The Moral of the Story, offers a remarkably effective approach that helps students understand and evaluate moral issues. Through storytelling and story analysis, using examples from fiction and film, Rosenstand brings classical moral theories to life and shows student how these theories are applied to the world around them. The sixth edition of this text with readings has been thoroughly updated to include coverage of and examples from recent research, events, and films. It also expands the applied ethics chapter to include the additional topics of media bias, abortion, euthanasia, business ethics, and environmental ethics, in particular the issue of global warming.

Table of Contents

PART I: The Story as a Tool of Ethics Chapter 1: Thinking About Values The Best of Times, the Worst of Times? Good and Evil Is Morality Hardwired? Values, Morals and Ethics Debating Moral Issues: The Role of Religion, the Law, Logic, Emotions, and Story-Telling Martha Nussbaum: Stories, Ethics, and Emotions Primary Reading: Martha Nussbaum, Love's Knowledge Primary Reading: Philip Zimbardo, The Lucifer Effect Narrative: Smoke Signals Narrative: Big Fish Narrative: East of Eden Chapter 2: Learning Moral Lessons from Stories Didactic Stories The New Interest in Stories Across the Professions The Value of Stories in World Cultures Stories of Values Across the Ages Primary Reading: Plato, The Republic Primary Reading: Aristotle, Poetics Primary Reading: Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose Primary Reading: Raymond Chandler, The Simple Art of Murder Narrative: Medea Narrative: The Sorrows of Young Werther Narrative: The Education on Mingo Narrative: Pulp Fiction PART II: What Should I Do? Theories of Conduct Chapter 3: Ethical Relativism How to Deal with Moral Differences The Lessons of Anthropology Refuting Ethical Relativism James Rachels and Soft Universalism Ethical Relativism and Multiculturalism Primary Reading: Ruth Benedict, Anthropology and the Abnormal Primary Reading: Dwight Furrow, Of Cave Dwellers and Spirits" Primary Reading: John Steinbeck, Paradox and Dream Narrative: The Poisonwood Bible Narrative: Possessing the Secret of Joy Narrative: Do the Right Thing Chapter 4: Myself or Others? Psychological Egoism: From Virginia Tech to 9/11 Psychological Egoism: From Glaucon to Hobbes Shortcomings to Psychological Egoism Ethical Egoism and Its Critics Being Selfless: Levinas's Ideal Altruism vs. Singer's Reciprocal Altruism Selfish Genes, or Fellow-Feeling? Dawkins, Midgley, Hume and de Waal Primary Reading: Plato, The Republic Primary Reading: Erik Katz, The Rings of Tolkien and Plato Primary Reading: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan Primary Reading: Ayn Rand, The Ethics of Emergencies Primary Reading: Frans de Waal, Primates and Philosophers Narrative: Friends episode: "The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS" Narrative: Return to Paradise Narrative: Atlas Shrugged Narrative: The Lord of the Rings Chapter 5: Using Your Reason, Part 1: Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham and the Hedonistic Calculus Advantages and Problems of Sheer Numbers: From Animal Welfare to the Question of Torture John Stuart Mill: Higher and Lower Pleasures Mill's Harm Principle Act and Rule Utilitarianism Primary Reading: Jeremy Bentham, Of the Principle of Utility Primary Reading: John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism Primary Reading: Peter Singer, A Convenient Truth Narrative: The Blacksmith and the Baker Narrative: The Brothers Karamazov Narrative: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas Narrative: Extreme Measures Narrative: Runaway Jury Chapter 6: Using Your Reason, Part 2: Kant's Deontology Consequences Don't Count - Having a Good Will Does The Categorical Imperative Rational Beings Are Ends in Themselves Beings Who Are Things The Kingdom of Ends Primary Reading: Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals Primary Reading: Immanuel Kant, The Metaphysics of Morals Narrative: High Noon Narrative: 3:10 to Yuma Narrative: Match Point Chapter 7: Personhood, Rights, and Justice What Is a Human Being? The Expansion of the Concept "Human" Personhood: The Key to Rights Science and Moral Responsibility: Genetic Engineering, Stem Cell Research, and Cloning Questions of Rights and Equality Distributive Justice: From Rawls to Affirmative Action Forward- and Backward-Looking Justice and Affirmative Action Criminal Justice: Restorative Versus Retributive Justice Primary Reading: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Rights Primary Reading: John Rawls, Justice as Fairness Primary Reading: Martin Luther King, Jr., A