Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 528
Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-5381-2792-6 • Paperback • July 2019 • $87.00 • (£67.00)
978-1-5381-2948-7 • eBook • July 2019 • $82.50 • (£63.00)
James Rachels (1941-2003) wrote The End of Life: Euthanasia and Morality (1986), Created from Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism (1990), Can Ethics Provide Answers? And Other Essays in Moral Philosophy (1997), Problems from Philosophy (first edition, 2005), and The Legacy of Socrates: Essays in Moral Philosophy (2007). His website is www.jamesrachels.org.
Stuart Rachels is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Alabama. He has revised several of James Rachels’ books, including The Elements of Moral Philosophy (eighth edition, 2015) and Problems from Philosophy. Rachels won the United States Chess Championship in 1989, at the age of 20, and is a Bronze Life Master at bridge.
INTRODUCTION
1. A Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy James Rachels
2. Some Basic Points about Arguments James Rachels
IS MORALITY OBJECTIVE?
3. The Subjectivity of Values J. L. Mackie
4. Our Sense of Right and Wrong C. S. Lewis
THEORETICAL ESSAYS
5. Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill
6. Utilitarianism and Integrity Bernard Williams
7. The Experience Machine Robert Nozick
8. The Categorical Imperative Immanuel Kant
9. The Virtues Aristotle
10. Master Morality and Slave Morality Friedrich Nietzsche
WOMEN
11. Caring Relations and Principles of Justice Virginia Held
12. Homeward Bound Linda Hirshman
SEX, DATE RAPE, AND HAZING
13. Our Sexual Ethics Bertrand Russell
14. Alcohol and Rape Nicholas Dixon
15. A Death at Penn State Caitlin Flanagan
ILLICIT DRUGS
16. America’s Unjust Drug War Michael Huemer
17. The Opioid Crisis, As Lived in West Virginia Margaret Talbot
18. Is Doping Wrong? Peter Singer
POVERTY
19. Famine, Affluence, and Morality Peter Singer
20. Poverty and Parenthood Stuart Rachels
RACE
21. Letter from the Birmingham City Jail Martin Luther King, Jr.
22. The Case for Reparations Ta-Nehisi Coates
23. Is Racial Discrimination Arbitrary? Peter Singer
24. In Defense of Quotas James Rachels
GUNS, IMMIGRATION, AND TAXES
25. Why Guns Shouldn’t Be Outlawed Michael Huemer
26. The Case for Open Immigration Michael Huemer
27. Is Taxation Theft? Michael Huemer
ANIMALS
28. All Animals Are Equal Peter Singer
29. Torturing Puppies and Eating Meat: It’s All in Good Taste Alastair Norcross
30. Do Animals Have Rights? Tibor R. Machan
ABORTION
31. On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion and Postscript on Infanticide Mary Anne Warren
32. Why Abortion Is Immoral Don Marquis
33. A Defense of Abortion Judith Jarvis Thomson
BIOETHICS: EUTHANASIA, HEALTHCARE AND CLONING
34. The Morality of Euthanasia James Rachels
35. The Wrongfulness of Euthanasia J. Gay-Williams
36. Letting Go: What Should Medicine Do When It Can’t Save Your Life? Atul Gawande
37. Human Cloning and the Challenge of Regulation John A. Robertson
THE DEATH PENALTY
38. A Defense of the Death Penalty Louis P. Pojman
39. Why the United States Will Join the Rest of the World in Abandoning Capital Punishment Stephen B. Bright
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AND TORTURE
40. Hellhole Atul Gawande
41. Liberalism, Torture, and the Ticking Bomb David Luban
WAR AND TERRORISM
42. The Ethics of War and Peace Douglas P. Lackey
43. Fifty Years after Hiroshima John Rawls
44. What Is Wrong with Terrorism? Thomas Nagel
THE MEANING OF LIFE
45. The Meaning of Life Richard Taylor
For many years I have used The Right Thing to Do, and this eighth edition of The Right Thing to Do enables the teacher to remain current regarding the most captivating issues in applied ethics.
— Daniel A. Dombrowski, Seattle University
This is an incredible anthology for Introduction to Ethics courses. Relevant, diverse, and challenging essays tackle some of the most important issues in moral philosophy. I recommend this book unreservedly.
— J. Wade Allen, Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Humanities, Austin Community College