The bestselling and field-defining textbook which has introduced generations of students to the field of practical ethics, now in a new fully-revised fifth edition
For more than twenty years, Ethics in Practice has paved the way for students to confront the difficult ethical questions they will, must, or do already face. Accessible to introductory students yet sufficiently rigorous for those pursuing advanced study, this celebrated collection encourages and guides readers to explore ethical dimensions of important, controversial topics such as euthanasia, environmental action, economic injustice, discrimination, incarceration, abortion, and torture. In combining new and revised modern texts with works of classic scholarship, Ethics in Practice equips readers to consider wide-ranging ideas in practical ethics and to understand the historical basis for contemporary developments in ethical theory.
Revisions and updates to the new edition of Ethics in Practice focus on covering pressing global issues and adding depth to key sections. Many sections have been expanded to offer more thorough coverage of topics in ethical theory. Edited by Hugh LaFollette, highly regarded for his contributions in the field of practical ethics, this important volume:
- Explores the connections between ethical theory and divisive contemporary debates
- Includes general and section introductions which map the conceptual terrain, making it easy for students to understand and discuss the theoretical and practical dimensions of the issues
- Offers up-to-date incisive discussion global, local, and personal ethical issues
- Provides original essays, new perspectives, and revisions of key critical texts
- Enables instructors to discuss specific practical issues, broader groupings of topics, and common themes that connect major areas in ethics
Already a market-leading text for introductory and applied ethics courses, the latest edition of Ethics in Practice: An Anthology continues to bean essential resource for instructors and students in philosophy departments around the world.
Table of Contents
[N]: New to fifth edition; [R]: Revised for Ethics in Practice; [W]: Written for Ethics in Practice
Preface for Instructors x
Acknowledgments xii
Source Acknowledgments xiii
General Introduction [W] [R] 1
Theorizing about Ethics [W] [R] 3
Reading Philosophy [W] [R] 11
Writing a Philosophy Paper [W] [R] 15
The Basics of Argumentation [NW] 23
Part I Theory 27
Ethical Theory 29
1 Consequentialism [R & R] 31
William H. Shaw
2 Deontology [W & R] 40
David McNaughton and Piers Rawling
3 Rights [W & R] 53
George W. Rainbolt
4 Virtue Theory [W] 62
Rosalind Hursthouse
Part II Life, Death, and Moral Status 73
Euthanasia 75
5 Justifying Physician‐Assisted Deaths [W] 78
Tom L. Beauchamp
6 Against the Right to Die [R] 86
J. David Velleman
7 Physician‐Assisted Deaths: Policy Choices [NW] 95
Ronald A. Lindsay
8 Dying at the Right Time: Reflections on (Un)assisted Suicide [W & R] 106
John Hardwig
9 ‘For Now Have I My Death’: The ‘Duty to Die’ Versus the Duty to Help the Ill Stay Alive 118
Felicia Nimue Ackerman
Abortion 128
10 A Defense of Abortion 131
Judith Jarvis Thomson
11 On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion [R] 139
Mary Anne Warren
12 An Argument that Abortion is Wrong [W] 149
Don Marquis
13 The Moral Permissibility of Abortion 159
Margaret Olivia Little
14 Virtue Theory and Abortion [R] 168
Rosalind Hursthouse
Animals 177
15 All Animals are Equal 181
Peter Singer
16 Moral Standing, the Value of Lives, and Speciesism 190
R. G. Frey
17 The Case for Animal Rights 201
Tom Regan
18 The Vegetarian Imperative [NW] 207
Michael Allen Fox
Biomedical Technologies 217
19 Is Women’s Labor a Commodity? 220
Elizabeth S. Anderson
20 “Goodbye Dolly?” The Ethics of Human Cloning 231
John Harris
21 The Wisdom of Repugnance: Why We Should Ban the Cloning of Humans 240
Leon R. Kass
22 Cognitive Enhancement [NW] 250
Jonathan Pugh
Environment 261
23 The Value of Nature [W] 263
Ronald Sandler
24 A Place for Cost-Benefit Analysis [R & R] 272
David Schmidtz
25 Ideals of Human Excellence and Preserving Natural Environments 281
Thomas E. Hill, Jr.
