Friquegnon, Marie Louise : William Paterson University
Summary
Connects ethical theory to ethical practice. Ethics for Modern Life demonstrates for students how analyzing
and understanding philosophical principles helps them make more informed choices about he dilemmas they face in
their own lives.
An anthology with a mix of classic and contemporary readings that presents the relevant issues of our time. After
introducing students in Part I to the main theories on ethical judgements and moral responsibility by such thinkers
as Kant, Mill, Foot, Blackburn, and Strawson (among others), Parts II and III demonstrate these theories in action
by presenting a wide range of readings on issues that are relevant to today's students such as euthanasia, capital
punishment, animal rights, and genetic engineering
Helpful apparatus. Every chapter ends with questions for discussion and a list of suggested readings, providing
students with an opportunity for further study.
New to This Edition :
More readings than ever before. The Sixth Edition offers 50 readings (34 new), more selections than ever before,
giving instructors more choices, while introducing students to such contemporary voices as Simon Blackburn, Frances
Kamm, Hilary Putnam, and Tom Regan.
Three new issues are drawn from today's headlines. The Sixth Edition offers discussion on three new issues
particularly relevant today: genetic engineering, multiculturalism and political correctness, and war and terrorism.
Literary selections now open each Part, engaging students immediately with the issues that will be confronted--in
Part I, an excerpt from Sophocles's Philoctetes raises the issue of individual human rights vs. the needs of the
community, Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equation" introduces Part II and dramatizes the dilemmas of taking
human life,andin Part III, an excerpt from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World warns of the dangers of social engineering.
New Part Introductions. Each Part introduction has been rewritten and streamlined for a more focused chapter
introduction.
An exciting new TopLinks Website. This dynamic TopLink site connects students to research links on topics that
are tied directly to the Chapters in ~Ethics for Modern Life,~ allowing them to find sources on the web quickly
and easily.
Table of Contents
PART I THE NATURE OF MORALITY
Sophocles, From Philoctetes*
CHAPTER 1 STANDARDS OF RIGHT AND WRONG
Robert M. Adams, Divine Command*
Immanuel Kant, Rationality
John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism*
Gil Harmon, Convention*
Thomas Scanlon, Contractualism*
Philippa Foot, Virture Ethics
Friedrich Nietzsche, Self Assertion
Annette Baier, Feminist Ethics
CHAPTER 2 WHEN ARE WE RESPONSIBLE?
Galen Strawson, Hard Determinism*
Roderick Chisholm, Libertarianism
Peter Van Inwagen, Indeterminism*
Simon Blackburn, Soft Determinism*
Susan Wolf, Hard and Soft Determinism
PART II THE MORALITY OF TAKING LIFE
Tom Godwin, The Cold Equation*
CHAPTER 3 PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA
Dan W. Brock, The Moral Justifiability of Assisted Suicide*
Daniel Callahan, The Immorality of Assisted Suicide*
Frances Kamm, A Right to Choose Death*
Sissela Bok, Too Dangerous*
CHAPTER 4 ABORTION
Philip Devine, The Wrongs of Abortion*
Mary Anne Warren, The Right to Abortion
Paul Wilkes, The Moral Dilemma of Abortion*
CHAPTER 5 CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Louis P. Pojman, The Wisdom of Capital Punishment*
Jeffrey Reiman, The Folly of Capital Punishment*
Supreme Court Justice H. Blackmun, Dissenting from Collins vs. Collins*
Supreme Court Justice A. Scalia, Cocurring with Collins vs. Collins*
PART III THE GOOD SOCIETY
Aldous Huxley, From Brave New World*
CHAPTER 6 FAMINE RELIEF
Peer Singer, Rich and Poor
Garrett Hardin, The Harm of Famine Relief
CHAPTER 7 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Al Gore, The Need for Environmental Protection*
Wallace Kaufman, The Excesses of Environmentalism*
CHAPTER 8 PRIVACY AND ITS LIMITS
John Stuart Mill, The Private Domain
Gerald Dworkin, Paternalism
David A.J. Richards, Sex, Drugs and Privacy
CHAPTER 9 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Lisa Newton, The Injustice of Reverse Discrimination
Ronald Dworkin, The Justice of Affirmative Action
Charles Murray, Affirmative Racism*
Gertrude Ezorsky, A Reply to Critics of Affirmative Action*
CHAPTER 10 DO ANIMALS HAVE RIGHTS?
Tom Regan, Animals Have Rights*
Ruth Cigman, Animals Do Not Have Rights
Christina Hoff, Immoral and Moral Uses of Animals*
CHAPTER 11 IS GENETIC ENGINEERING GOOD OR BAD?*
Robert Sinsheimer, Too Dangerous*
Stephen Stich, Worth the Risk*
Hilary Putnam, Against Cloning People*
John Harris, Why Not Clone?*
CHAPTER 12 MULTICULTURALISM AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS*
Lawrence Foster, In Support of Multiculturalism*
Jan Narveson, Against Multiculturalism*
CHAPTER 13 WAR AND TERRORISM*
Burleigh T .Wilkins, Can Terrorism Be Justified?*
A. R. Louch, Terrorism Is Immoral*
