The Ethical Project

The Ethical Project PDF

Author: Philip Kitcher

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2014-03-31

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 0674265149

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Principles of right and wrong guide the lives of almost all human beings, but we often see them as external to ourselves, outside our own control. In a revolutionary approach to the problems of moral philosophy, Philip Kitcher makes a provocative proposal: Instead of conceiving ethical commands as divine revelations or as the discoveries of brilliant thinkers, we should see our ethical practices as evolving over tens of thousands of years, as members of our species have worked out how to live together and prosper. Elaborating this radical new vision, Kitcher shows how the limited altruistic tendencies of our ancestors enabled a fragile social life, how our forebears learned to regulate their interactions with one another, and how human societies eventually grew into forms of previously unimaginable complexity. The most successful of the many millennia-old experiments in how to live, he contends, survive in our values today. Drawing on natural science, social science, and philosophy to develop an approach he calls "pragmatic naturalism," Kitcher reveals the power of an evolving ethics built around a few core principles-including justice and cooperation-but leaving room for a diversity of communities and modes of self-expression. Ethics emerges as a beautifully human phenomenon-permanently unfinished, collectively refined and distorted generation by generation. Our human values, Kitcher shows, can be understood not as a final system but as a project-the ethical project-in which our species has engaged for most of its history, and which has been central to who we are.

Good Work

Good Work PDF

Author: Howard E Gardner

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2008-08-01

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 0786723386

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What does it mean to carry out "good work"? What strategies allow people to maintain moral and ethical standards at a time when market forces have unprecedented power and work life is being radically altered by technological innovation? These questions lie at the heart of this eagerly awaited new book. Focusing on genetics and journalism-two fields that generate and manipulate information and thus affect our lives in myriad ways-the authors show how in their quest to build meaningful careers successful professionals exhibit "humane creativity," high-level performance coupled with social responsibility. Over the last five years the authors have interviewed over 100 people in each field who are engaged in cutting-edge work, probing their goals and visions, their obstacles and fears, and how they pass on their most cherished practices and values. They found sharp contrasts between the two fields. Until now, geneticists' values have not been seriously challenged by the demands of their work world, while journalists are deeply disillusioned by the conflict between commerce and ethics. The dilemmas these professionals face and the strategies they choose in their search for a moral compass offer valuable guidance on how all persons can transform their professions and their lives. Enlivened with stories of real people facing hard decisions, Good Work offers powerful insight into one of the most important issues of our time and, indeed, into the future course of science, technology, and communication.

Experiments in Ethics

Experiments in Ethics PDF

Author: Kwame Anthony Appiah

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2010-03-30

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 0674252020

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In the past few decades, scientists of human nature—including experimental and cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists, evolutionary theorists, and behavioral economists—have explored the way we arrive at moral judgments. They have called into question commonplaces about character and offered troubling explanations for various moral intuitions. Research like this may help explain what, in fact, we do and feel. But can it tell us what we ought to do or feel? In Experiments in Ethics, the philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah explores how the new empirical moral psychology relates to the age-old project of philosophical ethics. Some moral theorists hold that the realm of morality must be autonomous of the sciences; others maintain that science undermines the authority of moral reasons. Appiah elaborates a vision of naturalism that resists both temptations. He traces an intellectual genealogy of the burgeoning discipline of "experimental philosophy," provides a balanced, lucid account of the work being done in this controversial and increasingly influential field, and offers a fresh way of thinking about ethics in the classical tradition. Appiah urges that the relation between empirical research and morality, now so often antagonistic, should be seen in terms of dialogue, not contest. And he shows how experimental philosophy, far from being something new, is actually as old as philosophy itself. Beyond illuminating debates about the connection between psychology and ethics, intuition and theory, his book helps us to rethink the very nature of the philosophical enterprise.

