Contemporary Debates in Social Philosophy

Contemporary Debates in Social Philosophy offers engaging and original analyses of some of society’s most significant and current concerns, with an international cast of scholars presenting sharply opposing viewpoints across ten debates.

The text begins with an introductory essay that provides an overview of the topics and a discussion of their relevance to social philosophy today. It then moves on to consider a broad range of social and political issues, including the nature of freedom, the limits of religious tolerance, group rights and ethnic identity, affirmative action, conceptions of parenting, the death penalty, privacy laws, world hunger, homosexuality, and abortion.

Ideal for university courses, this text offers a balanced range of opinion and perspective, probes the basic questions concerning the nature of a free and just society, and invites the reader to participate in the critical exchange of arguments.

Acknowledgments.

Notes on Contributors.

Introduction: Virtuous Disagreements in Social Philosophy.

Part I: Equality:.

1. Freedom and Money: G. A. Cohen (University of Oxford).

2. The Meanings of Freedom: Leif Wenar (University of Sheffield).

Part II: The Family:.

3. The Good and Bad Family: Rosalind Hursthouse (University of Auckland).

4. Family Resemblances: Elizabeth F. Cohen (Syracuse University).

Part III: Sexual Rights:.

5. Homosexuality, Harm, and Moral Principles: John Corvino (Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan).

6. Homosexual Acts, Morality, and Public Discourse: Christopher Wolfe (Marquette University).

Part IV: Abortion And The Limits Of Freedom:.

7. The Fetus in Perspective: The Moral and the Legal: Anne Fagot–Largeault (College of France).

8. Abortion and Moral Repugnancy: Laurence Thomas (Syracuse University).

Part V: Privacy:.

9. Privacy: John Deigh (University of Texas at Austin).

10. Privacy’s Value: Terrance McConnell (University of North Carolina at Greensboro).

Part VI: Religious Tolerance:.

11. In Defense of Religious Toleration: Philip L. Quinn (deceased).

12. Does Religious Toleration Make Any Sense?: Thomas Christiano (University of Arizona).

Part VII: Diversity:.

13. Ethnicity, Disunity, and Equality: Lawrence Blum (University of Massachusetts, Boston).

14. Diversity Limited: David Benatar (University of Cape Town, South Africa).

Part VIII: Racial Integration:.

15. The Future of Racial Integration: Elizabeth Anderson (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor).

16. When Turnabout Is Not Fair Play: Carl Cohen (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor).

Part IX: Scarce Resources:.

17. Moral Issues in Rationing Scarce Resources: F. M. Kamm (Harvard University).

18. Locke’s Defense of Preferential Treatment: Bernard R. Boxill (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).

Part X: Violence:.

19. Psychological Violence and Institutional Racism: The Moral Responsibility of Bystanders: Howard McGary (Rutgers University, New Brunswick).

20. McGary’s Striking Claim and the Roles of Self–Deception, Acquiescence, and Complicity: B.C. Postow (University of Tennessee).

Index

Laurence Thomas is Professor in the departments of Philosophy and Political Science in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, where he is also a member of the Center for European Studies. He is the author of over fifty articles and four books, Living Morally: A Psychology of Moral Character (1989), Vessels of Evil: American Slavery and the Holocaust (1993), Sexual Orientation and Human Rights (with Michael Levin, 1999) and The Family and the Political Self (2006). His articles on moral theory and social philosophy have been widely anthologized.

"Thomas has put renowned scholars in debate with each other and the result is a collection of stimulating debates of the highest order. In these well–written and argued articles, one is treated to the best of scholarly argumentation. One may not agree with all that is said. Nevertheless, one will find that after reading this volume one will have a better understanding of the importance of what Thomas calls ′virtuous disagreement′."
Bill E. Lawson, University of Memphis<!––end––>“Volume combines practical ethics and political philosophy in a somewhat unusual way; it has quite a lot of reasonable material on race and affirmative action.”
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