Instructor: Kurtis Hagen
Office: Champlain Valley Hall, 303
Phone: 564-2834
E-mail: hagenkg@plattsburgh.edu
Office Hours:
MWF: 1:00 to 1:45,
and W 3:00 to 4:00,
or by appointment.
TEXTS:
• James & Stuart Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy, 5th edition (EMP)
• James & Stuart Rachels, The Right Thing to Do, 4th edition (RTD)
• *Additional readings on e-reserve.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In order to sharpen our ability to engage moral issues both critically and creatively, we will study and evaluate several competing moral theories, as well as scrutinize various attempts at solving contemporary moral dilemmas.
COURSE GOALS:
There are two kinds of goals for this course, one regarding content, the other regarding competencies. On the one hand, everyone is expected to learn the material—the course content—that is presented in class and in the readings. On the other hand, the demonstration of nuanced reasoning skills, and the ability to clearly explain and assess the course content, is regarded as equally important.
This course is not designed to teach you what is moral and what is not. That is up to you to figure out for yourself. This course is supposed to familiarize you with various general approaches to morality, and to help you develop skills for reasoning through abstract problems. This is not easy, and it takes a certain amount of mental discipline. However, if you put in the required effort, you will enhance your ability to reason abstractly, which is a very useful skill.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
• Reading: It is important to do the assigned reading before each class in order to participate fully in class discussions.
• Attendance: Regular attendance and participation is expected.
• Writing: You will periodically be asked to do some writing, which you will sometimes be asked to share. Sometimes this writing may be collected. Failure to do the assigned writing will count as not being present.
• Paper: There will be one two-page essay. It is short in length, but the standards for grading will be very high. Plan on spending at least one full day working on the paper.
• Presentations: You will need to make two short presentations.
• Exams: There 4 exams (only the highest 3 will count). There will be no makeup exams.
• Office visit: You are required to drop by my office and see me at least once during the semester, either during my office hours or by appointment.
EVALUATION:
3 (out of 4) exams: 60%
1 paper: 20%
Attendance, participation, and presentations: 20%
PLEASE NOTE:
- Papers must be submitted in hardcopy.
- Plagiarism is a serious offence and can result in a failing grade for the course, or even expulsion.
TENATIVE SCHEDULE: (Adjustments to the schedule will be announced in class.)
Part I: Theoretical Ethics
Introductions
RTD. Some Basic Points about Arguments & RTD. The Subjectivity of Values (Mackie)
EMP. What is Morality?
EMP. The Challenge of Cultural Relativism
EMP. Subjectivism in Ethics
RTD. Morality as Based on Sentiment (David Hume)
& RTD. Ethics and Natural Law (Saint Thomas Aquinas)
EMP. Does Morality Depend on Religion?
EMP. Ethical Egoism
EMP. The Utilitarian Approach & RTD. Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill)
EMP. The Debate over Utilitarianism /Review
--Exam I--
EMP. Are There Absolute Moral Rules?
EMP. Kant and Respect for Persons
EMP. The Idea of a Social Contract
RTD. The Social Contract (Thomas Hobbes)
EMP. Feminism and the Ethics of Care
e-reserve: Li Chenyang, “Ethics: Confucian Jen and Feminist Care”
e-reserve: Li Chenyang, “Ethics: Confucian Jen and Feminist Care” (continued)
EMP. The Ethics of Virtue
EMP. What Would a Satisfactory Moral Theory be Like? /Review
--Exam II--
Part II: Applied Ethics
RTD. Why Abortion is Immoral (Don Marquis)
RTD. A Defense of Abortion (Judith Jarvis Thomson)
RTD. Will Cloning Harm People? (Gregory E. Pence)
TBA (Scarce resource allocation)
RTD. Is Homosexuality Unnatural? (Burton M. Leiser)
RTD. 9/11and Starvation. & RTD. The Singer Solution to World Poverty (Peter Singer)
RTD. The Morality of Euthanasia (James Rachels)
RTD. Assisted Suicide: Pro-Choice or Anti-Life? (Richard Doerflinger)
RTD. All Animals are Equal (Peter Singer)
RTD. Do Animals Have Rights (Tibor R. Machan) /Review
--Exam III--
RTD. The Ethics of War and Peace (Douglas P. Lackey)
RTD. In Defense of the Death Penalty (Ernst van den Haag)
RTD. The Case against the Death Penalty (Hugo A. Bedau)
RTD. America’s Unjust Drug War (Michael Huemer)
RTD. The Feminist Revelation (Christina Hoff Sommers)
RTD. Is Racial Discrimination Arbitrary? (Peter Singer)
RTD. In Defense of Quotas (Jamese Rachels)
TBA
TBA
Review
--Exam IV (final exam)--