Three Challenges to Ethics Environmentalism, Feminism, and Multiculturalism

by Sterba, James P.

• ISBN13: 9780195124767
• ISBN10: 0195124766
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-31
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In this unique work, James P. Sterba argues that traditional ethics has yet to confront the three significant challenges posed by environmentalism, feminism, and multiculturalism. He maintains that while traditional ethics has been quite successful at dealing with the problems it faces, it has not addressed the possibility that its solutions to these problems are biased in favor of humans, men, and Western culture. In Three Challenges to Ethics: Environmentalism, Feminism, and Multiculturalism, Sterba examines each of these challenges. In the case of environmentalism, he argues that traditional ethics must incorporate conflict resolution principles that favor nonhumans over humans in a significant range of cases. In terms of feminism, he maintains that traditional ethics should rule out gendered family structures and implement an ideal of androgyny. In regard to multiculturalism, he contends that traditional ethics must endorse an ethics that is secular in character and that can survive an extensive comparative evaluation of both Western and non-Western moral ideals and cultures. The only textbook devoted to this topic, Three Challenges to Ethics is an engaging text for introductory courses in ethics and moral problems and is also interesting and provocative reading for scholars and general readers.

Author Biography

James P. Sterba is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.

Table of Contents

Preface	v
Introduction
Traditional Ethics	1	(26)
Environmentalism
The Human Bias in Traditional Ethics and How to Correct It	27	(24)
Feminism
The Masculine Bias in Traditional Ethics and How to Correct It	51	(26)
Multiculturalism
The Western Bias in Traditional Ethics and How to Correct It	77	(28)
Conclusion
A Peacemaking Way of Doing Philosophy	105	(14)
Notes	119	(24)
Bibliography	143	(8)
Index	151