The Fifth Edition of Classics of Moral and Political Theory offers four major new features. First, an augmentation of the unit on Aquinas—most significantly, by the inclusion of a selection from Aquinas’ Disputed Questions on Virtue from the splendid new translation by Jeffrey Hause and Claudia Eisen Murphy (Hackett, 2010). In addition, selections on law from the Summa Theologica, in Richard Regan’s translation, have been expanded. Together the selections from these two works offer a far better picture than have previous editions of Aquinas’ ethical and political theory, a body of work that has sparked renewed interest in recent years.
Second and third are the additions of two milestones of Western political theory: Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration and, from Ted Humphrey’s 2003 edition, Kant’s To Perpetual Peace.
Fourth is the addition of Peter Preuss’ translation of Nietzsche’s On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life, an early work that touches on many themes of Nietzsche’s work as a whole.
In addition, selections from Aristotle’s Politics have been expanded.
As in previous editions, unbracketed footnotes are an author’s own. Bracketed footnotes have been contributed by an editor or translator. Initialed bracketed footnotes signify the first in a series of notes by a given editor or translator.