•  167
    Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory (edited book)
    Blackwell. 1999.
    Ranging from moral realism to virtue ethics, this superb volume presents a complete state-of-the-art survey of ethical theory. Written by an international assembly of leading moral philosophers, each of the twenty-one newly-commissioned papers develop the main tenets, arguments, themes, and problems of the main normative and meta-ethical philosophical outlooks.
  •  251024
    The Greatest Vice?
    Journal of Practical Ethics 4 (2): 1-24. 2016.
    History teems with instances of “man’s inhumanity to man.” Some wrongs are perpetrated by individuals; most ghastly evils were committed by groups or nations. Other horrific evils were established and sustained by legal systems and supported by cultural mores. This demands explanation. I describe and evaluate four common explanations of evil before discussing more mundane and psychologically informed explanations of wrong-doing. Examining these latter forms helps isolate an additional factor whi…Read more
  •  81
    Animal models in biomedical research: Some epistemological worries
    with Niall Shanks
    Public Affairs Quarterly 7 (2): 113-130. 1993.
  •  102
    Mandatory Drug Testing
    In S. Luper & C. Brown (eds.), Drugs, Morality, and the Law, Garland. 1994.
    By some estimates one-third of American corporations now require their employees to be tested for drug u se. The se requ iremen ts are com patible with general employment law while prom oting the public's in terest in figh ting drug use. Mo reover , the Unite d State s Supreme Court has ruled that drug tes ting prog rams a re cons titutionally p ermiss ible within both the public and the private sectors. It appears m andatory drug tes ting is a permanent fixture of American corporate life. (Baka…Read more
  •  74
    Love and Human Separateness
    Philosophical Books 29 (3): 159-162. 1988.
  •  491
    The truth in ethical relativism
    Journal of Social Philosophy 22 (1): 146-154. 1991.
    Ethical relativism is the thesis that ethical principles or judgments are relative to the individual or culture. When stated so vaguely relativism is embraced by numerous lay persons and a sizeable contingent of philosophers. Other philosophers, however, find the thesis patently false, even wonder how anyone could seriously entertain it. Both factions are on to something, yet both miss something significant as well. Those who whole-heartedly embrace relativism note salient respects in which ethi…Read more
  •  163
    When most people think of legal punishment, they envision a judge or jury convicting a person for a crime, and then sentencing that person in accordance with clearly prescribed penalties, as specified in the criminal law. The person serves the sentence, is released (perhaps a bit early for A good behavior"), and then welcomed back into society as a full-functioning member, adorned with all the rights and responsibilities of ordinary citizens.
  •  182
    The moral and political status of children
    Australasian Journal of Philosophy 82 (4). 2004.
    Book Information The Moral and Political Status of Children. The Moral and Political Status of Children David Archard , Colin M. Macleod , eds. , Oxford and New York : Oxford University Press , 2002 , viii + 296 , US$60 (cloth). Edited by David Archard; , Colin M. Macleod; , eds.. Oxford University Press. Oxford and New York. Pp. viii + 296. US$60 (cloth).
  •  199
    Real men
    In Larry May & Robert Strikwerda (eds.), Rethinking Masculinity: Philosophical Explorations in Light of Feminism, Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 59--74. 1992.
    "Ah, for the good old days, when men were men and women were women." Men who express such sentiments long for the world where homosexuals were ensconced in their closets and women were sexy, demure, and subservient. That is a world well lost -- though not as lost as I would like. More than a few men still practice misogyny and homophobia. The defects of such attitudes are obvious. My concern here is not to document these defects but to ask how real men, men who reject stereotypical male-female r…Read more
  •  56
    Applied Ethics (review)
    Teaching Philosophy 11 (1): 83-84. 1988.
  •  2
    Michael Allaby and Peter Bunyard, The Politics of Self-Sufficiency (review)
    Philosophy in Review 2 47-48. 1982.
  •  39
    William H. ("Will") Aiken, Jr., 1947-2006
    Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 80 (2). 2006.
  •  198
    Freedom of religion and children
    Public Affairs Quarterly (1): 75-87. 1989.
    In a number of recent federal court cases parents have sought to have their children exempted from certain school activities on the grounds that the children's participation in those activities violates their (the parents') right to freedom of religion. In Mozert v. Hawkin's County Public Schools (827 F. 2nd 1058) fundamentalist parents of several Tennessee public school children brought civil action against the school board for violating their constitutional right of freedom of religion. These …Read more
  •  269
    The Practice of Ethics
    Wiley-Blackwell. 2006.
    _The Practice of Ethics_ is an outstanding guide to the burgeoning field of applied ethics, and offers a coherent narrative that is both theoretically and pragmatically grounded for framing practical issues. Discusses a broad range of contemporary issues such as racism, euthanasia, animal rights, and gun control. Argues that ethics must be put into practice in order to be effective. Draws upon relevant insights from history, psychology, sociology, law and biology, as well as philosophy. An excel…Read more
  •  117
    Brute Science: Dilemmas of Animal Experimentation
    with Niall Shanks
    Routledge. 2016.
