Do trees have rights? Is it ethical to sabotage lumberjacks and burn down homes in the woods? What about the bad Samaritan and the good terrorist? 101 Ethical Dilemmas by Martin Cohen (Routledge, 拢8.99) is a chatty, jokey journey through philosophical dilemmas ancient and modern: from magic rings and frog kings to designer babies and the photocopier鈥檚 dilemma. Self-indulgent at times, and with a dreadful layout that invites discussion of the publisher鈥檚 dilemma (how cheap can we make this without having to charge cheap prices?), but the philosophy is the real thing.
Dilemmas hit home in Atul Gawande鈥檚 Complications: A surgeon鈥檚 notes on an imperfect science (Profile, 拢7.99). You can smell the operating room and hear the conversations with patients and relatives of the deceased. As sharply observed and written as any scalpel.