The Multidisciplinary Nature of Morality and Applied Ethics
Description
Most people intuitively understand the nature of morality; this tends to belie the fact that morality is more complex, controversial and interesting than generally appreciated. This book provides a comprehensive overview of morality from various disciplines and perspectives. These include ethics and evolution, moral psychology, morality and culture, morality and religion and morality and the law. A chapter on evil illustrates the vulnerability of morality. The book also provides a description and critique of various ethical theories, the difference between a moral obligation and a moral ideal and the views of venerable moral philosophers who argue over issues such as whether objective moral truth exists. A number of practical ethical dilemmas are discussed. The book is written in language accessible to the general reader and will be of interest to members of organizational, governmental, and professional ethics committees, students in ethics fellowships or ethics degreeprograms, philosophers, and others who want to learn more about morality.
Reviews / Votes
"Morality can be a conversation stopper. In The Multidisciplinary Nature of Morality and Applied Ethics , David Steinberg expands the conversation. Drawing upon deep experience as a clinician and medical ethicist, Steinberg offers a rich interdisciplinary analysis of a topic that is easy to invoke yet difficult to define. To that end, Steinberg draws on philosophy, religion, evolutionary biology, psychology, anthropology and the law to paint a nuanced portrait of morality in both theory and practice. This is a beautiful book that will reward the thoughtful reader with its wisdom and erudition." (Joseph J. Fins, M.D., M.A.C.P., F.R.C.P. is the E. William Davis, Jr., M.D. Professor of Medical Ethics and Chief of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College and Solomon Center Distinguished Scholar in Medicine, Bioethics and the Law at Yale Law School. He is the author of Rights Come to Mind: Brain Injury, Ethics and the Struggle for Consciousness)
"David Steinberg begins his remarkable new book by quoting the philosopher who quipped, "If one starts by saying 'morality is'..nothing one says afterward seems quite right." This puzzle serves as both the theme and the motivation for his exploration of morality, taking the reader on a journey through a startling and contrasting variety of perspectives. Steinberg first explores morality through the eyes of evolutionary biologists. He then moves on to linguistic interpretations of morality, morality as seen through the powerful social constructs of culture, religion, and the law, and concludes with the insights of the great moral philosophers and how their work has influenced the practice of ethics in organizations, medicine, and healthcare. A true tour de force, and a fascinating read." (Robert Truog, MD,Frances Glessner Lee Professor of Medical Ethics, Harvard Medical School. Director, Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School)
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Person
David Steinberg M.D. is a board certified internist, hematologist and oncologist who graduated from Dartmouth College and Harvard Medical School. He is on the clinical faculty of Harvard Medical School (1973 - ). He was Chair of the Department of Hematology at Lahey Clinic (1975 to 2001). He founded and for more than 20 years was the Director of the Ethics program at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center (1991-2013). He was Editor of the Lahey Clinic Journal of Medical Ethics (1994-2016) which was widely circulated to all 50 states and 39 foreign countries. He contributed ethics articles to major ethics and medical journals and has spoken at numerous ethics meetings. He edited the book, Biomedical Ethics: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Moral Issues In Medicine and Biology (2007 University Press of New England).
Content
Chapter 1. Morality.- Chapter 2. Evolution and Ethics.- Chapter 3. Social Darwinism.- Chapter 4. Immoral-like Behavior in Animals.- Chapter 5. Moral Psychology.- Chapter 6. Morality and Culture.- Chapter 7. Morality and Religion.- Chapter 8. Morality and the Law.- Chapter 9. Evil.- Chapter 10. Moral Theories and Moral Obligations.- Chapter 11. Moral Motivation.- Chapter 12. The Moral Philosophers: Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Mill, and Nietzsche.- Chapter 13. Principlism.- Chapter 14. Common Morality.- Chapter 15. Applied Ethics: Organizations.- Chapter 16. Ethics Consultation: Biomedical Ethics.- Chapter 17. The Nature of Morality and Applied Ethics: Conclusion.
