Customer Reviews

Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I used this textbook in an undergraduate Communication Ethics course last year. It very helpful in introducing me to the study of ethics and how it fits into today's issues.

The book is divided into two parts: Ethical Theory (chapters 1-7)and Ethical Issues (chapters 8-19). The first part of the book actually gives you the "tools" to better discuss the issues raised in the chapters of the second part.

At the end of the book there is even a short appendix and sample ethics paper. This section helps the average student who is unfamiliar with the structure and reasoning behind a formal ethics paper.

I especially liked the way some that chapters began with scenarios that helped tie in each ethical theory to dilemmas we face everyday. It made it easier to understand and relate the thoughts of Kant and Aristotle to today's average person and the decisions they make-- their "moral dilemmas" and such.

Bottom line...well-organized, great for undergrads, an excellent source, and you probably use more everyday ethics than you think you do...

I choose MacKinnon's 4th edition of this text, while in search of one that would work well for online instruction. I have since moved on to the current edition, which contains a few, but what I consider, significant and useful changes and expansions from the 4th.

For a lower division introductory course in ethics, I've found this text exceptionally useful. From an online perspective, I find it straightforward, clear, and concise. Whether used as the essential core resource, as a structural component from which to build and expand, or as a supplement, I think MacKinnon's text well worth consideration.

I read through quite a number (or as my daughter would say, 'mass quantities') of texts before making the decision to go with MacKinnon. While this text isn't the only resource I use in my courses, I do use it as the framework around which they are designed and built. Highly recommended from this online instructor!

My daughter took an ethics course at a local community college this semester and this book was the textbook. As I was interested, I read along with the class (and even more) as the semester progressed.

The book is broken into 2 main sections: Ethical Theory and Ethical Issues. The first part contains the theory of ethics from a number of standpoints, including Relativism, Egoism, Utilitarianism, Kant's Theories and Natural Law. The second section is filled with discussions of ethical issues of today including pornography, euthanasia, abortion, sexual morality, environmentalism, animal rights, stem cell research and much more.

The book is comprehensive and very well written. It is easy to follow and gives latitude in the areas of ethics that are discussed. Finally, there is a sample ethics paper in the rear, making this a very comprehensive and useful textbook.

College ethics texts are similar and have been for decades. About half the book presents basic ethical theories. The other half presents current ethical conundrums. The books must be kept up to date to keep up with controversies of society. The last half of the book gives the students the chance to practice with what they have learned in the first half.

This particular text offers more "juicy" chapters than most, thus allowing the instructor to pick and choose the best issues to tackle. This makes the text as flexible as today's news. The text also offers an appendix on how to write an ethics paper. This is a welcome addition for those instructors, like me, who feel that students don't have the material mastered until they can argue a position in their own words.

But this text does mess up, even with all these benefits. I don't know exactly how it does it, nor could I put my finger on it. But there is something about the writing that was difficult for my students to comprehend. I found myself having to nurse them through all the chapters on ethics theory, often explaining the confusing portions with supplemental material. Part way through the semester the text itself became the supplemental material. There was, of course, that student who just has the ability to grasp the subject, but most struggled more than I was comfortable with. This will not stop me from using the text, but it will change the way I approach next semester.

This book shipped really fast! I purchased this edition to prevent spending around 200 dollars for the new addition. I took a chance on this book and I am so happy that I did. I am in midterm and the information in this earlier eddition has my grade at an A. The chapters maybe mixed up and there is a few information missing that you can find on the web. I wrote my paper on Mill's Theory and I earned 200 points out of a possible 200 points. Mill's theory is Mills theory, regardless if you spend 10 bucks to read about it or around 200 bucks. Although, you do feel better when you spend only 10.

The item was as advertised, but it took a long time to get from Illinois to NJ. The item supposedly shipped out the day after it was ordered, but it took the full 20 to get here. It was not shipped media mail, but regular.

As a student, I found this text to be very confusing to understand, especially the section about ethical theory. This is where supplemental material is essential to have. Some of the articles in the text are very academic as they were written at an upper grad level. Also, the author kept repeating the same things in different ways, which would further confused me, and the issues could have been labeled better. The positive aspect to this text is that it does a great job covering many issues. I'm going to keep this book for the section on ethical issues alone.

Not bad for a textbook on a subject that can be very dense and mind-confusing at times; I seem to be following along with it much better than I had originally expected. Still, it's a textbook, so I doubt you have much choice whether or not you're buying it--I know that Amazon's price on a new edition was about 75% of what my college bookstore was charging for *used* copies of the book.

The only reason I bought this book was for a class and even then it wasn't very helpful. Not the book's fault just so you know.

This is one great book. I know that's not a fantastic description, but it is. It was shipped much faster than the estimated time, and I had it in time for class assignments. (I started fairly late, which was my own fault. and it STILL made it on time.) It's in great condition and I'm very pleased with my purchase.