Into thin air krakauer pdf

.Pearson New International Edition

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Consider Ethics Theory, Readings and Contemporary Issues

Bruce N. Waller Third Edition

Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow Essex CM20 2JE England and Associated Companies throughout the world

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ISBN 10: 1-269-37450-8 ISBN 13: 978-1-269-37450-7

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ISBN 10: 1-292-02742-8 ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02742-5

ISBN 10: 1-292-02742-8 ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02742-5

Table of Contents

P E A R S O N C U S T O M L I B R A R Y

I

1. Thinking About Ethics

1

1Bruce N. Waller

2. Egoism and Relativism

20

20Bruce N. Waller

3. Ethics, Emotions, and Intuitions

40

40Bruce N. Waller

4. Ethics and Reason

72

72Bruce N. Waller

5. Utilitarian Ethics

87

87Bruce N. Waller

6. Pluralism and Pragmatism

108

108Bruce N. Waller

7. Social Contract Ethics

134

134Bruce N. Waller

8. Virtue Ethics

153

153Bruce N. Waller

9. Care Ethics

169

169Bruce N. Waller

10. Ethical Nonobjectivism

186

186Bruce N. Waller

11. Moral Realism

200

200Bruce N. Waller

12. The Scope of Morality

211

211Bruce N. Waller

13. Free Will

230

230Bruce N. Waller

II

14. Freedom, Moral Responsibility, and Ethics

256

256Bruce N. Waller

15. The Death Penalty

275

275Bruce N. Waller

16. Abortion

291

291Bruce N. Waller

17. Should the Police Use Deceit in Interrogations?

303

303Bruce N. Waller

18. Homosexual Sex

320

320Bruce N. Waller

19. Can Terrorism Ever Be Justified?

334

334Bruce N. Waller

20. Should Performance-Enhancing Drugs Be Banned from Athletics?

346

346Bruce N. Waller

363

363Index

Thinking About Ethics

ETHICS AND CRITICAL THINKING This is an invitation to think carefully about the nature of ethics and ethical inquiry. You’ve no doubt already thought carefully about a good many ethical issues, such as abortion, capital punishment, environmental ethics, academic honesty, and animal rights. We’ll be looking at some of those issues, and others besides. But we’ll also do something that’s not quite so common—we’ll be thinking about the nature of ethics itself: how do we have knowledge of ethical principles? Is knowledge of ethics similar to knowledge of physics? Can we have knowledge of ethical principles? Are ethical principles fixed or changing? Are they absolute or circum- stantial? These are sometimes called metaethical questions, that is, questions about the nature and concepts of ethics. Thinking carefully about those questions may help in thinking more carefully about such issues as economic justice, abortion, and treatment of animals. In any case, it may help us gain a clearer perspective.

Thinking carefully about ethics involves, rather obviously, thinking carefully. So it will be useful to start with some consideration of how to think carefully, critically, and effectively, and how to avoid some common errors. Some people maintain that ethics is not based on reasoning, but is instead built on emo- tions and feelings, or on intuitions. In fact, some maintain that ethics is not a matter of finding truth at all: there are no objectively true ethical principles, and thus there are no true ethical principles to be discovered through reasoning (nor by any other means). Those are interesting positions, and you may ultimately conclude that ethics is not based on reasoning. But even if that is your conclusion, it is still useful to start with some considerations about critical thinking, since in order to reach such a conclusion you will have to use careful reasoning. We will examine several readings by people who argue against reason-based ethics, as well as several readings arguing that reason is the foundation of ethics. Regardless, all of them give arguments for their views, and those arguments must be critically examined.

What’s the Question? Perhaps the first and most crucial step in critical thinking is the most obvious, but also the most neg- lected: be clear on exactly what is at issue. That is, when examining an argument, think first about precisely what the argument is supposed to be proving; get clear on the conclusion of the argument. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this was the most vicious crime I have ever come across in all my years as dis- trict attorney. It was cruel, callous, heartless, and brutal,” the district attorney insists in her argument to the jury. Is the district attorney’s argument relevant?

That depends. It depends on what conclusion she is arguing for. Suppose she is arguing that the defendant is guilty of a brutal murder, but the question at issue is w