Part I: Ethics

Chapter 4

Study questions for What is Applied Ethics?

  1. Why does applied ethics involve more than the simple application of normative theories to practical questions?
  2. How does euthanasia differ from murder? How does it differ from suicide?
  3. Is there any real difference between active and passive euthanasia?
  4. Explain Singer’s argument that ‘all animals are equal’ in our own words.
  5. Is it morally permissible to eat free-range meat? If so, why? If not, why not?

Multiple Choice Questions

Weblinks for What is applied ethics?

A comprehensive list of links to work in applied ethics can be found at this site maintained by Chris MacDonald: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~worc0337/phil_topics_ethics.html.

The Utilitarianism website has links to a lot of Peter Singer’s work to 2007 here: http://www.utilitarianism.net/singer/. News of his latest research can be found at his personal website: http://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy also has a number of excellent entries on issues in applied ethics, http://plato.stanford.edu/.

Introductory further reading for What is applied ethics?

Glover, Jonathan (1990). Causing Death and Saving Lives. [A clear, accessible and provocative look at life-and-death moral issues and choices.]

Singer, Peter (1993) Practical Ethics. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press. [Singer’s popular and very clear introduction to some of the main issues in applied ethics, including his own views on animal rights.]

Advanced further reading for What is applied ethics?

Kuhse, Helga and Singer, Peter (eds) (2006). Bioethics: An Anthology. 2nd edition. Wiley-Blackwell. [A comprehensive and excellent collection of articles covering a wide range of bioethical topics, including abortion, euthanasia and cloning.]

LaFollette, Hugh (2006). Ethics in Practice. 3rd edition. Wiley-Blackwell. [Excellent anthology of classic papers on practical issues, with a helpful introduction. Features J. David Velleman’s excellent paper ‘Against the Right to Die’.]

Light, Andrew and Rolston III, Holmes (eds) (2003). Environmental Ethics: An Anthology. Wiley-Blackwell. [Another comprehensive collection from Blackwell, containing classic papers and new essays and covering central issues in environmental ethics.]

Regan, Tom (1983) The Case for Animal Rights. University of California Press. [An important and ground-breaking defence of the idea of animal rights from a deontological perspective.]

Singer, Peter (1975/1995) Animal Liberation. Random House. [Singer’s most popular book arguing in favour of the ethical treatment of animals, and one of the main influences for the animal rights movement.]