What's Wrong? Applied Ethicists and Their Critics

by Boonin, David; Oddie, Graham

• ISBN13: 9780195167610
• ISBN10: 0195167619
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-04
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

What's Wrong?: Applied Ethicists and Their Critics is a thorough and engaging introduction to applied ethics that covers virtually all of the issues in the field. Featuring more than ninety-five articles, it addresses standard topics--such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, worldhunger, and animal rights--and also delves into cutting-edge areas like cloning, racial profiling, same-sex marriage, prostitution, and slave reparations. The volume includes seminal essays by prominent philosophers (Robert Nozick, James Rachels, Peter Singer, and Judith Jarvis Thomson) alongsidework by newer voices in the field. Employing a unique approach to teaching argumentation, editors David Boonin and Graham Oddie unify the wealth of material presented in this collection. Each chapter opens with a featured article that takes a strong stand on a particular issue; the essays that immediately follow offerobjections and critical responses to the arguments put forth in the featured selection. This format helps students learn how to better engage in debates because it illustrates how philosophers argue with each other. In addition, a general introduction describes strategies for understanding andevaluating the different types of arguments contained in the readings, while detailed chapter introductions enable students to see precisely how the arguments presented in the various writings are related to one another. Discussion questions and suggestions for further reading are included for eachchapter. Ideal for courses in introduction to ethics and applied ethics/contemporary moral problems, What's Wrong? can also be used in critical thinking courses that emphasize philosophical argumentation.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xv
Introduction: What's Wrong with Arguing?	1	(24)
Part 1 What'S Wrong with Killing?	25	(140)
Is Killing in War Wrong?
Fullinwider and His Critics	27	(8)
``War and Innocence''	31	(4)
Robert K. Fullinwider
Critics
``Self-Defense and the Killing of Noncombatants: A Reply to Fullinwider''	35	(4)
Lawrence A. Alexander
Is Euthanasia Wrong?
Rachels and His Critics	39	(9)
``Active and Passive Euthanasia''	44	(4)
James Rachels
Critics
``Is Killing No Worse Than Letting Die?''	48	(3)
Winston Nesbitt
``Killing, Letting Die, and the Bare Difference Argument''	51	(4)
Roy W. Perrett
``The Additive Fallacy''	55	(7)
Shelly Kagan
``Killing and Letting Die: From Bare Differences to Clear Differences''	62	(3)
Graham Oddie
Is Abortion Wrong?
Marquis and His Critics	65	(12)
``Why Abortion Is Immoral''	68	(9)
Don Marquis
Critics
``Abortion and the Neo-Natal Right to Life: A Critique of Marquis's Futurist Argument''	77	(6)
Gerald H. Paske
``Killing, Abortion, and Contraception: A Reply to Marquis''	83	(7)
Alastair Norcross
``Does a Fetus Already Have a Future-Like-Ours?''	90	(2)
Peter K. McInerney
Thomson and Her Critics	92	(13)
``A Defense of Abortion''	95	(10)
Judith Jarvis Thomson
Critics
``Thomson on Abortion''	105	(3)
Baruch Brody
``Arguments from Bodily Rights: A Critical Analysis''	108	(7)
Francis J. Beckwith
Is Infanticide Wrong?
Tooley and His Critics	115	(17)
``Abortion and Infanticide''	119	(13)
Michael Tooley
Critics
``Infanticide and the Right to Life''	132	(4)
Alan Carter
``Must the Bearer of a Right Have the Concept of That to Which He Has a Right?''	136	(5)
John C. Stevens
Is Killing Nonhuman Animals Wrong?
Regan and His Critics	141	(10)
``The Case for Animal Rights''	144	(7)
Tom Regan
Critics
``On a Case for Animal Rights''	151	(7)
Jan Narveson
``Why Animals Lack Beliefs and Desires''	158	(2)
R. G. Frey
``The Case Against Animal Rights''	160	(2)
R. G. Frey
``Rights''	162	(3)
Alan White
Part 2 What'S Wrong with Sex?	165	(114)
Is Homosexuality Wrong?
Levin and His Critics	167	(23)
``Why Homosexuality Is Abnormal''	171	(19)
Michael Levin
Critics
``Homosexuality and Nature: Happiness and the Law at Stake''	190	(8)
Timothy F. Murphy
Is ``Outing'' Homosexuals Wrong?
