Analyzing Moral Issues

by Boss, Judith

• ISBN13: 9780078038440
• ISBN10: 0078038448
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-09-10
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education

Summary

Analyzing Moral Issuespresents a variety of timely and interesting moral issues through lively introductions and primary source selections. This text, with readings, covers a broad range of ethical perspectives, among them virtue ethics (Aristotelian and Confucian), Buddhist and feminist care ethics, and the Rawlsian and communitarian approaches. The sixth edition includes coverage of the latest current events like the Occupy Wall Street movement, the assassination of Osama bin Laden, anti-war protests at the funerals of fallen soldiers, the Great Recession and more.

Table of Contents

Chapter 2 Moral Theory 1

Moral Philosophy 2

What Is the Purpose of Moral Theories? 2

The Types of Moral Theories 3

Relativism in Ethics 4

Moving Beyond Ethical Relativism 11

Morality and Religion 15

Universal Moral Theories 18

Ethical Egoism 19

Utilitarianism 22

Deontology: The Ethics of Duty 26

Rights-Based Ethics 32

Virtue Ethics 37

Conclusion 41

Aristotle, from Nicomachean Ethics 42

Ayn Rand, from The Fountainhead 47

Jeremy Bentham, from An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation 50

John Stuart Mill, from Utilitarianism 52

Immanuel Kant, from Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Ethics 54

John Rawls, from A Theory of Justice 59

John Locke, from Two Treatises of Civil Government 62

Nel Noddings, from Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education 65

Confucius, from The Analects 68

Thich Nhat Hanh, “The Five Mindfulness Trainings” 71

Case Studies 125

Chapter 2 Abortion 73

Background 73

The History of Abortion in the United States 74

The U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade Decision 75

Abortion and Religion 78

Methods of Abortion 79

The Moral Issues 80

Conclusion 85

Judith Jarvis Thomson, “A Defense of Abortion” 86John T. Noonan Jr., “An Almost Absolute Value in History” 97

Mary Anne Warren, “The Moral Significance of Birth” 102

Don Marquis, “Why Abortion Is Immoral” 108

Serrin M. Foster, “Refuse to Choose: Women Deserve Better Than Abortion” 113

Case Studies 125

Chapter 3 Genetic Engineering, Cloning, and Stem Cell Research 131

The History of Genetic Engineering 131

The Human Genome Project 132

Genetic Engineering 132

Cloning 133

Stem Cell Research 136

The Moral Issues 137

Conclusion 143

Julian Salvulescu, “Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Enhancement of Human Beings” 144

Judith A. J ohnson and Erin D. W illiams, “Human Cloning: Ethical and Social Issues” 150

Leon Kass, “The Wisdom of Repugnance: Why We Should Ban the Cloning of Humans” 158

James R. Langevin, “Statement in Support of H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act” 166

Case Studies 125

Chapter 4 Euthanasia 177

What Is Euthanasia? 177

The Philosophers on Euthanasia 178

The Contemporary Debate over Euthanasia 180

Euthanasia Legislation 181

Physician-Assisted Suicide 182

The Hospice Movement 184

The Moral Issues 185

Conclusion 189

James Rachels, “Active and Passive Euthanasia” 190

Margaret Pabst Battin, “The Case for Euthanasia” 195

J. Gay - Williams, “The Wrongfulness of Euthanasia” 203

John Hardwig, “Is There a Duty to Die?” 207

Susan M. Wolf, “A Feminist Critique of Physician-Assisted Suicide” 214

Case Studies 222

Chapter 5 The Death Penalty 228

History of the Death Penalty 228

The Death Penalty Today 228

The Death Penalty: Juvenile and Mentally Retarded Offenders 232

The Medicalization of Executions 232

DNA Testing 233

The Philosophers on the Death Penalty 233

The Moral Issues 235

Conclusion 239

Ernest van den Haag, “The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense of Capital Punishment” 240

Christopher W. Morris, “Punishment and Loss of Moral Standing” 245

Hugo Adam Bedau, “Capital Punishment” 251

Jeffrey Reiman, “Why the Death Penalty Should be Abolished in the United States” 261

