A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox

A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox offers a uniquely practical and hands-on introduction to ethics. Thoroughly optimistic, the book invites students to approach ethical issues with a reconstructive intent--to "break out of the box" in order to make room for more and better options than the rigid "pro" and "con" positions that have developed around tough problems like abortion and environmental ethics. In this book, ethics is treated not as an invitation to issue summary moral judgments or to construct and evaluate moral theories, but as an ongoing set of real-life challenges that call for multiple, integrated, and open-ended kinds of intelligence. Anthony Weston covers the skills that are vital to making real progress in ethics, including critical thinking, creative problem-solving, moral vision, mindful speech, and many more. Readers will find refreshing examples of real people and communities who have made progress in reframing and resolving ethical dilemmas by thinking and acting in constructive and innovative ways. Instructors can readily use the experiential and applied activities inspired by this "toolbox" of skills to design an interactive and collaborative ethics course, and students will find the resources and the encouragement to carry those skills into practice.
A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox addresses a broad spectrum of compelling ethical issues, including abortion, sexual choices, what and how we eat, crime and punishment, fair trade, environmental justice, and many others. Provocative selections from a wide range of philosophers, essayists, community activists, and students are interwoven with Weston's own discussions. The text is enhanced by an extensive "Exercises and Notes" section at the end of each chapter and a detailed appendix that offers instructors advice on how to use this book in the classroom.

New to the Second Edition:
* A reorganized structure that covers a wider range of topics, grouped into four parts: Getting Started; Moral Values; Ethical Practice; and Making a Difference
* A more diverse selection of sources that pays more attention to multicultural representation and religious ethics
* New and additional readings from moral philosophers, first-rate writers, community activists, and college students, including Alice Walker, Ursula LeGuin, Bertrand Russell, Kwasi Wiredu, Aldo Leopold, and many others
* A new chapter on "Mindful Speech" by Spoma Jovanovic, a leading figure in Communication Ethics
* An all-new Part IV on how to make a real ethical difference
* Ten review questions in each chapter that can also be used as test questions
* A second appendix, "Experiential Teaching in Ethics," by Sharon Hartline of Radford University

Anthony Weston, Professor of Philosophy, Elon University

Each chapter ends with "For Review" and "Exercises and Notes" sections.
Preface:
PART I. GETTING STARTED
1. Ethics as a Learning Experience
What Is Ethics?
Why Study Ethics?
Reading: Sarah Stillman, "Made by Us"
2. Ethics-Avoidance Disorders
Flying by Instinct
Offhand Self-Justification
Dogmatism
Relativism
3. Ethics and Religion
An Approach to Religious Ethics
Let the Stories Be Stories!
Thinking for Yourself
4. Ethical Talk: Ground Rules
How to Have a Fruitless Debate
How to Have a Useful Discussion
Reading: Mary Jacksteit and Adrienne Kaufmann, The Common Ground Network for Life and Choice, "Common Ground Rules"
5. Service and Service-Learning
Calls to Service
Visits to a Homeless Shelter
Reading: Danusha Veronica Goska, "Living Ideals"
Reading: Courtney Martin, "The Ethics of Transformation"
PART II. MORAL VALUES
6. Taking Values Seriously
Varieties of Values
Attending to Values
Readings for Analysis:
Alice Walker, "Am I Blue?"
Ted Kerasote, from Bloodties
7. The Ethics of the Person
Persons Face-to-Face
Reading: Emmanuel Levinas, "Ethics and the Face"
Made in the Image of God
Reading: Pope John Paul II, from "Evangelium Vitae"
Kant's Categorical Imperative
Reading: Immanuel Kant, from Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals
Rights, Equality, Justice
8. The Ethics of Happiness
Hedonism
Reading: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, from Flow
Utilitarianism
Reading: J. S. Mill, from Utilitarianism
Reading: Bertrand Russell, from "The Harm that Good Men Do"
Can Utility Be the Single Measure of Values?
9. The Ethics of Virtue
An Abundance of Virtues
A Greek View of Virtue
Reading: Aristotle, from Nicomachean Ethics
Chinese Views of Virtue
Reading: Lao Tzu, from the Tao Te Ching
Cultivating Virtue
Reading: John Sullivan, from Living Large
10. The Ethics of Relationships
Care Ethics
Reading: Nel Noddings, from Caring
Ethics and Community
Reading: Kwasi Wiredu, from "The Moral Foundations of an African Culture"
The Expanding Circle
Reading: Aldo Leopold, from "The Land Ethic"
PART III. ETHICAL PRACTICE
11. Critical Thinking
Facts and Sources
Inferences
Definitions
Quick Reference: Critical Thinking Basics:
12. Judging Like Cases Alike
Consistency Is a Challenge
How to Restore Consistency
Invented Cases
Reading: Colin McGinn, "Speciesism"
Quick Reference: Judging Like Cases Alike:
13. Mindful Speech, by Spoma Jovanovic
Words Matter!
Deepening Ethical Dialogue
Reading: Spoma Jovanovic and Roy V. Wood, from "Speaking from the Bedrock of Ethics"
Quick Reference: Basics of Mindful Speech:
14. When Values Clash
Both Sides Could Be Right
Integrating Values
Big Decisions
Reading: Roger Rosenblatt, "How to End the Abortion War"
Quick Reference: When Values Clash:
15. Creative Problem-Solving
The Need for Inventiveness in Ethics
Creative Exploration
Creative Provocations
Quick Reference: Creative Problem-Solving in Ethics:
16. Reframing Problems
Opening Up a Problem
Reading: Fran Peavey, "Strategic Questioning"
Three Methods
Reframing the Abortion Debate
Quick Reference: Ways to Reframe Problems:
17. Moral Vision
Working from a Vision
Environmental Visions?
Reading for Analysis: Ursula K. Le Guin, "May's Lion"
Quick Reference: Working from a Vision:
PART IV. MAKING A DIFFERENCE
18. You Can Change Your Life
Self-Possession
Sexual Choices
Reading: Keith Clark, from Being Sexual . . . and Celibate
Reading: Carol Queen, from Real Live Nude Girl
Eating
19. You Can Change the World
The Power of One
Becoming a Change-Maker
Reading: Paxus Calta-Star, "Not Deterred"
Reading: Ian Frazier, from On the Rez
Reading: Vern Huffman, "Stories from the Cha Cha Cha"
Reading: Fran Peavey, "Questioning the Media's View of Women"
This Means You!
20. Making Change Together
Communities Making Change
Joining a Change-Making Community
Reading: Martin Fowler, "The Restorative Justice Movement"
Reading: Luke Cole and Sheila Foster, "The Environmental Justice Movement"
Notes for Teachers: The Toolbox in the Classroom
Experiential Teaching in Ethics, by Sharon Hartline
Index: