A Practical Companion to Ethics / Edition 4

by Anthony Weston

Overview

A Practical Companion to Ethics, Fourth Edition, is a concise and accessible introduction to the basic attitudes and skills that make ethics work, like thinking for oneself, creative and integrative problem-solving, and keeping an open mind. This unique volume illuminates the broad kinds of practical intelligence required in moral judgment, complementing the narrower theoretical considerations that often dominate ethics courses. The optimistic tone and brisk pace of the narrative provide an entertaining and intelligent guide to "everyday" morality. The fourth edition features a new chapter (3) on ethical theories; significantly revised and expanded chapters (4 and 5) on conflicts of value and creative problem- solving in ethics; and a new concluding chapter (6) on "Making a Difference, " which explains how students can incorporate ethical thinking and practice into their daily lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199730582
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/16/2010
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Anthony Weston is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies at Elon University. He is the author of A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox, Fourth Edition (OUP, 2017), Mobilizing the Green Imagination: An Exuberant Manifesto (2012), and dozens of other books and articles.

Table of Contents

Preface

CHAPTER 1. Who Needs Ethics?
Flying by Instinct
Dogmatists and Rationalizers
Ethics and Diversity
For Practice

CHAPTER 2. Thinking for Yourself
Beyond Moral Rules
Beyond the Law
Beyond Commandments
For Practice

CHAPTER 3. An Eye for Moral Values
Families of Moral Values
Using the Families of Moral Values
Ethical Theories
For Practice

CHAPTER 4. When Values Clash
Right versus Right
Balancing and Integrating Values
Moral Vision
For Practice

CHAPTER 5. Creative Problem-Solving in Ethics 6
Creativity's Promise in Ethics
How to Expand Possibilities
Reframing Ethical Problems
For Practice

CHAPTER 6. Making a Difference
Changing Our Lives
Changing the World
Changing Ethics
For Practice

Eight Tips for Effective Writing in Ethics
Notes and Sources
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Challenging, motivating, inspiring, and above all beautifully written, this gem of a book encourages readers to take a mindfulness approach to ethics. This thoroughly readable book will pull your students out of the clutter of a hyper-mediated world and drop them into a world where the things that really matter are open-ended dialogue and transformative thinking."—Karen Scialabba, Marist College

"A Practical Companion to Ethics is remarkable in many ways. It is a very practical guide to implementing ethical thinking, as contrasted with many introductory texts. The text fills an obvious niche uniquely and very well."—Alistair Moles, Sierra College

From the Publisher