Mohr and His Critics	198	(5)
``The Case for Outing''	201	(2)
Richard D. Mohr
Critics
``Outing, Ethics, and Politics: A Reply to Mohr''	203	(1)
James S. Stramel
``Privacy and the Ethics of Outing''	204	(3)
David J. Mayo
Martin Gunderson
Is Adultery Wrong?
Wasserstrom and His Critics	207	(16)
``Is Adultery Immoral?''	215	(8)
Richard Wasserstrom
Critics
``What's Really Wrong with Adultery''	223	(4)
Michael J. Wreen
``Adultery''	227	(4)
Bonnie Steinbock
``What's Wrong with Adultery?''	231	(8)
Don Marquis
Is Antioch's ``Sexual Offense Policy'' Wrong?
Soble and His Critics	239	(11)
``Antioch's ''Sexual Offense Policy': A Philosophical Exploration``	241	(9)
Alan Soble
Critics
``Ah! My Foolish Heart: A Reply to Soble's `Antioch's ''Sexual Offense Policy``: A Philosophical Exploration' ''	250	(5)
Eva Feder Kittay
Is Prostitution Wrong?
Ericsson and His Critics	255	(14)
``Charges Against Prostitution: An Attempt at a Philosophical Assessment''	258	(11)
Lars O. Ericsson
Critics
``Defending Prostitution: Charges Against Ericsson''	269	(3)
Carole Pateman
``Should Feminists Oppose Prostitution?''	272	(2)
Laurie Shrage
``Prostitution, Exploitation, and Taboo''	274	(5)
Karen Green
Part 3 What'S Wrong with the Family?	279	(92)
Is Neglecting One's Parents Wrong?
English and Her Critics	281	(8)
``What Do Grown Children Owe Their Parents?''	285	(4)
Jane English
Critics
``Can Parents and Children Be Friends?''	289	(6)
Joseph Kupfer
``The Friendship Model of Filial Obligations''	295	(10)
Nicholas Dixon
Is the Traditional Family Wrong?
Sommers and Her Critics	305	(16)
``Philosophers Against the Family''	310	(11)
Christina Hoff Sommers
Critics
``'They Lived Happily Ever After': Sommers on Women and Marriage''	321	(6)
Marilyn Friedman
``The Ties That Bind: Duties to Family Members''	327	(10)
Claudia Mills
Is Licensing Parents Wrong?
LaFollette and His Critics	337	(11)
``Licensing Parents''	340	(8)
Hugh LaFollette
Critics
``On Licentious Licensing: A Reply to Hugh LaFollette''	348	(4)
Lawrence E. Frisch
``Parent Licensing''	352	(3)
Pierre Lemieux
Is Same-Sex Marriage Wrong?
Jordan and His Critics	355	(12)
``Is It Wrong to Discriminate on the Basis of Homosexuality?''	358	(9)
Jeff Jordan
Critics
``Same-Sex Marriage and the Argument from Public Disagreement''	367	(3)
David Boonin
``Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality''	370	(1)
Andrew Sullivan
Part 4 What'S Wrong with Race Relations?	371	(98)
Is Affirmative Action Wrong?
Thomson and Her Critics	373	(15)
``Preferential Hiring''	377	(11)
Judith Jarvis Thomson
Critics
``Preferential Hiring: A Reply to Judith Jarvis Thomson''	388	(5)
Robert Simon
Are Reparations for Slavery Wrong?
Horowitz and His Critics	393	(5)
``Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Blacks Is a Bad Idea for Blacks---and Racist, Too!''	395	(3)
David Horowitz
Critics
Jr., ``Ten Reasons: A Response to David Horowitz''	398	(6)
Robert Chrisman
Ernest Allen
``America's Debt to Blacks''	404	(2)
Randall Robinson
Is a White Musician Playing the Blues Wrong?
Rudinow and His Critics	406	(11)
``Race, Ethnicity, Expressive Authenticity: Can White People Sing the Blues?''	409	(8)
Joel Rudinow
Critics
``. . . So Black and Blue: Response to Rudinow''	417	(4)
Paul Taylor
``Reply to Taylor''	421	(2)
Joel Rudinow
Is Racial Profiling Wrong?
Levin and His Critics	423	(27)
``Responses to Race Differences in Crime''	427	(23)
Michael Levin
Critics
``On Michael Levin's `Responses to Race Differences in Crime'''	450	(5)
Chana Berniker Cox
``Statistical Badness''	455	(11)
Laurence Thomas
``Race and Crime: A Response to Michael Levin and Laurence Thomas''	466	(3)
Louis P. Pojman
Part 5 What'S Wrong with Commerce?	469	(88)
Is Failing to Divest from Immoral Companies Wrong?
