Ethics in Practice An Anthology

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.

HUGH LAFOLLETTE is Marie E. and Leslie Cole Emeritus Professor in Ethics at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Encyclopedia of Ethics, published with Wiley Blackwell, and author and editor of several books, including The Practice of Ethics. His work primarily focuses on ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of law.

[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