Overview

"Ideal for courses in contemporary moral problems, introduction to ethics, and applied ethics, Disputed Moral Issues: A Reader, Second Edition, is a comprehensive anthology that brings together seventy-four engaging articles on a wide range of contemporary moral issues. Carefully selected and edited for an undergraduate audience, the essays are organized into thirteen chapters that cover moral theory; sexual morality and marriage; pornography, hate speech, and censorship; drugs, gambling, and addiction; sexism, racism, and reparation; euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide; the ethical treatment of animals; abortion; cloning and genetic enhancement; the death penalty; war, terrorism, and torture; world hunger and poverty; and the environment, consumption, and global warming. Striking a unique balance between moral theory and applied ethics, editor Mark Timmons provides students with an accessible Moral Theory Primer (Chapter 1), in which he outlines the guiding principles of moral theory, presents six central moral theories, and relates those theories to the issues debated in the articles. Chapter 2-new to this edition-features six readings in moral theory that correspond to the theories presented in the primer. Each of the remaining chapters is preceded by an introduction, and each selection is preceded by a brief summary and reader cues, which direct students to a specific section of the Moral Theory Primer in order to best help them understand the essay in question. A ""Quick Guide to Moral Theories"" appendix and an extensive glossary of key terms further enhance the text. A ""User's Guide,"" which follows the preface, shows instructors how they can integrate moral theories and applied ethics into their courses. NEW TO THIS EDITION: * Twenty-one contemporary readings, including six selections in a new chapter on moral theories * Reading and discussion questions after each selection * Lists of ""Additional Resources"" at the end of each chapter featuring annotated guides to both print and online resources * An Instructor's Manual on CD that provides chapter summaries and goals, quizzes, sample syllabi, references to media and web resources, and sample PowerPoint-based presentations * A Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/timmons containing the material from the Instructor's Manual as well as student resources (self-quizzes, web links, and suggested readings)"

Full Product Details

Author:   Mark Timmons
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Edition:   2nd Revised edition
Dimensions:   Width: 19.00cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 23.60cm
Weight:   1.084kg
ISBN:  

9780195388725

ISBN 10:   0195388720
Pages:   696
Publication Date:   01 October 2010
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