Cahn and His Critics	471	(4)
``A Puzzle Concerning Divestiture''	474	(1)
Steven M. Cahn
Critics
``The Divestiture Puzzle Dissolved''	475	(1)
Roger A. Shiner
``Morally Acceptable Divestiture''	476	(1)
Kerry S. Walters
``The Point in Principled Divestiture''	477	(1)
Saul Smilansky
Is Insider Trading Wrong?
Werhane and Her Critics	478	(7)
``The Ethics of Insider Trading''	481	(4)
Patricia H. Werhane
Critics
``Insider Trading Revisited''	485	(4)
Deryl W. Martin
Jeffrey H. Peterson
Is Marketing Human Organs Wrong?
Chadwick and Her Critics	489	(11)
``The Market for Bodily Parts: Kant and Duties to Oneself''	492	(8)
Ruth F. Chadwick
Critics
``The Market for Bodily Parts: A Response to Ruth Chadwick''	500	(6)
G. V. Tadd
``The Morality of a Free Market for Transplant Organs''	506	(8)
Mark T. Nelson
Is Commercial Surrogate Motherhood Wrong?
Anderson and Her Critics	514	(10)
``Is Women's Labor a Commodity?''	517	(7)
Elizabeth S. Anderson
Critics
``Commodification and Commercial Surrogacy''	524	(5)
Richard J. Arneson
``Two Questions About Surrogacy and Exploitation''	529	(3)
Alan Wertheimer
Is Failing to Contribute to Famine Relief Wrong?
Singer and His Critics	532	(12)
``Famine, Affluence, and Morality''	537	(7)
Peter Singer
Critics
``World Hunger and Moral Obligation: The Case Against Singer''	544	(4)
John Arthur
``Famine, Affluence, and Empathy''	548	(9)
Michael Slote
Part 6 What'S Wrong with the State?	557	(136)
Is Redistributive Taxation Wrong?
Nozick and His Critics	559	(15)
``Distributive Justice''	564	(10)
Robert Nozick
Critics
``The Entitlement Theory of Distributive Justice''	574	(8)
Alan H. Goldman
``Redistributive Taxation, Self-Ownership, and the Fruit of Labour''	582	(8)
Mark A. Michael
Is Capital Punishment Wrong?
van den Haag and His Critics	590	(9)
``Refuting Reiman and Nathanson''	593	(6)
Ernest van den Haag
Critics
``Justice, Civilization, and the Death Penalty: Answering van den Haag''	599	(7)
Jeffrey H. Reiman
``Does It Matter If the Death Penalty Is Arbitrarily Administered?''	606	(9)
Stephen Nathanson
Is All Punishment Wrong?
Barnett and His Critics	615	(18)
``Restitution: A New Paradigm of Criminal Justice''	618	(15)
Randy E. Barnett
Critics
``Restitution and Punishment: A Reply to Barnett''	633	(2)
Franklin G. Miller
``Criminal Remedies: Restitution, Punishment, or Both?''	635	(1)
Roger Pilon
``Criminal Justice and Private Enterprise''	636	(2)
Stanley S. Kleinberg
Is a Government Ban on Tobacco Wrong?
Goodin and His Critics	638	(17)
``No Smoking''	642	(13)
Robert Goodin
Critics
``Smoking Tobacco: Irrationality, Addiction, and Paternalism''	655	(11)
Daniel Shapiro
``Addiction and the Value of Freedom''	666	(14)
Graham Oddie
Is a Government Ban on Cloning Wrong?
Kass and His Critics	680	(6)
``Preventing a Brave New World''	682	(4)
Leon R. Kass
Critics
``Uniqueness, Individuality, and Human Cloning''	686	(2)
David Elliott
``An Argument for Limited Human Cloning''	688	(5)
David B. Hershenov
Part 7 What Else is Wrong?	693	(49)
Is Inheriting Wealth Wrong?	694	(21)
``Is Inheritance Justified?''	697	(18)
D. W. Haslett
Is Criminalizing Blackmail Wrong?	715	(10)
``The Crime of Blackmail: A Libertarian Critique''	716	(9)
Walter Block
Is Punishing People for Bad Luck Wrong?	725	(9)
``The Punishment That Leaves Something to Chance''	729	(5)
David Lewis
Is Refusing to Work Wrong?	734	(6)
``The Obligation to Work''	736	(4)
Lawrence C. Becker
Is Copying This Book Wrong?	740	(2)
``In Defense of Copying''	742
Selmer Bringsjord