Talking About Ethics: A Conversational Approach to Moral Dilemmas

by Michael Jones, Mark Farnham, David Saxon

Overview

An accessible introduction to ethics through engaging dialogues

Talking About Ethics provides students with all of the tools necessary to develop a coherent approach to ethical decision making. The authors demonstrate how various moral theories play out in relation to a wide variety of ethical questions using an accessible dialogue format. The chapters follow three college students as they discuss today's most important ethical issues with their families and friends, including:

• Immigration
• Capital punishment
• Legalization of narcotics
• Abortion
• Premarital sex
• Reproductive technologies
• Gender identity
• The environment, and many more

The engaging dialogue format illustrates how these topics often take shape in the real world, and models critical thinking and Christian ethical decision making. Study aids in each chapter include overviews, sidebars, reflection questions, glossaries, and recommended reading. Ideal as a textbook for undergraduate ethics courses, it is also accessible enough for high school classes and personal study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780825446917
Publisher:	Kregel Publications
Publication date:	02/23/2021
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

Dr. Michael S. Jones (PhD, Temple University) is professor of philosophy and theology at Liberty University, President of the Virginia Philosophical Association, and Executive Editor of the Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies. He is also a two-time Fulbright scholar. Jones is the author of Moral Reasoning: An Intentional Approach to Distinguishing Right from Wrong, an approachable introduction to the theoretical side of ethics.

Mark Farnham is Professor of Apologetics at Lancaster Bible College. He received his PhD in Apologetics from Westminster Theological Seminary and his ThM in New Testament from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is also the Founder and Director of Apologetics for the Church, a local church training ministry equipping Christians to effectively defend and share their faith with anyone they meet. His other publications include Every Believer Confident: Apologetics for the Ordinary Christian.

David Saxon is a Bible professor in the College of Bible and Church Ministries at Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, WI, where he has taught since 1999. In 1998 he completed a PhD in Church History at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. He is a regular contributor to Frontline, the periodical of the Foundation Baptist Fellowship, International, and to various Maranatha publications.

Table of Contents

Preface 9

Introduction 15

Theoretical Considerations

1 Ethical Theory 23

Humanitarian Issues

2 Immigration 51

3 Capital Punishment 73

4 Torture 93

5 Animal Rights 115

Medical Ethics

6 Legalizing Narcotics 145

7 Abortion 163

8 Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide 189

9 Organ Transplantation 209

10 Reproductive Technology/Human Cloning 229

Marriage and Sex

11 Premarital Sex 251

12 Homosexuality 271

13 Gender Identity 295

International Issues

14 Environmentalism 319

15 World Hunger 341

16 War 361

Conclusion 387

Select Bibliography 391

Index 397

Editorial Reviews

Talking about Ethics models the kinds of conversations we should be having! In a day when respectful dialogue is being replaced by complacent group-think, this book provides a refreshing corrective. The authors artfully weave human moral dilemmas with thoughtful ethical theory, resulting in an enjoyably-informative read. I can’t wait to introduce this volume to my ethics students; my only dilemma is whether to require it at the beginning of class to illustrate the purpose of ethical theory, or at the end of the course as a springboard into ethical practice.

Bryan W. Brock

I highly recommend Talking about Ethics: A Conversational Approach to Moral Dilemmas by Michael S. Jones, Mark J. Farnham, and David L. Saxon. This volume is an excellent introduction to many of the morally problematic issues we face today. The authors examine and address fifteen current and relevant topics such as immigration, legalizing narcotics, abortion, capital punishment, environmentalism, world hunger, and many others. One of the best features is that the book is written in a conversational style between three fictional college students. The conversations are enjoyable to read and provide the reader with a fair and balanced discussion of the pertinent moral problems under each topic. I can see this book as a primary textbook in an undergraduate ethics class.

Mark W. Foreman

This text uses an attractive, students in dialogue/conversationalist approach to introduce students to diverse views for a broad range of ethical issues. In so doing, it takes the dialogue/conversationalist approach to teaching ethics to a higher level of excellence.

James P. Sterba

Talking about Ethics: A Conversational Approach to Moral Dilemmas by Mike Jones, Mark Farnham, and David Saxon is a superb 21st century book introducing contemporary issues of right and wrong—ethics. The material presented is clear, comprehensive, and not only understandable for any “student” 18 – 81, but also laid out in an engaging manner. Three students with different ethnicities, religions, and study-majors meet at a local tea shop and hash out the issues being presented in an ethics class. The authors thoroughly present and analyze topics through the thought and voices of the three protagonists. Their personalities develop throughout the book’s discussions, which cunningly draws the reader painlessly into the abstruse topics in fifteen burning ethical issues of today. I am putting it on my list for my introduction to world religions class!

Leonard Swidler

Talking about Ethics does its readers several great services. In terms of both its expansive scope and aerial perspective, with innovation and crystal clarity, an irenic spirit, and jargon-free accessibility, it models for readers what substantive engagement with ethical issues looks like. In these strident and divisive days, exhortations are all too rare to listen respectfully to the best positions on all sides of an argument. Such encouragement, however, is the very heart and salient strength of this book. This volume can serve as a vital and refreshing antidote to the tendentious, partisan, conversation-sabotaging animus that is such a recurring and lamentable fixture of public discourse today. Unafraid to acknowledge complexities and explore hard questions, these inviting and enjoyable pages provide powerful witness to the fact that ethics is no mere academic matter. It is rather rife with practical import and real-life repercussions, and worthy of our diligent efforts. Kudos to the writers, and highly recommended!

David Baggett

A wonderful book, nourishing for the mind and the soul. The three authors invite the reader to participate in an extensive and profound foray into the world of applied ethics, offering a meeting of ethical reflection with philosophical interpretation and a Christian transformation of moral action. The volume proposes a dialogical and communal dimension and a dimension of personal commitment. Each of these elements contributes to the construction of a world that is ethically responsible.

Sandu Fruza

While Talking about Ethics addresses the spectrum of topics you would expect to find in an introductory ethics text, this volume is unique in that it does so in a conversational format. Indeed, the genius of this book is that it takes complex moral issues and unfolds them in a winsome manner that makes the material accessible to any reader. I predict that this volume will become a standard text in many ethics classrooms, it will become a go-to book in many pastoral studies, and will become a resource for anyone desiring to know what Scripture has to say about the moral issues confronting 21st century Western culture.

David W. Jones

Talking About Ethics is an excellent introduction to help readers think through ethical theories and issues, and it offers wisdom about ethical decision-making. This book is an accessible and practical guide in an era of moral confusion. Highly recommended!

Paul Copan