菲利帕·福特（Philippa Foot，1920-2010）是当代英国著名的道德哲学家，牛津大学萨默维尔学院荣誉研究员，加州大学洛杉矶分校哲学教授，康奈尔大学、麻省理工学院、伯克利分校和普林斯顿大学等美国高校客座教授，电车难题（Trolley Problem）思想实验的提出者。在二战后英美非自然主义道德哲学占主导地位的背景下，福特大力发展了自然主义的道德哲学理论，并与安斯康姆（G. E. M. Anscombe）等人一同被视为当代美德伦理学复兴的代表人物。

Foot stands out among contemporary ethical theorists because of her conviction that virtues and vices are more central ethical notions than rights,duties ...or consequences-the primary focus of most other contemporary theorists. This volume brings together a dozen essays published between 1957 and 1977, and includes two new ones as well. In the first, Foot argues explicitly for an ethic of virtue, and in the next five discusses abortion, euthanasia, free will/determinism, and the ethics of Hume and Nietzsche.The final eight essays chart her growing disenchantment with emotivism and prescriptivism and their account of moral arguments. All the essays embody to some extent her commitment to an ethics of virtue .. . Foot's style is straightforward and readable, her arguments subtle, ingenious, and some of them important.

福特坚信美德和恶徳，比起权利、义务或后果等当代大多数其他学者的主要关注点，是更为核心的伦理概念，由此在当代伦理学家中脱颖而出。本卷汇集了她在1957年至1977年间发表的十几篇论文，其中还包括两篇新论文。在第一篇文章中，福特明确论证了美德伦理，接下来的五篇文章讨论了堕胎、安乐死、自由意志/决定论以及休谟和尼采的伦理学。这些文章都在一定程度上体现了她对美德伦理学的承诺。……福特的文风直白易读，她的论点精妙、独到，其中不乏一些非常重要的论点。

—— Choice

All in all, this collection of essays provides much to whet the moral philosopher's appetite.

总而言之，这本论文集为道德哲学家提供了许多值得深入探讨的内容。

—— International Philosophical Quarterly