Moral Philosophy:
A Contemporary Introduction, 2nd Ed

(Broadview Press, 2026)

Moral Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction is a compact yet comprehensive book offering an explication and critique of the major theories that have shaped philosophical ethics. DeNicola explores the scope, limits, and requirements of morality, as he outlines our various attempts to ground morality: in religion, in nature, in culture, in social contracts, and in aspects of the human person such as reason, emotions, caring, and intuition. Discussion questions, suggested readings, and a glossary are included.

This second edition includes a new chapter discussing existentialist and postmodernist ethics as well as standpoint theory and intersectionality. This chapter examines the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida, Kimberlé Willliams Crenshaw, and others. Other chapters are also revised and expanded: several new case studies have been added, as have discussions of effective altruism, universalist care ethics, and the views of Charles Mills and Carole Pateman.