Basic Ethics presents for a wide range of students and other interested readers the questions raised in thinking about ethical problems, the answers offered by moral philosophy, and the means to better integrate both into the reader's world and personal life. It takes up what the author calls a "worldview theory," which shows readers how to begin with the values and understanding of the world that they already possess in order to transition from there to new levels of increasing ethical (...) awareness. Updates to the Third Edition include the more thorough integration of feminist ethics into the principal theoretical traditions, a new chapter on the ethical responsibility to be well informed of current events, expanded coverage of human rights, and additional opportunities on how to use ethical reasoning in thinking about one's own life and about public policy. Key Features: - Links personal values to a philosophical treatment of the major ethical theories - Presents ethics in the context of social/political issues that face our nation and the world - Challenges the student to react to the presented material through critical exercises that may be used as weekly assignments and can form the basis of class discussion and evaluation. - Engages the student to think about underlying issues first before presenting the most popular solutions - Invites the reader to make up her own mind on how to formulate an ethical theory that will help her in her own life - Offers a sixteen-chapter format to fit into most college-semester calendars - Presents an overall structure that establishes foundational problems in ethical theory in the first section of the book that are variously addressed by the different ethical theories in the second section of the book - Highlights key terms to help the reader grapple with issues raised - Includes a final chapter designed to help students comprehend the book in its entirety. Updates to the Third Edition: - Highlights new research on human rights and their relevance to ethical thinking and contemporary moral issues - Integrates feminist ethics into the principal theoretical traditions: virtue ethics, ethical intuitionism, and some versions of deontology - Provides new coverage of "fake news" and the moral responsibility to be well and accurately informed of current events - Expands opportunities to use ethical reasoning in thinking about one's own life and about public policy. (shrink)

A Just Society represents a complete account of Boylan's original worldview theory of ethics and social philosophy. In the book Boylan sets out the foundation and application of the personal worldview imperative and the shared community worldview imperative . These form the structure for a rights-based deontological theory. Throughout, the book employs narrative devices and contemporary examples that make a contribution to ethical and political theory as well as grounding an original approach to public philosophy.

Written by well-known professor and author Michael Boylan, Morality and Global Justice is an accessible examination of the moral and normative underpinnings of ...

As a result of this case study, additional questions arise. These can be cast into at least three groups. The first concerns the development of critical empiricism in the ancient world: a topic of much interest in our own century, expecially with regard to the work of the logical empiricists. Many of the same arguments are present in the ancient world and were hotly debated from the Hippocratic writers through and beyond Galen. Some of the ways in which Galen reacts (...) to Hippocratic and Aristotelian influences may, in part, be explained by Galen's own posture as a so-called Dogmatist. Both the Empirics and the Methodists offered alternative viewpoints on the place, role, and limits of observation in biomedical research. Though I have written on this relationship in the Hippocratic writers and Aristotle,44 it remains to be discussed in detailed fashion just how critical empiricism acted in Galen's evaluation of biomedical problems (aporiai). Contrasts between Galen and his predecessors might further clarify this issue both as a historical question and as it affects the construction of biological theory.The second area explores the question of how one develops comprehensive theories. In this respect Galen follows Aristotle's methodology rather closely. Both look at what theories are available to them and then systematically review the problems raised, at the same time refuting what they find inadequate. This is an effective strategy, for it permits utilizing the best features of earlier work to fashion a new whole. Indeed, Galen himself seems to attribute his use of such a methodology to his “ecletic” medical and philosophical training. Both Aristotle and Galen endeavor to employ techniques of theory integration. That is, they use aspects of theories they have already espoused to deal with new problems. This suggests the emergence of formal, logical coherence as an element in theory evaluation. The obvious drawback is that it can cause mistakes in one area to be repeated and ingrained in other areas. Such errors, because they are at the very core of an explanatory framework, may take centuries to correct. Future studies may shed light on how theory integration acts both in a positive and in a negative way.Finally, this case study offers a glimpse of how science progresses. Even though the advances in medical technology were comparatively minor, there is a great deal more sophistication in the conception theoreis of Aristotle and Galen than was present in the Hippocratic writers. Some of this (in Galen's case) had to do with increased anatomic and physiological knowledge, but most, I believe, is due to the evolution of scientific knowledge. If further work were done specifically on this question, it might document more completely how scientific knowledge on a specific topic evolves. The mode of advancement is primarily through gradual refinement of the types of questions being asked by these ancient authors, and the ramifications of their answers.Ancient theories of conception offer a fine case study in the history and philosophy of how a theory begins the develops. I have tried to suggest some interrelationships among the more important theories, as they focused upon Aristotle's own conception theory. There has been renewed interest in such cases in recent years. It is my hope that future specialized studies will increase our knowledge of method and practice in these important case studies and thereby augment our understanding of the genesis and application of biological theories. (shrink)

