Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning, Theory, and Contemporary Issues 5th Edition

929 Pages·5·7.493 MB·English

by  Lewis Vaughn

D O I N G
E T H I C S
‘’
Moral Reasoning and Contemporary Issues
FIFTH EDITION
Lewis Vaughn
n
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C O N T E N T S

‘’
Preface xix
PART 1: FUNDAMENTALS
CHAPTER 1 Ethics and the Examined Life 3
The Ethical Landscape 5
The Elements of Ethics 6
The Preeminence of Reason 6
Quick Review 7
The Universal Perspective 7
The Principle of Impartiality 7
The Dominance of Moral Norms 8
Religion and Morality 8
Believers Need Moral Reasoning 9
When Conflicts Arise, Ethics Steps In 9
Moral Philosophy Enables Productive Discourse 9
Critical Thought—Ethics, Religion,
And Tough Moral Issues 10
SUMMARY 11
KEY TERMS 12
REVIEW QUESTIONS 12
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 12
ETHICAL DILEMMAS 13
FURTHER READING 13
READINGS
What Is the Socratic Method? by Christopher Phillips 14
The Euthyphro by Plato 16
iii
iv Á CONTENTS
CHAPTER 2 Subjectivism, Relativism, and Emotivism 20
Subjective Relativism 21
Quick Review 21
Judge Not? 22
Cultural Relativism 23
Critical Thought—“Female Circumcision”
And Cultural Relativism 24
Emotivism 28
SUMMARY 30
KEY TERMS 31
REVIEW QUESTIONS 31
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 31
ETHICAL DILEMMAS 32
FURTHER READING 32
READINGS
Anthropology and the Abnormal by Ruth Benedict 33
Trying Out One’s New Sword by Mary Midgley 35
PART 2: MORAL REASONING
CHAPTER 3 Evaluating Moral Arguments 41
Claims and Arguments 41
Arguments Good and Bad 43
Critical Thought—The Morality
Of Critical Thinking 44
Implied Premises 47
Quick Review 47
Deconstructing Arguments 48
Moral Statements and Arguments 51
Testing Moral Premises 54
Assessing Nonmoral Premises 55
Quick Review 55
CONTENTS Á v
Avoiding Bad Arguments 56
Begging the Question 56
Equivocation 57
Appeal to Authority 57
Appeal To Emotion 57
Slippery Slope 58
Faulty Analogy 58
Appeal to Ignorance 58
Straw Man 59
Appeal to the Person 59
Hasty Generalization 59
Quick Review 60
Writing and Speaking about Moral Issues 60
SUMMARY 62
KEY TERMS 62
REVIEW QUESTIONS 63
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 63
ARGUMENT EXERCISES 63
FURTHER READING 64
CHAPTER 4 The Power of Moral Theories 65
Theories of Right and Wrong 65
Moral Theories Versus Moral Codes 66
Major Theories 67
Consequentialist Theories 67
Nonconsequentialist Theories 68
Quick Review 69
Evaluating Theories 70
Criterion 1: Consistency with Considered Moral Judgments 71
Considered Moral Judgments 72
Criterion 2: Consistency with Our Moral Experiences 72
Critical Thought—A 100 Percent All-Natural Theory 73
Criterion 3: Usefulness in Moral Problem Solving 73
vi Á CONTENTS
Quick Review 74
Devising a Coherent Moral Theory 74
Moral Common Sense 74
Building a Moral Theory 75
Prima Facie Principles 76
Three Rules 77
Self-Evidence 80
SUMMARY 81
KEY TERMS 81
REVIEW QUESTIONS 81
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 82
ETHICAL DILEMMAS 82
FURTHER READING 82
PART 3: THEORIES OF MORALITY
CHAPTER 5 Consequentialist Theories: Maximize the Good 85
Ethical Egoism 85
Applying the Theory 86
Evaluating the Theory 87
Can Ethical Egoism Be Advocated? 89
Quick Review 91
Utilitarianism 91
Applying the Theory 94
Peter Singer, Utilitarian 95
Quick Review 96
Evaluating the Theory 96
Learning from Utilitarianism 100
Social Contract Theory 100
Critical Thought—Cross-Species Transplants: What Would A
Utilitarian Do? 101
Hobbes’s Theory 101
Evaluating the Theory 102
CONTENTS Á  vii
SUMMARY 104
KEY TERMS 105
REVIEW QUESTIONS 105
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 105
ETHICAL DILEMMAS 106
FURTHER READING 106
READINGS
Egoism and Altruism by Louis P. Pojman 107
Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill 111
A Theory of Justice by John Rawls 115
The Entitlement Theory of Justice by Robert Nozick 122
CHAPTER 6 Nonconsequentialist Theories: Do Your Duty 132
Kant’s Ethics 132
Critical Thought—Sizing Up The Golden Rule 134
Applying the Theory 135
Evaluating the Theory 136
Kant, Respect, And Personal Rights 137
Learning from Kant’s Theory 138
Natural Law Theory 139
Applying the Theory 141
Quick Review 141
Critical Thought—Double Effect
And The “Trolley Problem” 142
Evaluating the Theory 142
Learning from Natural Law 143
SUMMARY 144
KEY TERMS 144
REVIEW QUESTIONS 144
vi ii Á CONTENTS
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 145
ETHICAL DILEMMAS 145
FURTHER READING 146
READINGS
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
by Immanuel Kant 146
Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas 155
Morality as a System of Hypothetical Imperatives by Philippa Foot 165
CHAPTER 7 Virtue Ethics: Be a Good Person 172
The Ethics of Virtue 172
Critical Thought—Learning Virtues
In The Classroom 173
Virtue in Action 174
Evaluating Virtue Ethics 174
Critical Thought—Warrior Virtues And Moral
Disagreements 176
Quick Review 177
Learning from Virtue Ethics 177
SUMMARY 177
KEY TERMS 178
REVIEW QUESTIONS 178
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 178
ETHICAL DILEMMAS 178
FURTHER READING 179
READINGS
Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle 179
The Need for More Than Justice by Annette C. Baier 188
CONTENTS Á ix
CHAPTER 8 Feminist Ethics and the Ethics of Care 196
Feminist Ethics 197
Critical Thought—Feminist Ethics In History 197
The Ethics of Care 198
Quick Review 199
SUMMARY 199
KEY TERMS 199
REVIEW QUESTIONS 199
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 200
ETHICAL DILEMMAS 200
FURTHER READING 200
READINGS
Feminist Ethics by Alison M. Jaggar 201
The Ethics of Care as Moral Theory by Virginia Held 209
PART 4: ETHICAL ISSUES
CHAPTER 9 Abortion 221
Issue File: Background 221
Abortion In The United States: Facts And Figures 223
Moral Theories 224
Majority Opinion In Roe V. Wade 225
Abortion And The Scriptures 226
Moral Arguments 227
Quick Review 227
State Abortion Laws 229
Critical Thought—Fact-Checking Abortion Claims 231