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Forrester discusses animal rights, obligations concerning future generations, abortion, limiting medical treatment, and euthanasia.
Persons are defined as individuals who ought to be treated in accordance with all sound moral principles. The author develops an account of what moral principles are sound, how we can apply them to complex situations, and what makes it reasonable to treat individuals in accordance with particular moral principles. This discussion puts the book's practical conclusions on a sounder basis than much other work on practical ethics. Most such authors state some general principles, but say little about why these principles should be accepted. Moreover, they rarely show how general principles can generate answers to specific dilemmas. Some even maintain that general principles are irrelevant.
Since Forrester is both a nurse practitioner and a philosopher, she has had direct acquaintance with many agonizing situations in medicine.
Summaries of the theoretical conclusions are included to enable nonprofessionals to follow the discussion of practical issues. The book will thus interest not only professional philosophers, but also non-philosophers concerned with problems in medical and environmental ethics, abortion, and animal rights.
List of contents
I: Problems and Persons.- 1: The Central Feature of Personhood.- II: Theory and Justification.- Summary of Part II.- 2: Moral Knowledge.- 3: Outline of a Basic Moral Theory.- 4: The Difficulties of Applying Moral Principles.- 5: Solving Moral Problems.- III: What Makes an Individual a Person.- Summary of Part III.- 6: Who Ought to Get Moral Consideration?.- 7: Reasons for Granting Personhood.- 8: Persons by Nature and Persons by Extension.- IV.- 9: How Animals Ought to be Treated.- 10: Animal Rights.- 11: What do we Owe to Future Generations?.- 12: When Should we Bring New People into the World?.- 13: The Human Fetus: Introduction.- 14: Should Fetuses be Extended Persons?.- 15: Abortion: Objections and Policies.- 16: The End of Personhood and Cessation of Medical Procedures.- 17: Euthanasia.- 18: Summary.- Notes.
