Description
Book SynopsisWhat happens when two intelligent American college students with different attitudes about guns launch into a careful exploration of the ethics of gun policy? What might a European exchange student add to the mix? All three characters in this book are fictional, the creation of author David DeGrazia's imagination. But their vigorous, respectful conversations over six meetingswell-informed by the latest empirical data and the best available philosophical argumentsshed needed light on the reality of guns in the U.S. today.
These dialogues introduce students, professional academics, and others to the American experience with gun violence and gun policy, articulating ethical arguments supporting and opposing substantial gun control, and specific possibilities for reform. They also demonstrate how those who initially disagree about the place of guns in American society can communicate constructively and agree on many ideas.
Dialogue 1 distinguishes the legal rights to
Trade Review
"DeGrazia is not only one of the US’s leading moral philosophers but has also written as extensively and illuminatingly about guns as any living philosopher. As an introduction to the moral problem of gun violence that critically examines the arguments on both sides, this book could not be bettered."
Jeff McMahan, University of Oxford
Table of ContentsPrefaceForeword by Jeff McMahan
Dialogue 1: Is American Gun Policy a Moral Issue Meriting Serious Attention?
Dialogue 2: Does a Focus on Social Consequences Support Substantial Gun Control?
Dialogue 3: Does a Right to Self-Defense Support Gun Rights?
Dialogue 4: Do Appeals to Liberty Support Gun Rights?
Dialogue 5: Do Other Moral Rights Strengthen the Case for Substantial Gun Control?
Dialogue 6: What Would Morally Justified Gun Policy Look Like?
