Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings and Contemporary Issues

by Waller, Bruce N.

• ISBN13: 9780321202802
• ISBN10: 0321202805
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-01
• Publisher: Longman

Summary

A combination text/reader, Consider Ethics provides a balance of theory and application in one volume. Chapters on ethical theory, followed by related classic readings and debates about six contemporary ethical problems. Unique coverage of care ethics and free will. Contains significant selections from primary sources from a variety of influential ethical perspectives - Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Bentham, Mill, Darwin, Baier - helping readers to explore the actual writings of important philosophical figures and gain a sense of their systems and distinctive styles. Readings range from familiar contemporary problems such as euthanasia and the death penalty to the ethical issues of war. A wealth of examples throughout illustrate abstract philosophical ideas, facilitate readers' understanding. Anyone interested in learning more about ethics and free will and how they impact everyday life.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
CHAPTER 1: THINKING ABOUT ETHICS	1	(17)
ETHICS AND CRITICAL THINKING	1	(5)
What's the Question?	1	(2)
Ad Hominem Fallacy	3	(1)
The Principle of Charity and the Strawman Fallacy	4	(1)
Consistency	5	(1)
STUDYING ETHICS	6	(3)
The Nature of Ethical Principles	6	(2)
Knowing Ethical Principles	8	(1)
Natural Morality Versus Transcendent Morality	9	(1)
GOD'S COMMANDMENTS AND ETHICS	9	(4)
Ethical Principles as Divine Commandments	10	(1)
Problems with Theological Voluntarism	11	(1)
God's Law and Punishment	12	(1)
RELIGION AND ETHICS	13	(1)
READING
EUTHYPHRO
Plato	13	(2)
EXERCISES	15	(2)
ADDITIONAL READING	17	(1)
NOTES	17	(1)
CHAPTER 2: ETHICS AND REASON	18	(14)
REASONING ABOUT ETHICS	18	(6)
Reasons and Emotions	18	(1)
Reasoning About an Ethical Issue	19	(1)
Reasoning About Conditional Principles	20	(1)
Kant and Categorical Principles	21	(1)
Kant's Categorical Imperative	22	(1)
Absolute Ethical Principles	23	(1)
ELEMENTS OF KANTIAN ETHICS	24	(2)
Reason and Will	24	(1)
Nonnatural Ethics	25	(1)
CRITICISMS OF KANTIAN ETHICS	26	(1)
Who Is Excluded from Kant's Kingdom of Ends?	26	(1)
Conflicts Among Principles	26	(1)
CONCLUSION	26	(1)
READING
THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS, CRITIQUE OF PRACTICAL REASON
Immanual Kant	27	(2)
EXERCISES	29	(1)
ADDITIONAL READING	30	(1)
NOTES	31	(1)
CHAPTER 3: ETHICS AND EMOTIONS	32	(15)
FOLLOW YOUR REASON OR FOLLOW YOUR HEART?	32	(4)
Reason or Feelings: History of the Conflict	33	(1)
Affection and Duty: The Case of Huck Finn	34	(1)
Hume Versus Kant	34	(2)
OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE FEELINGS	36	(1)
Subjective Feelings	36	(1)
Objective Feelings	37	(1)
