Right and Wrong

The newly updated Right and Wrong 2nd Edition is an accessible introduction to the major traditions in western philosophical ethics, written in a lively and engaging style. It is designed for entry-level ethics courses and includes real-life ethical scenarios chosen to appeal directly to students.

• Greatly expanded and improved, this successful text introduces students to the major ethical traditions, and provides a simple methodology for resolving ethical dilemmas
• Treats teleological and deontological approaches to ethics as the two most important traditions, but now includes chapters on virtue ethics and the ethics of care
• The very accessible writing style speaks directly to students’ own experience
• Draws examples from three types of real-life ethical scenarios submitted by students: academic dishonesty, partying, and personal relationships
• Provides a concise treatment of this notoriously complex subject, perfect for entry-level ethics and applied ethics courses

Preface ix

Introduction xi

1 Ethics: What It Is, Does, and Isn’t 1

2 An “Ethical Yardstick”? 15

3 Measuring Consequences 41

4 Evaluating Actions 75

5 Virtue Ethics and the Ethics of Care 97

6 Doing Right: Why Bother? 125

7 Case Studies 145

Index 165

Thomas I. White is the Conrad N. Hilton Professor in Business Ethics and Director of the Center for Ethics and Business at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. His primary research focuses on the ethical implications of the scientific research on whales and dolphins, and his book In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier (Blackwell, 2007) addresses the ethical issues connected with human/dolphin interaction. Professor White is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, has served as U.S. Ambassador for the United Nations' Year of the Dolphin program and is an author of the Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans: Whales and Dolphins.