Book Review: Contemporary Moral Problems

Overview of the Authors Primary Thesis

James white provides insight into the western ethical approach to morality. The other

portrays western ethics as an approach that focuses on the moral dilemma and the correct option

to deal with the moral dilemma. In this way, western ethics utilizes and the individualistic

approach to morality and demand rational articulation of the moral problem and the resultant

provision of serious and logical resolutions. Throughout the book, the author adopts a system of

providing a different perspective to the problem and ethical theories that apply to the moral

dilemma. Thus, in this case, the focus is on principles, an injunction used to guide actions while

the vision of the good is neglected. The approach used to the addressee the issue of moral

concern in the book aligns with the western ethical framework that demands the rational

articulation of the problem in question. In this case, emphasis on opposing viewpoints provides

the reader with the ability to understand ethical theories and their application to contemporary

moral issues.

Key Issues Identified

The book addresses abortion, Euthanasia and the duty to die, capital punishment,

sexuality and marriages, and topics related to war and terrorism. The aforementioned key issues

are relevant to moral philosophy. The author provides a critical examination of moral claims and

their resultant justification driven by the western ethical approach to morality (White, 2006). The

author utilizes ethical theories derived from but not limited to James, Saint Thomas, and

Aristotle to understand what standards of behaviors are expressed in moral principles while

addressing the key issues of relevance to morality and social responsibility.