Moral Questions An Introduction to Ethics

by Nuttall, Jon

• ISBN13: 9780745610405
• ISBN10: 0745610404
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-04-08
• Publisher: Polity

Summary

This new introduction to ethics is written for students who are approaching philosophy for the first time.

Author Biography

Jon Nuttall is Director of Studies at St John's School in Surrey, and part-time tutor in philosophy at the Open University

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. x
Preface	p. xi
Applying Philosophy to Moral Issues	p. 1
Why bother with moral philosophy?	p. 1
The changes contributing to moral doubts	p. 2
The influence of philosophers on morality	p. 5
Can philosophy help decide moral issues?	p. 6
The limitations of philosophy	p. 10
Giving Reasons and Making Judgements	p. 12
Discriminating the good from the bad	p. 12
Making moral judgements	p. 14
Can moral judgements provide reasons for action?	p. 17
Do reasons have to be watertight?	p. 20
Do we always do what we most want to do?	p. 22
Can morality rest on the authority of God?	p. 24
Finding Grounds for Moral and Religious Education	p. 27
The objectivity of judgements	p. 27
The rationality of religious beliefs	p. 29
Should we be judging others?	p. 32
Implications of universalizability	p. 35
Is the moral educator no more than a logician?	p. 38
Can there be moral facts?	p. 40
What is the job of the moral educator?	p. 44
Punishment and Responsibility	p. 47
Can two wrongs make a right?	p. 47
Just deserts or preventive measures?	p. 49
Are we responsible for our actions?	p. 53
Are our actions determined?	p. 55
Determinism and fatalism	p. 57
Are effects determined by causes?	p. 59
The connection between punishment and evaluation	p. 63
Sex and Morality	p. 65
Does sex have any special moral significance?	p. 65
Nature as a guide to morality	p. 68
Is sex part of our animal nature?	p. 72
Sexual arousal	p. 74
Sexual perversions	p. 75
Sexual intercourse and other activities	p. 78
Intimacy between persons	p. 80
The particular nature of sex	p. 82
Rape	p. 83
Promiscuity, masturbation and pornography	p. 85
Prostitution	p. 86
Homosexuality	p. 87
Sexual morality	p. 88
Pornography, Violence and Censorship	p. 89
Should we worry only about harmful consequences?	p. 89
The depiction of sex and violence	p. 92
Justifying censorship	p. 96
Abortion	p. 99
Abortion and sex	p. 99
Drawing the line	p. 101
The significance of conception	p. 105
The significance of birth	p. 106
Viability	p. 107
What is important about persons?	p. 108
The rights of the unborn	p. 109
Other considerations	p. 113
Persons, Children and Embryos	p. 116
Conception in a dish	p. 116
Genetic engineering	p. 117
The status of 'spare' embryos	p. 119
When do children become people?	p. 123
Ownership of embryos	p. 126
Surrogacy	p. 127
Suicide and the Value of Life	p. 132
Is suicide a question for morality?	p. 132
What counts as suicide?	p. 134
Valuing life	p. 136
Can life have value other than as a benefit?	p. 140
Finding value in purpose	p. 142
Passing judgement on suicide	p. 147
Euthanasia	p. 149
Euthanasia as a benefit	p. 149
The active/passive distinction	p. 149
What weight should be given to wishes?	p. 152
Voluntary euthanasia	p. 153
Involuntary euthanasia	p. 154
Non-voluntary euthanasia	p. 155
Killing or letting die--further considerations	p. 158
War, Terrorism and Protest	p. 161
The justification of war	p. 161
Is all fair in war?	p. 165
Ends and means	p. 169
Problems of 'total war'	p. 173
Attitudes towards terrorism	p. 175
Animal Rights	p. 178
Ways of mistreating animals	p. 178
Rights and obligations	p. 180
The basis of rights	p. 182
The rights of persons	p. 184
Do animals have rights?	p. 189
Vegetarianism	p. 191
Fitting Persons into Theories	p. 194
Motives for theorizing	p. 194
Utilitarianism	p. 195
Objections to utilitarianism	p. 196
Rule utilitarianism	p. 199
Moral theories compared to scientific theories	p. 199
Kant's moral theory	p. 201
The different interests of people	p. 203
Adopting a moral viewpoint	p. 206
Further Reading	p. 208
Index	p. 212
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