About the Book
This is a collection of readings in moral theory and moral issues from major western philosophers. It is the successful companion reader for Rachels' text, The Elements of Moral Philosophy. This anthology explores further the theories and issues introduced in that volume, in their original and classic formulations. The collection can stand on its own as the text for a course in moral philosophy, or it can be used to supplement any introductory text. - New readings cover the topics of drug legalization, cloning, poverty and the death penalty. - The reader begins with two essays by Rachels which give a short introduction to moral philosophy and some basic points about arguments. - Part I contains classic and contemporary readings about the nature of morality, while Part II has contemporary essays on current moral issues.
Table of Contents:
* indicates new to this editionPreface James Rachels, "A Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy" James Rachels, "Some Basic Points about Arguments"Part I: THEORIES ABOUT THE NATURE OF MORALITY 1: William Grahm Sumner, "Cultural Relativism" 2: Aristotle, "The Virtues" 3: Saint Thomas Aquinas, "Ethics and Natural Law" 4: Thomas Hobbes, "The Social Contract" 5: David Hume, "Morality as Based on Sentiment" 6: John Stuart Mill, "Utilitarianism" 7: Immanuel Kant, "The Categorical Imperative" 8: Jean Grimshaw, "The Idea of a Female Ethic"Part II: ESSAYS ABOUT MORAL ISSUES 9: Mary Anne Warren, "The Moral and Legal Status of Abortion" 10: Don Marquis, "Why Abortion Is Immoral" 11: *Gregory E. Pence, "Will Cloning Harm People?" 12: Richard D. Mohr, "Gay Basics: Some Questions, Facts, and Values" 13: Burton M. Leiser, "Is Homosexuality Unnatural?" 14: *Peter Singer, "The Singer Solution to World Poverty" 15: Jan Narveson, "Feeding the Hungry" 16: James Rachels, "The Morality of Euthanasia" 17: Richard Doerflinger, "Assisted Suicide: Pro-Choice or Anti-Life?" 18: Immanuel Kant, "Why We Have No Obligations to Animals" 19: Peter Singer, "All Animals Are Equal" 20: Thomas E. Hill, Jr., "Preserving the Environment" 21: Douglas P. Lackey, "The Ethics of War and Peace" 22: *Hugo A. Bedau, "The Case Against the Death Penalty" 23: *Ernst van den Haag, "In Defense of the Death Penalty" 24: *Milton Friedman and William J. Bennett, "Should Drugs be Legalized?" 25: Marilyn Frye, "Sexism" 26: Kwame Anthony Appiah, "Racisms" 27: Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from the Birmingham City Jail" 28: John Rawls, "The Justification of Civil Disobedience"
About the Author :
James Rachels, the distinguished American moral philosopher, was born in Columbus, Georgia, graduating from Mercer University in Macon in 1962. He received his Ph.D. in 1967 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He taught at the University of Richmond, New York University, the University of Miami, Duke University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he spent the last twenty-six years of his career. 1971 saw the publication of Rachels groundbreaking textbook Moral Problems, which ignited the movement in America away from teaching ethical theory towards teaching concrete practical issues. Moral Problems sold 100,000 copies over three editions. In 1975, Rachels wrote Active and Passive Euthanasia, arguing that the distinction so important in the law between killing and letting die has no rational basis. Originally appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, this essay has been reprinted roughly 300 times and is a staple of undergraduate education. The End of Life (1986) was about the morality of killing and the value of life. Created from Animals (1990) argued that a Darwinian world-view has widespread philosophical implications, including drastic implications for our treatment of nonhuman animals. Can Ethics Provide Answers? (1997) was Rachels first collection of papers (others are expected posthumously). Rachels McGraw-Hill textbook, The Elements of Moral Philosophy, is now in its fourth edition and is easily the best-selling book of its kind.Over his career, Rachels wrote 5 books and 85 essays, edited 7 books and gave about 275 professional lectures. His work has been translated into Dutch, Italian, Japanese, and Serbo-Croatian. James Rachels is widely admired as a stylist, as his prose is remarkably free of jargon and clutter. A major theme in his work is that reason can resolve difficult moral issues. He has given reasons for moral vegetarianism and animal rights, for affirmative action (including quotas), for the humanitarian use of euthanasia, and for the idea that parents owe as much moral consideration to other peoples children as they do to their own. James Rachels died of cancer on September 5th, 2003, in Birmingham, Alabama.
