As commonly understood, professional ethics consists of shared duties and episodic dilemmas--the responsibilities incumbent on all members of specific professions joined together with the dilemmas that arise when these responsibilities conflict. Martin challenges this "consensus paradigm" as he rethinks professional ethics to include personal commitments and ideals, of which many are not mandatory. Using specific examples from a wide range of professions, including medicine, law, high school teaching, journalism, engineering, and ministry, he explores how personal commitments motivate, guide,...

Morality and mental health are now inseparably linked in our view of character. Alcoholics are sick, yet they are punished for drunk driving. Drug addicts are criminals, but their punishment can be court ordered therapy. The line between character flaws and personality disorders has become fuzzy, with even the seven deadly sins seen as mental disorders. In addition to pathologizing wrong-doing, we also psychologize virtue; self-respect becomes self-esteem, integrity becomes psychological integration, and responsibility becomes maturity. Moral advice is now sought primarily from psychologists...

This book systematically explores the moral issues surrounding self-deception. While many articles and books have been written on the concept of self-deception in recent years, Martin's gives much greater emphasis to self-deception as a significant topic for both ethical theory and applied ethics.

"Self-deception is . . . perplexing from a moral point of view. It seems tailor-made to camouflage and foster immorality. . . . Does all self-deception involve some guilt, and is it among the most abhorrent evils. as some moralists and theologians have charged? Or is it only wrong sometimes,...

Bonding Eros with virtue is neither unrealistic nor naive, contends Mike Martin. On the contrary, it's practical, even pragmatic. Virtues serve to focus, structure, and even define erotic love. In particular, caring, respect, faithfulness, honesty, fairness, wisdom, and gratitude are central to successful, long-term relationships.

In Love's Virtues, Martin takes a look at why moral values enhance and solidify erotic and marital relationships. In the process, he challenges the widespread cynicism about marriage while remaining sensitive to the innumerable problems confronting...

Bonding Eros with virtue is neither unrealistic nor naive, contends Mike Martin. On the contrary, it's practical, even pragmatic. Virtues serve to focus, structure, and even define erotic love. In particular, caring, respect, faithfulness, honesty, fairness, wisdom, and gratitude are central to successful, long-term relationships.

In Love's Virtues, Martin takes a look at why moral values enhance and solidify erotic and marital relationships. In the process, he challenges the widespread cynicism about marriage while remaining sensitive to the innumerable problems confronting...

Creativity explores the moral dimensions of creativity in science in a systematic and comprehensive way. A work of applied philosophy, professional ethics, and philosophy of science, the book argues that scientific creativity often constitutes moral creativity--the production of new and morally variable outcomes. At the same time, creative ambitions have a dark side that can lead to professional misconduct and harmful effects on society and the environment. In this work, creativity is generally defined as the development of new and valuable outcomes such as significant truths, illuminating...

Creativity explores the moral dimensions of creativity in science in a systematic and comprehensive way. A work of applied philosophy, professional ethics, and philosophy of science, the book argues that scientific creativity often constitutes moral creativity_the production of new and morally variable outcomes. At the same time, creative ambitions have a dark side that can lead to professional misconduct and harmful effects on society and the environment.

What is happiness? How is it related to morality and virtue? Does living with illusion promote or diminish happiness? Is it better to pursue happiness with a partner than alone? Philosopher Mike W. Martin addresses these and other questions as he connects the meaning of happiness with the philosophical notion of "the good life." Defining happiness as loving one's life and valuing it in ways manifested by ample enjoyment and a deep sense of meaning, Martin explores the ways in which happiness interacts with all other dimensions of good lives--in particular with moral decency and goodness,...

Whether in slogans, catchphrases, adages or proverbs, we encounter mottos every day, but we rarely take time to reflect on them. In Of Mottos and Morals: Simple Words for Complex Virtues, Martin explores the possibility that mottos themselves are worthy of serious thought, examining how they contribute to moral guidance and help us grapple with complexity.

Memoir Ethics: Good Lives and the Virtues is a philosophical study of moral themes in memoirs, exploring how memoirists present and defend perspectives on good lives. It pays particular attention to the interplay of the virtues, including their interplay with additional (non-moral) types of values in good lives. More generally, it explores the relevance of memoir to moral philosophy, and in turn how moral philosophy enters into elucidating and critiquing memoirs. Memoirs are understood as non-fiction narratives written by oneself and significantly about oneself (including full-life...