Ethics Primer

Ethics Primer: Considering Morality for the Contemporary World helps students develop and utilize an ethical toolbox for the purpose of meeting the moral challenges and opportunities of life with conviction, confidence, and competency. The text introduces readers to key concepts and insights in ethics and encourages them to thoughtfully consider a myriad of real-world situations that require ethical thought.

The text is divided into five parts. Part I defines key terminology, identifies central concepts in ethics, explores moral values as the basis for understanding and undertaking ethical actions, and examines the relationship of moral values to the foundations represented in philosophy, history, religion, culture, and society. In Parts II and III, readers explore various moral traditions and the process of ethical deliberation and decision-making. Part IV focuses on applied ethics, providing readers with overviews of a variety of personal and public issues. The final part underscores the importance of putting all the content in the book together to develop an ethical toolbox of critical thinking skills.

Developed to guide readers through a journey of ethical discussion, Ethics Primer is an ideal textbook for courses in ethics, philosophy, and sociology.