Through the analysis of forty ethical dilemmas drawn from real-life situations, Ethics in Action guides the reader through a process of moral deliberation that leads to the resolution of a variety of moral dilemmas. - Fosters critical thinking by evaluating the reasons people give to support their choices and actions
- Challenges the paradigm of moral relativism that often impedes efforts to resolve moral dilemmas
- Incorporates international perspectives often lacking in texts published for a U.S. audience
Table of Contents:
About the Authors xi
Foreword by Robert F. Ladenson xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction 1
Peggy Connolly
Part I Ethical Reasoning 9
1 A Brief Overview of Basic Ethical Theory 11
David R. Keller
2 A Framework for Moral Reasoning 50
Eric H. Gampel
Part II Cases and Commentaries 79
3 The Eye of the Beholder: Ethical Issues in the Arts 81
Case One: Monumental Controversies – The FDR Memorial 82
Case Two: Fire Sale – Destroying Privately Owned Works of Art 100
Case Three: What Price Immortality? – The Body Worlds Exhibition 112
Case Four: Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers? – Returning Antiquities to Their Countries of Origin 120
Case Five: Faux Paws – The Genetically Engineered Bunny 130
4 Green Achers: Ethical Issues and the Environment 132
Case Six: All Used Up and Nowhere to Glow – Goshute Nuclear Waste Siting and Native American Sovereignty 133
Case Seven: Not in My Back Yard – Environmental Injustice and “Cancer Alley” 148
Case Eight: The Boiled Frog – Global Warming, US Interests, and Vulnerable Nations 164
Case Nine: A Gorilla on the Grill is Worth Two in the Bush – Wild Meat, Malnutrition, and Biological Conservation 179
Case Ten: Future Farmers – The Ecology, Economics, and Ethics of Genetically Modified Rice 186
Case Eleven: Till Rivers Run Dry – Mexican-American Water Politics 194
5 Plays Well With Others? Ethical Issues in Intra-social Conflicts 199
Case Twelve: Am I My Brother’s Keeper? – What Are Friends For? 200
Case Thirteen: Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Healthcare Professionals – Recruiting Nurses from Developing Nations 209
Case Fourteen: Deadly Secrets – Releasing Confidential Medical Records to Law-Enforcement Officers 225
Case Fifteen: Perish the Thought! – Academic Affairs and “Community Values” 235
Case Sixteen: The Sound and the Fury – Noises and Neighbors 245
Case Seventeen: Shoot to Thrill – Gun Schools in the United States 250
6 Healthy, Wealthy and Whys: Ethical Issues in Healthcare 254
Case Eighteen: Whose Life Is It Anyway? – Collisions between Personal Conscience and Professional Obligations 255
Case Nineteen: Congratulations! Did You Have a Boy or a Girl? – Surgical Interventions on Infants with Disorders of Sex Development 270
Case Twenty: The Heart of the Matter – Who Decides When the Patient is Dead? 292
Case Twenty-one: Lip Service – Cosmetic Use of Cadaver Tissue 302
Case Twenty-two: Drug of Choice – Patients’ Access to Experimental Drugs 309
Case Twenty-three: A Fevered Hand on a Cooling Brow – The Nurse’s Role in Aid-in-dying 312
7 Business as Usual: Ethical Issues in the Marketplace 321
Case Twenty-four: Sale of a Lifetime – Ovum “Donation” 322
Case Twenty-five: Only God Can Make a Tree – Patenting Indigenous Plants 350
Case Twenty-six: Body Shop – International Trafficking in Human Organs 374
Case Twenty-seven: Straits of Strife – Japanese Whaling, Cultural Relativism, and International Politics 391
Case Twenty-eight: Big Pharma Wants You – Direct-to-consumer Advertising 399
Case Twenty-nine: This Gun’s For Hire – ExxonMobil and the Indonesian Military 405
8 Freedom From or Freedom To? Ethical Issues in Government 410
Case Thirty: Battle Scars – Suing the Government for Medical Malpractice 411
Case Thirty-one: Does the Past Mean Never Having to Say We’re Sorry? – Reparations and Apologies 429
Case Thirty-two: Words Fail – Institutional Responses to Creative Violence 434
Case Thirty-three: The Idealism of Youth – Civil Disobedience and the BYU Honor Code 442
Case Thirty-four: Britannia Waives the Rules – Collecting DNA on Arrestees 449
Case Thirty-five: Land of the Free – The Gun Ban at the University of Utah 456
9 School Days, School Daze: Ethical Issues in Education 463
Case Thirty-six: Sheepskin or Fleece? – Plagiarism in University Classrooms 464
Case Thirty-seven: Fire Up the Coffee Pot! Break Out the Ritalin! – Performance-enhancing Drugs in Academia 481
Case Thirty-eight: When an A is Not an A – Grade Inflation in Universities 491
Case Thirty-nine: Readin’, Writin’, and Rx-in’ – School Kids with Medical Needs 494
Case Forty: Promises, Promises – Selling Genetic Material for Institutional Gain 496
Part III The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl 503
10 History of the Ethics Bowl 505
11 National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Competition 507
Preparation 507
12 Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (IEB) Rules 510
Regional Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Rules 510
National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Championship Rules (2008) 513
About the Author :
Peggy Connolly, EdD, chair, Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl national case-writing committee
David R. Keller, PhD, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for the Study of Ethics, Utah Valley University
Martin G. Leever, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI
Becky Cox-White, PhD, Professor, Department of Philosophy, and Fellow, Center for Applied and Professional Ethics, California State University, Chico, Chico, CA
Review :
""An admirable feature is that most cases are entirely real, with facts backed up by copious." (The Philosopher, Autumn 2010) "For those tired of the usual text in moral or social problems, Ethics in Action offers a welcome vacation. While most of the topics are familiar (the environment, social relations, biomedical ethics, and so on), most of the cases in those sections are not. All the cases are interesting in themselves. No trolley problems here!"
- Michael Davis, Illinois Institute of Technology
"This well-written book admirably shows how case-driven moral reasoning is a complex, sophisticated process, one grounded in a rational framework. Readers will learn much from the authors' approach and be deeply challenged by the cases."
- Christopher Meyers, Kegley Institute of Ethics
"This book provides an invaluable resource for classroom discussion. It is rich with examples that will draw students into a deeper exploration of theory. A must-have for anyone serious about teaching ethics."
- Aine Donovan, Dartmouth College
