This concise reference work is intended to provide the reader with the basics of moral argumentation and specific tools that should prove useful in this process.
There is no assumption that any specific moral view is correct (or incorrect) and no specific moral agenda is pushed in this work. Rather, the intention behind this work is to assist people in making better moral arguments. If a reader disagrees with a specific example, then an interesting exercise would be to consider a counter-argument against the conclusion presented in the example.
The book divides into three parts. The first provides a basic discussion of arguing about ethics in the context of moral issues. The second, which is the majority of the book, presents a variety of methods that should prove useful in moral argumentation. The third part consists of short moral essays that provide additional examples of moral reasoning.
The book contains the following moral methods:
Analogical Argument
Argument from/by Example
Argument from Authority
Logical Consistency
Consistent Application
Reversing the Situation
Definitions & Intuitions
Argument by Definition
Appeal to Intuition
The “Playing God” Argument
The Unnatural Argument/The Natural Argument
Applying Moral Principles
Applying Moral Theories
Appeal to Consequences
Appeal to Rules
Appeal to Rights
Mixing Norms
There is no assumption that any specific moral view is correct (or incorrect) and no specific moral agenda is pushed in this work. Rather, the intention behind this work is to assist people in making better moral arguments. If a reader disagrees with a specific example, then an interesting exercise would be to consider a counter-argument against the conclusion presented in the example.
The book divides into three parts. The first provides a basic discussion of arguing about ethics in the context of moral issues. The second, which is the majority of the book, presents a variety of methods that should prove useful in moral argumentation. The third part consists of short moral essays that provide additional examples of moral reasoning.
The book contains the following moral methods:
Analogical Argument
Argument from/by Example
Argument from Authority
Logical Consistency
Consistent Application
Reversing the Situation
Definitions & Intuitions
Argument by Definition
Appeal to Intuition
The “Playing God” Argument
The Unnatural Argument/The Natural Argument
Applying Moral Principles
Applying Moral Theories
Appeal to Consequences
Appeal to Rules
Appeal to Rights
Mixing Norms
