Animal thought, recent work on

By Rey, Georges; Hauser, Marc

In recent years there has been a good deal of experimental work on the question of animal cognition, much of it modelled on recent experiments in infant cognition. ...

Agricultural ethics

By Comstock, Gary L.

Agricultural ethics is the study of moral issues raised by farming. These include: human interference with the course of nature; the effects of certain agricultural practices on present ...

Hindu philosophy

By Clear, Edeltraud Harzer

Hindu philosophy is the longest surviving philosophical tradition in India. We can recognize several historical stages. The earliest, from around 700 bc, was the proto-philosophical period, when ...

International law, philosophy of

By Buchanan, Allen

The philosophy of international law has a long history, reaching back on some accounts beyond the Medieval period to late Hellenistic philosophy. In the twentieth century work in ...

Genetics and ethics

By Chadwick, Ruth

The identification of human genes poses problems about the use of resources, and about ownership and use of genetic information, and could lead to overemphasis of the importance ...

Life and death

By Harris, John

Problems concerning life and death are among the most dramatic and intractable in philosophy and they feature in all fundamental areas of philosophical inquiry, especially ethics. Most basic ...

Bioethics, Jewish

By Zohar, Noam J.

Jewish bioethics seeks to apply Jewish modes of normative discourse in bioethics. For some moral issues in medicine, explicit guidance may be found in the traditional sources of ...

Ancient philosophy

By Sedley, David

The philosophy of the Greco-Roman world from the sixth century bc to the sixth century ad laid the foundations for all subsequent Western philosophy. Its greatest ...

Information technology and ethics

By Nissenbaum, Helen

Information technology ethics is the study of the ethical issues arising out of the use and development of electronic technologies. Its goal is to identify and formulate answers ...

Moral education

By White, John

This entry looks at three contemporary approaches to moral learning and education, all of which have roots in the history of philosophy. The first holds that just as ...

Putnam, Hilary (1926–2016)

Putnam’s work spans a broad spectrum of philosophical interests, yet nonetheless reflects thematic unity in its concern over the question of realism. The dynamic nature of Putnam's thought ...

Technology and ethics

By Mitcham, Carl; Nissenbaum, Helen

Only within the modern period have philosophers made a direct and sustained study of ethics and technology. Their work follows two philosophical traditions, each marked by distinct styles: ...

Bioethics

By Frey, R.G.

While bioethics, a part of applied ethics, is usually identified with medical ethics, in its broadest sense it is the study of the moral, social and political problems ...

Ethics and psychology

By Doris, John M.; Stich, Stephen P.

Psychological research promises substantive contributions to philosophical ethics. Arguments purporting to show that empirical considerations are of sharply limited relevance to ethical reflection, such as those commonly associated ...

Moral hypocrisy

By Isserow, Jessica

The term ‘hypocrisy’ is said to derive from the Greek words ‘hupokrasis’ and ‘hupokrinesthai’, the former meaning ‘acting a part’, and the latter meaning ‘to act on a ...

Engineering and ethics

By Davis, Michael

Engineering ethics is a form of applied or professional ethics concerned with the conduct of engineers strictly speaking. ‘Engineer’ is has a number of uses not relevant here, ...

Future generations, obligations to

By De-Shalit, Avner

There are at least three different views concerning obligations to future generations. One is that morality does not apply here, future generations not being in any reciprocal relationship ...

Self-deception, ethics of

By Martin, Mike W.

Self-deception is complicated and perplexing because it concerns all major aspects of human nature, including consciousness, rationality, motivation, freedom, happiness, and value commitments. In a wide sense, ‘self-deception’ ...

Moral psychology

By Slote, Michael

Moral psychology as a discipline is centrally concerned with psychological issues that arise in connection with the moral evaluation of actions. It deals with the psychological presuppositions of ...

Respect for persons

By Hill, Thomas E.

The idea that one should treat persons with due respect is an important part of common sense morality, but opinions differ about when respect is called for, ...

Help and beneficence

By Murphy, Liam B.

Which people are we morally required to help, and to what extent? In a world where the basic needs of many millions remain unmet, this is a philosophical ...

Help and beneficence

Which people are we morally required to help, and to what extent? In a world where the basic needs of many millions remain unmet, this is a philosophical ...

Abortion, the ethics of

By Manninen, Bertha Alvarez

Is abortion – the ending of a pregnancy via the termination of foetal life – morally permissible? Philosophers, as well as non-philosophers, are torn. One pro-life argument is ...

Applied ethics

By Almond, Brenda

Applied ethics is marked out from ethics in general by its special focus on issues of practical concern. It therefore includes medical ethics, environmental ethics, and evaluation of ...

Applied ethics

Applied ethics is marked out from ethics in general by its special focus on issues of practical concern. It is concerned with ethical issues in various fields of ...