The eleven short, linked essays in Morality by Design represent a culmination of two decades of research and writing on the topic of moral realism. Wade Rowland first introduces readers to the basic ideas of leading moral thinkers from Plato to Leibniz to Putnam, and then, he explores the subject through today’s political, economic, and environmental conundrums. The collection presents a strong argument against postmodern moral relativism and the idea that only science can claim a body of reliable fact; challenges currently fashionable notions of the perfectibility of human individuals—and even the human species—through technology; and argues for the validity of common sense.
 
In guiding the reader through Enlightenment-era rationalist thought as it pertained to human nature and the foundations of morality, Rowland provides a coherent, intellectually sound, and intuitively appealing alternative to the nihilistic views popularized by contemporary radical relativism. Morality by Design ultimately seeks to convince readers that there is such a thing as moral fact, and that they do indeed have what it takes to make robust and durable moral judgments.

The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, founded July 1, 1978, at Clare Hall, Cambridge University, was established by the American scholar, industrialist, and philanthropist Obert Clark Tanner. Lectureships are awarded to outstanding scholars or leaders in broadly defined fields of human values and transcend ethnic, national, religious, or ideological distinctions. Volume 32 features lectures given during the academic year 2011–2012 at the University of Michigan; Princeton University; Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Utah; and Yale University. This volume includes the following lectures:

John Broome, “The Public and Private Morality of Climate Change”
John Broome is the Whites Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Corpus Christi College in Oxford. He has written six books.

John M. Cooper, “Ancient Philosophies as Ways of Life”
John Cooper is the Henry Putnam University Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. His books include Pursuits of Wisdom: Six Ways of Ancient Philosophy from Socrates to Plotinus and Panentheism: The Other God of the Philosophers.

Stephen Greenblatt, “Shakespeare and the End of Life History”
Stephen Greenblatt is the John Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University. He is the author of several books, including the 2012 Pulitzer Prize–winning The Swerve: How the World Became Modern and Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare.

Lisa Jardine, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: C. P. Snow and J. Bronowski” and “Science and Government: C. P. Snow and the Corridors of Power”
Lisa Jardine is a professor of Renaissance studies at University College London, where she is the director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Research in the Humanities and the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters. She has published more than fifty scholarly articles and seventeen books, including Going Dutch: How England Plundered Holland’s Glory.

Samuel Scheffler, “The Afterlife”
Samuel Scheffler is University Professor and a professor of philosophy and law at New York University. He has published four books in the areas of moral and political philosophy, including Equality and Tradition.

Abraham Verghese, “Two Souls Intertwined”
Abraham Verghese is a professor of medicine and senior associate chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Stanford University. He has published widely across disciplines, including My Own Country: A Doctor’s Story and the novel Cutting for Stone. He is perhaps best known for his deep interest in bedside medicine and work in the medical humanities.

The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, founded July 1, 1978, at Clare Hall, Cambridge University, was established by the American scholar, industrialist, and philanthropist Obert Clark Tanner. Lectureships are awarded to outstanding scholars or leaders in broadly defined fields of human values and transcend ethnic, national, religious, or ideological distinctions. Volume 33 features lectures given during the academic year 2012-2013 at Stanford University; the University of Michigan; the University of Oxford; the University of California, Berkeley; Harvard University; the University of Utah; and the U.S. Ambassador’s Palace, Paris, France.
 
William G. Bowen, “Costs and Productivity in Higher Education” and “Prospects for an Online Fix: Can We Harness Technology in the Service of Our Aspirations?”
 
Craig Calhoun, “The Problematic Public: Revisiting Dewey, Arendt, and Habermas”
 
Michael Ignatieff, “Representation and Responsibility: Ethics and Public Office”
 
F. M. Kamm, “Who Turned the Trolley?” and “How Was the Trolley Turned?”
 
Claude Lanzmann, “Resurrection”
 
Robert Post, “Representative Democracy: The Constitutional Theory of Campaign Finance Reform” and “Campaign Finance Reform and the First Amendment”
 
Michael J. Sandal, “The Moral Economy of Speculation: Gambling, Finance, and the Common Good”