-oriented accounts, arguing that attention to character and practical wisdom can recover aspects of moral life that rules or utility miss, though virtue ethics must answer how virtues connect to action guidance.
Metaethical positions receive careful treatment. Emotivism and subjectivism are presented with their attractions, explaining moral disagreement and motivation, while also facing difficulties regarding truth-aptness and moral reasoning. The book surveys relativist and nihilist objections, showing why many philosophers find them unsatisfying despite tempting implications about cultural difference and moral error.

Style, pedagogy, and influence

The prose is brisk and argumentative, designed for students encountering ethics for the first time without sacrificing philosophical rigor. Chapters are organized around problems rather than chronological history, and frequent examples invite readers to test theories against realistic dilemmas. Exercises and suggested readings steer interested readers to primary sources and more advanced discussions.
The overall effect is to present ethics as a practical, contested enterprise rather than a closed technical system. The book's emphasis on moral psychology, integrity and the limits of theoretical abstraction helped shape later debates by reminding philosophers to attend to the lived conditions under which moral judgments are made. The result is an introduction that informs as it challenges, leaving readers better equipped to weigh moral claims and to see why some problems resist simple solutions.