Talking About Ethics: A Conversational Approach to Moral Dilemmas

by Michael S. Jones, Mark J. Farnham, David L. Saxon

An accessible introduction to ethics through engaging dialogues
Talking About Ethics provides the reader with all of the tools necessary to develop a coherent approach to ethical decision making. Using the tools of ethical theory, the authors show how these theories play out in relation to a wide variety of ethical questions using an accessible dialogue format. The chapters follow three college students as they discuss today's most important ethical issues with their families and friends,
• Immigration
• Capital punishment
• Legalization of narcotics
• Abortion
• Premarital sex
• Reproductive technologies
• Gender identity
• The environment, and many more
The engaging dialogue format illustrates how these topics often take shape in the real world, and model critical thinking and Christian ethical decision making. Study aids in each chapter include overviews, sidebars, reflection questions, glossaries, and recommended reading. Ideal as a textbook for undergraduate ethics courses, it is also accessible enough for high school classes and personal study.

479 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 23, 2021

Reviews

[Rachel Mayes Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ethics can be a rather dry, esoteric discipline, but this book makes it approachable and practical. As the title suggests, the goal here is to talk about ethics, not to force conformity to a particular ethical system, and the author's accomplish it admirably. They avoid straw-man arguments and leave many questions open-ended. I can definitely see this book working well in the college ethics classroom for which it was designed, but it's a good overview for non-college students as well.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: An approach, which after a chapter of laying out different ethical approaches, applies these through fictional conversations between three students, friends, and classmates discussing various contemporary ethical issues.

This book offers an alternative to the traditional books on ethical issues and decision-making. Most of these consist of a series of discursive treatments of each ethical issue, citing major theorists and how they argue to their conclusions. This book is different. It features three students, Micah, a thoughtful evangelical, Bianca, an Eastern Orthodox immigrant, and Lauren, an atheist nursing student, taking the same ethics class. Early in the term, they meet at a favorite tea and coffee shop, the Grey Earl, and after discussing their last class, they decide to form a study group to both learn the material and dig more deeply into various ethical issues.

An introductory chapter formally lays out the ethical approaches of ethical relativism and ethical absolutism, and theoretical approaches including virtue ethics, utilitarianism, Kant’s duty ethics, natural law ethics, divine command and divine nature ethics. Subsequent chapters explore:

Humanitarian issues: immigration, capital punishment, torture, and animal rights.
Medical ethics: legalizing narcotics, abortion, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, organ transplantation, and reproductive technology and human cloning.
Marriage and sex: premarital sex, homosexuality, gender identity.
International issues: environmentalism, world hunger, war.

Discussions by our three students are the primary vehicle for exploring each issue. How and where the issues arise vary. Some follow from or are classroom discussions, or projects the group decides to work on for extra credit. In the case of the discussion on euthanasia, the conversation arises from a relative of Micah receiving a serious cancer diagnosis. In another case Lauren is introduced to an environmental club by a friend and goes back to the group with questions about environmental ethics not covered in the class. Homosexuality arises out of a conversation between Bianca and a friend who comes to her after the friend learns one of her roommates is lesbian. In each discussion, different ethical approaches and theories are applied and critiqued as they relate to the issue.

There are several things I like about this approach. One is that it presumes a level of intelligence and engagement on the part of the students–these students do there homework, engage in rigorous questioning with courtesy toward each other, and think hard. Second is that it models ethical reasoning in real life as opposed to abstract, discursive arguments. The third thing I liked, which I don’t always see in Christian-based texts, is that the chapters don’t resolve with “the Christian answer.” Students arrive at different answers and the presence of Lauren reveals how a secular student might ethically reason without reference to faith. The Christians don’t always agree, and don’t always know at the start what they think. I personally appreciated chapters on torture, animal rights and organ transplantation that challenged me to think more deeply about these issues.

Each chapter concludes with questions to ponder, key terms discussed in the chapter, and a list of books, both general and Christian, for further study. An extensive bibliography is offered at the end. The book seems designed well for use in a college ethics course or a collegiate ministry course on ethical issues. It might serve as a supplemental text to an ethics course in a secular setting and might even serve as the basis for group conversations similar to those of Micah, Bianca, and Lauren. It is also a helpful resource for anyone who wants to explore the issues of the book in more depth or who may be called upon to comment on them.

____________________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Jessica Dart · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest…. This was one of the best ethics books I have ever read! When it comes to ethics it can be really hard a heavy. There’s so much to consider and is really hard when you stand on an ethical issue differently than someone else. But in this book I love the way they are trying to teach ethical issues. You’re not just reading just one person’s opinion but three! In this book you literally reading 3 students conversations who all have different perspectives and livelihoods that morph and shape the way they view ethical issues. It feels like your part of the conversation and you get so many perspectives. Plus you get to see how they tangle and mange times when disagreements happen (which with ethical issues it bound to happen) But you see how they push through it in a respectful manor and display importance of being open minded and to be truly listening to why someone stands where they stand wile they also give you the same treatment back. I honestly loveeeee talking about ethical issues and this book has taught me a thing or two on better ways to approach it when talking about it with other. Ughh!! I’ll stop but for real love it.

[Barry Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

To quote the authors, “Ethics is the systematic study of morality; it is the attempt to discern what is morally right from what is morally wrong” (p. 23). This book offers an intriguing treatment of the topic of ethics, introduced in what the authors describe as the “least entertaining” Chapter 1, covering the basic ethical theories, followed by Chapters 2-16 of the conversations primarily between 3 individuals, an atheist, a Greek Orthodox, and an evangelical Christian, discussing key ethical topics in connection with their ethics class, the theories they were encountering, and their own time in conversation at the Grey Earl coffee shop. No answers are provided for any of these topics, but each chapter closes with specific questions, applicable terms, and related reading.

