Moral Soundings: Readings on the Crisis of Values in Contemporary Life - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0742533700 ISBN 13: 9780742533707

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004

Synopsis

Moral Soundings takes a fresh new approach to introducing students and general readers to contemporary ethics. Rather than surveying the standard fare in a typical anthology format, Furrow collects diversified essays around a structured theme: does Western culture face a moral crisis of values? Prominent voices in the humanities and social sciences provide a range of perspectives on a concentrated set of ethical questions dealing with such topics as family values, the morality of capitalism, the benefits and dangers of new technologies, global conflict, and the role of religion. Unlike point/counterpoint books that often oversimplify the complexity of ethical questions, the readings in Moral Soundings provoke critical engagement and help students to recognize and emulate the logical development of arguments-all in engaging and easily accessible language. Readings are supplemented with helpful chapter introductions, study questions, and strategically placed editorial commentary to encourage further discussion and reflection. These features make Moral Soundings an ideal primary or supplementary text for undergraduate courses in ethics, contemporary moral issues, and social and political philosophy.

About this title

About the Author:

Dwight Furrow is assistant professor of philosophy at San Diego Mesa College.

Review:

While the readings in Moral Soundings raise specific issues about capitalism, family life, biotechnology, religion, and global conflict, the editor's introductions and 'interventions' relate the readings to different conceptions of autonomy and different evaluations of those conceptions. This unity-in-diversity format should work very well in the classroom. (James P. Sterba, professor, University of Notre Dame)

Framed to probe the issue of what lies beneath the troubled waters of Western life, Dwight Furrow's Moral Soundings bridges the gap between academic philosophy and the world of public intellectuals. Badly needed; it is a gift. (George Harris, chancellor professor of philosophy, College of William and Mary)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0742533700
• ISBN 13: 9780742533707
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328
• Editor: Furrow Dwight