Table of Contents

*=New to this edition
Acknowledgments:
Introduction: What's Wrong with Arguing?
PART 1. WHAT'S WRONG WITH KILLING?
1. Is Killing in War Wrong?
Fullinwider and His Critics:
Robert K. Fullinwider, "War and Innocence"
Critic:
Lawrence A. Alexander, "Self-Defense and the Killing of Noncombatants: A Reply to Fullinwider"
2. Is Euthanasia Wrong?
Rachels and His Critics:
James Rachels, "Active and Passive Euthanasia"
Critics:
Winston Nesbitt, "Is Killing No Worse Than Letting Die?"
Roy W. Perrett, "Killing, Letting Die, and the Bare Difference Argument"
3. Is Abortion Wrong?
Marquis and His Critics:
Don Marquis, "Why Abortion Is Immoral"
Critics:
Gerald H. Paske, "Abortion and the Neo-Natal Right to Life: A Critique of Marquis's Futurist Argument"
Alastair Norcross, "Killing, Abortion, and Contraception: A Reply to Marquis"
Peter K. McInerney, "Does a Fetus Already Have a Future-Like-Ours?"
Thomson and Her Critics:
Judith Jarvis Thomson, "A Defense of Abortion"
Critics:
Baruch Brody, "Thomson on Abortion"
Francis J. Beckwith, "Arguments from Bodily Rights: A Critical Analysis"
4. Is Killing Nonhuman Animals Wrong?
Regan and His Critics:
Tom Regan, "The Case for Animal Rights"
Critics:
Jan Narveson, "On a Case for Animal Rights"
R.G. Frey, "Why Animals Lack Beliefs and Desires"
R.G. Frey, "The Case Against Animal Rights"
Alan White, "Rights"
5. Is Failing to Contribute to Famine Relief Wrong?
Singer and His Critics:
Peter Singer, "Famine, Affluence, and Morality"
Critics:
John Arthur, "World Hunger and Moral Obligation: The Case Against Singer"
Michael Slote, "Famine, Affluence, and Empathy"
PART 2. WHAT'S WRONG WITH SEX?
6. Is Homosexuality Wrong?
Levin and His Critics:
Michael Levin, "Why Homosexuality Is Abnormal"
Critics:
Timothy F. Murphy, "Homosexuality and Nature: Happiness and the Law at Stake"
7. Is "Outing" Homosexuals Wrong?
Mohr and His Critics:
Richard D. Mohr, "The Case for Outing"
Critics:
James S. Stramel, "Outing, Ethics, and Politics: A Reply to Mohr"
David J. Mayo and Martin Gunderson, "Privacy and the Ethics of Outing"
8. Is Adultery Wrong?
Wasserstrom and His Critics:
Richard Wasserstrom, "Is Adultery Immoral?"
Critics:
Bonnie Steinbock, "Adultery"
Don Marquis, "What's Wrong with Adultery?"
9. Is Antioch's "Sexual Offense Policy" Wrong?
Soble and His Critics:
Alan Soble, "Antioch's 'Sexual Offense Policy': A Philosophical Exploration"
Critic:
Eva Feder Kittay, "AH! My Foolish Heart: A Reply to Soble's 'Antioch's "Sexual Offense Policy": A Philosophical Exploration'"
10. Is Prostitution Wrong?
Ericsson and His Critics:
Lars O. Ericsson, "Charges Against Prostitution: An Attempt at a Philosophical Assessment"
Critics:
Carole Pateman, "Defending Prostitution: Charges Against Ericsson"
Laurie Shrage, "Should Feminists Oppose Prostitution?"
Karen Green, "Prostitution, Exploitation, and Taboo"
PART 3. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE FAMILY?
11. Is the Traditional Family Wrong?
Sommers and Her Critics:
Christina Hoff Sommers, "Philosophers Against the Family"
Critics:
Claudia Mills, "The Ties That Bind: Duties to Family Members"
12. Is Neglecting One's Parents Wrong?
English and Her Critics:
Jane English, "What Do Grown Children Owe Their Parents?"
Critics:
Nicholas Dixon, "The Friendship Model of Filial Obligations"
13. Is Same-Sex Marriage Wrong?
Jordan and His Critics:
Jeff Jordan, "Is It Wrong to Discriminate on the Basis of Homosexuality?"
Critics:
David Boonin, "Same-Sex Marriage and the Argument from Public Disagreement"
Andrew Sullivan, "Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality"
14. Is Licensing Parents Wrong?
LaFollette and His Critics:
Hugh LaFollette, "Licensing Parents"
Critics:
Lawrence E. Frisch, "On Licentious Licensing: A Reply to Hugh LaFollette"
Pierre Lemieux, "Parent Licensing"
15. Is Commercial Surrogate Motherhood Wrong?
Anderson and Her Critics:
Elizabeth S. Anderson, "Is Women's Labor a Commodity?"
Critics:
Richard J. Arneson, "Commodification and Commercial Surrogacy"
Alan Wertheimer, "Two Questions About Surrogacy and Exploitation"
