The Moral Life An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature

Ideal for introductory ethics courses, The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature, Sixth Edition, brings together an extensive and varied collection of eighty-eight classical and contemporary readings on ethical theory and practice. Integrating literature with philosophy in an innovative way, this unique anthology uses literary works to enliven and make concrete the ethical theory or applied issues addressed. The readings are enhanced by chapter introductions, study questions, suggestions for further reading, and biographical sketches. The sixth edition adds thirteen new readings, three of which appear in a new chapter, "War and Terrorism."

The late Louis P. Pojman was Professor of Philosophy at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Lewis Vaughn is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including Living Philosophy, Second Edition (OUP, 2017), Bioethics, Third Edition (OUP, 2016), and Philosophy Here and Now, Second Edition (OUP, 2015).

*=New to this Edition
Each chapter ends with Further Readings.
Preface
Introduction: On the Nature of Morality
PART I. THE NATURE OF MORALITY: GOOD AND EVIL
1. What Is the Purpose of Morality?
William Golding, Lord of the Flies: A Moral Allegory
Louis P. Pojman, On the Nature and Purpose of Morality: Reflections on William Golding's Lord of the Flies
Thomas Hobbes, On the State of Nature
2. Good and Evil
Herman Melville, Billy Budd
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Why Is There Evil?
William Styron, Sophie's Choice
Philip Hallie, From Cruelty to Goodness
* Philippa Foot, Natural Goodness
Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
Richard Taylor, On the Origin of Good and Evil
3. Is Everything Relative?
Herodotus, Custom Is King
Ruth Benedict, The Case for Moral Relativism
* David Enoch, Why I Am an Objectivist about Ethics (And Why You Are, Too)
James Rachels, Why Morality Is Not Relative
Jean Bethke Elshtain, Judge Not?
Mary Midgley, Trying Out One's New Sword
Henrick Ibsen, The Enemy of the People
PART II. MORAL THEORIES AND MORAL CHARACTER
4. Utilitarianism
Seaman Holmes and the Longboat of William Brown, Reported by John William Wallace
Jeremy Bentham, Classical Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism Refined
Kai Nielsen, A Defense of Utilitarianism
Bernard Williams, Against Utilitarianism
Ursula Le Guin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
5. Deontological Ethics
Immanuel Kant, The Moral Law
William K. Frankena, Kant's Theory
W. D. Ross, Intuitionism
Ambrose Bierce, A Horseman in the Sky
Charles Fried, The Evil of Lying
Plato, Does Morality Depend on Religion?
James Rachels, The Divine Command Theory
Thomas Nagel, Moral Luck
Carl Dennis, New Year's Eve
6. Virtue Ethics
Aristotle, Virtue Ethics
Alasdair MacIntyre, The Virtues
* Susan Wolf, Moral Saints
Bernard Mayo, Virtue and the Moral Life
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Great Stone Face
William K. Frankena, A Critique of Virtue-Based Ethical Systems
Jesus of Nazareth, The Sermon on the Mount; The Good Samaritan
Leo Tolstoy, How Much Land Does a Man Need? Greed
Immanuel Kant, Jealousy, Malice, and Ingratitude
Epictetus and Others, The Stoic Catechism
Vice Admiral James Stockdale, The World of Epictetus: Courage and Endurance
7. Feminist Ethics and the Ethics of Care
Alison M. Jaggar, Feminist Ethics
Jan Crosthwaite, Gender and Bioethics
Annette C. Baier, The Need for More than Justice
Virginia Held, The Ethics of Care
PART III. MORAL ISSUES
8. Ethics and Egoism: Why Should We Be Moral?
Plato, The Ring of Gyges
Ayn Rand, In Defense of Ethical Egoism
Louis P. Pojman, Egoism and Altruism: A Critique of Ayn Rand
James Rachels, A Critique of Ethical Egoism
9. Does Life Have Meaning?
Voltaire, The Good Brahmin
Epicurus, Hedonism
Albert Camus, Life Is Absurd
Viktor Frankl, The Human Search for Meaning: Reflections on Auschwitz
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, The Four Noble Truths
Bertrand Russell, Reflections on Suffering
* Richard Taylor, The Meaning of Life
PART IV. APPLIED ETHICS: MORAL PROBLEMS
10. Sex, Love, and Marriage
Immanuel Kant, On the Place of Sex in Human Existence
John McMurtry, Monogamy: A Critique
Michael D. Bayles, Marriage, Love, and Procreation: A Critique of McMurtry
Bonnie Steinbock, What's Wrong with Adultery?
Michael Levin, Why Homosexuality Is Abnormal
John Corvino, A Defense of Homosexuality
* Maggie Gallagher, What Marriage Is For: Children Need Mothers and Fathers
* Jonathan Rauch, For Better or Worse?
11. Is Abortion Morally Permissible?
Don Marquis, Why Abortion Is Immoral
Judith Jarvis Thomson, A Defense of Abortion
Mary Anne Warren, Abortion Is Morally Permissible
Susan Sherwin, Abortion Through a Feminist Ethics Lens
12. The Morality of Euthanasia
Dan W. Brock, Voluntary Active Euthanasia
James Rachels, Active and Passive Euthanasia
* Bonnie Steinbock, The Intentional Termination of Life
* 13. War and Terrorism
* Jan Narveson, Pacifism: A Philosophical Analysis
* Haig Khatchadourian, The Morality of Terrorism
* Andrew Valls, Can Terrorism Be Justified?
14. Our Duties to Animals
George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant
Peter Singer, Animal Liberation: All Animals Are Equal
Carl Cohen, The Case Against Animal Rights
* Tristam McPherson, How to Argue for (and Against) Ethical Veganism
* Joel Salatin, Animal Welfare
15. Our Duties to the Environment
Robert Heilbroner, What Has Posterity Ever Done for Me?
Garrett Hardin, The Tragedy of the Commons
William F. Baxter, People or Penguins: The Case for Optimal Pollution
16. Global Economic Justice
Garrett Hardin, Living on a Lifeboat
William W. Murdoch and Allan Oaten, A Critique of Lifeboat Ethics
Peter Singer, Famine, Affluence, and Morality
* Travis Timmerman, A Reply to Singer
Appendix: How to Read and Write a Philosophy Paper
Index