Ethics for Everyone: How to Increase Your Moral Intelligence (Paperback)

by Arthur Dobrin (Author) "One day, Irma made a call from a public phone booth..." (more)
Key Phrases: most important ethical value, major ethical conflict, ethical score, United States, New York, Long Island (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
There are no cut-and-dried answers to the big ethical problems, says Dobrin, a Hofstra University professor and an active participant in the Ethical Humanist movement for more than 30 years, but discussing the issues can give better insight into what's right. After a mercifully brief discussion of various ethical systems, Dobrin sets out some typical ethical quandaries for readers to analyze, helping them establish their own moral IQ. Homework over, readers can relax and follow Dobrin and his guest experts as they navigate a series of provocative moral dilemmas. Should his father consent to heart surgery for his mother if she's succumbing quickly to Alzheimer's? Should an all-boy athletic team have the right to exclude a girl? Should the West Pointer resign rather than betray his friend or the school's honor code? Many readers will have encountered some of these dilemmas themselves, but other situations will be new. Dobrin's willingness to see all sides will encourage readers to think broadly as well; retaking the preliminary quiz at the end of the book, many will find their own ethical perspectives more nuanced and satisfying. This compelling volume and Randy Cohen's The Good, the Bad and the Difference (reviewed on p. 87) should both hit responsive chords with the ethically questing. But if Cohen is "everyday ethics" (going back on a job offer; senior discounts), Dobrin, while just as accessive, leans toward big-time ethics (assisting a Lou Gehrig's disease sufferer to commit suicide; telling an adopted child about his or her birth parents). (Apr.)Forecast: The budget cover price and a user-friendly format make this an ideal choice for any ethics-oriented reading group.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
There are no cut-and-dried answers to the big ethical problems, says Dobrin, a Hofstra University professor and an active participant in the Ethical Humanist movement for more than 30 years, but discussing the issues can give better insight into what's right. After a mercifully brief discussion of various ethical systems, Dobrin sets out some typical ethical quandaries for readers to analyze, helping them establish their own moral IQ. Homework over, readers can relax and follow Dobrin and his guest experts as they navigate a series of provocative moral dilemmas. Should his father consent to heart surgery for his mother if she's succumbing quickly to Alzheimer's? Should an all-boy athletic team have the right to exclude a girl? Should the West Pointer resign rather than betray his friend or the school's honor code? Many readers will have encountered some of these dilemmas themselves, but other situations will be new. Dobrin's willingness to see all sides will encourage readers to think broadly as well; retaking the preliminary quiz at the end of the book, many will find their own ethical perspectives more nuanced and satisfying. This compelling volume and Randy Cohen's The Good, the Bad and the Difference (reviewed on p. 87) should both hit responsive chords with the ethically questing. But if Cohen is "everyday ethics" (going back on a job offer; senior discounts), Dobrin, while just as accessive, leans toward big-time ethics (assisting a Lou Gehrig's disease sufferer to commit suicide; telling an adopted child about his or her birth parents). (Apr.)
Forecast: The budget cover price and a user-friendly format make this an ideal choice for any ethics-oriented reading group. ( Publishers Weekly, February 18, 2002)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471435953
• ISBN-13: 978-0471435952
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #396,488 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!, September 27, 2002

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Arthur Dobrin takes a novel approach to the study of ethics: Instead of crafting complex ethical systems, he encourages his readers to figure out their own standards. He does this by sketching the broad outlines of Judeo-Christian moral tradition and the ethical thinking of the world's great philosophers. After laying this basic groundwork, he proceeds to present readers with a series of scenarios in which they are asked to decide what they would do. Dobrin hopes that readers will discover patterns in their responses that will reveal their own ethical systems. We from getAbstract highly recommend this enlightening book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This will make you think and grow., May 7, 2005

By	C. Mcknight "Omnivore" (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is filled with a general introduction to practical ethical questions and with real-life scenarios about which you are asked the ethical thing to do. After you have pondered each scenario, you are presented with a discussion of the issues and both the author's reactions and that of at least one other person. Whether you come to the same conclusions as the author or not, the scenarios are excellent tools to make you think and the book is well worth reading and serious study.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Discussion, February 4, 2006

By	Treebeard Ent - See all my reviews

This is a book that supplies more examples than just "what it is" when dealing with ethics. There is so much here that occurs in important decisions either we or our friends and relatives encounter regularly, that I recommend it to anyone who wants to have a dialogue with another person, or a group of people. It especially lends itself to group discussion. As a teacher, I borrowed from "Ethics for Everyone" to bring out something from each of my students in discussion--including the "quiet ones." It's not necessarily that it's a textbook; it was not written that way, but it can be a text or just good reading for thinking and kicking it around with your friends.