Contemporary and Classic Arguments : A Portable Anthology

by Barnet, Sylvan; Bedau, Hugo

• ISBN13: 9780312436285
• ISBN10: 0312436289
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-09
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

In response to requests for briefer and less expensive argument readers,Contemporary and Classic Argumentsoffers an ample selection of readings in a compact size for about half the price of similar books. Adapted from the best-selling full-size argument text/readerCurrent Issues and Enduring Questions, it offers both a provocative selection of contemporary arguments to engage students with some of today's most pressing topics, and a collection of classic essays that provide time-tested models of effective argument.

Author Biography

SYLVAN BARNET, professor of English and former director of writing at Tufts University, is the most prolific and consistently successful college English textbook author of the past 30 years. His several texts on writing and his numerous anthologies for introductory composition and literature courses have remained leaders in their field through many editions.

HUGO BEDAU, professor of philosophy at Tufts University, has served as chair of the philosophy department and chair of the university's committee on College Writing. An internationally respected expert on the death penalty, and on moral, legal, and political philosophy, he has written or edited a number of books on these topics. He is the author of Thinking and Writing about Philosophy, Second Edition (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002).

Table of Contents

   Preface
    
PART I. DEBATES ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
    
  1. Affirmative Action: Is It Fair?
    Terry Eastland, Ending Affirmative Action
    Burke Marshall and Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, Not Color Blind: Just Blind
    
  2. Cell Phones: Should Their Use While Driving Be Prohibited?
    Advocates for Cell Phone Safety, Yes, Prohibit Their Use
    Robert W. Hahn and Paul Tetlock, No, Don't Prohibit Their Use
    
  3. Censorship: Should Public Libraries Filter Internet Sites?
    David Burt, Yes, Install Filters
    Nancy Kranich, No, Do Not Install Filters
    
  4. Gay Marriages: Should They Be Legalized?
    Thomas B. Stoddard, Gay Marriages: Make Them Legal
    Lisa Schiffren, Gay Marriage, an Oxymoron
    
  5. Gun Control: Would It Really Help?
    Sarah Thompson, Concealed Carry Prevents Violent Crimes
    Nan Desuka, Why Handguns Must Be Outlawed
    
PART II. CASEBOOKS ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
    
  6. The Death Penalty: Can It Ever Be Justified?
    Edward I. Koch, Death and Justice: How Capital Punishment Affirms Life
    David Bruck, The Death Penalty
    Potter Stewart, Gregg v. Georgia
    Harry Blackmun, Dissenting Opinion in Callins v. Collins
    Sister Helen Prejean, Executions Are Too Costly -- Morally
    Casey Johnson, Yes, The Death Penalty Should Apply to Juveniles
    Emma Welch, No, The Death Penalty Should Not Apply to Juveniles
    Alex Kozinski and Sean Gallagher, For an Honest Death Penalty
    
  7. Drugs: Should Their Sale and Use Be Legalized?
    William J. Bennett, Drug Policy and the Intellectuals
    James Q. Wilson, Against the Legalization of Drugs
    Milton Friedman, There's No Justice in the War on Drugs
    Elliott Currie, Toward a Policy on Drugs
    
  8. The Just War: What Are the Criteria?
    G. E. M. Anscombe, The Criteria of a Just War
    Peter Steinfels, The Just War Tradition and the Invasion of Iraq
    George A. Lopez, Iraq and Just-War Thinking
    William A. Galston, The Perils of Preemptive War
    Andrew Sullivan, Yes, a War Would Be Moral
    
  9. Privacy: What Are Its Limits?
    Amitai Etzioni,Less Privacy Is Good For Us (and You)
    Simson Garfinkel, Privacy under Attack
    Nadine Strossen, Everyone Is Watching You
    E-mail responses to Nadine Strossen
    Judith Wagner DeCew, The Feminist Critique of Privacy
    
  10. Sexual Harassment: Is There Any Doubt About What It Is?
    Tufts University, What Is Sexual Harassment?
    Ellen Goodman, The Reasonable Woman Standard
    Ellen Frankel Paul, Bared Buttocks and Federal Cases
    Sarah J. McCarthy, Cultural Fascism
    
  11. Torture: Is It Ever Justifiable?
    Clinton R. Van Zandt, It Should Not Be Permissible to Torture Suspected Terrorists to Gather Information
    Vincent Iacopino, It Should Be Permitted to Torture Suspected Terrorists to Gather Information
    Philip B. Heymann, Torture Should Not Be Authorized
    Alan M. Dershowitz, Yes, It Should Be "On the books"
    Michael Levin, The Case for Torture
    
PART III. CLASSIC ARGUMENTS
    
    Plato, Crito
       The Myth of the Cave
    Thomas More, From Utopia
    Niccolò Machiavelli, From The Prince
    Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal
    Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
    Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
    Virginia Woolf, Professions for Women
    George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant
    Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream
       Letter from Birmingham Jail
    Judy Brady, I Want a Wife
    Peter Singer, Animal Liberation
    Garrett Hardin, Lifeboat Ethics
    James Rachels, Active and Passive Euthanasia
    
  Index of Authors and Titles