302 Ethics and Value Theory (3) Fall and Spring
"An introduction to the philosophical analysis of ethics, morality and values, and a survey of the various systems of moral philosophy. The course covers such issues as: What is the good life? What considerations are relevant to making moral decisions? Are moral principles universal, or relative to a given society? How, if at all, can moral judgments be justified or moral disagreements resolved? Satisfies GE, category C3 (Philosophy and Values)... May be repeated (with a different focus) for credit."
Texts: Human Conduct : Problems of Ethics by John Hospers. Other material will be distributed as handouts and posted on the class website. When in doubt about the meaning of a term in common use, consult a good general purpose dictionary.
An Introduction to Political Philosophy by Jonathan Wolff
"Good and bad, I define these terms, Quite clear, no doubt, somehow." - Bob Dylan.
People value various things and situations, and various kinds of conduct, and they regularly and strongly disagree about what is good and bad, and right and wrong. I.e., they make value judgments and urge them upon others, in all sorts of ways. What are they doing? Can any rational sense be made of such discussions and behavior? Do we have any ethical knowledge, as opposed to mere opinion? If so, wherefrom and how? What is ethical justification, and how can we understand another's evaluations? This class will discuss frameworks for answering such questions.
Finally, we will survey the relations of ethics to politics and government. What is social justice, for instance, and what has it been conceived to be?
"[A]ll deep thought begins and ends in the attempt to grasp whatever touches one most immediately." [Soren Kierkegaard, The Journals of Kierkegaard 98 (1959) (quoted in Patricia F. Sanborn, Existentialism 21 (New York: Pegasus, 1968))]
See also: Ethics (Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics)
Course outline and schedule
Recognizing ethical and evaluative language. (1 week)
Ethical theories and their sources.
Theories about ethics (meta-ethical theories, as opposed to ethical theories). (2 weeks)
Axiology and the good. (3 weeks)
Varieties of ethical naturalism.
Autobiographical.
Sociological.
Relativism.
Theological.
Ideal-observer.
Utilitarian.
Non-naturalism.
Non-cognitivism.
Theories of goodness. (3 weeks)
Instrumental and intrinsic good.
Hedonism.
Pluralism.
Theories of conduct (deontology) and freedom. (4 weeks)
Universalizability.
The Categorical Imperative.
Ethical Egoism.
The General Good.
Consequentialism.
Rule-utilitarianism.
Act-utilitarianism.
Non-consequentialism.
Moral rights and liberty.
Ethics and society: government, politics and policies. (4 weeks)
Freedom, liberty and responsibility.
Human rights.
Harm.
Theories of government.
Political theories.
Social justice.
Course requirements, examinations, grading, and other class policies and procedures
Attendance: Being There (you might enjoy the entertaining film of that name) is at least half the battle. So be there. Roll will be taken each class, and will not count toward your grade, except as nonattendance will naturally affect performance. However, too many absences according to school policy will result in, first, a warning, then dismissal from class. Homework cannot be made up for easily, and similarly for examinations, except in the direst of circumstances.
Coursework: There will be weekly short take-home exercises or other assignments, usually to be done over the weekend. Additionally, 3 one hour mid-course examinations will be given, and a two hour final examination. These examinations will consist of short essay questions; i.e., you will be asked to write cogent English explanations, give analyses of examples similar to those discussed in class, and sometimes to regurgitate definitions.
Grading: 1/3 from the final (100 pts.), 1/3 (100 pts.) from the two midterms (hence, 1/6 each), 1/3 (100 pts.) from the homework assignments. The final will be cumulative; i.e., it will consist of questions about material taken equally from each of the class sections, as above.
Office hours: directly after class, by arrangement, or via e-mail.
Late work: Rarely will homework will be accepted late. Exams missed may be made up only under the direst of circumstances.
Classes will consist of a combination of lecture and discussion with the students. I like to conduct discussions casually and Socratically (up to a point!). Please feel free to interrupt the lectures with pertinent questions.
There will be a class website, on which handouts and weekly exercises will be posted.
Plagiarism is strictly forbidden, and penalties attached to it.