A Pocket Guide to Ethical Issues

The author of this highly informative book is an Anglican priest who teaches ethics at a theological college in Oxford. He begins by observing how many ethical issues come up in just one week of news. He then invites readers to examine their moral beliefs, the origins of their opinions, the reasons put forward to defend their view and asks what is the strongest argument against the position they hold. He then digs deeper to look at questions of death, suffering and freedom, pointing out that we should all formulate our own views on such topics. The first few chapters look at the implications of new reproductive technologies but the author then ranges widely over such diverse topics as a war, animals, environment, asylum, poverty and euthanasia. In each case he provides the factual background before considering a range of possible views and presenting his own conclusion. The book helps the reader gets to grips with the many complex ethical issues facing us today.