Introduction

Discussions about the appropriate nature of moral theory - whether it should guide human beings in their questioning of how to live or whether it should rather provide the criterion for right actions - form one of the main topics in contemporary moral philosophy. The moral tradition deriving from the Enlightenment is regarded as having shifted the focus from considerations of the good life and happiness to the definitions for morally right actions. Unlike the modern ones, most ancient and medieval theories are not primarily concerned with the criterion for right actions, but rather with the good life of an agent. These two features of 'modern' moral theory - its action-guiding nature and its universalistic justification - are perhaps the ones most frequently criticized in contemporary discussion. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.