Contemporary Debates in Social Philosophy

Laurence Thomas is Professor in the departments of Philosophy and Political Science in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, where he is also a member of the Center for European Studies. He is the author of over fifty articles and four books, Living Morally: A Psychology of Moral Character (1989), Vessels of Evil: American Slavery and the Holocaust (1993), Sexual Orientation and Human Rights (with Michael Levin, 1999) and The Family and the Political Self (2006). His articles on moral theory and social philosophy have been widely anthologized.

"Thomas has put renowned scholars in debate with each other and the result is a collection of stimulating debates of the highest order. In these well-written and argued articles, one is treated to the best of scholarly argumentation. One may not agree with all that is said. Nevertheless, one will find that after reading this volume one will have a better understanding of the importance of what Thomas calls 'virtuous disagreement'." Bill E. Lawson, University of Memphis“Volume combines practical ethics and political philosophy in a somewhat unusual way; it has quite a lot of reasonable material on race and affirmative action.”Metapsychology

• Acknowledgments viiNotes on Contributors viiiIntroduction: Virtuous Disagreements in Social PhilosophyLaurence Thomas 1Equality 171 Freedom and Money G. A. Cohen 192 The Meanings of Freedom Leif Wenar 43The Family 55    3 The Good and Bad Family Rosalind Hursthouse 574 Family Resemblances Elizabeth F. Cohen 69Sexual Rights 775 Homosexuality, Harm, and Moral Principles John Corvino 796 Homosexual Acts, Morality, and Public Discourse Christopher Wolfe 94Abortion and the Limits of Freedom 1117 The Fetus in Perspective: The Moral and the LegalAnne Fagot-Largeault 1138 Abortion and Moral Repugnancy Laurence Thomas 122Privacy 1299 Privacy John Deigh 13110 Privacy’s Value Terrance McConnell 146Religious Tolerance 15311 In Defense of Religious Toleration Philip L. Quinn 15512 Does Religious Toleration Make Any Sense? Thomas Christiano 171Diversity 19113 Ethnicity, Disunity, and Equality Lawrence Blum 19314 Diversity Limited David Benatar 212Racial Integration 22715 The Future of Racial Integration Elizabeth Anderson 22916 When Turnabout Is Not Fair Play Carl Cohen 250Scarce Resources 26117 Moral Issues in Rationing Scarce Resources F. M. Kamm 26318 Locke’s Defense of Preferential Treatment Bernard R. Boxill 279Violence 29719 Psychological Violence and Institutional Racism: The Moral Responsibility of Bystanders Howard McGary 29920 McGary’s Striking Claim and the Roles of Self-Deception, Acquiescence, and Complicity B. C. Postow 312Index 317