Letter from a Birmingham Jail Primary Reading: John Bertreaux, Two Texts on Discrimination Primary Reading: Diane Whitely, The Victim and the Justification of Punishment Narrative: The Island Narrative: Gattaca Narrative: Mississippi Burning Narrative: Hotel Rwanda Narrative: Minority Report PART III: How Should I Be? Theories of Virtue Chapter 8: Virtue Ethics from Tribal Philosophy to Socrates and Plato What Is Virtue? What is Character? Non-Western Virtue Ethics: Africa and Indigenous America Virtue Ethics in the West The Good Teacher: Socrates' Legacy, Plato's Works The Good Life The Virtuous Person: The Tripartite Soul Plato's Theory of Forms Plato's Influence on Christianity Primary Reading: Plato, The Republic Primary Reading: Plato, Apology Narrative: A Man for All Seasons Narrative: The Myth of the Cave Narrative: The Truman Show Narrative: Shrek Chapter 9: Aristotle's Virtue Theory: Everything in Moderation Empirical Knowledge and the Realm of the Senses Aristotle the Scientist Aristotle's Virtue Theory: Teleology and The Golden Mean Aristotle's Influence on Thomas Aquinas Some Objections to Greek Virtue Theory Primary Reading: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book II Primary Reading: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book III Narrative: The Flight of Icarus Narrative: Njal's Saga Narrative: Lord Jim Narrative: A Piece of Advice Narrative: As Good as it Gets Chapter 10: Contemporary Perspectives Ethics and the Morality of Virtue as Political Concepts Have Virtue, and Then Go Ahead: Mayo, Foot, and Sommers The Quest for Authenticity: Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, and Levinas Primary Reading: Soren Kierkegaard, Johannes Climacus Primary Reading: Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or Primary Reading: Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism Is a Humanism Primary Reading: The Paradox of Morality: An Interview with Emmanuel Levinas Narrative: No Exit Narrative: Good Will Hunting Narrative: The Searchers Chapter 11: Case Studies in Virtue Courage of the Physical and Moral Kind Compassion: From Hume to Huck Finn Gratitude: Asian Tradition and Western Modernity Virtue and Conduct: The Option of Soft Universalism Diversity, Politics and Common Ground? Primary Reading: John McCain, Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life Primary Reading: Philip Hallie, Tales of Good and Evil, Help and Harm Primary Reading: Lin Yutang, On Growing Old Gracefully Narrative: Band of Brothers, Third Episode, "Carentan" Narrative: The Life of Tom Horn Narrative: The Parable of the Good Samaritan Narrative: Schindler's List Narrative: Eat Drink Man Woman Narrative: Pay It Forward Chapter 12: Different Gender, Different Ethic? Feminism and Virtue Theory What Is Gender Equality? Women's Historical Role in the Public Sphere First-, Second-, and Third-Wave Feminism Classical, Difference and Radical Feminism Primary Reading: Harriet Taylor Mill, Enfranchisement of Women Primary Reading: Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex Primary Reading: Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice Narrative: A Doll's House Narrative: The Woman Destroyed Narrative: Mona Lisa Smile Chapter 13: Applied Ethics: A Sampler The Question of Abortion and Personhood Euthanasia as a Right to Choose? Media Ethics and Media Bias Business Ethics: The Rules of the Game Just War Theory Animal Welfare and Animal Rights Ethics of the Environment: Think Globally, Act Locally The Death Penalty The Ethics of Self-Improvement: Narrative Identity A Final Word Primary Reading: Andrew Belsey and Ruth Chadwick, Ethics as a Vehicle for Media Quality Primary Reading: Amber Levanon Seligson and Laurie Choi, Critical Elements of an Organizational Ethical Culture Primary Reading: Scott Gottlieb, How Safe Is Our Food? FDA Could Do Better Primary Reading: John Rawls, The Law of Peoples Primary Reading: Jan Narveson, Morality and Violence: War, Revolution, Terrorism Primary Reading: The Declaration on Great Apes Primary Reading: Lee Hall and Anthony Jon Waters, From Property to Person: The Case of Evelyn Hart Primary Reading: Ethics and the Environment Primary Reading: A.O. Scott, Warning of Calamities and Hoping for a Change in 'An Inconvenient Truth' Primary Reading: Michael Barone, Gore Twists Science, History Primary Reading: Tom Sorell, Two Ideals and the Death Penalty Primary Reading: Mark Fuhrman, Death and Justice: An Expose of Oklahoma's Death Row Machine Primary Reading: Tristine Rainer, Your Life as Story Narrative: 15 Minutes Narrative: The Insider Narrative: The Jigsaw Man Narrative: The Life of David Gale Bibliography Glossary Index