A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox / Edition 3

by Anthony Weston

Overview

Thoroughly optimistic, A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox, Fifth Edition, invites students to approach ethical issues with a reconstructive intent—to make room for more and better options than the rigid "pro" and "con" positions that have developed around tough problems like abortion, climate change, and racism. Employing an accessible, consistently engaging writing style, Anthony Weston and Bob Fischer cover the skills that are vital to making real progress in ethics, including critical thinking, creative problem-solving, moral vision, and genuine dialogue. Provocative selections from a wide range of philosophers, essayists, activists, and students are interwoven with the authors' own discussions.

Now for the first time, a comprehensive suite of digital resources is available for this title, including an Instructor's Manual with chapter outlines and lecture suggestions, a Test Bank including multiple choice and essay questions, and Suggested Resources and Web Links. The text is further enhanced by extensive "Exercises and Notes" sections at the end of each chapter and new and expanded "Going Farther" sections between many chapters. Join instructors and students around the country who are using the experiential and applied activities inspired by this "toolbox" of skills to design interactive and collaborative ethics courses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199758814
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/16/2012
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	560
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

ANTHONY WESTON is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Environmental Studies at Elon University. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Mobilizing the Green Imagination (2012) and A Practical Companion to Ethics, Fifth Edition (OUP, 2020).

BOB FISCHER is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Texas State University and Director of the Society for the Study of Ethics and Animals. He is the author of Animal Ethics (2021), College Ethics, Second Edition (OUP, 2020), and editor of The Routledge Handbook of Animal Ethics (2019).

Table of Contents

*=New to this Edition, PrefacePART I. EMBRACING ETHICS1. What Is Ethics?Taking CareEthics as a Learning Experience* Reading 1: C.P. Ellis, "It Was Almost Like Being Born Again"Going Farther #1: Toward an Interpersonal Ethics* Reading 2: Margaret Urban Walker, from "Moral Understandings"Going Farther #2: Two Views of Ethics and Other AnimalsReading 3: Alice Walker, "Am I Blue?"Reading 4: Ted Kerasote, from Bloodties: Nature, Culture, and the Hunt2. Ethical Short-Circuits (and How to Avoid Them)Flying by InstinctOffhand Self-JustificationDogmatismEthics and DiversityWho Needs Ethics?Going Farther #3: Ethics in Extraordinary Times?* Reading 5: Rebecca Solnit, "By the Way, Your Home Is on Fire"3. Ethics and ReligionAn Approach to Religious EthicsLet the Stories Be StoriesThinking for YourselfReading: Jamal Rahman, "Making Peace with the Sword Verse"PART II. MORAL VALUES4. Taking Values SeriouslyMoral Values Among OthersAttending to ValuesFamilies of Moral ValuesNotes on the FamiliesGoing Farther #4: An Abortion StoryReading 7: Rayna Rapp, "XYLO"5. The Ethics of the PersonValuing PersonsReading 8: Philip Hallie, "Le Chambon"Kant's Categorical ImperativeReading 9: Immanuel Kant, From Grounding for the Metaphysics of MoralsRights and PersonsReading 10: From The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human RightsComplicationsGoing Farther #5: Pornography and the Ethics of the Person* Reading 11: Gloria Steinem, from "Erotica vs. Pornography"Going Farther #6: Inside Racism Today* Reading 12: Ta-Nehisi Coates, From "A Letter to My Son"6. The Ethics of HappinessHappiness* Reading 13: Barbara Frederickson, From PositivityUtilitarianismReading 14: John Stuart Mill, From Utilitarianism* Reading 15: Esperanza Guisán, "An Ethic of Liberty and Solidarity"ComplicationsGoing Farther #7: Ethics and Conceptions of JusticeGoing Farther #8: A Utilitarian Approach to Poverty7. The Ethics of VirtueAn Abundance of VirtuesA Greek View of VirtueReading 16: Aristotle, From Nicomachean EthicsChinese Views of VirtueReading 17: Lao Tzu, From the Tao Te ChingCultivating VirtueReading 18: John Sullivan, From Living LargeComplications8. The Ethics of RelationshipCare EthicsReading 19: Nel Noddings, From CaringEthics and CommunityThe Expanding CircleReading 20: Aldo Leopold, From "The Land Ethic"ComplicationsGoing Farther 9: Building a Student Code of Ethics* Reading 21: Brook J. Sadler, "What's Wrong with Plagiarism?"Going Farther #10: Values on the Edge?Reading 22: Edward Abbey, "The Great American Desert"PART III. SKILLS FOR ETHICAL PRACTICE9. Minding the EvidenceFacts and SourcesGeneralizationsReading 23: Martin Fowler, From The Ethical Practice of Critical ThinkingMore Pitfalls, Quick Reference: Critical-Thinking Basics10. Judging Like Cases AlikeConsistency is a ChallengeAchieving ConsistencyThe Golden Rule* Reading 24: Harry Gensler, From Ethics and the Golden RuleConstructed Analogies* Reading 25: Richard and Val Routley, "The Nuclear Train to the Future", Quick Reference: Judging Like Cases AlikeGoing Farther #11: Reconsidering Other Animals: Consistency Challenges for Everyone* Reading 26: Jonathan Safran Foer, "A Case for Eating Dogs"* Reading 27: Rhys Southan, From "The Vegans Have Landed"Going Farther #12: Children's Liberation?* Reading 28: Amy Glaser, "Beyond Adultism"11. DialogueHow to Have a Fruitless DebateHow to Have a Useful DiscussionReading 29: Mary Jacksteit and Adrienne Kaufmann, The Common Ground Network for Life and Choice, "Common Ground Rules"Reading 30: Spoma Jovanovic, "Deepening Ethical Dialogue", Quick Reference: Ethical Dialogue12. When Values ClashRight Versus RightWhat Is Each Side Right About? Bringing Values into CongruenceBig DecisionsReading 31: Roger Gottlieb, "Can We Talk? Understanding the 'Other Side' in the Animal Rights Debates", Quick Reference: When Values ClashGoing Farther #13: Class Ethical Commitments13. Creative Problem-SolvingA Feeling for PossibilityCreative ExplorationsCreative ProvocationsReframing Problems, Quick Reference: Methods for Creative Problem-Solving in EthicsGoing Farther #14: Can the Abortion Debate be Reframed?Going Farther #15: Where Ethics Meets Politics14. Moral VisionWhat is Moral Vision? The Uses of Moral VisionToward a New Vision of AgingReading 32: Bill Thomas, "Eldertopia" (From What Are Old People For?)* Reading 33: Ursula K. LeGuin, "The Space Crone", Quick Reference: Moral VisionGoing Farther #16: Ethics and Sustainability* Reading 34: William McDonough, "Design for a New World"RESOURCESEight Maxims for Making a Difference1. You Can Do It* Reading 35: Danusha Goska, "Living Ideals"2. There Are Many Ways* Reading 36: Ian Frazier, from On the Rez3. Trust in Better Possibilities4. Keep At It* Reading 37: Maggie Castor, "Malala"5. Creative Leveraging6. Stay Open to Complexity7. There Is No Way to Ethics; Ethics Is the Way* Reading 38: Sarah van Gelder, "At Standing Rock, a Sense of Purpose8. Bring Your Whole ToolboxGoing Farther #17: Personal Ethical Mission Statements, by Nim BatchelorGoing Farther #18: Ethical Change Projects, Endnotes: Teaching Like a Pragmatist, Key Terms in This Book, Major Ethical Issues Discussed, Index

Editorial Reviews

This is the best textbook in any philosophical subject that I have read. It goes beyond a summary of arguments and presents a moral vision itself—one that encourages inquiry and is open to criticism.” -MARTIN A. COLEMAN, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

“Weston stands above the competition because of his emphasis on developing practical skills for navigating a complex, interrelated world. He includes a wide range of ethical approaches-from Kant to the Lakota to Confucius-and provides the best range of exercises and pedagogical devices that I have seen.” -TAYO BASQUIAT, Bismarck State College

“You will not find any other text for an introductory ethics course that does more to interest, engage, and activate your students in living with ethical responsiveness to the world.” -JAMES H. VANDERMAY, Mid Michigan College

From the Publisher