This thought-provoking collection of readings helps students develop reasoned views on twelve different contemporary social issues - including multiculturalism, Quebec nationalism, the role of government, animal rights, and more. Additionally, the text includes a short primer on ethical and
political theories and helps students plot their ethical and political views on the philosophical map.
Preface
Introduction: Short Primer on Ethics, Political Philosophy, and the Canadian Legal System
Suggested Readings
Reading and Understanding Philosophy
Part One: Who Are We?
Introduction
1. Aboriginal Peoples1.
James Tully: "A Just Relationship between
Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Peoples in Canada"
John Borrows: "'Landed' Citizenship: Narrative of Aboriginal Political Participation"
Monique Deveuax: "Conflicting Equalities? Cultural Group Rights and Sex Equality"
2. Quebec Nationalism
Maracel Chaput: "Why I Am a
Separatist"
Diane Lamoureux: "Two Ways to Politicize Identity"
Charles Taylor: "Shared and Divergent Values"
3. Multiculturalism
Introduction
Ayelet Shachar: "Faith in Law? Diffusing Tensions between Diversity and Equality"
Benjamin L. Berger: "The Cultural Limits of
Legal Tolerance"
Joseph H. Carens and Melissa S. Williams: "Islam, Immigration, and Group Recognition"
4. English-Speaking Canadian
Hugh Segal: "Advancing the 'Canadian Ideal'"
Will Kymlicka: "Being Canadian"
Part Two: Who Are "We"?
5. Abortion
Judith
Jarvis Thomson: "A Defense of Abortion"
Don Marquis: "Why Abortion Is Immoral"
L.W. Sumner: "Abortion"
Susan Sherwin: "Abortion"
6. Animal Rights
Tom Regan: "Do Animals Have a Right to Life?"
Steven L. Davis: "The Least Harm Principle May Require that Humans Consume a
Diet Containing Large Herbivores, Not a Vegan Diet"
David Fraser: "Understanding Animal Welfare"
Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka: "From Polis to Zoopolis: A Political Theory of Animal Rights"
Part Three: What Do We Owe Each Other?
7. The Role of Government
Karen
Wendling: "Four Myths about Government"
Tasha Kheiridden and Adam Daifallah: "Vision Wanted: Tax Cuts Aren't Enough"
John Roberts: "Liberalism: The Return of the Perennial Philosophy"
Ed Broadbent: "Equality Is the Core Value of Democracy"
8. Health and Health
Care
Introduction
Odette Madore: "The Canada Health Act: Overview and Options"
Supreme Court of Canada, Chaoulli v. Quebec
Susan Sherwin: "Theory versus Practice in Ethics: A Feminist Perspective on Justice in Health Care"
Françoise Baylis, Nuala P. Kenny, and Susan Sherwin:
"A Relational Account of Public Health Ethics"
9. Assisted Suicide
Rodriguez v. British Columbia (Attorney General)
Catherine Frazee: "Affidavit of Catherine Frazee, Intervener, Ginette Leblanc v. Attorney General of Canada"
Jocelyn Downie: "Dying Justice"
Part Four:
Living in a Global World
10. War and Its Aftermath
Thomas Hurka: "Proportionality and Necessity"
Brian Orend: "Justice after War"
Roméo Dallaire: Speech at Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
Roméo Dallaire: "The Lessons of Rwanda"
Louise Arbour:
"Crimes against Women under International Law"
11. Real and Suspected Terrorists
Thomas Homer-Dixon: "The Rise of Complex Terrorism"
Trudy Govier and Wilhelm Verwoerd: How Not to Polarize "Victims" and "Perpetrators"
Louise Arbour: "In Our Name and On Our Behalf"
Louise
A. Delvoie: "Terrorism: Global Insecurity or Global Hyperbole?"
Charkaoui v. Canada
12. Responding to Climate Change
Thomas Hurka: "Ethical Principles"
Bjørn Lomborg: "Perspectives on Climate Change"
Thomas Homer-Dixon: "The Great Transformation - Climate Change as
Cultural Change"
Vandana Shiva: "Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis"
Companion Website:
Questions accompany each reading:
- Comprehension questions
- Evaluation questions encourage students to evaluate the arguments in each reading
- Comparison questions help students compare the reading to others throughout the text
Moral and Political
Preferences Indicator
- Online questionnaire that allows students to see how personal views compare to the major theories they're studying
Karen Wendling is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Guelph. Her areas of teaching and research include social and political philosophy, ethics, feminist philosophy, and philosophy of medicine. She has published extensively in journals like Public
Affairs Quarterly, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, and the Journal of Philosophical Research.
The Ethical Life - Russ Shafer-Landau
The Moral Life - Edited by Louis P. Pojman and Lewis Vaughn
Exploring Ethics - Editor Steven M. Cahn
Disputed Moral Issues - Mark Timmons
Contemporary Moral Arguments - Lewis Vaughn
Moral Reasoning - Louis Groarke