David W. Chambers

A collection of essays on ethics by David W. Chambers, originally published in the Journal of the California Dental Association.

This is a systematic study of where the dental profession stands with respect to ethics. The ACD Board of Regents authorized this 2015 project based on the 1926 Carnegie Foundation study of dental education conducted by William Gies. The distinguishing features of this report include extensive collection of data and attention to defining issues and causes.

Building the Moral Community: Radical Naturalism and Emergence demonstrates how very simple models of moral engagements based on natural, incomplete, value-laden frames of the world can lead to general moral progress for the human community. All moral behavior affects more than one person, which means that the moral community is more than the sum of the individuals included in it. David W. Chambers argues that there is no ethically detached and superior position from which to operate, and that such claims are focused on ethics, not on acting morally. Therefore, he cautions against mistaking theories of ethics composed on statements about what is good and right for actual moral behavior that moves broadly and inevitably toward a better world. This book explores naturalistic ethics, offering a modified classical analytic philosophy exploration of morality that is consistent with emerging thinking in psychology, neurobiology, game theory, and self-adjusting systems.