Fagothey's Right and Reason Ethics in Theory and Practice

Fagothey's Right and Reasonintroduces the reader to the living tradition of the Aristotelian-Thomistic ethical system, applying the wisdom of that tradition to the discoveries and problems of contemporary life. This text incorporates whatever seems worthwhile in later speculations as a genuine development, extension, clarification, or application of Aristotelian-Thomistic principles. In this ninth edition I have made every effort to be open to new insights and understandings while at the same time being aware that anyone's knowledge of the truth is always fragmentary. Newly discovered fragments of the truth need to be fitted into one's grasp of the whole, perhaps adding to it a new perspective or bringing out more clearly what is already known, and at times correcting a previous hasty judgment about what is currently being said or done. We live in a pluralistic society in which any number of differing moral viewpoints coexist more or less peaceably with one another. That very pluralism has often prompted teachers to introduce their students to ethics by using anthologies of ethical writings.Fagothey's Right and Reasonis for those students and teachers who have found this anthology approach unsatisfactory. This book provides the reader with one consistent point of view. Since everyone must begin somewhere to learn to think clearly and consistently about the moral problems we face daily at every level of our lives, the Aristotelian-Thomistic synthesis is an admirable base from which to make this start. Even in a pluralistic setting such as our own, moral positions are seen to be the result of a process of right reasoning and not the pure subjectivism of a "gut" reaction. Whether or not the reader is convinced by the Aristotelian-Thomistic synthesis as it is presented here, at the very least he or she has an excellent point of departure from which to discover something better or more adequate for life. This book is designed for undergraduate courses in ethics. At the time of the first edition, such courses were commonly year-long or two-semester courses, the first semester devoted to ethical theory and the second to practical problems that arise in everyday life. Obviously, the teacher must adapt the material for the now more common one-semester or -quarter course. The book has been successfully used for introductory courses in ethics as well as for courses treating contemporary moral problems, business ethics, medical ethics, the ethics of war and peace, and various adult education courses. With the student in mind, every effort has been made to make the text readable and to provide discussion questions that are interesting and pertinent to everyday life. MAJOR CHANGES IN THE NINTH EDITION Since the publication of the eighth edition, ethics itself has often been the focus of national attention. At almost every turn we have been faced with ethical situations: the truthfulness in government, the confidentiality on Wall Street, the rights of genetic parents to raise their children, the just treatment of immigrants, the rights of journalists to report on the private lives of presidential candidates and nominees to the Supreme Court, the merits of arms-control agreements, the appropriateness of capital punishment, the handling and disposal of nuclear wastes, and so on. Public comment and debate on various issues has served to underscore the fact of pluralism in our society and has prompted some philosophers to search for a common moral ground that we can all agree on. Accordingly, Chapter 1, "Ethics," has been revised. In place of the section on the possibility of a science of ethics, there are now two new sections, one on ethics as a scientifically objective discipline and the other on ethics in a pluralistic society. Pluralism is a fact of life in the United States and throughout the free world. Even so, one position on a moral question is not necessarily just as good as another. StuGonsalves, Milton A. is the author of 'Fagothey's Right and Reason Ethics in Theory and Practice', published 1990 under ISBN 9780675209144 and ISBN 0675209145.