"This book is an introduction to some of the main problems of philosophy--God, mind, freedom, knowledge, and ethics. The chapters may be read independently of one another. But when read in order, they tell a more or less continuous story. We begin with some reflections about the legacy of Socrates and then go on to the existence of God, which is perhaps the most basic philosophical question of all because our answer to it influences how we will answer all the others. This leads naturally to a discussion of death and the soul, and then to more modern ideas about the nature of persons. The later chapters are about whether it is possible for us to have objective knowledge in either science or ethics." James Rachels, from the Preface

James Rachels, the distinguished American moral philosopher, was born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1941 and graduated from Mercer University in 1962. He received his Ph.D. in 1967 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, studying under Professors W. D. Falk and E. M. Adams. He taught at the University of Richmond, New York University, the University of Miami, Duke University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he spent the last twenty-six years of his career. 1971 saw the publication of his groundbreaking anthology Moral Problems, which ignited the movement away from teaching meta-ethics in American colleges to teaching concrete practical issues. Moral Problems sold 100,000 copies over three editions. In 1975, Rachels wrote “Active and Passive Euthanasia,” arguing that the distinction so important in the law between killing and letting die has no rational basis. Originally appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, this essay has been reprinted over 300 times and is a staple of undergraduate education. "The End of Life" (1986), a moral treatise on life and death, broadened and deepened these ideas. Created from Animals (1990) made the case that a Darwinian world-view has widespread philosophical implications, including drastic implications for our treatment of nonhuman animals. Can Ethics Provide Answers? (1997) was Rachels’ first collection of papers. His second, The Legacy of Socrates, was published posthumously. Rachels' best-known work is The Elements of Moral Philosophy. Now in its fifth edition, this introduction to ethics has sold over half a million copies and might be the best-selling book in philosophy. Among some of the subjects covered by Rachels are ethical and simple subjectivism, emotivism, as well as ethical and psychological egoism to name a few. One key feature of this text is the use of real-world examples to highlight points regarding complex philosophical principles. Shortly before dying of cancer in 2003, Rachels wrote Problems From Philosophy, a fascinating and readable introduction to philosophy.