*=NEW TO THIS EDITION ; 1. A MORAL THEORY PRIMER ; 1. What Is a Moral Theory? ; 2. Six Essential Moral Theories ; A. Consequentialism ; B. Natural Law Theory ; C. Kantian Moral Theory ; D. Rights-Based Moral Theory ; E. Virtue Ethics ; F. Ethics of Prima Facie Duty ; 3. Coping with Many Moral Theories ; Appendix: Ethics by Authority? ; * 2. MORAL THEORY SELECTIONS ; * 1. Jeremy Bentham, The Principle of Utility ; * 2. St. Thomas Aquinas, Treatise on Law ; * 3. Immanuel Kant, The Moral Law ; * 4. John Locke, Natural Rights ; * 5. Aristotle, Virtue and Character ; * 6. W. D. Ross, What Makes Right Actions Right? ; 3. SEXUAL MORALITY AND MARRIAGE ; 1. Vatican Declaration on Some Questions of Sexual Ethics ; 2. John Corvino, Why Shouldn't Tommy and Jim Have Sex? A Defense of Homosexuality ; 3. Thomas A. Mappes, A Liberal View of Sexual Morality and the Concept of Using Another Person ; 4. Raja Halwani, Virtue Ethics and Adultery ; * 5. Maggie Gallagher, Normal Marriage: Two Views ; * 6. Evan Wolfson, Enough Marriage to Share ; 4. PORNOGRAPHY, HATE SPEECH, AND CENSORSHIP ; 1. The Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, Pornography and Harm ; 2. Nadine Strossen, Why Censoring Pornography Would Not Reduce Discrimination or Violence against Women ; 3. Ronald Dworkin, Liberty and Pornography ; 4. Judith M. Hill, Pornography and Degradation ; 5. Charles R. Lawrence III, Racist Speech as the Functional Equivalent of Fighting Words ; 6. John Arthur, Sticks and Stones ; 5. DRUGS, GAMBLING, AND ADDICTION ; 1. David Boaz, Drug-Free America or Free America? ; * 2. Peter de Marneffe, Decriminalize, Don't Legalize ; 3. Robert E. Goodin, Permissible Paternalism: Saving Smokers from Themselves ; 4. Daniel Shapiro, Addiction and Drug Policy ; 5. Peter Collins, Is Gambling Immoral? A Virtue Ethics Approach ; * 6. David B. Fletcher, Gambling and Character ; 6. SEXISM, RACISM, AND REPARATION ; 1. Marilyn Frye, Sexism ; 2. J. L. A. Garcia, Racism as a Model for Understanding Sexism ; 3. Michael Philips, Racist Acts and Racist Humor ; 4. J. Angelo Corlett, Reparations to Native Americans? ; 5. Louis P. Pojman, Why Affirmative Action Is Immoral ; 6. Thomas E. Hill, Jr., The Message of Affirmative Action ; 7. EUTHANASIA AND PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE ; * 1. J. Gay-Williams, The Wrongfulness of Euthanasia ; 2. James Rachels, Active and Passive Euthanasia ; 3. Bonnie Steinbock, The Intentional Termination of Life ; 4. Dan W. Brock, Voluntary Active Euthanasia ; 5. Richard Doerflinger, Assisted Suicide: Pro-Choice or Anti-Life? ; 6. David T. Watts & Timothy Howell, Assisted Suicide Is Not Voluntary Active Euthanasia ; 8. THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS ; * 1. Gaverick Matheny, Utilitarianism and Animals ; * 2. Tom Regan, Are Zoos Morally Defensible? ; * 3. Carl Cohen, Do Animals Have Rights? ; 4. Mary Ann Warren, Human and Animal Rights Compared ; 5. Jordan Curnutt, A New Argument for Vegetarianism ; 9. ABORTION ; 1. Pope John Paul II. The Unspeakable Crime of Abortion ; 2. Judith Jarvis Thomson, A Defense of Abortion<$> ; 4. Don Marquis, Why Abortion Is Immoral ; * 5. L. W. Sumner, A Moderate View ; 6. Rosalind Hursthouse, Virtue Theory and Abortion ; 10. CLONING AND GENETIC ENHANCEMENT ; 1. John Robertson, Liberty, Identity, and Human Cloning ; 2. Leon R. Kass, Preventing Brave New World ; 3. Gregory E. Pence, Will Cloning Harm People? ; 4. Michael J. Sandel, The Case against Perfection ; * 5. Arthur L. Caplan, Good, Better, or Best? ; 11. THE DEATH PENALTY ; 1. Immanuel Kant, Punishment and the Principle of Equality ; 2. Stephen Nathanson, An Eye for an Eye? ; 3. Ernest van den Haag, A Defense of the Death Penalty ; * 4. Jeffrey H. Reiman, Civilization, Safety, and Deterrence ; 5. James S. Liebman, Jeffrey Fagan, Valerie West, and Jonathan Lloyd, Capital Attrition: Error Rates in Capital Cases, 1973-1995 ; 12. WAR, TERRORISM, AND TORTURE ; 1. Richard A. Wasserstrom, Does Morality Apply to War? ; 2. Haig Khatchadourian, Terrorism and Morality ; 3. Michael Walzer, After 9/11: Five Questions about Terrorism ; 4. James P. Sterba, Terrorism and International Justice ; 5. Henry Shue, Torture ; 6. Alan M. Dershowitz, Should the Ticking Bomb Terrorist Be Tortured? ; 13. WORLD HUNGER AND POVERTY ; 1.Garrett Hardin, Lifeboat Ethics ; * 2. Peter Singer. The Life You Can Save ; 3. John Arthur, World Hunger and Moral Obligation ; 4. Amartya Sen, Property and Hunger ; 5. Onora O'Neill, A Kantian Approach to World Hunger ; 14. THE ENVIRONMENT, CONSUMPTION, AND GLOBAL WARMING ; 1. William F. Baxter, People or Penguins? The Case for Optimal Pollution ; 2. Aldo Leopold, The Land Ethic ; 3. Thomas E. Hill, Jr., Ideals of Human Excellence and Preserving the Natural Environment ; * 4. Peter Wenz, Synergistic Environmental Virtues: Consumerism and Human Flourishing ; * 5. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, It's Not My Fault: Global Warming and Individual Moral Obligations ; *6. Bjorn Lomborg, Let's Keep Our Cool about Global Warming

