David Boonin

The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes

1. A summary biography of Hobbes Noel Malcolm 2. Hobbess scheme of the sciences Tom Sorell 3. First philosophy and the foundations of knowledge Yves Charles Zarka 4. Hobbes and the method of natural science Douglas Jesseph 5. Hobbes and mathematics Hardy Grant 6. Hobbes on light and vision Jan Prins 7. Hobbess psychology Bernard Gert 8. Hobbess moral philosophy Richard Tuck 9. Hobbess political philosophy Alan Ryan 10. Lofty science and local politics Johann Sommerville 11. Hobbes on law M. M. Goldsmith 12. History in Hobbess thought Luc Borot 13. Hobbes on rhetoric Victoria Silver 14. Hobbes on religion Patricia Springborg.

A Defense of Abortion by David Boonin

David Boonin has written the most thorough and detailed case for the moral permissibility of abortion yet published. Critically examining a wide range of arguments that attempt to prove that every human fetus has a right to life, he shows that each of these arguments fails on its own terms. He then explains how even if the fetus does have a right to life, abortion can still be shown to be morally permissible on the critique of abortions own terms. Finally he considers several pro-life arguments that do not depend on claims that the fetus has a right to life and concludes that these too are ultimately unsuccessful. This major book will be especially helpful to those teaching applied ethics and bioethics in philosophy departments or professional schools of law and medicine. It will interest students of women studies and general readers for whom abortion remains a high-profile issue.

How to Argue Against Active Euthanasia

Most arguments against active euthanasia, as do most arguments in applied ethics generally, take place within the framework of what can broadly be referred to as a modern, as opposed to an ancient, approach to moral theory. In this paper, I argue that this fact works to the disadvantage of opponents of active euthanasia, and that if there is a successful argument against active euthanasia, it will be of the latter sort. In Part I, I attempt to clarify the distinction between modern and ancient approaches with which I am concerned. In Part II, I attempt to show that any argument against active euthanasia that is of the first sort is bound to fail. In Part III, I propose an argument against active euthanasia of the second sort that I believe has a better chance for success. In Part IV, I consider some objections that can be raised against this argument and attempt to show how they can be overcome.

Better to Be

Suppose a couple knows that if they conceive a child, the child’s life on the whole will contain a million units of pleasure and a hundred units of pain. Call this the Lucky Couple. If the Lucky Couple decides to conceive, will their act of conceiving harm the resulting child? Most people would say no. To harm a person is to make things worse for that person than they would otherwise be. If the Lucky Couple conceives a child, the child will experience a great balance of pleasure over pain. If the Lucky Couple does not conceive a child, the child will not exist at all, and thus will not experi enceany pleasure or any pain. It is not worse to experience a great balance of pleasure over pain than not to experience any pleasure or any pain. And so, most people will conclude, if the Lucky Couple decides to conceive, their act of conceiving will not harm the resulting child.

Hobbes and the Paradoxes of Political Origins.John Locke and the Origins of Private Property: Philosophical Explorations of Individualism, Community, and Equality

List of abbreviations Preface Part I. Introduction: 1. A philosophical approach to philosophy 2. Preliminary matters Part II. On Equality: 3. Equality unlocked Part III. Labor and Property: 4. The labors of Locke: a critique 5. Once more unto the breach 6. The drawing of consequences Citational appendix Index.