* NEW CHAPTER: 16. Is Causing Overpopulation Wrong?
Parfit and His Critics:
* Derek Parfit, "Overpopulation and the Quality of Life"
Critics:
* Thomas Hurka, "Value and Population Size"
* Don Locke, "The Parfit Population Problem"
PART 4. WHAT'S WRONG WITH RACE RELATIONS?
17. Are Reparations for Slavery Wrong?
Horowitz and His Critics:
David Horowitz, "Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Blacks Is a Bad Idea for Blacks--and Racist, Too!"
Critics:
Robert Chrisman and Ernest Allen, Jr., "Ten Reasons: A Response to David Horowitz"
Randall Robinson, "America's Debt to Blacks"
18. Is Affirmative Action Wrong?
Himma and His Critics:
* Kenneth Einar Himma, "Discrimination and Disidentification: The Fair-Start Defense of Affirmative Action"
Critic:
* Lisa Newton, "A Fair Defense of a False Start: A Reply to Kenneth Himma"
* NEW CHAPTER: 19. Are Campus Hate Speech Codes Wrong?
Meyers and Her Critics:
* Diana Tietjens Meyers, "Rights in Collision: A Non-Punitive, Compensatory Remedy for Abusive Speech"
Critic:
* Thomas W. Peard, "Diana Tietjens Meyers's Remedy for Abusive Speech: Objections"
* NEW CHAPTER: 20. Are Hate Crime Laws Wrong?
Wellman and His Critics:
* Christopher Heath Wellman, "A Defense of Stiffer Penalties for Hate Crimes"
Critic:
* Heidi M. Hurd, "Why Liberals Should Hate 'Hate Crime Legislation'"
21. Does Racial Discrimination Make Capital Punishment Wrong?
Nathanson and His Critics:
Stephen Nathanson, "Does It Matter If the Death Penalty Is Arbitrarily Administered?"
Critic:
Ernest van den Haag, "Refuting Nathanson"
22. Is Racial Profiling Wrong?
Levin and His Critics:
Michael Levin, "Responses to Race Differences in Crime"
Critics:
Laurence Thomas, "Statistical Badness"
Louis P. Pojman, "Race and Crime: A Response to Michael Levin and Laurence Thomas"
PART 5. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE STATE?
23. Is a Government Ban on Human Cloning Wrong?
The President's Council on Bioethics and Its Critics:
* President's Council on Bioethics, "Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry"
Critics:
David B. Elliott, "Uniqueness, Individuality, and Human Cloning"
David B. Hershenov, "An Argument for Limited Human Cloning"
24. Is a Government Ban on Tobacco Wrong?
Goodin and His Critics:
Robert Goodin, "No Smoking"
Critics:
Daniel Shapiro, "Smoking Tobacco: Irrationality, Addiction, and Paternalism"
Graham Oddie, "Addiction and the Value of Freedom"
25. Is Legal Punishment Wrong?
Barnett and His Critics:
Randy E. Barnett, "Restitution: A New Paradigm of Criminal Justice"
Critics:
Franklin G. Miller, "Restitution and Punishment: A Reply to Barnett"
Roger Pilon, "Criminal Remedies: Restitution, Punishment, or Both?"
Stanley S. Kleinberg, "Criminal Justice and Private Enterprise"
* NEW CHAPTER: 26. Is Issuing Warrants to Torture Wrong?
Dershowitz and His Critics:
* Alan Dershowitz, "Tortured Reasoning"
Critics:
* Elaine Scarry, "Five Errors in the Reasoning of Alan Dershowitz"
* Alan Dershowitz, "Reply to Scarry"
27. Is Redistributive Taxation Wrong?
Nozick and His Critics:
Robert Nozick, "Distributive Justice"
Critic:
Alan H. Goodman, "The Entitlement Theory of Distributive Justice"
* NEW CHAPTER: 28. Is Ignoring Global Warming Wrong?
Traxler and His Critics:
* Martino Traxler, "Fair Chore Division for Climate Change"
Critic:
* Stephen Gardiner, "Ethics and Global Climate Change"

Reviews

"I consider this to be the best collection available in applied ethics in terms of teaching students about constructing and understanding philosophical argument."--Clare Palmer, Washington University in St. Louis
"Each chapter is structured around not only a specific moral debate, but a particular argument. In this way, students receive a much more thorough exposure to current debates in applied ethics. By contrast, other ethics textbooks seem somewhat superficial, providing numerous readings without necessarily challenging readers to engage with moral debates in their full complexity."--Joshua Shaw, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College