Lewis Vaughn - Beginning Ethics: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy

B e g i n n i n g e t h i c s g An Introduction to Moral Philosophy BeginningEthics.indd 1 6/3/14 1:11 PM BeginningEthics.indd 2 6/3/14 1:11 PM B e g i n n i n g e t h i c s g An Introduction to Moral Philosophy Le w is Vaughn n w . w . n O R t O n & c O M P a n Y , i n c . n e w Y O R k L O n d O n BeginningEthics.indd 3 6/3/14 1:11 PM W. W. NORTON & COMPANY has been independent since its founding in 1923, when Wiliam Warder Norton and Mary D.

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Editor: Peter Simon Associate Editor: Quynh Do Manuscript Editor: JoAnn Simony Project Editor: Sujin Hong Production Manager: Ben Reynolds Text Design: Rubina Yeh Composition: Cathy Lombardi Manufacturing: CourierWestford, MA The text of this book is composed in Stone Serif ITC Std Medium with the display set in Syndor ITC Std Book. Copyright 2015 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vaughn, Lewis, author. Beginning ethics : an introduction to moral philosophy / Lewis Vaughn. -- First edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-393-93790-9 (pbk.) 1. I. Title. Title.

BJ1025.V38 2015 170--dc23 2014020838 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110 W. W. Norton & Company, Ltd., Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT wwnorton.com 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 BeginningEthics.indd 4 6/3/14 1:11 PM c O n t e n t s g

ch a p t er 1 Ethics and the Moral Life The Ethical Landscape The Elements of Ethics the preeminence of reason the universal perspective the principle of impartiality the dominance of moral norms Religion and Morality believers need moral reasoning when conflicts arise, ethics steps in moral philosophy enables productive discourse Keywords Exercises review questions essay questions Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 2 Relativism and Emotivism Subjective Relativism Cultural Relativism Emotivism Keywords BeginningEthics.indd 5 6/3/14 1:11 PM 6 c O n t e n t s Exercises review questions essay questions Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 3 Moral Arguments Claims and Arguments Arguments Good and Bad Implied Premises Moral Statements and Arguments Testing Moral Premises Assessing Nonmoral Premises Avoiding Bad Arguments begging the question equivocation appeal to authority slippery slope appeal to emotion faulty analogy appeal to ignorance straw man appeal to the person hasty generalization Keywords Exercises review questions essay questions argument exercises Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 4 Moral Theories Theories of Right and Wrong Major Theories consequentialist theories nonconsequentialist theories BeginningEthics.indd 6 6/3/14 1:11 PM c O n t e n t s 7 Evaluating Theories criterion 1: consistency with considered judgments criterion 2: consistency with our moral experience criterion 3: usefulness in moral problem solving Keywords Exercises review questions essay questions Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 5 Ethical Egoism Applying the Theory Evaluating the Theory Keywords Exercises review questions Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 6 Utilitarianism Applying the Theory Evaluating the Theory Learning from Utilitarianism Keywords Exercises review questions Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 7 Kantian Ethics Applying the Theory Evaluating the theory Learning from Kants Theory BeginningEthics.indd 7 6/3/14 1:11 PM 8 c O n t e n t s Keywords Exercises review questions Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 8 Natural Law Theory Applying the Theory Evaluating the Theory Learning from Natural Law Keyword Exercises review questions Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 9 Social Contract Theory Hobbess Theory Pluses and Minuses Keyword Exercises review questions Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 10 The Feminist Challenge Feminist Ethics The Ethics of Care Keywords Exercises review questions essay questions Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 11 Virtue Ethics Virtue in Action Evaluating Virtue Ethics Learning from Virtue Ethics BeginningEthics.indd 8 6/3/14 1:11 PM c O n t e n t s 9 Keywords Exercises review questions Ethical Dilemmas ch a p t er 12 A Moral Theory Moral Common Sense Building a Moral Theory Prima Facie Principles Three Rules Self-Evidence Keywords Exercises review questions essay questions Ethical Dilemmas Further ReadingGlossaryIndex BeginningEthics.indd 9 6/3/14 1:11 PM BeginningEthics.indd 10 6/3/14 1:11 PM P R e f a c e g This book does what any good ethics text of this kind should do, and perhaps a little more.

It introduces students to basic ethical concepts (principles, virtues, values, and the like), reviews the major moral theories and arguments, critiques relativism and moral skepticism, and explains why ethics matters to students and to the world. But it also tries to take into account two barriers to ethical understanding: (1) that students approaching ethics for the first time may find it disorienting, confus ing, intimidating, perhaps even annoying (because the ideas discussed may conflict with their own); and (2) that students may have no ink ling of how to apply what they learn about moral philosophy to their lives. To address the first challenge, this text presents the material as clearly and as approachably as possible without dumbing down complex ideas and thorny problems. Moreover, students preconceptions (many of them unsupportable)preconceptions about the nature of ethics, morality and religion, moral and nonmoral claims, morality and feelings, morality and reason, moral relativism and emotivism, and moral deliberationare addressed head on. After reading these direct challenges to their uninformed views, students may or may not change their minds about them. But they wont be able to say they dont understand why ethics is regarded as a subject worthy of serious study and discussion.

The second challenge is dealt with through a strong emphasis on critical reasoning in the moral life. A key underlying message is that students are already in the thick of ethical quandaries and decision-making in their daily lives. What this book offers students is a frame work for navigating these waters more consciously and deliberately. A BeginningEthics.indd 11 6/3/14 1:11 PM 12 P R e f a c e full chapter is devoted to critical thinking as applied to ethicsthat is, to understanding and evaluating moral arguments, premises, judgments, cases, and principles. Another chapter explores the nature of moral theories and how they relate to other elements in moral deliberations. The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate how moral theories are applied in the real world and how they are critically examined using widely accepted criteria of adequacy.

In addition, each chapter contains exercises in several formsa feature that sets this book apart from other texts of its kind. Every chapter provides review questions, and Chapters 1 through 4 and 10 and 12 also have essay questions. Chapter 3 (Moral Arguments) adds argument exercises to the mix. (The argument exercises help students hone their skills in evaluating and formulating moral arguments.) And all chapters end with a set of ethical dilemmasscenarios that provide practice in applying moral concepts and theories to actual cases. The idea underlying the end-of-chapter scenarios is that one of the best ways to learn how to apply moral concepts and theories is through practice. And practice leads to a better appreciation of some of the complexities of the moral life and the potent utility of moral reasoning.

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