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G. E. Moore
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Principia Ethica Paperback – June 27, 2017

by G. E. Moore (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 101 ratings
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G.E. (George Edward) Moore is regarded, along with Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein, as a founder of 20th century analytic philosophy. Moore was appointed a fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1898 and taught there on and off until 1939. A leading figure in the Bloomsbury group and the editor of the highly influential journal, Mind, Moore was a philosophical realist who advanced a “common sense” approach to philosophy. Moore’s Principia Ethica, first published in 1903, is now regarded as a groundbreaking work of 20th century ethics. In this text, Moore advances an intuitivist approach to ethics that flatly rejects all forms of moral dogmatism. The term “good,” he argues, cannot be defined, but can only be understood through direct experience. Among Moore’s other notable works are Philosophical Studies (1922) and Some Main Problems in Philosophy (1953).
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  1. Print length
    188 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    June 27, 2017
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.47 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1548426873
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1548426873
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 27, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 188 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1548426873
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1548426873
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.47 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 101 ratings

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G. E. Moore

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4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
101 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

L. Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2023
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Worth reading!
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Alex Romeo
5.0 out of 5 stars which is affordable and nicely printed. I'm not a big fan of ethical ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2017
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My comments refer to the new paperback edition of this text exclusively, which is affordable and nicely printed.

I'm not a big fan of ethical theory, but G.E. Moore's text is so highly regarded that I felt compelled to read it. It was definitely worth my time. This is one of the most important texts in the field of ethical theory and metaethics that probably has been written in modern time. Moore is a clear thinker, a good writer, and at times even deeply profound.

I don't know if I'd recommend this text to someone with absolutely no background in ethics, but just about anyone else will profit from reading it.
6 people found this helpful
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Philonous
4.0 out of 5 stars Important to read
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2011
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Principia Ethica is a significant philosophical work of G.E. Moore because G.E. Moore has presented an new approach of ethics, from both the descriptive and meta-ethical approach that tries to define what we mean by the "good". G.E. Moore's contention is that the term "Good" cannot be defined because it refers to simple constituent property rather than a complex relation of predicative properties. The term "Good" then is similar to the color "yellow" since yellow does refers to a simple perceptual experience; to say that yellow refers to complex wave-lengths of light is to commit a naturalistic fallacy since yellow simply refers to our simple experience. Likewise to say that the "good" involves pleasure, duty, and other complex concepts is to commit a naturalistic fallacy.

G.E. Moore's criticism against naturalistic hedonism, metaphysical ethics, social darwinism, utilitarianism, etc are all applications of his contention that the "good" is a simple concept. These criticisms tend to be very analytical, not only in terms of the concepts but by presenting them in terms of premises and analyzing the way they used words. This approach may not be new, but it is emphasized by G.E. Moore in its application to Ethics. Bertrand Russell, Whitehead, and Wittgenstein have already innovated this approach on logic, but G.E. Moore applied it on Ethics (or Meta-Ethics) and I think this is what made his approach significant in the history of contemporary philosophy.

While I did enjoyed the book, I find it overly methodological. His own stance on ethics is interesting in the sense that he tried to fuse deontology with utilitarianism, but this form of morality is very much like a situational ethics. It appears that my duty is simply based on the possible consequences that occurs from this situation, and G.E. Moore admits that we cannot always know the consequences in every circumstances. What he proposed is that there are general situations in which we can know the likelihood of the consequences, but things are not as clear cut in that way. I don't recall this for sure, but the impression that I get is that he hasn't really defined what this general circumstances are. His approach to ethics is very analytically, which if fine, but I always felt that this approach lacked the substance of ethical concern.

Perhaps I need to re-read the book again to re-evaluate my opinions on G.E. Moore's Principia Ethica, and I admit that I have not always thoroughly read this. I will, however, say that any philosophy student of ethics should read this since this is the very book that shaped how we talk about ethics today. It maybe very dull and boring (I must admit, there are some very dull parts), but it is nonetheless the kind of book that will introduce you to descriptive meta-ethics.
7 people found this helpful
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Robert W. Allen
5.0 out of 5 stars Naturalistic Fallacy
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2019
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I purchased this book, having first read it as a graduate student in philosophy in the 1970s, to review Moore's original definition and explanation of the term "naturalistic fallacy."
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AdviceGiver
5.0 out of 5 stars On the shoulders of Giants ....
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2012
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If we can today see farther and with greater understanding, it is because we've stood on the shoulders of giants like Isaac Newton.
His traditional Greek geometrical treatment of the problems of mechanics ushered in the modern era with far-reaching implications for philosophy and even ethics.
His mind carefully asserts and derives the fundamental Physics of motion and progressively applies them to the planets and the tides!
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N.S. Palmer
5.0 out of 5 stars It's a non-fiction book. Why does Amazon want me to rate the plot and characters?
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2016
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It's a non-fiction book. It doesn't have a plot. It doesn't have a mood. It doesn't have a pace. It doesn't have characters.
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Joel Ontiveros
3.0 out of 5 stars Rough road to drive on.
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2014
I ordered this book for my ethics course. Can we properly define the term 'good'? Moore doesn't think we can. The term 'good' is a simple notion that cannot be reduced to smaller parts. Don't ever use the word 'good' synonymously with pleasure, desirable, or more evolved. If you do use 'good' synonymously with those terms, you are committing what Moore calls the naturalistic fallacy.
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Reader From Aurora
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Version of a Classic
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2006
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Originally published in 1903, Principia Ethica by G.E. Moore is a classic of twentieth century philosophy. Aside from being an influential ethical commentator the author is also one of the founding fathers of the modern analytic tradition.

