Suitable for students, this is a short, accessible introduction to moral rules and reasoning and should find course use in introductory classes in ethics, applied ethics, and moral theory.

Moral problems do not always come in the form of great social controversies. More often, the moral decisions we make are made quietly, constantly, and within the context of everyday activities and quotidian dilemmas. Indeed, these smaller decisions are based on a moral foundation that few of us ever stop to think about but which guides our every action.

Here distinguished philosopher Bernard Gert presents a clear and concise introduction to what he calls "common morality"--the moral system that most thoughtful people implicitly use when making everyday, common sense moral decisions and judgments. Common Morality is useful in that--while not resolving every disagreement on controversial issues--it is able to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable answers to moral problems.

Bernard Gert's descriptive account of morality may very well be one of the most commendable contributions to the moral philosophy produced in the later part of the twentieth century...this book is important contribution to contemporary moral philosophy, especially because of its wonderful mixture of Kantian, utilitarian, and contractarian insights.