Questioning Ethics

This major discussion takes a look at some of the most important ethical issues confronting us today by some of the world’s leading thinkers. Including essays from leading thinkers, such as Jurgen Habermas, Alasdair MacIntyre, Julia Kristeva and Paul Ricoeur, the book’s highlight – an interview with Jacques Derrida - presents the most accessible insight into his thinking on ethics and politics for many years. Exploring topics ranging from history, memory, revisionism, and the self and responsibility to democracy, multiculturalism, feminism and the future of politics, the essays are grouped into five thematic sections: * hermeneutics * deconstruction * critical theory * psychoanalysis * applied ethics. Each section considers the challenges posed by ethics and how critical thinking has transformed philosophy today. Questioning Ethics affords an unsurpassed overview of the state of ethical thinking today by some of the world’s foremost philosophers.

Morality and ethics are at the heart of business practice, but the concepts themselves are usually assumed, rather than investigated. The chapters in this book refuse such easy answers, and force the reader to confront their own assumptions about ethics, provoking conclusions that are both disturbing and exciting. Martin Parker, University of Leicester, UK This timely book provides a collection of critical explorations and discussions of managerial ethics and their moral foundations. It is concerned with theoretical, conceptual and practical matters, and thus provides an open and broad approach to a very dense field of enquiry. Ethics and Organizational Practice challenges established theory in management studies and, in particular, provides a post-foundational argument to conventional business ethics. The contributors cover topics from corporate social responsibility and individual morality to primatology, psychopathology and corruption. They provide a multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional exploration of managerial ethics and its moral foundation, presenting a critical understanding of the conditions of ethics in modern organizations. The book presents a philosophically informed critique of simplified notions of managerial and organizational ethics, making it an excellent resource for postgraduate students and scholars of business ethics, critical management, corporate social responsibility, international business and organizational psychology.

Perfect for your next dinner party discussion, The Little Book of Big Ethical Questions presents some of today’s most thought-provoking ethical questions in a welcoming, easy-to-discuss Q&A format, with guidance from a renowned ethicist. Often a single question can spark a meaningful exchange—like “Would you apply for a job you know your friend is applying for?” Or “Should voting be mandatory?” Or what about police using facial recognition technology? Questions like these spur us to consider: What would I have done? Is there one correct answer? And ultimately: How can ethics help us navigate these situations to find the best outcome for ourselves and others? An ethicist who advises leaders and organizations worldwide, Susan Liautaud asks intriguing questions that encourage lively discussion across a range of subjects, from family and friends to health and technology to politics, work, and consumer choices. She then walks through the ways you might approach each situation to find the best answer for you. Grab the book, gather a few friends, and dive in!

Asking Good Questions moves beyond a traditional discussion of ethical theory, focusing on how educators can use these important frameworks to facilitate critical thinking about real-life ethical dilemmas. In this way, authors Nancy Stanlick and Michael Strawser offer students a theoretical tool kit for creatively addressing issues that influence their own environments. This text begins with a discussion of key ethical theorists and then guides the reader through a series of original case studies and follow-up activities that facilitate critical thinking, emphasize asking thought provoking questions, and teach the student to address the complexity of ethical dilemmas while incorporating the viewpoints of their peers. Additionally, Stanlick and Strawser include an extensive preface, a mind-mapping technique for analyzing and formulating arguments, and a six step process for approaching complex real-life moral issues. Each chapter incorporates suggested assignments, discussion questions, and references for further reading, and a guide for instructors offering a sample course schedule and suggestions on how to use this book effectively is also available. This text is designed to help educators engage students in a meaningful discussion of how historical theories apply to their own lives, providing rich and unique resources to learn about these critical issues.

Perfect for dinner parties, dorm room conversations, discussions around the water cooler, and everything in-between, The Little Book of Big Ethical Questions presents some of our most thought-provoking ethical dilemmas in a welcoming, easy-to-discuss format. Does a child have the right to take away their elderly parent's car keys? Are you obligated to help your neighbor? Should police departments be allowed to use facial recognition technology? Should voting be mandatory? The best conversations are the ones that tackle the big, life-altering issues. Whether these conversations occur in dorm rooms, meetings, or around the dinner table, ethical quandaries make for compelling discussions. These questions allow us a moment to pause and consider: What would you have done? What's the context? Is there one correct answer? And ultimately--can ethics guide us to answer all these questions better? In The Little Book of Big Ethical Questions, Susan Liautaud, a renowned ethicist who consults clients worldwide from global corporations to NGOs, presents intriguing, useful questions in a clear, appealing way designed to encourage lively discussion. Liautaud explores how you might approach each dilemma, offering more context, so you have all the information you need to come to your own conclusion. Small enough to take with you on the go, The Little Book of Big Ethical Questions provides just what you need for thought-provoking, fun, engaging discussions to learn more about yourself, others, and the world we live in.

Debate in animal ethics needs reenergizing. To date, philosophers have focused on a relatively limited number of specific themes whilst leaving metaphilosophical issues that require urgent attention largely unexamined. This timely collection of essays brings together new theory and critical perspectives on key topics in animal ethics, foregrounding questions relating to moral status, moral epistemology and moral psychology. Is an individualistic approach based upon capacities the best way to ground the moral status of non-human animals or should philosophers pursue relational perspectives? What does it mean to “know” animals and “speak” for them? What is the role of emotions such as disgust, empathy, and love, in animal ethics and how does emotion inform the rationalism inherent in analytic animal ethics theory? The collection aims to broaden the scope of animal ethics, rendering it more inclusive of important contemporary philosophical themes and pushing the discipline in new directions.

An investigation into the assignment of moral responsibilities and rights to intelligent and autonomous machines of our own making. One of the enduring concerns of moral philosophy is deciding who or what is deserving of ethical consideration. Much recent attention has been devoted to the "animal question"—consideration of the moral status of nonhuman animals. In this book, David Gunkel takes up the "machine question": whether and to what extent intelligent and autonomous machines of our own making can be considered to have legitimate moral responsibilities and any legitimate claim to moral consideration. The machine question poses a fundamental challenge to moral thinking, questioning the traditional philosophical conceptualization of technology as a tool or instrument to be used by human agents. Gunkel begins by addressing the question of machine moral agency: whether a machine might be considered a legitimate moral agent that could be held responsible for decisions and actions. He then approaches the machine question from the other side, considering whether a machine might be a moral patient due legitimate moral consideration. Finally, Gunkel considers some recent innovations in moral philosophy and critical theory that complicate the machine question, deconstructing the binary agent–patient opposition itself. Technological advances may prompt us to wonder if the science fiction of computers and robots whose actions affect their human companions (think of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey) could become science fact. Gunkel's argument promises to influence future considerations of ethics, ourselves, and the other entities who inhabit this world.

This new introduction to ethics is written for students who are approaching philosophy for the first time.

"New foreword by Rhian Evans Allvin"--Cover.