About the Book
This is a comprehensive collection of more than 60 new, newly-revised and classic readings on 14 contemporary moral debates. In addition to more familiar issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, preferential treatment, animal rights and the environment, the volume includes coverage of less familiar but equally important topics, such as immigration, political correctness, the use of drugs, the compensation of victims of crime, free speech, world hunger and economic justice. The book encourages the student to think critically about a wide range of practical moral issues. These features make it a useful text for introductory courses in ethics.
Table of Contents:
Part 1 Life and death - euthanasia: for doctor-assisted suicide, Gregory Pence, against doctor-assisted suicide, Tom L. Beauchamp, rule utilitarianism and euthanasia, Brad Hooker, death and the family, John Hardwig; abortion - why abortion is immoral?, Donald Marquis, the moral and legal status of abortion, Mary Ann Warren, abortion and feminism, Sally Markowitz, a defense of abortion, Judith Jarvis Thomson; animals - all animals are equal, Peter Singer, the moral community, Michael Allen Fox, moral standing, the value of lives and speciesism, R.G. Frey, the case for animal rights, Tom Regan, on being an animal experimenter, John Gluck. Part 2 The personal life: families and friends - what do grown children owe their parents?, Jane English, what are friends for?, Marilyn Friedman, emotional exploitation, Sandra Bartky, the priority of personal relationships, Bernard Williams, morality, parents and children, James Rachels; sexuality - morality and human sexuality, Vincent Punzo, plain sex, Alan Goldman, what's wrong with rape?, Pamela Foa, why homosexuality is abnormal, Michael Levin, homosexuality and the unnaturalness argument, Burton Leiser; virtues (four of the following) - servility and self-respect, Thomas E. Hill Jr, generosity, James D. Wallace, on improving people by political means, Lester H. Hunt, social basis of character, Steven Fesmire. Part 3 Liberty and equality: drugs - individuality, J.S. Mill, against the legalization of drugs, James Q. Wilson, taking drugs seriously, Anne E. Cudd, justified paternalism, Robert E. Goodin; free speech - freedom of thoughts and discussion, J.S. Mill, do we have a right to pornography, Ronald Dworkin, women and pornography, Rae Langton, political correctness, Marilyn Friedman, political correctness, John Arthur; sexual and racial discrimination - racisms, Kwame Anthony Appiah, oppression by choice, Ann E. Cudd, a feminist definition of sexual harrassment, Anita Superson, date rape. (Part contents)
About the Author :
Hugh LaFollette is Professor of Philosophy at East Tennessee State University. He is author of Personal Relationships: Love, Identity, and Morality (Blackwell Publishers, 1996), co-author of Brute Science (1996), editor of Blackwell Guide To Ethical Theory (Blackwell Publishers, 1997), and co-editor of World Hunger and Morality (1995).
Review :
..". a good aid for introducing non-philosophers to ethical problems without over-simplifying matters. Of course, all philosophical texts are difficult for non-philosophers, but the level of difficulty in these texts is not extreme. Generally, it can be said that LaFollette has succeeded in finding texts that are not only representative but also accessible." Jan Jans, Ethical Perspectives
.".. a good aid for introducing non-philosophers to ethical problems without over-simplifying matters. Of course, all philosophical texts are difficult for non-philosophers, but the level of difficulty in these texts is not extreme. Generally, it can be said that LaFollette has succeeded in finding texts that are not only representative but also accessible." "Jan Jans, Ethical Perspectives
