In a strikingly original and provocative body of work, the British philosopher Bernard Williams argued that traditional approaches to moral philosophy entailed a badly distorted picture of human life and action. This course will study Williams's critique of these approaches and explore what he thought should replace them. Readings will include, among others, Williams’s books Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy and Shame and Necessity, and his essays on character, personal identity, reasons for action, luck, blame, death, and tragedy.