A Practical Companion to Ethics

This introduction covers the basic attitudes and skills that make ethics work, like thinking for oneself, creative and integrative problem-solving, and keeping an open mind. It illuminates the kinds of practical intelligence required in moral judgement, complementing the narrower theoretical considerations that often dominate ethics courses. Practical instruction in problem-solving is offered by a demonstration of how to frame an ethical problem and deal effectively with ethical disagreements. This book also addresses issues of the heart - the call to responsiveness and care that underlies formal ethical theories. Appendices offer students advice about writing papers and offer instructors a range of participatory ways to teach ethics. It should be useful for courses in introductory ethics, with applications in any course related to ethical problem-solving, including biomedical ethics, applied philosophy and informal logic.