Offering students an accessible, in-depth, and highly practical introduction to ethics, this text covers argumentation and moral reasoning, various types of moral arguments, and theoretical issues that commonly arise in introductory ethics courses, including skepticism, subjectivism,relativism, religion, and normative theories. The book combines primary sources in moral theory and applied ethics with explanatory material, case studies, and pedagogical features to help students think critically about moral issues.
Moral diversity is a fundamental reality of today’s world, but moral theorists have difficulty responding to it. Some take it as evidence for skepticism – the view that there are no moral truths. Others, associating moral reasoning with the search for overarching principles and unifying values, see it as the result of error. In the former case, moral reasoning is useless, since values express individual preferences; in the latter, our reasoning process is dramatically at odds with our lived experience. Moral Reasoning in a Pluralistic World takes a different approach, proposing an alternative way of thinking about moral reasoning and progress by showing how diversity and disagreement are compatible with theorizing and justification. Patricia Marino demonstrates that, instead of being evidence for skepticism and error, moral disagreements often arise because we value things pluralistically. This means that although people share multiple values such as fairness, honesty, loyalty, and benevolence, we interpret and prioritize those values in various ways. Given this pluralistic evaluation process, preferences for unified single-principle theories are not justified. Focusing on finding moral compromises, prioritizing conflicting values, and judging consistently from one case to another, Marino elaborates her ideas in terms of real-life dilemmas, arguing that the moral complexity and conflict we so often encounter can be part of fruitful and logical moral reflection. Aiming to draw new connections and bridge the gap between theoretical ethics and applied ethics, Moral Reasoning in a Pluralistic World offers a sophisticated set of philosophical arguments on moral reasoning and pluralism with real world applications.
This is the first book to address moral reasoning and socioscientific discourse. It provides a theoretical framework to reconsider what a "functional view" of scientific literacy entails, by examining how nature of science issues, classroom discourse issues, cultural issues, and science-technology-society-environment case-based issues contribute to habits of mind about socioscientific content. The text covers philosophical, psychological and pedagogical considerations underpinning moral reasoning, as well as the status of socioscientific issues in science education.
Studies on human thinking have focused on how humans solve a problem and have discussed how human thinking can be rational. A juxtaposition between psychology and sociology allows for a unique perspective of the influence on human thought and morality on society. Adapting Human Thinking and Moral Reasoning in Contemporary Society is an in-depth critical resource that provides comprehensive research on thinking and morality and its influence on societal norms as well as how people adapt themselves to the novel circumstances and phenomena that characterize the contemporary world, including low birthrate, the reduction of violence, and globalization. Furthermore, cultural differences are considered with research targeted towards problems specific to a culture. Featuring a wide range of topics such as logic education, cognition, and knowledge management systems, this book is ideal for academicians, sociologists, researchers, social scientists, psychologists, and students.
Although Lawrence Kohlberg provided major ideas for psychological research in morality for decades, today some critics regard his work as outmoded, beyond repair, and too faulty for anybody to take seriously. These critics suggest that research would advance more profitably by taking a different approach. Postconventional Moral Thinking acknowledges particular philosophical and psychological problems with Kohlberg's theory and methodology, and proposes a reformulation called "Neo-Kohlbergian." Hundreds of researchers have reported a large body of findings after having employed Kohlberg's theory and methods to the Defining Issues Test (DIT), therefore attesting to the relevance of his ideas. This book provides a coherent theoretical overview for hundreds of studies that have used the DIT. The authors propose reformulations in the underlying psychological and philosophical theories. This book pulls together the analysis of criticisms of a Kohlbergian approach, a rationale for DIT research, and new theoretical ideas and new research.
Develops and defends a version of a desire-based, internalist account of what normative reasons are, and counters it with an internalist defense of universal moral reason built on Kant's formula of humanity.
Rather than measure the actions of their subjects by reference to either universal rationality or cultural relativism, contributors in this volume describe ordinary people as they value human relationships and reason through the commonplace contradictions of their local way of life in a global age.
This volume brings together philosophical perspectives on emotions, imagination, and moral reasoning with contributions from neuroscience, cognition, social psychology, developmental psychology, and abnormal psychology. It discusses the implications for philosophy from experimental work in the cognitive sciences and neurosciences, and shows what cognitive scientists and neuroscientists can learn from philosophical perspectives.
What Does the Bible Teach about How to Live in Today's World? How should Christians live when the surrounding culture is increasingly hostile to Christian moral values? Granted, the Bible is our guide—but how can we know if we are interpreting it rightly with regard to ethical questions about wealth and poverty, marriage and divorce, birth control, abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, ethical business practices, environmental stewardship, and dozens of other issues? And on a very practical level, how can we know God's will in the ordinary decisions of life? To address questions like these, Wayne Grudem, author of the bestselling book Systematic Theology, draws on 40 years of teaching classes in ethics to write this wide-ranging introduction to biblical moral reasoning, organized according to the structure of the Ten Commandments. He issues a challenging call for Christians to live lives of personal holiness and offers a vision of the Christian life that is full of joy and blessing through living each day in a way that is pleasing to God. Written by Wayne Grudem: Bestselling author of Systematic Theology and the What the Bible Says About series Biblical and Applicable: Teaches readers how to protect 7 central tenets of God's law: God's honor, human authority, life, marriage, property, truth, and purity of heart Accessible: An ideal textbook for Christian college and seminary ethics classes, with straightforward language and a bibliography for the topic at the end of each chapter Replaces ISBN 978-1-4335-4965-6