Helen Prejean, “Would Jesus Pull the Switch?” 267

Case Studies 272

Chapter 6 Drug and Alcohol Use 278

What Is a Drug? 278

The History of Drug and Alcohol Use 279

Legal and Illegal Drugs 280

Drug and Alcohol Use Today 281

Drug and Alcohol Use Among College Students 283

Drugs in Sports 284

The Disease Model of Addiction 285

The Moral Model of Addiction 286

The Philosophers on Drug and Alcohol Abuse 286

The Moral Issues 287

Conclusion 290

Thomas Szasz, “The Ethics of Addiction” 291

James Q. Wilson, “Against the Legalization of Drugs” 299

Douglas N. Husak, “A Moral Right to Use Drugs” 307

Laura Dean - Mooney and John McCardell, “Two Takes on the 21 Drinking Age” 314

Thomas H. Murray, “Drugs, Sports, and Ethics” 317

Case Studies 324

Chapter 7 Sexual Intimacy and Marriage 330

Religious and Cultural Attitudes Toward Sexuality and Marriage 330

Sexual Intimacy and Love 331

Marriage 332

Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriages 333

Cohabitation and Premarital Sex 334

The Philosophers on Sexuality and Marriage 335

Adultery and Infidelity 336

Sex and Violence 336

Prostitution and the Sex Trade 338

The Moral Issues 338

Conclusion 341

The Vatican, “Declaration on Sexual Ethics” 341

Sara Ruddick, “Better Sex” 346

Michael Ruse, “Is Homosexuality Bad Sexuality?” 353

Margaret H. Marshall and Robert J. Cordy, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health (2003) 361

Richard W asserstrom, “Is Adultery Immoral?” 370

Lois Pineau, “Date Rape: A Feminist Analysis” 377

Case Studies 383

Chapter 8 Feminism, Motherhood, and the Workplace 390

Feminism 390

The Philosophers on Women 394

Motherhood 395

Women in the Workplace 397

Sexual Harassment 399

The Moral Issues 400

Conclusion 401

Simone de Beauvoir, “The Second Sex” 402

Ruth Groenhout, “Essentialist Challenges to Liberal Feminism” 406

Linda Hirshman, “Homeward Bound” 415

Gloria Steinem, “Women Are Never Front-Runners” 424

Steven Goldberg, “The Logic of Patriarchy” 426

Katie Roiphe, “Reckless Eyeballing: Sexual Harassmenton Campus” 432

Case Studies 439

Chapter 9 Freedom of Speech 445

What Is “Freedom of Speech”? 445

Limitations on Freedom of Speech 446

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution 447

Freedom of Speech in Cyberspace 448

Pornography 449

Hate Speech as Protected Speech 450

Speech Codes and Free Speech Zones on College Campuses 452

The Philosophers on Freedom of Speech 454

The Moral Issues 455

Conclusion 459

John S tuart Mill, from On Liberty 459

Catharine A. MacKinnon, “Pornography, Civil Rights, and Speech” 467

Charles R. Lawrence III, “If He Hollers Let Him Go: Regulating Racist Speech on Campus” 475

Nadine Strossen, “Hate Speech and Pornography: Do We Have to Choose Between Freedom of Speech and Equality?” 484

Stanley Fish, “There’s No Such Thing as Free Speech,and It’s a Good Thing, Too” 493

Alan M. Dershowitz, “Political Correctness, Speech Codes, and Diversity” 499

Cass R. Sunstein, “The First Amendment in Cyberspace” 502

Case Studies 507

Chapter 10 Racial Discrimination and Global Justice 514

Defining the Key Terms 514

The Philosophers on Racism 516

The Roots of American Racism 517

Racism Today 521

Globalization, Immigration, and Racism 524

The Moral Issues 525

Conclusion 527

Lyndon B. Johnson, “To Fulfill These Rights” 528

Bernard R. Boxill, “The Color-Blind Principle” 540

Michael Levin, “Race, Biology, and Justice” 546

Joseph H. Carens, The Rights of Irregular Migrants

Thomas Pogge, “World Poverty and Human Rights” 559

Case Studies 565

Chapter 11 War and Terrorism 571

Background 571

The Philosophers on War and Terrorism 572

The Just-War Tradition 575

Weapons of Mass Destruction 578

Pacifism and Conscription 579

The Moral Issues 580

Conclusion 584

Elizabeth Anscombe, “War and Murder” 585

C.A.J. Coady, “War and Terrorism” 591

Sohail H. Hashmi, “Interpreting the Islamic Ethics of War and Peace” 599

Jonathan Granoff, “Nuclear Weapons, Ethics, Morals and Law” 608

David Luban, “The War on Terrorism and the End of Human Rights” 613

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, “Sharing the Burden” 620

Case Studies 630

Chapter 12 Animal Rights and Environmental Ethics 637

The Legal and Moral Status of Nonhuman Animals 637

The Legal and Moral Status of the Environment 639

The Philosophers on the Moral Value of Nonhuman Animals and the Environment 639

Animal Farming, Environmental Degradation, and Vegetarianism 641

Global Warming and Climate Change 643

Animal Experimentation 644

The Moral Issues 645

Conclusion 648

Tom R egan, “The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism” 649

Jan Narveson, “Animal Rights Revisited” 655

Peter Singer, from Animal Liberation 660

Carl Cohen, “Do Animals Have Rights?” 669

Aldo Leopold, “The Land Ethic” 676

Bill Devall and George Sessions, “Deep Ecology” 680

James Garvey, Climate Change and Moral Outrage

Karen J. W arren, “The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism, Revisited” 687

Case Studies 694

Glossary G-1

Endnotes N-1

Credits C-1

Index I-1