The Intuitionist Ethics of W. D. Ross: Obligation, Intrinsic Value, and Moral Judgment

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Robert Audi (University of Notre Dame, USA.)

The Intuitionist Ethics of W. D. Ross

Obligation, Intrinsic Value, and Moral Judgment

Robert Audi (University of Notre Dame, USA.)

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Routledge
29 December 2025

Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology; Philosophy: epistemology & theory of knowledge; Ethics & moral philosophy

This is the first full-scale analytical and critical monograph on the moral philosophy of W. D. Ross. It shows why Ross is admired as a major figure in ethics. He provided one of the most distinctive and powerful theories in the field, and Robert Audi sets out and explains Ross’s comprehensive ethics, including his theory of obligation—of duty and the right—and his theory of value, of the good and the bad. Ross is conceptually sophisticated, rich in ideas, and historically informed. He reflects the best in Aristotle’s ethics and is an astute critic of Kant, Mill, Moore, and others.

Audi clarifies Ross’s substantive moral views, from their metaphysical grounds to their practical applications, and explains how Ross illuminates much in contemporary ethics, theoretical and applied—intuition, reflective equilibrium, defeasibility, and many distinctions: between grounds and constitution, basic and consequential obligations, commensurability and combinability, moral stringency and moral predominance, enumerative and intuitive induction, rightness and creditworthiness, and many others. The Intuitionist Ethics of W. D. Ross presents Ross as demonstrating the powers of intuition in moral practice, portraying the diversity of standards for determining duty, and preserving the plurality of values in moral reflection. He is a judicious exemplar of full-scale ethical intuitionism, as both a method of moral thinking and a major option in doing and teaching ethics.

By: Robert Audi (University of Notre Dame USA.)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 720g
ISBN: 9781041108955
ISBN 10: 1041108958
Pages: 284
Publication Date: 29 December 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Robert Audi is an internationally distinguished philosopher and author of numerous papers and many books spanning ethics and political philosophy, epistemology, the theory of human action, and the philosophy of religion. He is a past president of the American Philosophical Association, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and currently John A. O’Brien Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame.

Reviews for The Intuitionist Ethics of W. D. Ross: Obligation, Intrinsic Value, and Moral Judgment

“Ross’s ethical intuitionism unites a rationalist moral epistemology with a robust pluralism in normative ethics, positioning his view as a major alternative to Kantian, utilitarian, and virtue-ethical theories. Robert Audi’s book is a landmark study of Ross’s ethics, elucidating its central elements and situating them within contemporary debates on obligation, value, intuition, reflective equilibrium, pluralism, and more. As characteristic of Audi’s work, the book is rigorous, full of examples, and engagingly written. Beyond its significance for scholars in ethics and related fields, this volume is well-suited for use in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses.” – Mark Timmons, University of Arizona