"Thou shalt not kill" is arguably the most basic moral and legal principle in any society. Yet while some killers are pilloried and punished, others are absolved and acquitted, and still others are lauded and lionized. Why? The traditional answer is that how killers are treated depends on the nature

This magisterial work is the first comprehensive study of the ethics of killing, where the moral status of the individual killed is uncertain. Drawing on philosophical notions of personal identity and the immorality of killing, McMahan looks carefully at a host of practical issues, including abortion, infanticide, the killing of

Applied Ethics: An Impartial Introduction prepares readers to evaluate selected classical and contemporary problems in applied ethics in a way that does justice to their complexity without sacrificing clarity or fairness of representation. Its balanced exposition and analysis, enhanced by helpful pedagogical features, make it an ideal book for introducing

A revised, expanded and updated edition with contributions by 325 renowned authorities in the field of ethics. All of the original articles have been newly peer-reviewed and revised, bibliographies have been updated throughout, and the overall design of the work has been enhanced for easier access to cross-references and other

What happens when two intelligent and highly informed fictional college students, one strongly pro-choice and the other vigorously pro-life, are asked to put together a presentation on abortion? Their conversations over five days – friendly but lively, charitable but clear – are captured in this book. Through these dialogues, students