26 A Perfect Moral Storm: Climate Change, Intergenerational Ethics, and the Problem of Moral Corruption [R] 291
Stephen M. Gardiner
Part III Liberty and Equality 303
Paternalism and Risk 305
27 Freedom of Action 308
John Stuart Mill
28 Against the Legalization of Drugs 312
James Q. Wilson
29 Why We Should Decriminalize Drug Use [R] 317
Douglas Husak
30 The Liberal Basis of the Right to Bear Arms [R] 326
Todd C. Hughes and Lester H. Hunt
31 Gun Control 337
Hugh LaFollette
Free Speech 349
32 Freedom of Thought and Discussion 352
John Stuart Mill
33 “The Price We Pay?” Pornography and Harm [R] 356
Susan J. Brison
34 The Right to Get Turned On: Pornography, Autonomy, Equality 365
Andrew Altman
35 Sticks and Stones [W] 375
John Arthur
36 Speech Codes and Expressive Harm [W] 386
Andrew Altman
Discrimination, Racism, and Sexism 395
37 Racism as an Ethical Issue [WN] 398
Michele Moody‐Adams
38 Servility and Self‐Respect 406
Thomas E. Hill, Jr.
39 Implicit Bias [NR] 413
Alex Madva
40 Affirmative Action as Equalizing Opportunity: Challenging the Myth of “Preferential Treatment” [W] 422
Luke Charles Harris and Uma Narayan
41 Sexual Harassment: Formal Complaints Are Not Enough [NR] 433
Jennifer Saul
42 Men in Groups: Collective Responsibility for Rape [R] 444
Larry May and Robert Strikwerda
43 Ideals of Respect: Identity, Dignity and Disability [NW] 454
Adam Cureton
Conscience, State, and Religion Introduction 465
44 Resolving Conflicts Between Religious Liberty and Other Values [N] 468
Mark R. Wicclair
45 Religious Conviction, Parental Authority, and Children’s Interests [NW] 479
Christopher Meyers
46 Gay Rights and Religious Accommodations [NW] 489
Andrew Koppelman
47 Conscientious Objection in Health Care [N] 498
Mark R. Wicclair
48 My Conscience May Be My Guide, But You May Not Need to Honor It [NR] 512
Hugh LaFollette
Part IV Justice 525
Punishment 527
49 Punishment and Desert [W] 530
James Rachels
50 Does Punishment Work? [W] 538
John Paul Wright, Francis T. Cullen, and Kevin M. Beaver
51 In Defense of the Death Penalty 549
Louis P. Pojman
52 Against the Death Penalty 558
Jeffrey Reiman
53 Just Deserts in Unjust Societies: A Case‐Specific Approach [NR] 565
Stuart P. Green
54 To Protect and Serve: What is Wrong with the Policing of Minorities in the US? [NR] 576
John Kleinig
Economic Justice 588
55 A Theory of Justice 591
John Rawls
56 The Entitlement Theory of Justice 603
Robert Nozick
57 The Ethical Implications of Benefiting from Injustice [NW] 615
Daniel Butt
58 A Bleeding Heart Libertarian View of Inequality [NW] 624
Andrew Jason Cohen
Global Justice 637
59 Refugees and the Right to Control Immigration [NW] 640
Christopher Heath Wellman
60 The Case for Open Immigration [N] 648
Chandran Kukathas
61 Famine, Affluence, and Morality 658
Peter Singer
62 Famine Relief and the Ideal Moral Code [W] 667
John Arthur
63 Eradicating Systemic Poverty: Brief for a Global Resources Dividend [R] 676
Thomas W. Pogge
War and Torture 689
64 War and Moral Consistency [NW] 692
Jonathan Parry
65 Pacifism: Reclaiming the Moral Presumption [W] 704
William J. Hawk
66 The Justifiability of Humanitarian Intervention [R] 714
Charles R. Beitz
67 Terrorism and Torture [N] 722
Fritz Allhoff
68 Unthinking the Ticking Time Bomb [NR] 732
David Luban
