Do the Right Thing: Readings in Applied Ethics and Social Philosophy

Description

Offering an outstanding balance of rigor and accessibility, DO THE RIGHT THING, 2E provides accessible, impartial introductions to an excellent collection of readings in contemporary social issues. Provocative study questions urge students to get to the heart of the debates. Newly designed for this edition, DO THE RIGHT THING is organized into three sections. Part 1 introduces the student to the leading ethical theories, while Parts 2 and 3 present the current issues including landmark court cases as well as differing viewpoints by not only leading philosophers, but also economists, legal scholars, and scientists.

Preface. Introduction. PART I: ETHICAL THEORY, ETHICAL PRACTICE, AND THE PUBLIC SQUARE. SECTION A: MORAL RELATIVISM. 1. Ruth Benedict, "A Defense of Moral Relativism." 2. Francis J. Beckwith, "A Critique of Moral Relativism." SECTION B: ETHICAL THEORY. 3. Immanuel Kant, "The Categorical Imperative." 4. John Stuart Mill, "Utilitarianism." 5. Susan Dimock, "The Natural Law Theory of St. Thomas Aquinas." 6. William K. Kilpatrick, "Vision and Virtue." SECTION C: GOD AND MORALITY. 7. J.P. Moreland and Kai Nielsen, "Does Ethics Depend of God?: A Debate." SECTION D: STATE NEUTRALITY, RELIGION AND MORALITY. 8. Robert Audi, "The Place of Religious Argument in a Free and Democratic Society." 9. Nicholas Wolterstoff, "Why We Should Reject What Liberalism Tell Us about Speaking and Acting in Public for Religious Reasons." PART II: LIFE AND DEATH ISSUES. SECTION A: ABORTION. SECTION A1: ABORTION AND THE LAW. 10. U.S. Supreme Court, "Roe v. Wade-1973." 11. U.S. Supreme Court, "Casey v. Planned Parenthood-1992." SECTION A2: ABORTION AND MORAL REASONING. 12. Mary Anne Warren, "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion." 13. Stephen D. Schwarz, "Personhood Begins at Contraception." 14. Judith Jarvis Thomson, "A Defense of Abortion." 15. Francis J. Beckwith, "Abortion and Bodily Rights." SECTION B: EUTHANASIA AND PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE. SECTION B1: EUTHANASIA AND THE LAW. 16. U.S. Supreme Court. "Cruzan v. Harmon -1991." 17. U.S. Supreme Court, "Washington v. Glucksburg -1997." SECTION B2: MORALITY AND EUTHANASIA. 18. James Rachels, "A Defense of Active Euthanasia." 19. Paul Chamberlain, "A Case Against Physician-Assisted Suicide." 20. Timothy Quill, "Death and Dignity: A Case of Individualized Decision Making." 21. Patricia Wesley, "Dying Safely: An Analysis of Quill's Death and Dignity." SECTION C: CREATING AND EXPERIMENTING WITH LIFE AT THE MARGINS. 22. John A. Robertson, "Rights, Symbolism, and Public Policy on Fetal Tissue Transplants." 23. Scott B. Rae, "Spare Parts from the Unborn?: The Ethics of Fetal Tissue Transplantation. 24. Leon Kass, "The Wisdom of Repugnance." 25. James Q. Wilson, "The Paradox of Cloning." SECTION D: THE DEATH PENALTY. 26. Louis Pojman, "The Case for Capital Punishment." 27. Hugo Bedau, "How to Argue about the Death Penalty." PART III: ISSUES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND PERSONAL LIBERTY. SECTION A: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. SECTION A1: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND THE LAW. 28. U.S. Supreme Court, Adarand v. Pena (1997). SECTION A2: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, MORAL REASONING AND THE PUBLIC GOOD. 29. Richard Wasserstrom, "A Defense of Preferential Treatment Programs." 30. Louis J. Pojman, "The Moral Status of Affirmative Action." 31. Tom Beauchamp, "The Justification of Reverse Discrimination." 32. Thomas Stowell, "From Equal Opportunity to Affirmative Action." SECTION B: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. 33. John Rawls, "A Theory of Justice." 34. Murray Rothbard, "In Defense of Libertarianism." 35. Susan Moller Okin, "Gender, Justice, and the State: Censorship and Freedom of Expression." 36. Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, "The Constraints of the First Amendment." 37. Catherine McKinnon, "The Sexual Politics of the First Amendment." 38. Lisa Duggan, Nan Hunter, and Carole Vance, "Feminist Antipornography Legislation: A Critical Analysis. 39. Robert Bork, "The Case for Censorship." 40. Fred Berger, "Pornography, Sex and Censorship." SECTION C: HOMOSEXUALITY. SECTION C1. HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE LAW. 41. U.S. Supreme Court, "Bowers v. Hardwick-1986." 42. U.S. Supreme Court, "Romer v. Evans-1996." SECTION C2: HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE MORALITY OF DISCRIMINATION. 43. Richard Mohr, "In Defense of Gay Rights." 44. Michael Pakaluk, "Homosexuality and the Common Good." SECTION C3. THE DEBATE OVER SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. 45. Robert P. George, "Same-Sex Marriage and Moral Neutrality." 46. Angela Bolte, "Do Wedding Dresses come in Lavender?: The Prospects and Implications of Same-Sex Marriage." Appendix: On Writing Philosophical Essays, by Craig Walton.