Reviews

To most philosophers, a strength of this reader will be Timmons' excellent opening section on moral theory. This is the best text I've found in the last half dozen years. --Christopher Morris, University of Maryland This is an engaging, wonderfully edited collection, dealing with a very large range of issues in practical and applied ethics. The selections are very well chosen and presented. I think the author's writing style is excellent. It is clear and direct, and the author deals with sophisticated positions without either dumbing them down or expecting too much of the reader. --Simon Keller, Boston University This is one of the best readers that I have used for this course. The greatest strengths are Timmons' 'Primer' as well as his introductions to the chapters. The book provides an overview of the most important contemporary moral problems, and it has very well thought out sets of opposing views regarding each major topic. It lends itself very nicely to class discussion, and to encouraging students' interests and skills in thinking critically and writing rigorously about these issues. --Leo Zaibert, University of Wisconsin-Parkside This is an excellent reader. It is the best of the four readers I have used in the last six years. The editor's introduction and section introductions are particularly strong, both in terms of clarity and relevance. The selections are also excellent. The book has the articles that I like, and I feel confident about relying on the editor's introductions to supplement the material in a way that I think is clearly explained, accurate, and not condescending. --Valerie Tiberius, University of Minnesota Mark Timmons has produced an excellent anthology of readings from contemporary thinkers on moral issues that are relevant to the present-day world. The anthology covers a broad spectrum of moral issues and contains many of the 'classics' in the field. The reading selections for each topic are well-balanced

<br> To most philosophers, a strength of this reader will be Timmons' excellent opening section on moral theory. This is the best text I've found in the last half dozen years. --Christopher Morris, University of Maryland<p><br> This is an engaging, wonderfully edited collection, dealing with a very large range of issues in practical and applied ethics. The selections are very well chosen and presented. I think the author's writing style is excellent. It is clear and direct, and the author deals with sophisticated positions without either dumbing them down or expecting too much of the reader. --Simon Keller, Boston University<p><br> This is one of the best readers that I have used for this course. The greatest strengths are Timmons' 'Primer' as well as his introductions to the chapters. The book provides an overview of the most important contemporary moral problems, and it has very well thought out sets of opposing views regarding each major topic. It lends itself very nicely to class d

To most philosophers, a strength of this reader will be Timmons' excellent opening section on moral theory. This is the best text I've found in the last half dozen years. --Christopher Morris, University of Maryland This is an engaging, wonderfully edited collection, dealing with a very large range of issues in practical and applied ethics. The selections are very well chosen and presented. I think the author's writing style is excellent. It is clear and direct, and the author deals with sophisticated positions without either dumbing them down or expecting too much of the reader. --Simon Keller, Boston University This is one of the best readers that I have used for this course. The greatest strengths are Timmons' 'Primer' as well as his introductions to the chapters. The book provides an overview of the most important contemporary moral problems, and it has very well thought out sets of opposing views regarding each major topic. It lends itself very nicely to class discussion, and to encouraging students' interests and skills in thinking critically and writing rigorously about these issues. --Leo Zaibert, University of Wisconsin-Parkside This is an excellent reader. It is the best of the four readers I have used in the last six years. The editor's introduction and section introductions are particularly strong, both in terms of clarity and relevance. The selections are also excellent. The book has the articles that I like, and I feel confident about relying on the editor's introductions to supplement the material in a way that I think is clearly explained, accurate, and not condescending. --Valerie Tiberius, University of Minnesota Mark Timmons has produced an excellent anthology of readings from contemporary thinkers on moral issues that are relevant to the present-day world. The anthology covers a broad spectrum of moral issues and contains many of the 'classics' in the field. The reading selections for each topic are well-balanced in terms of liberal, moderate, and conservative views. The moral theory primer at the beginning of the book is excellent. --William J. Garland, Sewanee, The University of the South I like this book. I like the clear and careful way that Timmons relates the readings to the moral theories discussed in the first chapter. He shows that moral theories really are helpful in thinking about contemporary moral issues and that the fundamental themes of the major theories influence the writers he selects. --Charles Edwin Harris, Jr., Texas A&M University Overall I would rate this reader as excellent. Timmons is an excellent writer. The book is very clear, very well-organized, and nicely illustrated with examples. --Jon Tresan, University of Florida

Author Information

Mark Timmons is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona.

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