INTUITIONISM	37	(4)
What Do We Intuit?	38	(1)
Questions About Intuitionism	39	(1)
Which Intuitions Should We Trust?	39	(2)
CONCLUSION	41	(1)
READING
A TREATISE OF HUMAN NATURE
Hume	41	(3)
EXERCISES	44	(1)
ADDITIONAL READING	45	(1)
NOTES	46	(1)
CHAPTER 4: UTILITARIAN ETHICS	47	(17)
UTILITARIAN THEORY	47	(2)
Making Utilitarian Calculations	47	(1)
Taking the Mystery out of Ethics	48	(1)
Misconceptions of Utilitarian Ethics	48	(1)
ACT- VERSUS RULE-UTILITARIANS	49	(2)
Act-Utilitarians	49	(1)
Rule-Utilitarians	49	(1)
The Rules of Practices	50	(1)
UTILITARIANS AND THE QUALITY OF PLEASURES	51	(2)
Bentham: All Pleasures Are Equal	52	(1)
Mill and the Qualities of Pleasure	52	(1)
CRITICISMS OF UTILITARIAN ETHICS	53	(1)
Psychological Criticisms	53	(1)
NOZICK'S CHALLENGE TO UTILITARIAN ETHICS	53	(2)
Dostoyevsky's Challenge to Utilitarian Ethics	55	(1)
THE USES OF UTILITARIAN ETHICS	55	(1)
Utilitarian Ethics and Public Policy	56	(1)
OPPOSITION TO UTILITARIANISM	56	(1)
William James and Ethical Temperaments	56	(1)
READING
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PRINCIPLES OF MORALS AND LEGISLATION
Jeremy Bentham	56	(4)
EXERCISES	60	(2)
ADDITIONAL READING	62	(1)
NOTES	63	(1)
CHAPTER 5: SOCIAL CONTRACT ETHICS	64	(15)
FRAMING THE SOCIAL CONTRACT	64	(3)
Social Contracts and Human strife	65	(1)
Rousseau's Social Contract	65	(1)
Social Contracts and Human Nature	65	(2)
FAIRNESS AND SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY: JOHN RAWLS	67	(1)
Behind the Veil of Ignorance	67	(1)
Justice as Fairness	68	(1)
GAUTHIER'S CONTRACTARIAN ETHICS	68	(2)
The Prisoner's Dilemma	69	(1)
THE SOCIAL CONTRACT MYTH AND ITS UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS	70	(3)
Radical Individualism	70	(2)
Narrow Obligations	72	(1)
Choosing Morality	72	(1)
Outside the Social Contract	72	(1)
CONCLUSION	73	(1)
READING
LEVIATHAN
Thomas Hobbes	73	(4)
EXERCISES	77	(1)
ADDITIONAL READING	78	(1)
NOTES	78	(1)
CHAPTER 6: EGOISM, RELATIVISM, AND PRAGMATISM	79	(17)
EGOISM	79	(5)
Psychological Egoism	80	(1)
Criticisms of Psychological Egoism	80	(1)
Ethical Egoism	81	(3)
Individual Ethical Egoism	81	(1)
Why Care for Others?	82	(1)
Universal Ethical Egoism	83	(1)
RELATIVISM	84	(5)
Sociological Relativism and Cultural Relativism	84	(1)
Benefits of Cultural Relativism	84	(1)
Criticisms of Cultural Relativism	85	(2)
Grounds for Cultural Relativism	87	(1)
Other Forms of Ethical Relativism	88	(1)
PRAGMATISM	89	(1)
READING
PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIAL HOPE
Richard Rorty	90	(3)
EXERCISES	93	(1)
ADDITIONAL READING	94	(1)
NOTES	95	(1)
CHAPTER 7: VIRTUE ETHICS	96	(18)
THE DISTINCTIVE FOCUS OF VIRTUE ETHICS	97	(2)
Considering Character	97	(1)
Practicing Virtue	98	(1)
Virtue and Special Commitments	99	(1)
THE STRENGTHS OF VIRTUE ETHICS	99	(1)
CRITICISMS OF VIRTUE THEORY	99	(5)
What Counts as Virtue	99	(2)
