E-Book Overview
Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics features pairs of newly commissioned essays by some of the leading theorists working in the field today. Brings together fresh debates on eleven of the most controversial issues in applied ethics Topics addressed include abortion, affirmative action, animals, capital punishment, cloning, euthanasia, immigration, pornography, privacy in civil society, values in nature, and world hunger. Lively debate format sharply defines the issues, and paves the way for further discussion. Will serve as an accessible introduction to the major topics in applied ethics, whilst also capturing the imagination of professional philosophers.
E-Book Content
Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics Contemporary Debates in Philosophy In teaching and research, philosophy makes progress through argumentation and debate. Contemporary Debates in Philosophy presents a forum for students and their teachers to follow and participate in the debates that animate philosophy today in the western world. Each volume presents pairs of opposing viewpoints on contested themes and topics in the central subfields of philosophy. Each volume is edited and introduced by an expert in the field, and also includes an index, bibliography, and suggestions for further reading. The opposing essays, commissioned especially for the volumes in the series, are thorough but accessible presentations of opposing points of view. 1. Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion edited by Michael L. Peterson and Raymond J. VanArragon 2. Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Science edited by Christopher Hitchcock 3. Applied Ethics edited by Andrew I. Cohen and Christopher Heath Wellman 4. Epistemology edited by Matthias Steup and David Sosa Forthcoming Contemporary Debates are in: Aesthetics edited by Matthew Kieran Cognitive Science edited by Robert Stainton Metaphysics edited by Ted Sider, Dean Zimmerman, and John Hawthorne Moral Theory edited by James Dreier Philosophy of Mind edited by Brian McLaughlin and Jonathan Cohen Social Philosophy edited by Laurence Thomas CONTEMPORARY DEBATES IN APPLIED ETHICS Edited by Andrew I. Cohen and Christopher Heath Wellman © 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Andrew I. Cohen and Christopher Heath Wellman to be identified as the Authors of the Editorial Material in this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Contemporary debates in applied ethics / edited by Andrew I. Cohen and Christopher Heath Wellman. p. cm. — (Contemporary debates in philosophy; 4) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-4051-1547-5 (alk. paper) — ISBN 1-4051-1548-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Applied ethics. I. Cohen, Andrew I. II. Wellman, Christopher Heath. III. Series. BJ1031.C597 2005 170 — dc22 2004016921 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Set in 10/121/2 pt Rotis serif by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall The publisher’s policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publis