Doing ethics 4th edition pdf

D O I N G E T H I C S

‘’ Moral Reasoning and Contemporary Issues

Fourth Edition

Lewis Vaughn

BW. W. NORTON & COMPANY Independent and Employee-Owned New York . London

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C O N T E N T S

‘’ P R E F A C E xvi i

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 8

The Dominance of Moral Norms 8

Religion and Morality 8

Believers Need Moral Reasoning 9

When Conflicts Arise, Ethics Steps In 9

CRITICAL THOUGHT: ETHICS, RELIGION, AND TOUGH MORAL ISSUES 10

Moral Philosophy Enables Productive Discourse 10

Summary 12

Exercises: Review Questions / Discussion Questions 12

READINGS

from What Is the Socratic Method? by Christopher Phillips 13

from The Euthyphro by Plato 16

CHAPTER 2 Subjectivism, Relativism, and Emotivism 20

Subjective Relativism 21

QUICK REVIEW 21

JUDGE NOT? 22

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Cultural Relativism 23

CRITICAL THOUGHT: “FEMALE CIRCUMCISION” AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM 24

Emotivism 28

Summary 30

Exercises: Review Questions / Discussion Questions 31

READINGS

from Anthropology and the Abnormal by Ruth Benedict 32

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 53

Assessing Nonmoral Premises 55

QUICK REVIEW 55

Avoiding Bad Arguments 56

Begging the Question 56

Equivocation 56

Appeal to Authority 57

Slippery Slope 57

APPEAL TO EMOTION 57

Faulty Analogy 58

Appeal to Ignorance 58

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Straw Man 59

Appeal to the Person 59

Hasty Generalization 59

QUICK REVIEW 60

Writing and Speaking about Moral Issues 60

Summary 62

Exercises: Review Questions / Discussion Questions / Argument Exercises 62

PART 3: THEORIES OF MORALITY

CHAPTER 4 The Power of Moral Theories 67

Theories of Right and Wrong 67

MORAL THEORIES VERSUS MORAL CODES 68

Major Theories 69

Consequentialist Theories 69

Nonconsequentialist Theories 70

QUICK REVIEW 71

Evaluating Theories 72

Criterion 1: Consistency with Considered Judgments 73

CONSIDERED MORAL JUDGMENTS 73

Criterion 2: Consistency with Our Moral Experiences 74

CRITICAL THOUGHT: A 100 PERCENT ALL-NATURAL THEORY 74

Criterion 3: Usefulness in Moral Problem Solving 75

QUICK REVIEW 75

Summary 76

Exercises: Review Questions / Discussion Questions 76

CHAPTER 5 CONSEQUENTIALIST THEORIES: MAXIMIZE THE GOOD 78

Ethical Egoism 78

Applying the Theory 79

Evaluating the Theory 80

CONTENTS Á v

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CAN ETHICAL EGOISM BE ADVOCATED? 82

QUICK REVIEW 84

Utilitarianism 84

Applying the Theory 88

PETER SINGER, UTILITARIAN 88

QUICK REVIEW 89

Evaluating the Theory 89

Learning from Utilitarianism 93

CRITICAL THOUGHT: CROSS-SPECIES TRANSPLANTS: WHAT WOULD A UTILITARIAN DO? 94

Summary 94

Exercises: Review Questions / Discussion Questions 95

READING

from Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill 96

CHAPTER 6 Nonconsequentialist Theories: Do Your Duty 102

Kant’s Ethics 102

CRITICAL THOUGHT: SIZING UP THE GOLDEN RULE 104

Applying the Theory 106

Evaluating the Theory 106

THE KANTIAN VIEW OF PUNISHMENT 107

Learning from Kant’s Theory 109

Natural Law Theory 109

Applying the Theory 111

QUICK REVIEW 111

CRITICAL THOUGHT: DOUBLE EFFECT AND THE “TROLLEY PROBLEM” 112

Evaluating the Theory 113

Learning from Natural Law 114

Summary 114

Exercises: Review Questions / Discussion Questions 115

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READINGS

from Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals by Immanuel Kant 116

from Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas 125

CHAPTER 7 Virtue Ethics: Be a Good Person 136

The Ethics of Virtue 136

CRITICAL THOUGHT: LEARNING VIRTUES IN THE CLASSROOM 137

Virtue in Action 138

Evaluating Virtue Ethics 138

CRITICAL THOUGHT: WARRIOR VIRTUES AND MORAL DISAGREEMENTS 140

The Ethics of Care 141

QUICK REVIEW 141

Learning from Virtue Ethics 141

FEMINIST ETHICS 142

Summary 143

Exercises: Review Questions / Discussion Questions 144

READINGS

from Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle 145

The Need for More Than Justice by Annette C. Baier 153

PART 4: ETHICAL ISSUES

CHAPTER 8 Abortion 163

Issue File: Background 163

ABORTION IN THE UNITED STATES: FACTS AND FIGURES 164

MAJORITY OPINION IN ROE V. WADE 166

Moral Theories 166

ABORTION AND THE SCRIPTURES 168

QUICK REVIEW 169

Moral Arguments 169

CRITICAL THOUGHT: LATE-TERM ABORTIONS 170

Summary 174

CONTENTS Á vii

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READINGS

A Defense of Abortion by Judith Jarvis Thomson 175

On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion by Mary Anne Warren 185

Why Abortion Is Immoral by Don Marquis 194

Virtue Theory and Abortion by Rosalind Hursthouse 205

Cases for Analysis 211