Customer Reviews

Everyday Morality: An Introduction to Applied Ethics

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

 

 

This is the textbook used in my Introduction to Ethics Course.

Scholars and students will probably value this book as a handy reference book to keep in their collections.

I have to say that I think Martin is a bit biased against Ayn Rand's expression of the selfish egoist moral code. He pays her little compliment and does his best to speak of her first, to move on and influence readers to forget about her ideas. It's true that her arguments against altruism are weak, but ultimately, she made quite a bold contribution to the study of hedonism and indeed human nature.

That said,

The book is roughly structured as follows:

PART ONE:

An intro explaining what morality is and its application to the world.

An examination of utilitarianism, rights ethics, duty ethics, pragmatism and a 5-C test that attempts to judge the validity and value of the mentioned theories.

PART TWO:

Multiculturalism

Religion and its influence on moral thinking

Feminism and Racial/Ethnic Identity

PART THREE:

Contemporary and Historically Relevant Issues

Abortion, Animal Rights, Environmental Considerations, Suicide, Homosexuality, Pornography, Marriage and Love, Drug Abuse, etc.

This is quite a collection, and the ideas are presented clearly for most readers. I don't recommend paying full price for this book. You should buy a used version and save perhaps $30 by shopping at a local student bookstore, or perhaps from Amazon's used book section.

Again, as nonfiction goes, this is more an academic title, not to be read casually, but thoughtfully and with great care. I rate it at about 4.2 stars.

I predict that after reading this book, you'll be curious about the writings of several philosophers and ethical issues discussed in the text. For this reason, I think this is a great book, because it will motivate people to read more and to think critically about ideas that may otherwise seem unimportant or too difficult to approach.

In many ways, philosophy is the stuff of life. Some may be wary of studying it too extensively, for fear that it will not lead to a secure career, but honestly, this field of study is so interesting and fun and relevant to all people, that I think you'll find paying attention to ethics and philosophy will contribute to a more satisfying life.

This book is a pretty good starting point.