Moral Soundings: Readings on the Crisis of Values in Contemporary Life
Author(s): Dwight Furrow (Editor), Albert Borgmann (Contributor), Richard Rorty (Contributor), Steven Fesmire (Contributor), Christina Hoff Sommers (Contributor), Edward W. Said (Contributor), Stanley Kurtz (Contributor), Barbara Ehrenreich (Contributor), Jerry L. Walls (Contributor), Jerry Weinberger (Contributor), Leon Kass (Contributor), Jane Smiley (Contributor), Janet C. Gornick (Contributor), Jean Bethke Elshtain (Contributor), Thomas Pogge (Contributor), Isabel V. Sawhill (Contributor), Richard Pipes (Contributor), Cornel West (Contributor), James Twitchell (Contributor), David Marsland (Contributor), David Bosworth (Contributor)
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Publication Date: 15 April 2004
Language: English
Print length: 328 pages
ISBN-10: 0742533697
ISBN-13: 9780742533691
Book Description
Moral Soundings takes a fresh new approach to introducing students and general readers to contemporary ethics. Rather than surveying the standard fare in a typical anthology format, Furrow collects diversified essays around a structured theme: does Western culture face a moral crisis of values? Prominent voices in the humanities and social sciences provide a range of perspectives on a concentrated set of ethical questions dealing with such topics as family values, the morality of capitalism, the benefits and dangers of new technologies, global conflict, and the role of religion. Unlike point/counterpoint books that often oversimplify the complexity of ethical questions, the readings in Moral Soundings provoke critical engagement and help students to recognize and emulate the logical development of arguments-all in engaging and easily accessible language. Readings are supplemented with helpful chapter introductions, study questions, and strategically placed editorial commentary to encourage further discussion and reflection. These features make Moral Soundings an ideal primary or supplementary text for undergraduate courses in ethics, contemporary moral issues, and social and political philosophy.
Editorial Reviews
Review
While the readings in Moral Soundings raise specific issues about capitalism, family life, biotechnology, religion, and global conflict, the editor’s introductions and ‘interventions’ relate the readings to different conceptions of autonomy and different evaluations of those conceptions. This unity-in-diversity format should work very well in the classroom. — James P. Sterba, professor, University of Notre Dame
Framed to probe the issue of what lies beneath the troubled waters of Western life, Dwight Furrow’s Moral Soundings bridges the gap between academic philosophy and the world of public intellectuals. Badly needed; it is a gift. — George Harris, chancellor professor of philosophy, College of William and Mary
About the Author
Dwight Furrow is professor of philosophy at San Diego Mesa College. He specializes in the philosophy of food and wine, aesthetics, and ethics. He is also a Certified Wine Specialist with certification from the Society of Wine Educators and an advanced level certification from the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust. Furrow is the author of Edible Arts, a blog devoted to food and wine aesthetics. He is also the author of many books, professional journal articles, op-ed pieces, and magazine articles in publications such as the San Diego Union Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The Humanist, and Enterprise Virginia.
Albert Borgmann was professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Montana.
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