    _Brute Science_ investigates whether biomedical research using animals is, in fact, scientifically justified. Hugh LaFollette and Niall Shanks examine the issues in scientific terms using the models that scientists themselves use. They argue that we need to reassess our use of animals and, indeed, rethink the standard positions in the debate.
  •  170
    The Intact Systems Argument
    Southern Journal of Philosophy 31 (3): 323-333. 1993.
  •  279
    Private Conscience, Public Acts
    with Eva LaFollette
    Journal of Medical Ethics 33 (5): 249-254. 2007.
    A growing number of medical professionals claim a right of conscience, a right to refuse to perform any professional duty they deem immoral—and to do so with impunity. We argue that professionals do not have the unqualified right of conscience. At most they have a highly qualified right. We focus on the claims of pharmacists, since they are the professionals most commonly claiming this right.
  •  93
    Moral kinds and natural kinds
    with George Graham
    Journal of Value Inquiry 16 (2): 85-99. 1982.
  •  210
    Living on a Slippery Slope
    The Journal of Ethics 9 (3-4): 475-499. 2005.
    Our actions, individually and collectively, inevitably affect others, ourselves, and our institutions. They shape the people we become and the kind of world we inhabit. Sometimes those consequences are positive, a giant leap for moral humankind. Other times they are morally regressive. This propensity of current actions to shape the future is morally important. But slippery slope arguments are a poor way to capture it. That is not to say we can never develop cogent slippery slope arguments. None…Read more
  •  341
    Belief and the Basis of Humor
    with Niall Shanks
    American Philosophical Quarterly 30 (4): 329-39. 1993.
    When theorists have studied humor, they often assumed that laughter was either a necessary or a sufficient condition of humor. It is neither. Although humorous events usually evoke laughter, they do not do so invariably. Humor may evoke smiles or smirks which fall short of laughter. Thus it is not a necessary condition. Nor is it a sufficient condition. People may laugh because they are uncomfortable (nervous laughter), they may laugh at someone (derisive laughter), they may laugh because they a…Read more
  •  152
    The truth in psychological egosim
    In Joel Feinberg (ed.), Reason and responsibility, Dickenson Pub. Co.. 1971.
    Mother Teresa spends her life caring for the poor and the infirm; J. Paul Getty, Jr., spends his life making investments and directing corporations. Although we might be unhappy doing what they do, we assume they are satisfied. Mother Teresa enjoys her work and would be miserable if she had to mastermind corporate takeovers. Getty would be wretched if he had to care for lepers or become a lawn chair salesman.
  •  254
    Controlling guns
    Criminal Justice Ethics 20 (1): 34-39. 2001.
    Wheeler, Stark, and Stell have raised many interesting points concerning gun control that merit extended treatment. Here, however, I will focus only on two. I will then briefly expand on the proposal I offered in the original paper.
  •  314
    Two models of models in biomedical research
    with Niall Shanks
    Philosophical Quarterly 45 (179): 141-160. 1995.
    Biomedical researchers claim there is significant biomedical information about humans which can be discovered only through experiments on intact animal systems (AMA p. 2). Although epidemiological studies, computer simulations, clinical investigation, and cell and tissue cultures have become important weapons in the biomedical scientists' arsenal, these are primarily "adjuncts to the use of animals in research" (Sigma Xi p. 76). Controlled laboratory experiments are the core of the scientific en…Read more
  •  93
    A reply to Frisch
    Philosophy and Public Affairs 11 (2): 181-183. 1982.
  •  62
    Whenever two people have a close relationship, one or both of them may occasionally become jealous. Jealousy can occur in any type of relationship, although it is more frequent and typically more potent between lovers. Hence, I shall begin by discussing jealousy among lovers. Later I will show how that account is also applicable to other close personal relationships.
  •  212
    Animal experimentation: The legacy of Claude Bernard
    with Niall Shanks
    International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 8 (3). 1994.
    Claude Bernard, the father of scientific physiology, believed that if medicine was to become truly scientiifc, it would have to be based on rigorous and controlled animal experiments. Bernard instituted a paradigm which has shaped physiological practice for most of the twentieth century. ln this paper we examine how Bernards commitment to hypothetico-deductivism and determinism led to (a) his rejection of the theory of evolution; (b) his minima/ization of the role of clinical medicine and epidem…Read more
  •  256
    Throughout this book, I made frequent reference to a wide range of moral issues: honesty, jealousy, sexual fidelity, commitment, paternalism, caring, etc. This suggests there is an intricate connection between morality and personal relationships. There is. Of course personal relationships do not always promote moral values, nor do people find all relationships salutary. Some friendships, marriages, and kin relationships are anything but healthy or valuable. We all know (and perhaps are in) some …Read more