Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy - Softcover

Bernard Williams writes so elegantly that one is led to believe that his arguments are simple; they are not; they are dense and intricate, and they always repay rereading. They constitute in this book a profound critique of contemporary moral philosophy and a wonderfully subtle exploration of the ethical life we actually live (and think about) everyday.--Michael Walzer

Who has not asked--if only when depressed--'How should I live, and how can I find out?' To read this book is to be taken through one of the most sophisticated discussions available of such questions by an engaging, skeptical, often wryly witty and extraordinarily subtle professional.--Ronald de Sousa "New York Times Book Review "

Bernard Williams's book is better read not as an introduction to ethics, but as an attempt to take stock of the present state of the subject. As such, it is a splendid piece of work It illuminatingly maps the various tendencies and the difficulties which they encounter... Such stocktaking is much needed. Bernard Williams is probably the philosopher best placed to undertake it, and he has done it admirably.--Richard Norman "Times Higher Education Supplement "

Remarkably lively and enjoyable... It is a very rich book, containing excellent descriptions of a variety of moral theories, and innumerable original and often witty observations on topics encountered on the way.--Philippa Foot "Times Literary Supplement "

Toward the goal of reorienting ethics away from rigid systems and toward the individual, a noted philosopher criticizes systematic moral theory from Kant on and elucidates a provocative alternate view