Ian S. Markham - Do Morals Matter?: A Textbook Guide to Contemporary Religious Ethics

Ian S. Markham

Second Edition

This second edition first published 2019
2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Edition History
John Wiley & Sons Ltd (1e, 2007)

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Markham, Ian S., author.
Title: Do morals matter? : a textbook guide to contemporary religious ethics / Ian S. Markham.
Description: Second edition. | Hoboken, NJ, USA : Wiley, [2018] | Includes index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018020241 (print) | LCCN 2018020812 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119143536 (Adobe PDF) | ISBN 9781119143543 (ePub) | ISBN 9781119143512 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Ethical problems. | Christian ethics.
Classification: LCC BJ1275 (ebook) | LCC BJ1275 .M366 2018 (print) | DDC 170dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018020241

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Cover Design: Wiley

For Luke Stephen Austin Markham
Continue to be you

A new edition is a privilege. The response from readers and professors using this textbook has been a delight. I am therefore pleased to work again on producing a new edition of this textbook.

I was blessed with two research assistants who helped with this new edition. Sam Smith (then Gottlich) started the journey with me, and then Sharon Williams took over. Together they worked hard to create a new, fresh textbook.

I am grateful to the team at Virginia Theological Seminary that gives me the space to write. My board chair, David Charlton, is very supportive. My senior team Melody Knowles, Jacqui Ballou, Katie Glover, Linda Dienno, and Jim Mathes is amazing. My executive assistant, Katherine Malloy, made sure that I had the space to progress this project, and she produced the excellent index.

Writing for Wiley Blackwell is always a delight. Rebecca Harkin commissioned this new edition. I am proud to count Rebecca among my friends; she combines wisdom with passion. Catriona King took over from Rebecca; she saw this book through to publication and her interest and insight improved the book considerably. Elisha Benjamin provided appropriate reminders and took the manuscript through production. I am grateful to Caroline Richards for her work at the copyediting phase. Finally, Vimali Joseph was the outstanding production editor who took the book to publication. Thank you, Wiley Blackwell.

My lovely wife, Lesley, came home from long days at work and sat and read various chapters and helped create discussion and reflection questions. It takes real love to do that for a spouse.

Finally, I dedicate this new edition to my son, Luke. The first edition had the following dedication for Luke: Above all things, I pray, may you be virtuous. Luke is now 22; he has graduated from Boston University; and his values are solid. For this I am deeply grateful. My prayer now is that he might simply continue to build on those values.

The first edition of Do Morals Matter? appeared in 2007. It is amazing how in 10 years the world can change so much. The sanguine assumptions about market economies, epitomized by the declaration of Francis Fukuyama that liberal democracies are the end of history, were brutally challenged in the great depression of 2008. With Brexit in Britain and the election of President Trump in the United States, our picture of an everconnected global village is dissipating. Attitudes to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons have changed in the United States and Europe much faster than anyone could have foreseen. New ethical areas are emerging for example, cyber ethics. In medical ethics, dramatic advances are being made. In 2007, the first edition discussed screening, but the idea that for just $199 you could purchase a medical assessment of your genetic medical propensities was difficult to imagine.

Reviewers were positive about the first edition, so much of the original material has been maintained. The chapter surveys set out options; the authors judgement is offered towards the end of the book. The concept of a morally serious person (MSP) remains the core argument of the book. The most significant change in this new edition is that the book is more obviously a textbook. Boxes that provide clear and succinct studentfriendly summaries have been created. Goals and outcomes of each chapter are explained at the beginning of each chapter. Questions are provided for reflection and discussion at the end of the chapter.

Perhaps the normal that characterized much of the latter part of the twentieth century in Britain and America is coming to an end. And perhaps having some sort of ethical map is more important than ever. This book seeks to provide an ethical map that might, hopefully, help us live through the uncertainty of our time.