Virtue Theory and Individualism	101	(1)
Virtue and Society	102	(1)
Are There Multiple Sets of Virtues?	103	(1)
VIRTUE THEORY AND MEDICINE	104	(2)
Medical Beneficence	104	(1)
A Virtuous Medical Hero	105	(1)
READING
NICOMACHEAN ETHICS
Aristotle	106	(4)
EXERCISES	110	(2)
ADDITIONAL READING	112	(1)
NOTES	113	(1)
CHAPTER 8: CARE ETHICS	114	(19)
THE NEGLECT OF WOMEN'S ETHICAL VIEWS	114	(2)
Psychological Studies of Ethical Reasoning	115	(1)
THE CARE PERSPECTIVE ON ETHICS	116	(5)
The Relation of Caring to Rules	117	(2)
Caring and Utilitarian Ethics	119	(1)
Care Ethics and Impersonal Duties	120	(1)
WOMEN AND ETHICS	121	(2)
Perils of "Feminine" Ethics	121	(1)
Womanly Virtues	122	(1)
The Value of Feminist Ethics	122	(1)
READING
THE NEED FOR MORE THAN JUSTICE
Annette Baier	123	(5)
EXERCISES	128	(3)
ADDITIONAL READING	131	(1)
NOTES	132	(1)
CHAPTER 9: THE SCOPE OF MORALITY	133	(18)
WHO IS DUE MORAL CONSIDERATION?	133	(4)
Social Contract Ethics	133	(1)
Kantian Ethics	134	(1)
Tom Regan's Kantian Account of Animal Rights	134	(2)
Utilitarians and the Moral Community	136	(1)
Eastern Views	136	(1)
MORAL AGENTS	137	(5)
Moral Agency and Intent	137	(3)
An Experiment in Moral Agency	140	(1)
Arguments Against Nonhuman Moral Agency	140	(2)
DARWIN AND THE MORAL STATUS OF NONHUMAN ANIMALS	142	(1)
READING
THE DESCENT OF MAN
Darwin	143	(5)
EXERCISES	148	(1)
ADDITIONAL READING	148	(1)
NOTES	149	(2)
CHAPTER 10: ETHICAL NONOBJECTIVISM	151	(14)
THE NATURE OF ETHICAL NONOBJECTIVISM	151	(1)
Nonobjectivism Is Not Neutral	151	(1)
Noncognitivism	152	(1)
ARGUMENTS FOR ETHICAL NONOBJECTIVISM	152	(6)
The Argument from Moral Diversity	152	(1)
The Argument from the Impossibility of Argument About Ethics	153	(2)
The Argument from Simplicity: Ockham's Razor	155	(3)
THE CONTINUING STRUGGLE BETWEEN OBJECTIVISTS AND NONOBJECTIVISTS	158	(1)
Alternatives to Nonobjectivism	159	(1)
READING
LANGUAGE, TRUTH, AND LOGIC
A.J. Ayer	159	(4)
EXERCISES	163	(1)
ADDITIONAL READING	164	(1)
NOTES	164	(1)
CHAPTER 11: MORAL REALISM	165	(11)
CONTEMPORARY MORAL REALISM	165	(1)
The Modesty of Moral Realism	165	(1)
Moral Realism and Empirical Research	166	(1)
MORAL REALISM AND THE ARGUMENT FROM SIMPLICITY	166	(3)
Establishing Facts	166	(2)
Establishing Moral Facts	168	(1)
MORAL FACTS AND SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS	169	(1)
Kuhn on the History of Science	169	(1)
Moral Realism and Theoretical Revolution	170	(1)
TWO WAYS THAT MORAL REALISM MIGHT FAIL	170	(2)
One: A Better Theory	170	(1)
Two: No Moral Consensus	170	(2)
READING
REALISM
Michael Smith	172	(2)
EXERCISES	174	(1)
ADDITIONAL READING	175	(1)
CHAPTER 12: HOW HARD IS ETHICS?	176	(9)
THE DEMANDS OF ETHICAL LIVING	176	(2)
Are We Naturally Moral?	177	(1)
Starting Assumptions About Ethics	177	(1)
COMPARING ETHICAL SYSTEMS ON THE BASIS OF DIFFICULTY	178	(3)
Eastern Views	178	(1)
Kant's Austere Ethics	179	(1)
Care Ethics	179	(1)
