This more than 3100-page encyclopedia includes 281 articles, nearly all on applied ethics, e.g., euthanasia, eugenics, sexual harassment, journalistic ethics, informed consent, and computer security, and a few on theoretical ethics, e.g., consequentialism and deontology. Each article begins with an outline of its topics, a glossary of especially important terms, and a first paragraph summarizing the content of the article. The great majority of the articles range from about 7500 to 11,000 words, although the shortest is about 3000 and the longest about 30,000 words. Helpful section headings are included, nearly all articles are cross-referenced, and each has a bibliography of about ten titles. On the whole, the articles are clearly organized, appropriately informative, well balanced, nontendentious, and decently written. Better editing, however, would have spared us having things like this: "Population aging, transformation in the health and life styles of older as well as younger people, increasing secularism now modified by a recrudescence of intolerant religious fundamentalism manifest on a worldwide scale, an accelerating rate of technological innovations, and reshaped relationships between social groups and among rich and poor countries have together affected and confused long-standing assumptions about the value of the aging process for individuals and of aged people as a section of society." There is some carelessness, e.g., one contributor tells us that "Global warming is now recognized [by whom?] to be caused by human activity," and some bibliographies have unfortunate omissions. Finally, the encyclopedia does not include any analysis of polygraph testing in law or business, of the idea of competency to stand trial, or of expert testimony in or out of the courtroom. But the foregoing and other defects must count as mere lapses in what is a truly excellent encyclopedia. It is wide-ranging and detailed enough to be useful to intelligent lay readers, scholars, and specialists. The articles on the status and treatment of ethnocultural minority groups, challenges to applied ethics, euthanasia, and some others are models of what an encyclopedia article should be. Highly recommended for all academic and other large libraries.?Robert Hoffman, York Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"...both of these landmark encyclopedias (
The Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics and the
Encyclopedia of Bioethics, published by Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc.) merit a place in academic and large public libraries serving an educated population."
—AMERICAN REFERENCE BOOKS ANNUAL
"An outstanding addition to the ranks of specialized encyclopedias, this set covers topics of current interest to both students writing papers and general readers struggling with day-to-day moral decisions... The format is excellent; each article begins with an outline followed by a glossary with definitions of important terms and concludes with a brief bibliography. Because of its quality and relevance, this set should be purchased by all academic and many public libraries."
—CHOICE
"The
Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics is an impressive effort which will find wide readership among students and professionals alike."
—AGAINST-THE-GRAIN
"It is clearly a wide ranging work and the level of detail it encompasses may be assessed by reference to the titles of the first half dozen articles... As a contributor to this effort, I can attest to the care which has been expended at all stages of the production process. The articles have been reviewed by other experts and have benefited from such an examination. This is a basic work in applied ethics and those working in the field would benefit from having it at their finger tips, or failing that, at a conveniently located library."
—SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS
"This is a fine piece of work; clear, accurate, suggestive of likely future developments. A very high quality piece. He did a fine job."
—PROFESSOR TERRY BYNUM, Research Center on Computing and Society, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven
"Very clear and comprehensive."
—DR. GEOFFREY F. SCARRE, Department of Philosophy, University of Durham, U.K.
"It is highly readable...does the job very well...there seems to be little useful published material in this area."
—PROFESSOR ROBERT SHARPE, Department of Philosophy, University of Wales at Lampeter, Dyfed, U.K.
Praise for the Article "Discrimination, Concept of"
"An excellent, well-written and mind-opening article. I thought this a fine piece of work, lucid, informative, sharp."
—DR. ANTHONY SKILLEN, Darwin College, University at Canterbury, Kent, U.K.
Praise for the Article, "Pluralism in Education"
"I have read this article with interest and with profit. The author is an able and extensively published author on the subject. He has produced an effective piece for you."
—PROFESSOR JOHN J. HALDANE, Department of Moral Philosophy, University of St. Andrews, Fife, U.K.
Praise for the Article, "Crime and Society"
"This is an excellent article, superbly written and organized."
—PROFESSOR JAN NARVESON, Department of Philosophy, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Praise for the Article, "Speciesism"
"A fine piece of work! The combination of biological sophistication and philosophical analysis is highly appropriate."
—PROFESSOR EVELYN PLUHAR, Penn State, Fayette Campus, Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Praise for the Article, "Animal Research"
"I enjoyed reading the animal research article. This is a reasonable and balanced account that is also quite readable."
—PROFESSOR BERNARD E. ROLLIN, College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Liberal Arts, Department of Philosophy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
Praise for the Article, "Slippery Slope Arguments"
"Very nice, professional, sophisticated effort."
—PROFESSOR FREDERICK SCHAUER, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Praise for the Article, "Literature and Ethics"
"David Novitz's splendid article on literature and ethics is the clearest exposition of the subject I've ever seen in print. It is this sort of contribution that is going to make the
Encyclopedia invaluable for many years to come.... The article on literature and ethics is a model of clarity and scholarship.... With articles of the quality of David Novitzs entry on literature and ethics, the
Encyclopedia will be an invaluable aid for students and scholars for years to come."
—DR. DENIS DUTTON, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Praise for the Article, "Mental Illness, Concept of"
"This paper is clear, exhaustive, and goes in depth into the issue."
—DR. EMILIO MORDINI, Psychoanalytic Institute for Social Research, Rome, Italy
