Beyond Bumper Sticker Ethics

What makes something morally right or morally wrong? And how can we know whether something is right or wrong? Wilkens takes on a journey through 11 different paradigms for answering these questions from cultural relativism (morality is defined by culture) to divine command theory (“God said so, that's why”) to utilitarianism (maximizing happiness and minimizing suffering for the most people) to ethical egoism (acting in my own best interests is always the ethical thing to do) among others. Note, this is about ethical theory as opposed to applied ethics...that is, rather than looking at specific questions of right and wrong (e.g. abortion, etc.) this book looks at the underlying framework that we use to approach such questions.

I love this book for two reasons: One, it challenges us to see beyond our own cultural framework. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking our own worldview is the only worldview (or, just as bad, that there's only two worldviews: ours and “their's”). By exposing the reader to eleven different conceptions of morality, Wilkens helps us to challenge the moral basis we take for granted and develop a more robust framework for ourselves.

Two, Wilkens writes from a Christian point of view, showing both the advantages and disadvantages of each ethical framework in light of Christianity. It turns out there's something we can learn from each of these paradigms. For example, “Cultural Relativism” reminds us of the danger of taking our own culture norms for granted. Conversely, each of these paradigms runs into difficulties that one must deal with.

Wilkens' concluding chapter is especially helpful in making sense of all this data. There he cautions us against apathy or cynicism, instead exhorting us to use this survey as a launching point for assessing and developing our own moral framework (he even offers an example of how a hypothetical student might go about this).

Overall, I found this an excellent, accessible introduction to the philosophical underpinnings of ethics. It's a relatively easy read, so I would highly recommend this to anyone who has not delved into the field of ethical theory before. And, yes, you should explore the field of ethics because it's an integral part of everyone's life.