Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues 9th Edition

Book Preface

This ninth edition of Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues contains a substantial revision of the text and extensive update of the empirical material contained in the chapters focused on contemporary issues. Andrew Fiala joined as coauthor on the eighth edition. In the ninth edition, we have included new learning apparatus, especially tables that outline possible moral positions with regard to the issues considered. As in past editions, each chapter begins with a detailed, accessible introduction that prepares the student to read accompanying selections from important and influential philosophers. The book remains a comprehensive introduction to ethics in theory and practice. It alsocontinues to emphasize pedagogy through clear summaries, engaging examples, andvarious study tools—such as review exercises and discussion cases. Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives, and the book ends with an extensive glossary of key terms.

ADDITIONS AND CHANGES

Although the basic elements remain the same, this new ninth edition includes the following additions and changes from the eighth edition. Each chapter in Part I has been revised to focus on readability. All introductory and empirical material in each chapter in Part II has been updated to incorporate the latest information about contemporary issues and current affairs. These updates include recent statistics, relevant cases, and contemporary examples This edition offers expanded and continued coverage of the following topics: global (non-Western) philosophy and religion, the prisoner’s dilemma and the tragedy of the commons, social justice and economic inequality, mass incarceration and decarceration, restorative justice, environmental justice, biotechnology and bioengineering, gene editing, vegetarianism and the ethics of hunting, circuses, race and racism, pacifism, gay marriage, global poverty, LGBT and transgender issues, Black Lives Matter, Syrian refugees, the precautionary principle, and climate change. This edition includes some familiar readings from previous editions and some new additions. In some cases, older readings have been shortened to make room for new readings and short excerpts by a more diverse set of authors, including some emerging voices. New readings include: John Lachs on relativism, Hilde Lindemann on feminism, a new essay on abortion by Bertha Alvarez Manninen, U.S. Supreme Court Obergefell Decision, Naomi Zack on Black Lives Matter, Iris Marion Young’s “Five Faces of Oppression,” Pope Francis and Ayn Rand on economic issues, Michelle Alexander on the New Jim Crow, Tom Regan on animal rights, the Transhumanist declaration, Andrew Fitz-Gibbon on peace, and Garret Hardin on global poverty.