The Human Genome Project in College Curriculum

The Human Genome Project in College Curriculum PDF

Author: Aine Donovan

Publisher: UPNE

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 9781584656951

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Begun formally in 1990, the U.S. Human Genome Project's (HGP) goals were to identify all the 20,000 to 25,000 genes in human DNA, determine the sequences of the three billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA, store this information in databases, improve tools for data analysis, and transfer related technologies to the private sector. It was the first large scientific undertaking to address potential issues that arose from project data, and opened up vast possibilities for the use of genetic data and the alteration of our genetic makeup. This volume is the first to address the diverse range of ethical issues arising from the HGP, and enables professors to bring this critically important topic to life in the classroom. ';

Ethics for a Small Planet

Ethics for a Small Planet PDF

Author: Biodiversity Project

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780615122588

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This handbook on the ethical and theological underpinnings of biodiversity conservation is meant to be a tool to open a broader conversation on the ethical considerations related to protecting species, habitat, and ecosystems. Featuring essays from a distinguished group of ethicists, theologians, environmental advocates and communications experts, the purpose of this publication is to help biodiversity spokespersons understand the ethical and religious frameworks in which biodiversity issues are discussed so that they can communicate more effectively with the public. The University of Wisconsin Press no longer distributes this title. The book is still in print and copies may be ordered from: Biodiversity Project 214 N Henry St Ste 201 Madison, WI 53703 Tel: 608-250-9876 Fax: 608-257-3513 Email: [email protected] www.biodiversityproject.org

Ethics and Project Management

Ethics and Project Management PDF

Author: Ralph L. Kliem, PMP

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2011-10-14

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1439852618

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Ethics plays a critical role in project management, but all too often, its importance is overlooked. This benign neglect can result in serious consequences to individuals and organizations, ranging from tarnished reputations to civil and criminal liability. Ethics and Project Management demonstrates the importance of making ethics a key consideration in managing projects and describes the impacts that occur when ethical transgressions arise. Providing the tools necessary for project managers to avoid an ethical lapse that can put themselves and their organization at risk, this volume: Defines ethics and places it within the project management context Discusses the contents of the Project Management Institute’s code of ethics Enables project managers to recognize the trends that precipitate ethical dilemmas on a project Demonstrates how ethical concerns permeate the entire project life cycle Provides tips on establishing a governance protocol to ensure ethical compliance Explores legal issues that arise from unethical behavior Examines how ethical concerns on a project can have global implications, and how to operate in international settings with cultural differences Each chapter ends with a Getting Started Checklist, facilitating immediate application of the concepts discussed and making it easy for project managers to determine whether they are in compliance with ethical standards. Providing a solid roadmap for the ethical health of a project, this volume is essential reading for all those concerned with avoiding the disastrous consequences of a cavalier approach to ethics. Praise for the book: ... a great desktop reference for any project manager. It is a must-have title to complete any project management library and I recommend it to both new and highly experienced project managers. —Gregg D. Richie, PMP, MCTS, CNP, Managing Principal, P8, LLC

Project Ethics

Project Ethics PDF

Author: Haukur Ingi Jonasson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-03-02

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 1351908537

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How relevant is ethics to project management? The book - which aims to demystify the field of ethics for project managers and managers in general - takes both a critical and a practical look at project management in terms of success criteria, and ethical opportunities and risks. The goal is to help the reader to use ethical theory to further identify opportunities and risks within their projects and thereby to advance more directly along the path of mature and sustainable managerial practice. Project Ethics opens with an investigation of the critical success factors in project management. It then illustrates how situations can arise within projects where values can compete, and looks at how ethical theories on virtue, utility, duty and rights can be used as competence eye-openers to evaluate projects. The reader is challenged to think of their project management experiences where questions of competing values surfaced, and mirror them in short vignettes taken from real practice from all round the globe. Finally, a new method is introduced, based on classical ethical theory, which can help project owners, project managers, project teams and stakeholders, to identify, estimate and evaluate ethical opportunities and risks in projects.

Moral Progress

Moral Progress PDF

Author: Philip Kitcher

Publisher:

Published:

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 9780197549186

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This inaugural volume in the 'Munich Lectures in Ethics' series presents lectures by noted philosopher Philip Kitcher. In these lectures Kitcher develops further the pragmatist approach to moral philosophy, begun in his book 'The Ethical Project'. He uses three historical examples of moral progress - the abolition of chattel slavery, the expansion of opportunities for women, and the increasing acceptance of same-sex love - to propose methods for moral inquiry. In his recommended methodology, Kitcher sees moral progress, for individuals and for societies, through collective discussions that become more inclusive, better informed, and involve participants more inclined to engage with the perspectives of others and aim at actions tolerable by all.