Aristotle and Virtue	180	(1)
Intuitionists	180	(1)
Utilitarians	181	(1)
DUTY AND FEELINGS	181	(1)
READING
THE BOOK OF MENCIUS
Mencius	182	(1)
EXERCISES	183	(1)
ADDITIONAL READING	184	(1)
NOTES	184	(1)
CHAPTER 13: FREE WILL	185	(30)
DETERMINISM	185	(3)
God and Determinism	185	(1)
Science and Determinism	186	(1)
Hume's Argument for Determinism	186	(1)
Reactions to Determinism	187	(1)
FATALISM	188	(2)
Determinism and Fatalism	189	(1)
DETERMINISM AND FREE WILL	190	(5)
Simple Compatibilism	190	(2)
Deep Compatibilism	192	(2)
Rationalist Compatibilism	194	(1)
LIBERTARIAN FREE WILL AND THE REJECTION OF DETERMINISM	195	(6)
Libertarian Free Will	195	(1)
Existentialist Versions of Libertarian Free Will	196	(2)
C.A. Campbell's Libertarian Free Will	198	(3)
READING
ASYMMETRICAL FREEDOM
Susan Wolf	201	(8)
EXERCISES	209	(3)
ADDITIONAL READING	212	(2)
NOTES	214	(1)
CHAPTER 14: FREEDOM, MORAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND ETHICS	215	(19)
TYPES OF RESPONSIBILITY	216	(2)
Role Responsibility	216	(1)
Taking Role Responsibility	216	(2)
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY AND THE UTILITY OF PUNISHMENT	218	(1)
CONDITIONS FOR MORAL RESPONSIBILITY	219	(2)
Could You Do Otherwise?	219	(2)
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS	221	(3)
Ethics Without Moral Responsibility	221	(1)
Moral Judgments and Moral Responsibility	222	(1)
Retribution	223	(1)
CONCLUSION	224	(1)
READING
MORAL LUCK
Thomas Nagel	225	(6)
EXERCISES	231	(1)
NOTES	232	(2)
CHAPTER 15: CURRENT ETHICAL DEBATES	234	(82)
THE ETHICS OF WAR	234	(16)
THE ROAD TO BASRA
Martin L. Cook and Phillip A.Hamann	234	(9)
WHITE FLAGS ON THE ROAD TO BASRA
Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez	243	(6)
ADDITIONAL READING	249	(1)
DEATH PENALTY	250	(7)
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Robert S. Gerstein	250	(4)
DISSENTING OPINION IN GREGG V. GEORGIA
Thurgood Marshall	254	(2)
ADDITIONAL READING	256	(1)
EUTHANASIA	257	(24)
PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE: A TRAGIC VIEW
John D. Arras	257	(7)
EUTHANASIA: THE WAY WE DO IT, THE WAY THEY DO IT
Margaret P. Battin	264	(16)
ADDITIONAL READING	280	(1)
THE JUST DISTRIBUTION OF SCARCE MEDICAL RESOURCES	281	(11)
SHOULD ALCOHOLICS COMPETE EQUALLY FOR LIVER TRANSPLANTATION?
Alvin H. Moss and Mark Siegler	281	(6)
ALCOHOLICS AND LIVER TRANSPLANTATION
Carl Cohen and Martin Benjamin	287	(4)
ADDITIONAL READING	291	(1)
ABORTION	292	(10)
THE IMMORALITY OF ABORTION
John T. Noonan	292	(4)
ABORTION AND THE CONCEPT OF A PERSON
Jane English	296	(5)
ADDITIONAL READING	301	(1)
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION	302	(14)
AGAINST AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Lisa H. Newton	302	(3)
THE JUSTICE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Ronald Dworkin	305	(10)
ADDITIONAL READING	315	(1)
Credits	316	(1)
Index	317