The Moral Domain: Guided Readings in Philosophical and Literary Texts - Softcover

Lillegard, Norman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195148088 ISBN 13: 9780195148084

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2009

Synopsis

This engaging, interactive and pedagogical introduction to ethics combines the best features of a textbook and an anthology. The Moral Domain: Guided Readings in Philosophical and Literary Texts contains numerous readings from key philosophical writings in ethics along with captivating literary selections that bring the ethical issues to life. Offering extensive excerpts from major figures in the history of Western ethics--Aquinas, Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Mill and Plato--the book also integrates work from non-Western perspectives, including selections from the Bhagavad Gita, Confucian views and Hsun-Tzu. It also represents women's voices with readings by Julia Annas, Sarah Broadie, Carol Gilligan, Martha Nussbaum and others. Literary selections--including work from the Bible, Camus, Dostoevsky, Golding, Sophocles, Tolstoy, Twain and Wharton--enable students to grasp deep ethical concepts at an intuitive level.

The Moral Domain features a unique built-in study guide that helps students to better comprehend and interact with the material. It introduces each selection with orienting questions and then intersperses explanations, commentary and study questions (designed to test comprehension and provoke reflection) throughout the readings. Each chapter includes a "Further Discussion and Applications" section that demonstrates how ethical theory affects such contemporary moral debates and problems as abortion, euthanasia, feminism, hunger, warfare and more. An exemplary text for introduction to ethics and moral philosophy courses, The Moral Domain provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to all facets of ethics; its foundations, history, debates and current real-life controversies.

About this title

About the Author:

Norman Lillegard is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Review:

"The Moral Domain stands out from most [texts] in its rich, enticing and lively textual explication. By organizing the chapters along themes, Lillegard allows the reader to span the chronology, to watch an ethical concern or claim develop from some early attempt by an ancient scholar to be revised in the medieval period and criticized and applied by more contemporary scholars. The relevant content is very well explained and backed up by a solid selection of seminal readings, occasionally supported by literary or biblical texts. Students really appreciate literary pieces, which bring the philosophical concerns alive."--Christina M. Bellon, California State University, Sacramento

"The selection of interspersed works of literature gives students the opportunity to see the issues in terms of compelling stories that both capture their interest and provoke them to think. The literature makes the ideas 'real' for them. I think the questions interspersed with the text are particularly well done, getting at important points, being provocative of thought, and aimed adeptly at the students' interests."--Glen A. Mazis, Penn State Harrisburg

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0195148088
• ISBN 13: 9780195148084
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 322