This timely book by internationally regarded scholar of ethics and social/political philosophy, Michael Boylan, focuses on the history, application and significance of human rights in the West and China. Boylan engages the key current philosophical debates prevalent in human rights discourse today and draws them together to argue for the existence of natural, universal human rights. Arguing against the grain of mainstream philosophical beliefs, Boylan asserts that there is continuity between human rights and natural law and that human beings require (...) basic, essential goods for minimum action. These include food, clean water and sanitation, clothing, shelter and protection from bodily harm, including basic healthcare. The achievement of this goal, Boylan demonstrates, will require significant resource allocation and creative methods of implementation involving public and private institutions. Combining technical argument with four fictional narratives about human rights, the book invites readers to engage with the most important aspects of the discipline. (shrink)

A thoughtful study which integrates Aristotle's philosophy of science in the Organon and in the Parts of Animals with his actual biological investigations.

The essays in this book engage the original and controversial claims from Michael Boylan's A Just Society. Each essay discusses Boylan's claims from a particular chapter and offers a critical analysis of these claims. Boylan responds to the essays in his lengthy and philosophically rich reply.

This essay begins with a current case involving racial profiling and DNA testing. The two combine to raise some troubling issues involving the use of each in police investigation. It is argued that racial profiling is unethical and ought to be avoided and that DNA testing on general populations of innocent people is fraught with dangers.

This essay begins with a current case involving racial profiling and DNA testing. The two combine to raise some troubling issues involving the use of each in police investigation. It is argued that racial profiling is unethical and ought to be avoided and that DNA testing on general populations of innocent people is fraught with dangers.

This essay will discuss some of the ways that narrative works to promote philosophy, called fictive narrative philosophy. The strategy is to discuss the ways that direct and indirect discourse work and to show why indirect discourse fills an important void that direct discourse cannot fulfill. In the course of this examination several famous narrative-based philosophers are examined such as Plato, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, Murdoch, Johnson, and Camus. These practitioners used the indirect method to make plausible to readers the vision (...) that they were presenting. This article also offers some constraints in this process. (shrink)

As one looks into the crystal ball concerning the future of medicine, what might be seen? One vision is of genetic testing being carried out by medical technicians and then, as a result of this analysis, patients will be given a diagnosis of what is wrong with them. Next, they will be given a list of courses of action based on the tests. Once the list is presented to the patient, then she will choose her treatment. Then a clinician will (...) inoculate her or otherwise administer the genetic therapy. The entire process might go forward without the intervention of a physician! (shrink)

This essay will argue for ethical procedures governing criminal profiling. A model based upon psychological/behavioral data, witness data, and forensic profiling data is sketched out. This model fits the legitimate uses of criminal profiling as an investigation procedure. Racial profiling as a primary sorting factor does not fit the preferred model and has significant downsides and so is rejected as a primary sorting mechanism in criminal investigation procedure.

There are deep structural conflicts between the mission of healthcare as cooperative care to the sick and injured and that of healthcare as a business whose mission is maximizing profits. These conflicts come to the fore in the medical pharmaceutical industry. I first set these out in a context that addresses the mission of healthcare, then examine the relative roles of competitive and cooperative systems of distributive justice, and then argue for the creation of nonprofit pharmaceutical companies and the transformation (...) of many for-profit companies into companies subject to public oversight and profit curbs. The recommendations are aspirational for the United States but it is meant to be action guiding for those industrialized countries wealthy enough to provide universal health coverage. (shrink)

Michael Boylan is professor of philosophy at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. He is the author or editor of numerous books --Book Jacket.

