Now in an updated edition with fresh perspectives on high-profile ethical issues such as torture and same-sex marriage, this collection pairs cogently argued essays by leading philosophers with opposing views on fault-line public concerns.

• Revised and updated new edition with six new pairs of essays on prominent contemporary issues including torture and same-sex marriage, and a survey of theories of ethics by Stephen Darwall
• Leading philosophers tackle colleagues with opposing views in contrasting essays on core issues in applied ethics
• An ideal semester-length course text certain to generate vigorous discussion

This new edition of compelling commentary on substantive ethical issues has been updated to encompass high-profile contemporary concerns such as torture, same-sex marriage, and reparations for the violent injustices of the past. Six pairs of newly commissioned essays join a revised selection of the book's vigorous debates between leading philosophers with contrasting views. Also included in this new edition is a concise and insightful overview essay from Stephen Darwall, outlining the current landscape of ethical theory - vital context for students grappling with concepts that shape the shifting mores of human societies.

The rhetorical power of the first edition's adversarial format was a potent catalyst for scholarly engagement. This fresh edition benefits from the same editorial finesse, enhanced by a broadened academic purview, with themed sections exploring life and death, concepts of justice, privacy and the common good, and issues relating to human communities in our restless, hungry, warming world.

This accessible text locates the pressure points of core issues in applied ethics. It aims to foster the informed discussion required to nourish a new generation of philosophers.