No-one can avoid an involvement in ethics. Everything that we do, or do not do, is a possible subject of ethical evaluation. Peter Singer's volume, in 47 long entries, contributed by some of today's most distinguished philosophers, surveys the whole field of ethics from the origins of the subject, through the great ethical traditions to theories of how we ought to live, arguments about specific ethical issues and the nature of ethics itself. Unlike other volumes in the series, this book is not alphabetically organized, but follows a broadly chronological systematic plan, which provides a readily comprehensible context for each entry in the overall coverage of the subject. The volume provides reference mechanisms for those coming afresh to the subject, as well as a guide to those more experienced in the discipline to the particular coverage offered by this Companion.