ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book uses philosophical ethics to lend clarity to policy disputes and to help the people to determine what constitutes good reasons in policymaking. It offers illustrations by taking specific policies and topics as springboards for reflection. The book considers what sorts of ethical presuppositions there are to policy controversies. It indicates the reasons for what someone call a sort of conservative view of politics, which tends to prize economic liberty but worries about the impact of unrestricted individual liberty. The book alludes to a sort of modern liberal view, which notes the drawbacks with stressing economic liberty but nevertheless warns of the perils of discounting individual liberty. The book covers the contours of policies about privacy and the family, same-sex marriage, women and the family, and education and intelligent design.
