Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Good Life, The: Options in Ethics

Intended for use in the introduction to ethics course, The Good Life: Options in Ethics, Fifth Edition is designed to engage today's practical-minded student in more fundamental questions. The book ranges from ideals in living (the good) to contemporary moral problems (the right), exploring and analyzing both areas in order to stimulate deeper reflection. The first section of the book clears away the obstacles to pursuing ethical understanding - relativism, determinism, and egoism. Then traditional definitions of the good life are discussed, theories such as hedonism, self-realization, duty, evolutionism, religious ethics, and virtue ethic. The final section addresses today's social problems including abortion, euthanasia, animal welfare, capital punishment, and sexual morality. New to the Fifth Edition: Chapter 6, Following Nature, has been eliminated, and its contents have been integrated into appropriate chapters New section entitled Contemporary Moral Issues includes new chapters on: Contraception and Abortion Punishment and the Death Penalty Sexual Ethics The Natural Environment Racism and Sexism An Instructor's Manual and Test Bank now accompany the text Review "Much more than a standard text on normative theories, this book lends itself to a thorough introductory examination of the field of ethics. . . . In particular, the evaluation discussions are excellent, as they draw attention to problems in the theories and arguments in a way that aids in teaching students to craft arguments themselves. Too many students think it is sufficient to disagree. The evaluation sections help focus how to critically examine a theory."--Stevens F. Wandmacher, University of Michigan-Flint "The writing style of the text is, I think, appropriate for undergraduates as well as most graduate students. The style is clear, crisp, and avoids unnecessary and misleading verbiage. . . . [A] logically organized sequence of 'obstructions' to ethical theory by presenting the notions of egoism, determinism, and relativism early in the text."--Joseph F. Marino, Hofstra University About the Author Burton Porter received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and his Ph.D. from St. Andrews University, Scotland, with graduate study at Oxford University. He has taught at various institutions such as Russell Sage College and Drexel University, and has held positions as Department Chair and Dean of Arts and Sciences. At present, he is on the faculty at Western New England University in Springfield, MA, having served as Visiting Professor at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. He received the award of Outstanding Educator of America. In addition to The Good Life, Burton Porter is the author and/or editor of numerous books and articles including The Great Perhaps (Rowman and Littlefield), What the Tortoise Taught Us (Rowman and Littlefield), Philosophy Through Film (Sloan Publishing), The Head and the Heart (Humanities Books), The Voice of Reason (Oxford University Press), Philosophy Through Fiction and Film (Prentice Hall, Sloan Publications), Religion and Reason (St. Martin’s Press), Personal Philosophy (Harcourt Brace), Reasons for Living (Macmillan Publishing), Philosophy, A Literary and Conceptual Approach (Harcourt Brace), and Deity and Morality (Routledge, Allen and Unwin). In addition to his print publications, Dr. Porter has several books on-line at Kindle and Nook including The Moebius Strip, Black Swans and White Tigers, Lab' Rats, The Gadfly, and Forbidden Knowledge - Things We Should Not Know.