ethical problems

A renowned ethicist who consults clients worldwide offers some . . . thought-provoking ethical dilemmas, presenting . . . questions designed to encourage lively discussions.

"Groundhog wants to please all the animals, but half of them want spring to come quickly and the other half do not--and all of them think he controls the seasons, so what is a poor groundhog to do on Groundhog Day?"--Provided by publisher.

"How do otherwise considerate human beings do cruel things and still live in peace with themselves? Drawing on his agentic theory, Dr. Bandura provides a definitive exposition of the psychosocial mechanism by which people selectively disengage their moral self-sanctions from their harmful conduct. They do so by sanctifying their harmful behavior as serving worthy causes; they absolve themselves of blame for the harm they cause by displacement and diffusion of responsibility; they minimize or deny the harmful effects of their actions; and they dehumanize those they maltreat and blame them for bringing the suffering on themselves. Dr. Bandura's theory of moral disengagement is uniquely broad in scope. Theories of morality focus almost exclusively at the individual level. He insightfully extends the disengagement of morality to the social-system level through which large-scale inhumanities are perpetrated...Moral disengagement will transform your thinking about how otherwise considerate people can behave inhumanely and still feel good about themselves." -- Book jacket.

"Groundhog wants to please all the animals, but half of them want spring to come quickly and the other half do not--and all of them think he controls the seasons, so what is a poor groundhog to do on Groundhog Day?"--Provided by publisher.

Examines some leading issues from the perspective of sharply opposing points of view with the purpose of enhancing our understanding of the issue.

A collection of "The Ethicist" columns from the "New York Times Magazine, " in which Randy Cohen addresses questions posed by people who want to do the right thing, grouped in seven categories covering civic, family, social, commercial, medical, work, and school life.