Editors Wanda Teays, John-Stewart Gordon, and Alison Dundes Renteln have assembled the works of an interdisciplinary, international team of experts in bioethics into a comprehensive, innovative and accessible book. Topics covered range from torture and lethal injection to euthanasia, sex selection, vulnerable human subjects, to health equity, safety and public health, and environmental disasters like Bhopal, Fukushima, and more.

The second edition of Business Ethics introduces readers to key ethical issues that arise within the world of business, providing a strong theoretical foundation as well as real world applications. This new edition has been greatly revised, and includes new sections on the financial services industry, globalization, and global economic justice. An accessible introduction for beginners, offering a combination of important established essays and new essays commissioned especially for this volume Greatly revised - more than half of the selections are (...) new to this edition. Newly commissioned essays address information technology, global economic justice and globalization, stakeholder theory, the corporation as an individual, and other topics Uses diverse, authentic business cases to illustrate discussion of concepts Cases have been updated to reflect current problems and issues Provides students with guidance and tools to write their own case study essays Readings are presented to progressively develop the reader's ability to read and apply ethical theory by writing case responses from different vantage points. (shrink)

Today’s unprecedented power of computing and AI makes technology’s impact on society an essential area of ethical inquiry. This book investigates the relationship between technology and nature, ownership of technology, AI’s replacement of human functions, privacy and cybersecurity, and the ethics of self-driving cars and drone warfare.

This book contains original essays that look at contagious/infectious disease pandemics and the ethical public policy and administration these have entailed. In particular, the pandemics of the 1918 flu pandemic, HIV in the 1990s, SARS in 2003, Ebola from 2014–2016 and the novel COVID-19 in 2020 are highlighted. The contributions in this work offer the reader insights in these and several other recent pandemics that present differently—either via contagion or mortality rate—and how each should be addressed by countries of various (...) sorts. This book is a must for the ongoing debate on how we should treat public health crises, such as the one we have all just encountered in the novel COVID-19 pandemic. (shrink)

The structure of the traditional paradigm -- Narrative fiction as philosophically interpreted in the ancient western world -- Narrative fiction as philosophically interpreted in the modern and contemporary western world -- The structure of the new paradigm -- What makes an artifact philosophy? -- Literature as philosophy -- The special logic of fictive narrative philosophy -- Constructional devices -- How do we judge fictive narrative philosophy? -- When should we use direct discourse philosophy and when fictive narrative philosophy? -- How (...) might fictive narrative philosophy change the academy? -- First order metaethical principles: my own philosophical work on ethics and personhood theory as a first step for ethics & fictive narrative philosophy -- My own work in fictive narrative philosophy. (shrink)

What would you do if you suddenly became rich? Michael O’Meara had never asked himself this question. A high school history teacher in Maryland, Michael is content- until, after a freak accident, he unexpectedly finds himself the beneficiary of a million dollars that disrupt his life and leave him questioning everything he had and everything he thought he wanted. _The Extinction of Desire_ blends Buddhist philosophy and fiction to maps the course of one man’s voyage to uncover the fundamental truths (...) about what is really valuable in life. An engaging novel that seeks to portray a philosophical depiction of the author’s worldview theory Addresses core topics in philosophy and religion - knowledge, reality, self and others, value-in narrative form Confronts the place of materialism and instant gratification in our world views Includes a foreword by Charles Johnson, winner of the American National Book Award for fiction in 1990, for his book _Middle Passage_ Accompanied by a supporting website offering a wealth of additional resources, including discussion points for reading groups and a teachers’ guide: www.blackwellpublishing.com/publicphilosophy/boylan. (shrink)

