What do you think?
Rate this book
After Dinner Conversation - Equality Ethics: Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Fiction
Ranked Top 10 "Best Lit Mags of 2023" by Chill Subs
Synopsis: Carefully curated stories from our monthly magazine to create a themed short story book about the philosophy and ethics of equality and diversity. Perfect for classrooms and book clubs, each story is 1,500-7,000 words and comes with five suggested discussion questions.
A Wolf On The Bus: A wolf rides the bus, and is subject to discrimination by riders and police.Teddy And Roosevelt: Two misfit boys strike up an unlikely friendship in the shadow of President Roosevelt.The Hanging Man: Patrons ignore a dead homeless man hanging in the corner of a posh art gallery opening.Never Enough (Until You Earn It): Two African refugees make their way to Europe and are provided "basic income."Drag Brunch: Hannah's gay friend is excluded from her bachelorette party.What We Talk About When We Talk About Reincarnation: A gay couple, and a trans couple, get together for drinks and try to figure out what it means to be a man/woman.The Draft: Society forces all babies to be born, but creates a lottery system requiring all men to care for the offspring.The Human Experience: A married couple negotiates the genetic future of their unborn child.The Crate: Two women escape from a country that forces equal treatment to one that encourages differences, and find both have their issues.As You Wish: An elderly woman finds a trunk of tattered stuffed animals and makes a promise to fix them all.
Reviews ★★★★★
“With Science fiction we can explore other galaxies and alien conflicts, but with philosophical fiction we can explore other minds and ethical conflicts. Let this book take you on a Phi-Fi adventure.”
— William Irwin, Ph.D. - Philosophy Professor, King's College
“After Dinner Conversation has taken up the initiative to write themed collections of short stories that fit focused ethics courses – say, a course on bioethics, AI ethics, Tech ethics etc. These collections can offer a spine for such courses or individual stories could be added to a course as illustrative material to stimulate discussion. The stories are lively and engaging and followed by a set of questions to start classroom discussion. Also, outside of educational contexts, the stories will work nicely to stimulate conversation in families, elder hostels, youth clubs, or book groups.”
— Luc Bovens, Ph.D. - Philosophy Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Synopsis: Carefully curated stories from our monthly magazine to create a themed short story book about the philosophy and ethics of equality and diversity. Perfect for classrooms and book clubs, each story is 1,500-7,000 words and comes with five suggested discussion questions.
A Wolf On The Bus: A wolf rides the bus, and is subject to discrimination by riders and police.Teddy And Roosevelt: Two misfit boys strike up an unlikely friendship in the shadow of President Roosevelt.The Hanging Man: Patrons ignore a dead homeless man hanging in the corner of a posh art gallery opening.Never Enough (Until You Earn It): Two African refugees make their way to Europe and are provided "basic income."Drag Brunch: Hannah's gay friend is excluded from her bachelorette party.What We Talk About When We Talk About Reincarnation: A gay couple, and a trans couple, get together for drinks and try to figure out what it means to be a man/woman.The Draft: Society forces all babies to be born, but creates a lottery system requiring all men to care for the offspring.The Human Experience: A married couple negotiates the genetic future of their unborn child.The Crate: Two women escape from a country that forces equal treatment to one that encourages differences, and find both have their issues.As You Wish: An elderly woman finds a trunk of tattered stuffed animals and makes a promise to fix them all.
Reviews ★★★★★
“With Science fiction we can explore other galaxies and alien conflicts, but with philosophical fiction we can explore other minds and ethical conflicts. Let this book take you on a Phi-Fi adventure.”
— William Irwin, Ph.D. - Philosophy Professor, King's College
“After Dinner Conversation has taken up the initiative to write themed collections of short stories that fit focused ethics courses – say, a course on bioethics, AI ethics, Tech ethics etc. These collections can offer a spine for such courses or individual stories could be added to a course as illustrative material to stimulate discussion. The stories are lively and engaging and followed by a set of questions to start classroom discussion. Also, outside of educational contexts, the stories will work nicely to stimulate conversation in families, elder hostels, youth clubs, or book groups.”
— Luc Bovens, Ph.D. - Philosophy Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
165 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 21, 2024
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 21, 2024
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This anthology of 10 short stories, all relating to equality ethics, is well worth the read. I found each story to be well-written and engaging.
"The Hanging Man" was a short but disturbing look at how society treats its outcasts.
"Drag Brunch" made me cringe the whole way through—in a good way. It was an honest look at a complicated friendship. The line "You thought you were her bff, but to her, you were always the gbf" hit so hard!
"What We Talk About When We Talk About Reincarnation" felt like a very real portrayal of a relationship where one person is significantly older and a little set in their ways.
My favorite story was "The Human Experience." If you could pay to give your child a genetic edge, would you?
But really, I enjoyed all the stories. They were compelling and thought-provoking, delivering exactly what was promised.
This anthology of 10 short stories, all relating to equality ethics, is well worth the read. I found each story to be well-written and engaging.
"The Hanging Man" was a short but disturbing look at how society treats its outcasts.
"Drag Brunch" made me cringe the whole way through—in a good way. It was an honest look at a complicated friendship. The line "You thought you were her bff, but to her, you were always the gbf" hit so hard!
"What We Talk About When We Talk About Reincarnation" felt like a very real portrayal of a relationship where one person is significantly older and a little set in their ways.
My favorite story was "The Human Experience." If you could pay to give your child a genetic edge, would you?
But really, I enjoyed all the stories. They were compelling and thought-provoking, delivering exactly what was promised.
December 18, 2025
Ugh, if the story "Wolf on the Bus" is After Dinner Conversation's idea of philosophy—a heavy handed allegory that tries to equate the reaction people have when a live wolf gets on the bus to the prejudice some have when a person of color gets on the bus—I can't say that I have interest in reading more. The allegory is absurd. Wolves will tear a calving cow hind end to shreds to get at the tender young offspring. Here's a recent story about a wolf killing 9 people. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wolves-k...
Wolf in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts = Black person? WTF?
Preachy, racist and silly.
Wolf in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts = Black person? WTF?
Preachy, racist and silly.
July 24, 2024
A thought-provoking set if short stories, each tackling a philosophical idea in an interesting way.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews