Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life: Introductory Readings in Ethics » (8th Edition)

Christina Hoff Sommers is Affiliate Associate Professor of Philosophy, Clark University and a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Her recent books include THE WAR AGAINST BOYS (New York Times Notable Book of the Year) and ONE NATION UNDER THERAPY.

Fred Sommers is professor emeritus at Brandeis University. His latest article,"On the Nature of Belief," appeared in the Spring edition of the AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY. MIT Press recently published a book of essays called THE OLD NEW LOGIC ( April 2005) that honors Sommers' distinctive contributions to 20th century philosophy.

A comprehensive and provocative collection of both classical and contemporary voices in perennial ethical debates, VICE AND VIRTUE has established itself as one of the truly outstanding anthologies for Introduction to Ethics Courses. In contradistinction to many other introduction to ethics books that focus on the application of moral theories to various institutionally based social dilemmas, VICE AND VIRTUE is committed to the exploration of private, individual virtue and responsibility. This book provides both an overview of seminal ethical theories as well as many stimulating readings chosen to encourage students' own reflection on how these abstract theories impact decisions they face individually in their everyday lives.

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Chapter 1 Good and Evil 1

From Cruelty to Goodness Philip Hallie 4

The Conscience of Huckleberry Finn Jonathan Bennett 15

The Evil That Men Think-And Do Philip Hallie 25

Facing the Extreme: The War of All Against All Tzvetan Todorov 33

Strategies for Survival Anne Applebaum 39

The Perils of Obedience Stanley Milgram 46

The Moral Insight Josiah Royce 56

Billy Budd Herman Melville 59

Beyond Good and Evil Friedrich Nietzsche 67

Chapter 2 Is It All Relative? 76

Morality As Custom Herodotus 78

A Defense of Moral Relativism Ruth Benedict 79

A Defense of Cultural Relativism William Graham Sumner 85

Cultural Relativism and Universal Rights Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban 90

Uganda's Women: Children, Drudgery, and Pain Jane Perlez 94

An Alternative to Moral Relativism Lawrence Adam Lengbeyer 98

Who's to Judge? Louis Pojman 103

The Objective Basis of Morality Thomas Nagel 113

The Deep Beauty of the Golden Rule R. M. MacIver 117

I Have a Dream Martin Luther King, Jr. 121

The United Nations Charter: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 124

Chapter 3 Morality and Self-Interest 130

The Ring of Gyges Plato 132

Of the State of Men without Civil Society Thomas Hobbes 135

Of Self-Love David Hume 141

The Unselfishness Trap Harry Browne 146

Egoism and Moral Skepticism James Rachels 151

The Virtue of Selfishness Ayn Rand 160

Egoism, Self-Interest, and Altruism Louis Pojman 163

Why Not Be a Bad Person? Colin McGinn 167

Why Act Morally? Peter Singer 176

Chapter 4 Moral Doctrines and Moral Theories 182

The Judeo-Christian Tradition 184

Morality Is Based on God's Commands Robert C. Mortimer 196

WhyMorality Does Not Depend on Religion John Arthur 200

Of Benevolence David Hume 207

Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill 211

A Critique of Utilitarianism Bernard Williams 216

The Experience Machine Robert Nozick 222

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas Ursula K. Le Guin 225

Good Will, Duty, and the Categorical Imperative Immanuel Kant 230

The Holocaust and Moral Philosophy Fred Sommers 239

A Critique of Kantianism Richard Taylor 244

Chapter 5 Virtue 250

Happiness and the Virtues Aristotle 252

Virtue and the Human Soul Saint Augustine 264

The Art of Living Epictetus 267

The World of Epictetus James Stockdale 271

Virtue or Duty? Bernard Mayo 282

Tradition and the Virtues Alasdair MacIntyre 286

The Ethics of Virtue James Rachels 295

Of Justice and Beneficence Adam Smith 309

The Origin of the Moral Sense Charles Darwin 316

The Parable of the Sadhu Bowen McCoy 320

Chapter 6 Vice 329

Vice Plutarch 331

The Depths of Vice Saint Augustine 333

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Jonathan Edwards 337

The Hypocrites Dante Alighieri 339

Self-Deception Samuel Johnson 343

Upon Self-Deceit Joseph Butler 346

Jealousy, Envy, and Spite Immanuel Kant 351

How Much Land Does a Man Need? A Parable on Greed Leo Tolstoy 357

Chapter 7 Morality and Social Policy 368

Famine, Affluence, and Morality Peter Singer 370

World Hunger and Moral Obligation: The Case against Singer John Arthur 377

"For Heaven's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!" James Shikwati 383

An Almost Absolute Value in History John T. Noonan, Jr. 386

On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion Mary Anne Warren 392

A Defense of Abortion Judith Jarvis Thomson 400

Why Abortion Is Immoral Don Marquis 414

On Duties to Animals Immanuel Kant 419

A Moral Defense of Vegetarianism James Rachels 421

Down on the Factory Farm Peter Singer 427

An Animal's Place Michael Pollan 435

Case Against Animal Rights Roger Scruton 447

The Case for Affirmative Action Barbara Bergman 452

What Is Wrong with Affirmative Action? Shelby Steele 461

Chapter 8 The Meaning of Life 468

Substance, Shadow, and Spirit T'ao Ch'ien 470

The Bhagavad Gita 472

My Confession Leo Tolstoy 481

A Free Man's Worship Bertrand Russell 489

The Myth of Sisyphus Albert Camus 495

The Meaning of Life Thomas Nagel 499

Existentialism Is Humanism Jean-Paul Sartre 502

Absurd Self-Fulfillment Joel Feinberg 509

The Human Search for Meaning Victor Frankl 512

The Book of Job 518