gers does four things: 1) provides a historical overview of the major systems of moral philosophy that have shaped not only Western ethics but Western society itself, 2) provides a functional framework for moral thinking and acting--the introduction and explanation of the Principle of Essential Humanness (a principle that identifies what makes an act moral or immoral) and Critical Ethical Eclecticism (a moral system for evaluating complex moral dilemmas), 3) discusses the challenges of moral and cultural relativity and the reality of moral absolutes, 4) provides concrete examples of how the Principle of Essential Humanness and Critical Ethical Eclecticism work when applied to real world moral dilemmas, such as abortion, animal rights, capital punishment, embryonic stem cell research, environmental pollution, euthanasia, human cloning, sexual morality, and social justice.