Simon Blackburn puts forward a philosophy of human motivation and morality. He maintains that we cannot get clear about ethics until we get clear about human nature. He addresses questions such as: Why do we behave as we do? Can we improve? And is our ethics at war with our passions?

Introduction ; 1. Organizing Practice: The Elements of Ethics ; 2. Things That Concern Us ; 3. The Ethical Proposition: What It Is Not ; 4. Naturalizing Norms ; 5. Looking Out For Yourself ; 6. Game Theory and Rational Actors ; 7. The Good, the Right, and the Common Point of View ; 8. Self-Control, Reason, and Freedom ; 9. Relativism, Subjectivism, Knowledge ; Appendix ; Bibliography ; Index

`Blackburn elaborates his position through engagement with a variety of writers whose ideas differ from his. He is a capable and energetic critic ... Blackburn's stimulating but at times incautious book makes a lively contribution. People interested in the issues it addresses will read it with profit.' Samuel Scheffler, Times Literary Supplement `The author's arguments ... compel readers to make new distinctions, refine their thinking, and clarify remaining questions. This book is of immense value to scholars and advanced students of religious and philosophical ethics who seek a better grasp of historical and recent debates concerning the nature of moral agency and the status of moral claims.' Diana Fritz Cates, Philosophy, vol.25, No.4. `This book is that rare thing: a work of philosophy beautifully written, able to engage the interest of those outside a narrow sphere of academic specialists, while attending to philosophical problems that most worry those who spend their professional life trying to solve them' Ethics, July 2001 `rich, wide-ranging, and rewarding' The Philosophical Review, Vol.109, No.4 `This is a rich, erudite and wonderful book, written with lots of human warmth and a keen eye for philosophical hubris. The discussion is exceptional in the way it brings to life the adventure of ideas.' Robert Dunn, Australasian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 79 `Blackburn's book should force philosophers to rethink much of what they currently take for granted in debates about practical reasoning' Michelle Mason, Hume Studies Vol.XXIV No.2 `Ruling Passions gives us our humanity, providing some answers to those sceptics who find Kantian morality devoid of psychological realism.' Alex Klaushoefer, Times Higher Education Supplement

Simon Blackburn was previously the Edna J. Koury Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He also holds an adjunct Chair at the Australian National University's Research School of Social Sciences. From 1969 to 1990 he was Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at Pembroke College, Oxford, and from 1984 to 1990 he edited the journal Mind. He is the author of the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy.