Synopses & Reviews
The Moral of the Story, Fifth Edition offers a remarkably effective approach that helps students understand and evaluate moral issues. Through storytelling and story analysis, using examples from fiction and film, Rosenstand clearly shows how ethical theories are applied to real life. The fifth edition encapsulates and reflects the present social and political climate. As such, coverage of topics like courage, terrorism, and just war have been enhanced and updated throughout.
Table of Contents
PART I: The Story as a Tool of EthicsChapter 1: Thinking About ValuesThe Best of Times, the Worst of TimesGood and EvilMorals, Ethics, and ValuesWhy Be Moral?Debating Moral IssuesMartha Nussbaum, Stories Have ValuePrimary Reading: Martha Nussbaum, Love's KnowledgeNarrative: How to Be GoodNarrative: Smoke Signals Narrative: Big Fish
Chapter 2: Learning Moral Lessons from StoriesDidactic StoriesThe New Interest in StoriesThe Value of StoriesStories Past and PresentStories to Live and Die BySeeing Your Life as a StoryLiving in the Narrative ZonePrimary Reading: Plato, The Republic Primary Reading: Aristotle, Poetics Primary Reading: Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose Primary Reading: Tristine Rainer, Your Life as StoryNarrative: Medea Narrative: The Sorrows of Young WertherNarrative: Pulp Fiction
PART II: What Should I Do? Theories of ConductChapter 3: Ethical RelativismHow to Deal with Moral DifferencesThe Lessons of AnthropologyProblems with Ethical RelativismRefuting Ethical RelativismEthical Relativism and MulticulturalismPrimary Reading: Ruth Benedict, "Anthropology and the Abnormal" Primary Reading: Dwight Furrow, "Of Cave Dwellers and Spirits"Primary Reading: Bhikhu Parekh, "The Concept of Multicultural Education"Narrative: The Poisonwood BibleNarrative: Possessing the Secret of JoyNarrative: Sideshow Narrative: Do the Right Thing
Chapter 4: Myself or Others?Psychological EgoismEthical EgoismAltruism: Ideal and ReciprocalPrimary Reading: Plato, The Republic Primary Reading: Erik Katz, "The Rings of Tolkien and Plato"Primary Reading: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan Primary Reading: Ayn Rand, "The Ethics of Emergencies"Narrative: Friends Narrative: Return to Paradise Narrative: Madame Bovary Narrative: Atlas ShruggedNarrative: "The Gift of the Magi"Narrative: The Lord of the Rings
Chapter 5: Using Your Reason, Part 1: UtilitarianismJeremy Bentham and the Hedonistic CalculusJohn Stuart Mill: Another Utilitarian VisionAct and Rule UtilitarianismPrimary Reading: Jeremy Bentham, "Of the Principle of Utility" Primary Reading: John Stuart Mill, UtilitarianismNarrative: "The Blacksmith and the Baker" Narrative: The Brothers Karamazov Narrative: "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"Narrative: Saving Private RyanNarrative: Extreme MeasuresNarrative: Runaway Jury
Chapter 6: Using Your Reason, Part 2: Kant's DeontologyThe Good WillThe Categorical ImperativeRational Beings Are Ends in ThemselvesPrimary Reading: Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals Primary Reading: Immanuel Kant, The Metaphysics of MoralsNarrative: High Noon Narrative: Outland Narrative: Cop Land Narrative: Abandon Ship! Narrative: The Insider
Chapter 7: Personhood, Rights, and JusticeWhat Is a Human Being?Persons and RightsQuestions of RightsDistributive JusticeCriminal JusticePrimary Reading: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Rights Primary Reading: John Rawls, "Justice as Fairness"Primary Reading: Martin Luther King, Jr., "A Letter from Birmingham Jail" Primary Reading: Diane Whitely, "The Victim and the Justification of Punishment"Narrative: Blade Runner Narrative: Gattaca Narrative: Mississippi Burning Narrative: OutbreakNarrative: Minority Report
PART III: How Should I Be? Theories of VirtueChapter 8: Socrates, Plato, and the Good LifeWhat Is Virtue?The Good TeacherThe Good LifeThe Virtuous PersonPlato's Theory of FormsPrimary Reading: Plato, Euthyphro Primary Reading: Plato, ApologyNarrative: A Man for All Seasons Narrative: "The Myth of the Cave" Narrative: The Truman Show Narrative: "The Store of the Worlds"Narrative: Shrek
Chapter 9: Aristotle's Virtue TheoryAristotle the ScientistAristotle and VirtueAristotle's Influence on AquinasSome Objections to Greek Virtue TheoryPrimary Reading: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book II Primary Reading: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book IIINarrative: "The Flight of Icarus" Narrative: Njal's Saga Narrative: Lord Jim Narrative: "A Piece of Advice" Narrative: As Good as it Gets
Chapter 10: Contemporary PerspectivesEthics and the Morality of VirtueHave Virtue, and Then Go Ahead: Mayo, Foot, and SommersThe Quest for Authenticity: Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, and LevinasPrimary Reading: Soren Kierkegaard, Johannes Climacus Primary Reading: Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or Primary Reading: Emmanuel Levinas, "The Paradox of Morality: An Interview with Emmanuel Levinas"Narrative: Hannah and her Sisters Narrative: No Exit Narrative: A Few Good Men
Chapter 11: Case Studies in VirtuesCourage: What Is It, and Who Has It?Compassion: Are We Born with It?Gratitude: How Much and When?Virtue and Conduct: A Combination?Primary Reading: John McCain, Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver LifePrimary Reading: Philip Hallie, Tales of Good and Evil, Help and Harm Primary Reading: Lin Yutang, "On Growing Old Gracefully"Narrative: Band of BrothersNarrative: The Life of Tom HornNarrative: "The Parable of the Good Samaritan" Narrative: "King Yudisthira and the Dog" Narrative: Schindler's List Narrative: Eat Drink Man Woman Narrative: Pay It ForwardNarrative: Grand Canyon
Chapter 12: Different Gender, Different Ethic?Feminism and Virtue TheoryWhat Is Gender Equality?Women's Historical Role in the Public SphereFirst-, Second-, and Third-Wave FeminismFacets of Feminism TodayPrimary Reading: Harriet Taylor Mill, "Enfranchisement of Women"Primary Reading: Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex Primary Reading: Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice Primary Reading: Deborah Tannen, Talking from 9 to 5Narrative: A Doll's House Narrative: Like Water for Chocolate Narrative: "The Woman Destroyed" Narrative: Mona Lisa Smile
Chapter 13: Applied Ethics: A SamplerMedia EthicsTheory of a Just WarAnimal Welfare and Animal RightsThe Death PenaltyStories and Issues: A Final WordPrimary Reading: Andrew Belsey and Ruth Chadwick, "Ethics as a Vehicle for Media Quality"Primary Reading: John Rawls, The Law of Peoples Primary Reading: Jan Narveson, "Morality and Violence: War, Revolution, Terrorism" Primary Reading: David Rodin, "Terrorism Without Intention"Primary Reading: Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and Roger Lewin, Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human MindPrimary Reading: Stephen Nathanson, An Eye for an Eye? The Morality of Punishing by DeathPrimary Reading: John Douglas and Mark Olshaker, Journey into DarknessPrimary Reading: Tom Sorell, "Two Ideals and the Death Penalty"Primary Reading: Mark Fuhrman, Death and Justice: An Expose of Oklahoma's Death Row MachineNarrative: 15 Minutes Narrative: "The Jigsaw Man" Narrative: The Life of David GaleBibliographyGlossaryIndex