What would you do if you suddenly became rich? Michael O’Meara had never asked himself this question. A high school history teacher in Maryland, Michael is content- until, after a freak accident, he unexpectedly finds himself the beneficiary of a million dollars that disrupt his life and leave him questioning everything he had and everything he thought he wanted. _The Extinction of Desire_ blends Buddhist philosophy and fiction to maps the course of one man’s voyage to uncover the fundamental truths (...) about what is really valuable in life. An engaging novel that seeks to portray a philosophical depiction of the author’s worldview theory Addresses core topics in philosophy and religion - knowledge, reality, self and others, value-in narrative form Confronts the place of materialism and instant gratification in our world views Includes a foreword by Charles Johnson, winner of the American National Book Award for fiction in 1990, for his book _Middle Passage_ Accompanied by a supporting website offering a wealth of additional resources, including discussion points for reading groups and a teachers’ guide: www.blackwellpublishing.com/publicphilosophy/boylan. (shrink)

What would you do if you suddenly became rich? Michael O’Meara had never asked himself this question. A high school history teacher in Maryland, Michael is content- until, after a freak accident, he unexpectedly finds himself the beneficiary of a million dollars that disrupt his life and leave him questioning everything he had and everything he thought he wanted. _The Extinction of Desire_ blends Buddhist philosophy and fiction to maps the course of one man’s voyage to uncover the fundamental truths (...) about what is really valuable in life. An engaging novel that seeks to portray a philosophical depiction of the author’s worldview theory Addresses core topics in philosophy and religion - knowledge, reality, self and others, value-in narrative form Confronts the place of materialism and instant gratification in our world views Includes a foreword by Charles Johnson, winner of the American National Book Award for fiction in 1990, for his book _Middle Passage_ Accompanied by a supporting website offering a wealth of additional resources, including discussion points for reading groups and a teachers’ guide: www.blackwellpublishing.com/publicphilosophy/boylan. (shrink)

Designed to give a snapshot of the seminal work in the philosophy of education and the input of ethical issues upon that work, this book provides a tour of the profession and pivotal issues that confront it.

What would you do if you suddenly became rich? Michael O’Meara had never asked himself this question. A high school history teacher in Maryland, Michael is content- until, after a freak accident, he unexpectedly finds himself the beneficiary of a million dollars that disrupt his life and leave him questioning everything he had and everything he thought he wanted. _The Extinction of Desire_ blends Buddhist philosophy and fiction to maps the course of one man’s voyage to uncover the fundamental truths (...) about what is really valuable in life. An engaging novel that seeks to portray a philosophical depiction of the author’s worldview theory Addresses core topics in philosophy and religion - knowledge, reality, self and others, value-in narrative form Confronts the place of materialism and instant gratification in our world views Includes a foreword by Charles Johnson, winner of the American National Book Award for fiction in 1990, for his book _Middle Passage_ Accompanied by a supporting website offering a wealth of additional resources, including discussion points for reading groups and a teachers’ guide: www.blackwellpublishing.com/publicphilosophy/boylan. (shrink)

This book offers a unique method for teaching ethics and social/political philosophy by combining primary texts and resource material along with three philosophical novels so that students can apply the abstract principles to real-life situations. A sample syllabus and sample assignments are provided. This second edition contains an additional teacher's manual, guiding instructors in how to effectively put together a course in ethics using fiction. Students often turn-off when confronted with abstract ethical principles, alone. This book allows interaction with philosophical (...) novels that provide real-life situations that mirrors applying normative principles to lived experience. Students will be drawn into this realism and their engagement with the material will be significantly enhanced. This is an innovative textbook for teachers and students of general philosophy, ethics, business ethics, social and political philosophy, as well as students of literature and philosophy. (shrink)

This book examines the origins of ancient Greek science using the vehicles of blood, blood vessels, and the heart. Careful attention to biomedical writers in the ancient world, as well as to the philosophical and literary work of writers prior to the Hippocratic authors, produce an interesting story of how science progressed and the critical context in which important methodological questions were addressed. The end result is an account that arises from debates that are engaged in and "solved" by different (...) writers. These stopping points form the foundation for Harvey and for modern philosophy of biology. Author Michael Boylan sets out the history of science as well as a critical evaluation based upon principles in the contemporary canon of the philosophy of science--particularly those dealing with the philosophy of biology. (shrink)