In summary, here are the key considerations presented in Chapter 1.
Ethical Theory
Ethical Relativism: nothing is right or wrong in itself, but based on the relationship to something else
- Cultural Relativism: right or wrong is determined by the culture in which the individual lives
- Ethical Absolutism:- there are at least some timeless and unchanging principles
Ethical Absolutism - there are timeless and unchanging principles that apply to all for all times
- Nihilism: morality is an illusion, used by the weak to protect themselves
- Subjectivism: moral judgments are individual to each person
- Situation Ethics: nothing is either moral or immoral, but must be placed in its immediate context

Ethical Theories
- Virtue Ethics: from Aristotle, ethics relate to the individual’s virtues, focusing on developing a virtuous character; these character traits are known as “the Golden Mean”
Natural Law Ethics: from Thomas Aquinas, says that ethics is woven into the very fabric of reality, as in the laws of nature
- Utilitarianism: maximal utility, ethical actions are whatever provides the most benefit to the greatest number of people
- Duty Ethics: from Immanuel Kant, employs the “categorical imperative,” acting in a manner that you wouldn’t mind others doing, similar to the Golden Rule
- Divine Command Theory: morality and immorality are determined by a sovereign God. A challenge of this is the “Euthyphro Dilemma,” which says that a moral neutrality exists until God declares something to be either moral or immoral
- Divine Nature Ethics: the standard of morality isn’t outside of God, but is God himself

These are the topics under consideration in Chapters 2-16.
Humanitarian Issues - Immigration, Capital Punishment, Torture, Animal Rights
Medical Ethics - Legalizing Narcotics, Abortion, Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide, Organ Transplantation, Reproductive Technology/Human Cloning
Marriage and Sex - Premarital Sex, Homosexuality, Gender Identity
International issues - Environmentalism, World Hunger, War

In concluding this extraordinarily thought-provoking book, it is this reader’s opinion that the authors did an exemplary job of treating the various approaches and thought processes of the actors in the conversations, even as they acknowledge they are “committed to Divine Nature Theory,” acknowledging that not all ethical dilemmas are “clearly resolved by simple appeal to scriptural mandate” (p. 388).

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teaching ethics presents numerous challenges. If we spend a lot of time on ethical theory, the result can quickly become glazed-over looks and loss of attention. But if we move directly into applied ethics, we run the risk of coming to conclusions about various issues without ever really understanding what thought processes we are using in the process. And that leads to the quandary of trying to determine how deep to go into ethical systems and philosophies based on the context of the group you are working with. Talking About Ethics goes a long way towards correcting these issues.
The authors begin with a short section on ethical theories. This lays the foundation for the rest of the work. It is long enough that readers will receive a basic overview of various ethical theories but short enough that it doesn’t get introductory readers lost in the weeds. After the first chapter, the book turns into a story-based interaction with various ethical issues. The chapters follow several friends who are all taking the same Ethics class and who gather regularly to discuss various ethical issues. This format lends a story-like quality to the book and makes the chapters very easy to read.
The book divides ethical issues into four general categories: Humanitarian Issues, Medical Ethics, Marriage and Sex, and International Issues. Within each section are a number of chapters that focus on very specific issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and climate change.
This is a very strong intro-level ethics book. The chapters are very well written, and one of the nice features of the work is the sheer number of footnotes and extra resources listed that give the reader plenty of sources for deeper research on specific issues or theories. This is helpful because the book is NOT a Christian ethics book. The intent is not to give believers a worldview for approaching ethical issues. It is a general overview of the field of ethics. This is an important distinction to make so that confusion is avoided. Multiple ethical theories are applied to each ethical issue in a way that would make this work accessible in both Christian and secular contexts. In a way, this is another strength of the book. The reader is forced to look at issues through the eyes of those who profess faith in Christ and those who deny the existence of God.
Like most books that have multiple authors, the chapters can at times be a little unequal in quality, but there is a remarkable level of consistency throughout the book. The chapters that deal with issues that are moral and biblical are addressed more clearly from a biblical perspective than those that are more purely social in nature. For example, the chapter on abortion is very well written.
Overall, Talking About Ethics is well written and would be a great resource for an intro-level Ethics class on the college or seminary level, personal study, or a small group or Sunday School class in the local church. It really is that versatile and beneficial.
I received a free copy of this book from Kregel Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Vurtqxyrfhujuy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The books treatment of ethical positions, if not quite as raging as your typical Christian apologetic tripe, is still clearly biased towards Christianity and it's views on ethics. The dialogues that are supposed to be the meat of the book are too simplistic to really serve as a basis for an ethical discussion (almost to the point of being bad caricatures).

[Paul Vawter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a read for secondary students or young adults. This is a helpful survey of the major ethical theories and practical discussions of 15 arenas of ethical concern. While the authors clearly have a perspective on the issues addressed, they allow the reader to observe some of the pros and cons of each theory when applied to real-world problems.

[Lynnae Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book nearly two years ago and I still think about it often and have recommended it to several, regardless of their religious beliefs. The authors teach the reader about ethics and then present a variety of real-world scenarios through the fictitious college study group comprised of students with varying religious beliefs and ethical views. While frustrating, I truly appreciate the approach of this text: the authors present the point of view without mandating or confirming any particular stance. That is for the reader to decide.