The Moral Life
An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature
by Lewis Vaughn, Louis P. Pojman
7th Edition
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Book Details
| Print ISBN | 9780197610060 |
| eText ISBN | 9780197610091 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Publishing Year | 2022 |
| Edition | 7th Edition |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 800 |
The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature, 7th Edition, is an anthology designed for introductory ethics courses. This comprehensive volume pairs classical and contemporary philosophical essays with works of literature to explore both theoretical ethics and practical moral problems.
Broad thematic coverage explores foundational questions regarding morality, classical and contemporary theoretical frameworks, and pressing applied controversies. By integrating imaginative literature with philosophical arguments, the anthology provides concrete narrative situations that bring complex ethical principles and dilemmas into clear focus.
To assist with analytical coursework, an appendix offers guidance on reading and writing philosophy papers for instructors who incorporate writing assignments into their classes.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: What is the Purpose of Morality?
- • William Golding, Lord of the Flies: A Moral Allegory
- • Louis P. Pojman, On the Nature and Purpose of Morality: Reflections on William Golding's Lord of the Flies
- • Thomas Hobbes, On the State of Nature
Chapter 2: Good and Evil
- • Herman Melville, Billy Budd
- • Fyodor Dostoevsky, Why Is There Evil?
- • William Styron, Sophie's Choice
- • Philip Hallie, From Cruelty to Goodness
- • Philippa Foot, Natural Goodness
- • Richard Taylor, On the Origin of Good and Evil
Chapter 3: Is Everything Relative?
- • Herodotus, Custom Is King
- • Ruth Benedict, The Case for Moral Relativism
- • David Enoch, Why I Am an Objectivist about Ethics (And Why You Are, Too)
- • James Rachels, Why Morality Is Not Relative
- • Jean Bethke Elshtain, Judge Not?
- • Mary Midgley, Trying Out One's New Sword
- • Henrick Ibsen, The Enemy of the People
Chapter 4: Utilitarianism
- • Seaman Holmes and the Longboat of William Brown, Reported by John William Wallace
- • Jeremy Bentham, Classical Utilitarianism
- • John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism Refined
- • Kai Nielsen, A Defense of Utilitarianism
- • Bernard Williams, Against Utilitarianism
- • Ursula Le Guin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
Chapter 5: Deontological Ethics
- • Immanuel Kant, The Moral Law
- • William K. Frankena, Kant's Theory
- • W. D. Ross, Intuitionism
- • Ambrose Bierce, A Horseman in the Sky
- • Charles Fried, The Evil of Lying
- • Plato, Does Morality Depend on Religion?
- • James Rachels, The Divine Command Theory
- • Thomas Nagel, Moral Luck
- • Carl Dennis, New Year's Eve
Chapter 6: Virtue Ethics
- • Aristotle, Virtue Ethics
- • Alasdair MacIntyre, The Virtues
- • Susan Wolf, Moral Saints
- • Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Great Stone Face
- • William K. Frankena, A Critique of Virtue-Based Ethical Systems
- • Jesus of Nazareth, The Sermon on the Mount; The Good Samaritan
- • Leo Tolstoy, How Much Land Does a Man Need? Greed
- • Epictetus and Others, The Stoic Catechism
- • Vice Admiral James Stockdale, The World of Epictetus: Courage and Endurance
Chapter 7: Feminist Ethics and the Ethics of Care
- • Alison M. Jaggar, Feminist Ethics
- • Jan Crosthwaite, Gender and Bioethics
- • Annette C. Baier, The Need for More than Justice
- • Virginia Held, The Ethics of Care
Chapter 8: Ethics and Egoism: Why Should We Be Moral?
- • Plato, The Ring of Gyges
- • Ayn Rand, In Defense of Ethical Egoism
- • Louis P. Pojman, Egoism and Altruism: A Critique of Ayn Rand
- • James Rachels, A Critique of Ethical Egoism
Chapter 9: Does Life Have Meaning?
- • Voltaire, The Good Brahmin
- • Epicurus, Hedonism
- • Albert Camus, Life Is Absurd
- • Viktor Frankl, The Human Search for Meaning: Reflections on Auschwitz
- • John Messerly, The Ascent of Meaning
- • Bertrand Russell, Reflections on Suffering
- • Richard Taylor, The Meaning of Life
Chapter 10: Sexism and Misogyny
- • Ann E. Cudd and Leslie Jones, Sexism
- • Kate Manne with Sean Illing, What We Get Wrong about Misogyny
- • Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper
Chapter 11: Racism, Equity, and Privilege
- • Lawrence Blum, Racism: What It Is and Isn't
- • Naomi Zack, Uses and Abuses of the Discourse of White Privilege
- • Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Racism Without Racists
- • Shannon Sullivan, Good White Liberals
Chapter 12: Free Speech and Hate Speech
- • Sigal Ben-Porath, Free Speech on Campus
- • Richard Stengel and Conor Friedersdorf, Two Views of Speech Laws
- • Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman, Hate Speech
Chapter 13: Pandemic Ehics
- • Michael Sandel with Colleen Walsh, Why Some Americans Refuse to Social Distance and Wear Masks
- • Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Govind Persad, Ross Upshur, Et Al., Fair Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources in the Time of COVID-19
Chapter 14: Food Ethics
- • George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant
- • Tristram McPherson, How to Argue for (and Against) Ethical Veganism
- • Joel Salatin, Animal Welfare
- • Alastair Norcross, Puppies, Pigs, and People: Eating Meat and Marginal Cases
Chapter 15: The Ethics of Climate Change
- • Robert Heilbroner, What Has Prosperity Ever Done for Me?
- • Stephen M. Gardiner, A Perfect Moral Storm: Climate Change
- • John Broome, The Public and Private Morality of Climate Change
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