The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature

About this book

Now in its fourth edition Louis P. Pojman and Lewis Vaughns acclaimed The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature brings together an extensive and varied collection of eighty-five classical and contemporary readings on ethical theory and practice. Integrating literature with philosophy in an innovative way the book uses literary works to enliven and make concrete the ethical theory or applied issues addressed. Literary works by Angelou Camus Hawthorne Huxley Ibsen Le Guin Melville Orwell Styron Tolstoy and many others lead students into such philosophical concepts and issues as relativism; utilitarianism; virtue ethics; the meaning of life; freedom and autonomy; sex love and marriage; animal rights; and terrorism. These topics are developed further through readings by philosophers including Plato Aristotle Kant Singer Sartre Nagel and Thomson. This unique anthology emphasizes the personal dimension of ethics which is often ignored or minimized in ethics texts. It also incorporates chapter introductions study questions suggestions for further reading and biographical sketches of the writers. The fourth edition features five new readings--by James Rachels Alasdair MacIntyre Michael Levin John Corvino and Stephen Nathanson--and a new appendix on how to write a philosophy paper. A new Companion Website features resources for both students and instructors including reading summaries; true/false multiple-choice and essay questions; and PowerPoint slides. Ideal for introductory ethics courses The Moral Life Fourth Edition also provides an engaging gateway into personal and social ethics for general readers.