Do the right thing : readings in applied ethics and social philosophy

Offering an outstanding balance of rigor and accessibility, DO THE RIGHT THING, 2E provides accessible, impartial introductions to an excellent collection of readings in contemporary social issues. Provocative study questions urge students to get to the heart of the debates. Newly designed for this edition, DO THE RIGHT THING is organized into three sections. Part 1 introduces the student to the leading ethical theories, while Parts 2 and 3 present the current issues including landmark court cases as well as differing viewpoints by not only leading philosophers, but also economists, legal scholars, and scientists.

Author Notes

Francis J. Beckwith received a M.A. and PhD. from Fordham University and a M.J.S. from the Washington University School of Law, St. Louis. He is a Professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He has held visiting full-time academic appointments at Princeton University, University of Notre Dame, and the University of Colorado, Boulder.

He is the author of many books including Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice, Return to Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic, Politics for Christians: Statecraft As Soulcraft, and Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith, which won the 2016 American Academy of Religion Book Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in Constructive-Reflective Studies.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Ruth BenedictFrancis J. BeckwithImmanuel KantJohn Stuart MillSusan DimockWilliam K. KilpatrickJ. P. Moreland and Kai NielsenRobert AudiNicholas WolterstorffMary Anne WarrenStephen D. SchwarzJudith Jarvis ThomsonFrancis J. BeckwithJames RachelsPaul ChamberlainTimothy E. QuillPatricia WesleyJohn A. RobertsonScott B. RaeLeon KassShannon H. SmithLouis P. PojmanHugo Adam BedauRichard WasserstromLouis P. PojmanTom BeauchampThomas SowellJohn RawlsMurray N. RothbardSusan Moller OkinLisa Duggan and Nan D. Hunter and Carole VanceCatharine MacKinnonRobert H. BorkFred R. BergerRichard D. MohrMichael PakalukRobert P. GeorgeAngela Bolte

Preface to Second Edition	p. vii
Introduction	p. xi
I. Ethical Theory, Ethical Practice, and the Public Square	p. 1
A. Relativism versus Objectivism	p. 4
1. A Defense of Moral Relativism	p. 6
2. A Critique of Moral Relativism	p. 12
B. Ethical Theory	p. 22
3. The Categorical Imperative	p. 24
4. Utilitarianism	p. 37
5. The Natural Law Theory of St. Thomas Aquinas	p. 43
6. Vision and Virtue	p. 60
C. God and Morality	p. 70
7. Does Ethics Depend on God?: A Debate	p. 73
D. State Neutrality, Religion, and Morality	p. 94
8. The Place of Religious Argument in a Free and Democratic Society	p. 97
9. Why We Should Reject What Liberalism Tells Us about Speaking and Acting in Public for Religious Reasons	p. 115
II. Life and Death Issues	p. 133
A. Abortion	p. 136
A1. Abortion and the Law	p. 143
10. Roe v. Wade (1973)	p. 143
11. Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)	p. 157
A2. The Morality of Abortion	p. 184
12. On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion	p. 184
13. Personhood Begins at Conception	p. 191
14. A Defense of Abortion	p. 210
15. Arguments from Bodily Rights	p. 222
B. Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide	p. 233
B1. The Law and Euthanasia	p. 238
16. Cruzan v. Harmon (1991)	p. 238
17. Washington v. Glucksburg (1997)	p. 243
B2. Morality of Euthanasia	p. 257
18. A Defense of Active Euthanasia	p. 257
19. A Case Against Physician-Assisted Suicide	p. 269
20. Death and Dignity: A Case of Individualized Decision Making	p. 285
21. Dying Safely: An Analysis of "A Case of Individualized Decision Making" Timothy E. Quill, M.D.	p. 290
C. Creating and Experimenting with Life at the Margins	p. 303
22. Rights, Symbolism, and Public Policy on Fetal Tissue Transplants	p. 307
23. Spare Parts from the Unborn?: The Ethics of Fetal Tissue Transplanation	p. 321
24. The Wisdom of Repugnance	p. 330
25. Ignorance Is Not Bliss: Why a Ban on Human Cloning is Unacceptable	p. 350
D. The Death Penalty	p. 362
26. The Case for Capital Punishment	p. 365
27. The Death Penalty Is Not Morally Permissible	p. 372
III. Issues of Social Justice and Personal Liberty	p. 385
A. Affirmative Action	p. 388
28. Adarand v. Pena (1997)	p. 392
A1. The Moral Justification of Affirmative Action	p. 418
29. A Defense of Programs of Preferential Treatment	p. 418
30. The Moral Status of Affirmative Action	p. 424
31. The Justification of Reverse Discrimination	p. 438
32. From Equality Opportunity to "Affirmative Action"	p. 449
B. Economic and Social Justice	p. 461
33. A Theory of Justice	p. 464
34. Property, Exchange, and Libertarianism	p. 484
35. Gender, Justice, and the Family	p. 498
C. Censorship and Freedom of Expression	p. 513
36. Attorney General's Commission on Pornography: The Constraints of the First Amendment	p. 517
37. The Minneapolis and Indianapolis Anti-Pornography/Civil Rights Ordinances	p. 527
38. Feminist Antipornography Legislation: A Critical Analysis	p. 544
39. The Sexual Politics of the First Amendment	p. 556
40. The Case for Censorship	p. 574
41. Pornography, Sex, and Censorship	p. 584
D. Homosexuality	p. 602
D1. The Law and Homosexuality	p. 607
42. Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)	p. 607
43. Romer v. Evans (1996)	p. 614
D2. Homosexuality and the Morality of Discrimination	p. 629
44. Gay Basics: Some Questions, Facts, and Values	p. 629
45. Homosexuality and the Common Good	p. 637
D3. The Debate Over Same-Sex Marriage	p. 646
46. 'Same-Sex Marriage' and 'Moral Neutrality'	p. 646
47. Do Wedding Dresses Come in Lavender?: The Prospects and Implications of Same-Sex Marriage	p. 656

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