Contemporary Moral Problems

by White, James E.

• ISBN13: 9780534517243
• ISBN10: 0534517242
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-07-21
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

This excellent collection of topically organized articles with chapter introductions, cases, and end-of-chapter study questions and resources provides an accessible yet philosophically honest and balanced introduction to the world of moral issues.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Chapter One: Ethical Theories	1	(118)
Introduction	2	(7)
James Rachels
Egoism and Moral Scepticism	9	(9)
John Arthur
Religion, Morality, and Conscience	18	(9)
Friedrich Nietzsche
Master-and Slave-Morality	27	(4)
Mary Midgley
Trying Out One's New Sword	31	(5)
John Stuart Mill
Utilitarianism	36	(7)
Immanuel Kant
The Categorical Imperative	43	(6)
Onora O'Neill
A Simplified Account of Kant's Ethics	49	(6)
Aristotle
Happiness and Virtue	55	(10)
Ronald Dworkin
Taking Rights Seriously	65	(7)
Charlotte Bunch
Women's Rights as Human Rights: Toward a Re-Vision of Human Rights	72	(10)
John Rawls
A Theory of Justice	82	(7)
Annette C. Baier
The Need for More Than Justice	89	(8)
Virginia Held
Feminist Transformations of Moral Theory	97	(17)
Problem Cases	114	(2)
Suggested Readings	116	(3)
Chapter Two: Abortion	119	(86)
Introduction	120	(6)
The Supreme Court: Roe v. Wade (1973)	126	(10)
John T. Noonan, Jr.
An Almost Absolute Value in History	136	(6)
Judith Jarvis Thomson
A Defense of Abortion	142	(10)
Mary Anne Warren
On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion	152	(12)
Don Marquis
An Argument That Abortion Is Wrong	164	(12)
Celia Wolf-Devine
Abortion and the "Feminine Voice"	176	(10)
Ronnie Zoe Hawkins
Reproductive Choices: The Ecological Dimension	186	(13)
Problem Cases	199	(3)
Suggested Readings	202	(3)
Chapter Three: Euthanasia and Sustaining Life	205	(40)
Introduction	206	(4)
James Rachels
Active and Passive Euthanasia	210	(5)
Daniel Callahan
Killing and Allowing to Die	215	(3)
Peter Singer
Justifying Voluntary Euthanasia	218	(6)
John Harris
The Survival Lottery	224	(6)
Susan Sherwin
Gender, Race, and Class in the Delivery of Health Care	230	(10)
Problem Cases	240	(2)
Suggested Readings	242	(3)
Chapter Four: Capital Punishment	245	(54)
Introduction	246	(4)
The Supreme Court: Gregg v. Georgia (1976)	250	(11)
Immanuel Kant
The Retributive Theory of Punishment	261	(2)
Ernest van den Haag
On Deterrence and the Death Penalty	263	(10)
Jeffrey H. Reiman
Justice, Civilization, and the Death Penalty	273	(11)
Anthony G. Amsterdam
Capital Punishment	284	(11)
Problem Cases	295	(1)
Suggested Readings	296	(3)
Chapter Five: Sexuality	299	(38)
Introduction	300	(3)
The Vatican: Declaration on Sexual Ethics	303	(6)
Alan Goldman
Plain Sex	309	(13)
John Finnis
Homosexual Conduct Is Wrong	322	(3)
Martha Nussbaum
Homosexual Conduct Is Not Wrong	325	(2)
Robin West
The Harms of Consensual Sex	327	(5)
Problem Cases	332	(2)
Suggested Readings	334	(3)
Chapter Six: Pornography and Hate Speech	337	(76)
Introduction	338	(4)
John Stuart Mill
On Liberty	342	(5)
Catharine MacKinnon
Pornography, Civil Rights, and Speech	347	(7)
Barry Lynn
Pornography and Free Speech: The Civil Rights Approach	354	(8)
United States District Court and Court of Appeals: American Booksellers v. Hudnutt	362	(8)
Charles R. Lawrence III
If He Hollers Let Him Go: Regulating Racist Speech on Campus	370	(29)
Jonathan Rauch
In Defense of Prejudice: Why Incendiary Speech Must Be Protected	399	(8)
Problem Cases	407	(2)
Suggested Readings	409	(4)
Chapter Seven: Affirmative Action	413	(72)
Introduction	414	(4)
Louis P. Pojman
The Moral Status of Affirmative Action	418	(20)
Laurence Thomas
What Good Am I?	438	(5)
T. Alexander Aleinikoff
A Case for Race-Consciousness	443	(12)
Mary Anne Warren
Secondary Sexism and Quota Hiring	455	(14)
Thomas E. Hill, Jr.
The Message of Affirmative Action	469	(11)
Problem Cases	480	(2)
Suggested Readings	482	(3)
Chapter Eight: Animals	485	(52)
Introduction	486	(3)
Immanuel Kant
Our Duties to Animals	489	(1)
Peter Singer
All Animals Are Equal	490	(10)
Tom Regan
The Case for Animal Rights	500	(9)
Tibor R. Machan
Do Animals Have Rights?	509	(7)
Mary Anne Warren
Difficulties with the Strong Animal Rights Position	516	(7)
James Rachels
Vegetarianism and "the Other Weight Problem"	523	(10)
Problem Cases	533	(1)
Suggested Readings	534	(3)
Chapter Nine: The Environment	537	(71)
Introduction	538	(4)
Aldo Leopold
The Land Ethic	542	(11)
J. Baird Callicot
Animal Liberation: A Triangular Affair	553	(18)
Paul W. Taylor
The Ethics of Respect for Nature	571	(14)
Holmes Rolston III
Duties to Endangered Species	585	(9)
Vandana Shiva
Women, Ecology, and Development	594	(9)
Problem Cases	603	(2)
Suggested Readings	605	(3)
Index	608