Question I am looking for books on ethics written in a popular style; understandable for people reading on a high school level. Can you advise?

Accepted:
April 28, 2009

Comments

I have a couple of suggestions for you. The first is to look into books that pair philosophical analysis with contemporary culture. Both Open Court Press and Wiley-Blackwell have book series of this nature (called "Popular Culture and Philosophy" and "Philosophy for Everyone," respectively) . For example, there are books on comic book characters, television shows, sports, and many other topics that will appeal to high school students. The articles in such books are designed for a general audience. The entire book will not be about just ethics, but I can promise each book of this type will have several articles about ethics. It might be worth getting your school or local library to stock a selection. (Disclosure: I myself have published an article in one.)

Another idea is to look to literary classics that have ethical themes. If you would like an ethics anthology you might try Peter and Renata Singer's The Moral of the Story (Blackwell 2005). This book is nice because it features short selections organized around themes, in both theoretical and applied ethics.

Finally, nothing appeals to high school students like jokes and puzzles. Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein's Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar is very fun (Abrams 2007), though this book is not devoted just to ethics. You might also try Martin Cohen's 101 Ethical Dilemmas (Routledge 2003), which is bound to get even sleepy high school students talking.

Question I am looking for books on ethics written in a popular style; understandable for people reading on a high school level. Can you advise? Accepted:April 28, 2009

Question I am looking for books on ethics written in a popular style; understandable for people reading on a high school level. Can you advise?

Accepted:
April 28, 2009