Review
If you think rule-consequentialism was refuted years ago, then this book will give you serious reason to change your mind. Even if you don't think that, I bet your arguments are not as good as those in Brad Hooker's book... a model of lucidity, elegance, economy, and consideration for the reader. This book is a superb accomplishment. ― Andrew Moore, Australasian Journal of Philosophy
very well-written, extremely clear and, given its wealth of content, wonderfully concise. It deserves to be very widely read and extensively discussed. ― James Lenman, Philosophical Books
Ideal Code, Real World is an admirably honest and intellectually rigorous attempt to defend ideal code consequentialism. The book is striking in its comprehensiveness, not that it covers everything, but that it discusses enough issues of different sorts that the discerning reader will know how to apply the argumentative strategy to other issues. In this regard, the book should prove highly valuable in both graduate and undergraduate courses dedicated to the structure of moral theory. ― George Harris, Ethics
Brad Hooker's book is excellent. It offers a novel theory. It is well argued and fun to read. I highly recommend it to my colleagues. I also think that it would be a very good book to use in an upper-division ethical theory course, or a graduate course on ethical theory. ― Julia Driver, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
This book seems to me the best statement and defence, so far, of one of the most important moral theories. ― Derek Parfit, University of Oxford
All in all, Ideal Code, Real World is a truly first-rate work in moral philosophy. Hooker's writing is clear and succinct, and his argumentation is powerful. This book is a major contribution to normative moral theory, simply 'must' reading for anyone interested in ethics. ― Mark Timmons, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
has the special virtue of being both intelligible to general readers and powerful enough to advance the subject for specialists... an indispensable resource for anyone seriously assessing the major theoretical alternatives in normative ethics. ― Robert Audi, Utilitas
The book passes succinctly from meta-ethical innovations, through detailed comparisons with other major moral theories to a series of provocative real world applications... This is the best available interpretation of the collective strand of the Consequentialist tradition. ― Tim Mulgan, Philosophical Quarterly
Hooker's book covers a lot of ground, and does so in a stimulating and often convincing way ― THEORIA, A Swedish Journal of Philosophy
Scanlon did us a great service by articulating a contractualist conception of right and wrong and Hooker matches him in providing an up-to-date, up-to-the-mark version of the rule-consequentialist alternative ― Philip Pettit, Times Literary Supplement
This is a lucidly written and skillfully argued book by a thoughtful, discerning, and fair-minded philosopher with an enviable command of the relevant literature. Anyone interested in consequentialism or, indeed, in ethical theory generally should read it ― William Shaw, MIND
About the Author
Brad Hooker is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Reading.
