I didn't get rid of many of the books assigned to me in college, because I am addicted to books. So you would think I would recognize a textbook, and connect it with one of the classes I took. But I have no idea how I got Everyday Morality: An Introduction to Applied Ethics Fourth Edition by Mike W. Martin. I have a couple ideas. What I guess happened is that I acquired it from a retired priest. My college was an old seminary, and they would put up retired priests in the dorms, and if they wanted to get rid of books they would leave them in the hall. There was no way I could resist. But whoever I got it from studied from it. There are lots of little notes in it, written in cursive in red ink, and relevant passages underlined. It is just a shame that I can't read any of it. Their handwriting is really scrunched together and small, and I never was any good at reading cursive. It is a shame, I would have liked to know, it might have made some sections a bit more interesting.
Everyday Morality: An Introduction to Applied Ethics Fourth Edition by Mike W. Martin is a textbook, down to its discussion questions. Now, I will admit that I skipped the discussion questions. In my defense, have you ever sat down and read a textbook like you would a normal book? It is strange, especially a philosophy textbook. Philosophy textbooks I remember, and youtube videos about philosophy as well, present ideas, but don't really engage with them. Sections of this book suffered especially hard from this most notably the beginning. The focus is on exposing an idea to you, not on really grappling with them. The recommended reading section is for that. There is something to be said for something like that. However when you are sitting down to read a book for entertainment that is not really what you want.
I like the colors on this cover. Nothing flashy, just some good colors together.
It is also not like you would read this for fun. There are entertaining philosophy books. Starship Troopers is basically a work of political philosophy given broader appeal by having dudes in power armor fight giant bugs. However Everyday Morality: An Introduction to Applied Ethics Fourth Edition by Mike W. Martin is not entertaining. Most of the earlier chapters are a pretty bland as Martin parades a variety of authors and their thoughts before the reader and it is still very general. The later chapters, when it focuses on specific issues like euthanasia, gambling and abortion, are much more interesting. The specific is more engaging. That is a problem I feel with a lot of generalist philosophy, the question of how do you apply them. In addition, how a person feels about a specific should, if they are consistent, tell you how they will feel about related issues.
Would I read this book again cover to cover? No. It is a text book. I might pull it out for reference, but not read it for fun. Or, to phrase it a different way, I would use this book in a way closer to its intended purpose, it seems good for that.
Look some dice, aren't they nice.
On to the next book, and please, let it not be a textbook. For the first dice I rolled a 3 and the follow up was a 28. and I got lucky, not a textbook and not a nonfiction either. We venture again into fiction.
Tie in fiction!
For next time I will be reading I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole. I am pretty excited about this. I have a lot of fond memories of the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, and Michael Stackpole did a great job with the X-Wing series. I have read the book before as well, but only once, a long time ago, in a house actually not too far away.
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