Applying Ethics

Part One: MORAL REASONING. 1. Moral Reasons. Moral Reasoning. Individual Morality and Social Morality. Ethical Relativism. Principles of Individual Morality. Principles of Social Morality. Summary and Conclusions. Readings: "Moral Virtue," Aristotle. "Respect for Persons," Immanuel Kant. "Utilitarianism," John Stuart Mill. "The Need for More than Justice," Annette C. Baier. 2. Good Reasoning. Arguments. Evaluating Moral Arguments. Summary and Conclusions. Part Two: ISSUES. 3. Sexual Morality. The Traditional View. The Libertarian View. Treating Sex Differently. Arguments for Sexual Libertarianism. Arguments against Sexual Libertarianism. Readings: "Sexual Morality," Roger Scruton. "Plain Sex," Alan H. Goldman. "Why Homosexuality is Abnormal," Michael Levin. "Homosexuality and Nature," Timothy F. Murphy. Case Presentations: Disease v. Promiscuity? Lawrence v. Texas: Private Rights and Public Morality. Goodridge v. Department of Public Health: A Right of Gay Marriage? A Slippery Slope to Polygamy? 4. Abortion. Biological Background. The Moral Problem. The Ontological Status of the Fetus. The Moral Status of the Fetus. Pro-Life Arguments (against Abortion). Pro-Choice Arguments (for Abortion). Readings: "An Almost Absolute Value in History," John T. Noonan. "A Defense of Abortion," Judith Jarvis Thomson. "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion," Mary Ann Warren. "Virtue Theory and Abortion," Rosalind Hursthouse. Case Presentations: Conceived in Violence, Born in Hate. Death in Pensacola. The Fight for Martina Greywind's Baby. Sex-Selection Abortions. 5. Euthanasia. Personhood. Death. Ordinary vs. Extraordinary Treatment. Killing vs. Allowing to Die. Meaning of Euthanasia: Narrow vs. Broad Interpretations. Voluntary vs. Non voluntary Euthanasia. Assisted Suicide. The Right to Refuse Treatment. Defective Newborns. Arguments for Voluntary (Active) Euthanasia. Arguments against Voluntary (Active) Euthanasia. Readings: "The Wrongfulness of Euthanasia," J. Gay-Williams. "Active and Passive Euthanasia," James Rachels. "Euthanasia," Philippa Foot. "A Moral Principle about Killing," Richard Brandt. Case Presentations: I Did It Because I Loved My Son. A Choice Central to Personal Dignity. Legalized Assisted Suicide and Decriminalized Euthanasia. Terri Schiavo: Voluntary Euthanasia or Murder? 6. Human Cloning and Stem Cell Research. How Cloning Works: A Brief History. Why Clone Humans? Moral and Legal Issues. Stem Cell Research. Arguments against Human Cloning. Arguments for Human Cloning. Readings: "The Wisdom of Repugnance," Leon R. Kass. "Moral Status of Cloning Humans", Michael Tooley. "The Morality of Killing Human Embryos," Bonnie Steinbock. "Stem Cells, Biotechnology, and Human Rights: Implications for a Posthuman Future," Paul Lauritzen. Case Presentations: Recommendations of the President's Council on Human Cloning. A Birth to Save a Life. Presidential Policy. Snowflakes in Summer. 7. Capital Punishment. The Nature and Definition of Punishment. The Moral Acceptability of Punishment. Aims of Punishment. Retentionist and Abolitionist Defined. Capital Punishment as Deterrent. Abolitionist Arguments (against Capital Punishment). Retentionist Arguments (for Capital Punishment). Readings: "Speech in Favor of Capital Punishment," J. S. Mill. "The Death Sentence," Sidney Hook. "On Deterrence and the Death Penalty," Ernest van den Haag. "Capital Punishment and Social Defense," Hugo Adam Bedau. Case Presentations: J. D. Autry: Death in Texas. Karla Faye Tucker and Stanley "Tookie" Williams: Rehabilitation on Death Row? A Failed Experiment? Warren McClesky. 8. War, Terrorism and Civil Liberties. Just War Theory. Pre-emptive Wars. Violence and Terrorism. Jihadism/Pacifism. Civil Liberties. Readings: "Violence, Terrorism, and Justice," R. G. Frey and Christopher W. Morris. "Make Torture an Option," Alan Dershowitz. "Torture and the Ticking Bomb," David Luban. "National Security State," David Cole. Case Presentations: Pre-emptive War. Driving While Veiled. Fear of Flying. The Geneva Conventions and Guantanamo Bay. 9. Welfare and Social Justice. Transfer Payments. Does Welfare Work? Why Have Welfare? Distributive Justice. Equality, Need, and Merit. Libertarianism, Welfare Liberalism, and Socialism. Arguments for Welfare. Arguments against Welfare. Readings: "What Libertarianism Is," John Hospers." The Right to Eat and the Duty to Work," Trudy Govier. "Radical Egalitarianism," Kai Nielsen. "Choosing a Future," Charles Murray. Case Presentations: Marta Green. The Poorest Place in America. Welfare as We Have Known It. The Women of Project Match. 10. Discrimination. Discrimination: Its Nature and Forms. Evidence of Discrimination. Affirmative Action: Preferential Treatment. Arguments against Affirmative Action. Arguments for Affirmative Action. Readings: "The Justification of Reverse Discrimination," Tom L. Beauchamp. "A Defense of Programs of Preferential Treatment," Richard Wasserstrom. "Reverse Discrimination and Compensatory Justice," William T. Blackstone. "Reverse Discrimination as Unjustified," Lisa Newton. Case Presentations: Proposition 209. Grutter v. Bollinger: Taking Race into Account. Reparations: An Overdue Debt to African Slaves in America? Friendly Sexual Harassment? 11. Animal Rights and Environmental Ethics. What Do We Owe Nonhuman Animals? What's Wrong with Speciesism? Environmental Ethics. Environmental Problems. The Moral Issue. Why Environmental Ethics? Arguments for Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Environment. Arguments against Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Environment. Readings: "All Animals Are Equal...," Peter Singer. "The Case for Animal Rights," Tom Regan. "The Ethics of Respect for Nature," Paul Taylor. "People or Penguins," William F. Baxter. Case Presentations: Animal Liberators. Religious Sacrifice. A Metaphor for the Energy Debate. The Spotted Owl. 12. Computer Ethics and the Internet. What is Computer Ethics? Issues in Computer Ethics. Freedom of Expression. Privacy. Intellectual Property. Computer Crime. Access to the Internet and the Technological "Divide". Moral and Legal Issues. Arguments in Favor of Ethical Conduct with Computers and the Internet. Arguments against Ethical Conduct with Computers and the Internet. Readings: "The Constitution in Cyberspace: Law and Liberty Beyond the Electronic Frontier", Lawrence H. Tribe. "Free Speech in Cyberspace," Richard A. Spinello. "Is it Moral to Make Copies of Software for My Friends?," Bernard Gert. "Cyberstalking, Personal Privacy, and Moral Responsibility," Herman T. Tavani and Frances S. Grodzinsky. Case Presentations: Ticketed for Obscenity on the Information Superhighway. A Chill in Cyberspace. Censoring Political Speech. Pirates of the Campuses. Glossary. Afterword. Index.