Read more
Intended for use in the introduction to ethics course, this text is designed to engage today's practical-minded student in more fundamental questions. The book ranges from ideals in living to contemporary moral problems, exploring and analyzing both areas in order to stimulate deeper reflection.
List of contents
Table of Contents
Preface
About the Author
Introduction
The Nature of Ethics
The Standard of Reasonableness
1. Putting Ethics in Its Place
The Role of Ethics within Philosophy
Relationships to Other Branches
Ethics and Science
The Naturalistic Fallacy
Ethics and Religion
Plato's Euthyphro
Ethics and Psychology
Psychological Egoism
Review Questions
2. Free Will and Determinism
Do We Have Free Choice?
Fatalism and Predestination
Social Scientific Determinism
The Compelling Factors
The Libertarian Reply
Arguments for Free Will
Hard and Soft Determinism
The Individual in the Causal Chain
Review Questions
3. The Challenge of Relativism
Are Values Relative to Our Society?
Ethics as Subjective and Cultural
Sources of Relativism
Social Science and Multiculturalism
Objectivism
The Counter Arguments
Are Some Actions Intrinsically Valuable?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Review Questions
II. Ideals in Living
4. Hedonism as the Good
Ethical Hedonism
Pursuing Pleasure or Happiness
Individualistic Hedonism
The Cyrenaics and Epicureans
Universalistic Hedonism - Utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
A Critical Assessment
The Value of Happiness
Review Questions
5. Self-Realization
Developing Our Potentialities
Becoming Fully Actualized
Defining the Self in Time and Space
Flaws and Weaknesses
Realizing Ourselves as Human Beings
Is Human Nature Good?
Aristotle
The Golden Mean
Review Questions
6. Evolutionism
The Meaning of Evolution
Evolution and Religion
Social Darwinism
The Fittest and the Best
Spencer's Evolutionary Ethic
The Breadth of Life
A Critical Appraisal
Evaluating Evolutionism Overall
Review Questions
7. The Ethic of Duty
Judging the Worth of Conduct
The Right and the Good
Deontology vs. Teleology Intention Behind Action
The Kantian Ethic
Following Principles
The Categorical and Practical Imperatives
Are There Universal Values?
Review Questions
8. The Teachings of Religion
Judaism - The Old Testament
Divine Commands
Christianity - The New Testament
Concepts of Love and Justice
Islam
The Five Pillars of Faith
Buddhism
The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
Review Questions
9. Virtue Ethics
Ancient Greece
The Noble Person
Medieval Purity
Cardinal Virtues and Deadly Sins
The Modern Perspective
Character and Moral Sentiments
Feminist Virtue Ethics
Personal Caring Rather Than Moral Rules
Review Questions
10. Existentialism
The Human Condition
Anxiety and Alienation
Existence Precedes Essence Phenomenology
The Seminal Figures
Nietzsche and Kierkegaard
Modern Existentialism
Jean-Paul Sartre
Review Questions
III. Contemporary Moral Issues
11. Contraception and Abortion
Artificial Contraceptives
The Conflict over Abortion
When Does the Fetus Become a Person?
Pro-Life v. Pro-Choice
Review Questions
12. Punishment and the Death Penalty
Personal Responsibility
Mass Incarceration
Rival Theories of Punishment
Arguments Surrounding Capital Punishment
Review Questions
13. Sexual Ethics
Does Consent Legitimize Any Private Act?
Moral and Immoral Sex
The Homosexuality Controversy
Are Gay Sexual Relations Wrong?
Review Questions
14. The Natural Environment
Is Nature Good?
Our Relationship to the Natural World
Animal Welfare
Using Animals for Food, Testing, Clothing, and Entertainment
Review Questions
15. Racism and Sexism
Should We Ever Generalize About People?
The Remedy of Affirmative Action
Discrimination Based On Sex
Forms of Abuse
Review Questions
Afterword
Glossary of Philosophic Terms
Notes
Index
About the author
By Burton F. Porter
Summary
Intended for use in the introduction to ethics course, this text is designed to engage today's practical-minded student in more fundamental questions. The book ranges from ideals in living to contemporary moral problems, exploring and analyzing both areas in order to stimulate deeper reflection.