In Principia Ethica Moore consider some of the broadest and most vexing ethical questions. What is the good? What things or actions are good? And how should we live? The book provides a detailed discussion of Moore's so called naturalistic fallacy (the challenge of defining good in any meaningful way).

A brief review of the historic context of a work is often helpful in understanding its focus and objective. In the present case Moore is reacting too the broad speculative philosophy popular at the outset of the last century (stemming in significant part from Hegel and his followers). In regard to background reading the first of Scott Soames' excellent 2-volume Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century has a couple of excellent chapters on Moore that may be helpful.

Much early analytic philosophy has been challenged. Despite their shortcomings, however, we must admire greats like Moore, Russell and Wittgenstein and their attempts to develop comprehensive philosophical models. In our present era of specialization these types of holistic worldviews are extremely rare. Although there is much of worth is Moore's work, perhaps his most his most enduring observation is that philosophic constructs do not trump common sense pre-philosophic views, e.g. the existence of other minds. I agree with Moore that this is an essential consideration to keep in mind when considering some of the more counter-intuitive philosophical theories

Overall, this is a must read for any student. This version is solid, however, the older style print is a minor drawback.
7 people found this helpful
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giacomo andreoletti
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice and cheap edition
Reviewed in Italy on February 1, 2015
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There is some typo somewhere, but this is the full edition of the original text by Moore. I appreciated that.
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Paul Caden
5.0 out of 5 stars Study book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2013
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Misses liked this book thanks for the prompt service. I would recommend your services and look forward to using you again.
3 people found this helpful
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Jean-paul Lacharme
5.0 out of 5 stars Très grand auteur méconnu en France
Reviewed in France on June 20, 2010
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Ce « Principia Ethica » de George Edward Moore (1903) est une étape indispensable dans l'étude des grands textes d'éthique anglo-saxon. Il suit d'une trentaine d'années « The methods of Ethics » d'Henry Sidgwick, auquel il fait souvent référence, ouvrage conséquent qui m'avait cependant un peu laissé sur ma faim. La pensée de Moore est beaucoup plus précise, plus concise et plus logique que celle de Sidgwick. En revanche, l'ouvrage quoique court (230 pages) n'est pas facile. Il faut le lire comme un texte de logique et s'attendre à passer beaucoup de temps sur certaines pages. C'est à ce prix que l'on peut enfin comprendre ce que sont le Bien et le Mal, concepts utilisés par tous les « éthiciens » (pardonnez-moi ce néologisme) depuis Aristote sans arriver à un résultat tangible. Le travail de Moore sur le Bien me fait un peu penser à celui de Gottlob Frege (à l'origine des fondements logiques de l'arithmétique moderne) sur l'Unité, autre concept dont l'apparente évidence cache la complexité.

Parmi les résultats importants du présent travail de Moore, notons entre autre la mise en évidence de la distinction fondamentale entre le Bien comme moyen et le Bien en soi (par exemple la tempérance et la santé), la démonstration de la fausseté du principe hédoniste selon lequel le plaisir seul serait un bien en soi, la dénonciation de tous les sophismes (fallacy) qui polluent les raisonnements sur l'éthique (le Bien est ce que l'on désire/ on doit désirer le Bien, etc.), l'analyse des concepts comme « devoir », « acte opportun »(expediency), « vertu », « intérêt », enfin le Beau et l'émotion esthétique et l'importance de la matérialité des objets (au sens large) auxquels nous nous attachons. Etc. Je cite ces thèmes au hasard des signets laissés entre les pages. Il y a bien d'autres choses dans ces pages. L'ouvrage est dense, mais l'auteur s'est opportunément attaché à rédiger un paragraphe de résumé en fin de chaque chapitre.

Je n'ai qu'un regret, c'est l'absence de traduction française de cette œuvre remarquable.
6 people found this helpful
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K T Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2015
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Does as says.
One person found this helpful
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Richard J. Newton
4.0 out of 5 stars The naturalistic fallacy and more
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2019
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Moore's book, regarded as one of the classics on ethics, is probably mostly known nowadays for one short, but important, section in the first chapter. Here Moore introduces the much debated "naturalist fallacy". Chapter 1 also explains Moore's views on "organic wholes", which is helpful.

It's an interesting book from the ideas perspective, clearly written and fairly accessible. It is a little dull in writing style (not unusual for philosophy books to be fair) and I found it repetitive. I think an author writing this in the present era would have tried to complete it in half the number of pages. At times it reads like a period piece, as it was written in 1903. This is a shame as most of the chapters still have relevance to anyone studying ethics, with the exception of chapter 2 which seems mostly to be an attack on Herbert Spencer. Does anyone read the once famous Spencer anymore? I suspect practically no one. Moore's analysis and rejection of Hedonism in chapter 3 still has much to value. Chapter 5 has some helpful thoughts, but could be stated in a much more condensed way.

I can't say anyone needs to read this book anymore as most of the important contents have been absorbed into later ethicists thinking, but it is still and influential book, and worth a go if you have the time.
3 people found this helpful
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