The dust jacket on Mary Warnock’s latest book, An Intelligent
Person’s Guide to Ethics[1]
(henceforth Guide to Ethics), carries
the following blurb:

Even before its publication, opinions expressed in this highly
controversial book about ethics caused an uproar among thinkers and
campaigners of different persuasions… . In no uncertain terms
the highly respected philosopher and public figure Lady Warnock
explains in this book how to distinguish right from wrong in areas
ranging from euthanasia to abortion, Down’s syndrome, education and
genetic engineering.

Mary Warnock
has been
described not only on book jackets but also in the press as a
philosopher and author with a high public profile and a
distinguished career. The career developed as follows: Warnock
graduated in 1948 and soon went on to teach philosophy at St.
Hugh’s College, Oxford. In 1966 she became headmistress of the
prestigious Oxford Girls’ High School. In 1972 she was elected
Mistress of Girton College in the University of Cambridge. During
the 1970s and 1980s, she served on some of the committees that
from time to time are set up to advise the British Government on
matters which, for various reasons, are thought of as being too tricky
for parliament to deal with head-on. She chaired the Committee of
Inquiry into Special Education (1974–1978), served on the Committee
of Inquiry into Animal Experiments and the Royal Committee on
Environmental Pollution (1978–1984), and chaired the Committee of
Inquiry into Embryology and Human Fertilisation (1982–1985), also
known as the