PHIL 1318: Contemporary Moral Problems

Transcription

1 1 PHIL 1318: Contemporary Moral Problems SECTION: 005 PROFESSOR: Kirsten Egerstrom COURSE DAYS: M/W/F CLASS TIMES: 9:00-9:50 a.m. OFFICE: 210E Hyer Hall CLASS LOCATION: Fondren Science Building 0155 OFFICE PHONE: (214) OFFICE HOURS: Monday and Wednesday 3-4:30 Course Textbook: Most of the readings can be found in the course textbook ('TB' on course schedule). I will provide students with any additional readings ('CR' on course schedule). The following required textbook is available in the university bookstore: Disputed Moral Issues (3 rd Edition) Author: Mark Timmons Publication Year: 2013 Publication: Oxford University Press ISBN: Course Description: The primary goal of this course is to encourage students to think critically about ethical issues that are of social, political, and personal importance. Students will learn both moral theory and how to apply moral theories to important topics in applied ethics. Theory will be taught throughout the course as needed when relevant to the weeks' topics. Some topics include: the ethics of pornography, euthanasia, affirmative action, and abortion. Students will be expected to evaluate arguments in support or against various positions in applied ethics. In order to evaluate arguments, students will first be taught important philosophical concepts, such as validity and soundness. Grading Policy: PARTICIPATION: 50 Points Possible COURSEWORK: 150 Points Possible MIDTERM EXAM: 150 Points possible FINAL EXAM: 150 Points Possible TOTAL POINTS: 500 Points Possible Course Requirements: PARTICIPATION: Worth a possible 50 points. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of every class. Students are allowed to miss three class periods before their grade will suffer. Students are also expected to participate in class. You will not receive an 'A' in participation

2 2 unless you participate in class. Students who are uncomfortable participating in class may obtain their participation points through attendance at my weekly office hours. COURSEWORK: Worth a possible 150 points. Coursework includes quizzes, writing assignments, and participation in the debate on capital punishment. The quizzes are each worth a possible 10 points. The writing assignments and debate are each worth a possible 20 points. See the schedule (below) for estimated dates for coursework. MIDTERM EXAM: Worth a possible 150 points. The exam will be take-home and open-book. I will give students the exam on Friday, October 9. The exam will be due on Friday, October 16 (one week later). The exam is cumulative up through the racism, sexism and reparation unit. However, the exam will not cover the ethics of affirmative action. There may be some multiple choice and true/false questions, however most questions will be essay questions. FINAL EXAM: Worth a possible 150 points. The final exam is scheduled for Saturday, December 12 from 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., location TBA. The exam is cumulative. However, it will focus heavily on reading and materials discussed after the midterm (i.e., starting with affirmative action and ending with the ethics of abortion). The exam will include true/false, multiple choice, and essay questions. Classroom Policies: LATE WORK: Quizzes: if you are not in class to take a quiz, you will not be able to make it up. The only exceptions are emergency situations (that I accept) and absences approved in advance. Debate: do not miss class during the week of the debate. If you are not in class to participate, you will not be able to make up the points lost. Written Assignments & Midterm: students will lose one-third of a letter grade for each day that the assignment is late, except when an extension has already been granted (e.g., A to an A-; B+ to a B). This policy is non-negotiable. If you do not think you will be able to turn your assignment in on time for whatever reason, you need to contact me right away. I must be contacted at least 24 hours in advance of the due date in order to receive an extension. Extensions will not be granted in most cases, so do not rely on an extension unless you have an emergency. In some emergency situations, I may grant an extension even if I have not been contacted in advance of the due date. DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS: (from the university) Students needing academic accommodations for a disability must first register with Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies (DASS). Students can call (214) or visit to begin the process. Once registered, students should then schedule an appointment with the professor as early

3 3 in the semester as possible, present a DASS Accommodation Letter, and make appropriate arrangements. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive and require advance notice to implement. RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE: (from the university) Religiously observant students wishing to be absent on holidays that require missing class should notify their professors in writing at the beginning of the semester, and should discuss with them, in advance, acceptable ways of making up any work missed because of the absence. (See University Policy No. 1.9.) EXCUSED ABSENCES FOR UNIVERSITY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: (from the university) Students participating in an officially sanctioned, scheduled University extracurricular activity should be given the opportunity to make up class assignments or other graded assignments missed as a result of their participation. It is the responsibility of the student to make arrangements with the instructor prior to any missed scheduled examination or other missed assignment for making up the work. (University Undergraduate Catalog.) ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Please see the attached document on academic integrity. Schedule: Week 1: Monday, August 24 Friday, August 28 Topic(s): Introduction; Arguments, validity, and soundness; Intro to moral theory; Consequentialism Wednesday: A Moral Theory Primer (TB): 1-6 Friday: A Moral Theory Primer (TB): 6-11 (consequentialism) Friday: Jeremy Bentham in The Principle of Utility (TB): Quiz on moral theories, arguments, validity and soundness (In-class: Monday, August 31) Week 2: Monday, August 31 Friday, September 4 Topic(s): Kantian moral theory; Ethics of pornography Monday: A Moral Theory Primer (TB): (Kantian Moral Theory) Monday: Immanuel Kant in The Moral Law (TB): Wednesday: No Reading Friday: Pornography, Hate Speech, and Censorship (TB):

4 4 Short writing assignment comparing utilitarianism and Kantian ethics (Due: Wednesday, Sept. 9) Week 3: Monday, September 7 Friday, September 11 Topic(s): Ethics of pornography Monday: No Class Wednesday: The Attorney General's Commission on Pornography in Pornography and Harm (TB): Wednesday: Nadine Strossen in Why Censoring Pornography Would Not Reduce Discrimination or Violence against Women (TB): Friday: Ronald Dworkin in Liberty and Pornography (TB): None Week 4: Monday, September 14- Friday, September 18 Topic(s): Ethics of pornography; Hate speech and censorship Monday: Judith M. Hill in Pornography and Degradation (TB): Wednesday: Charles R. Lawrence III in Racist Speech as the Functional Equivalent of Fighting Words (TB): Friday: John Arthur in Sticks and Stones (TB): Short writing assignment on the ethics of pornography (Due: Monday, September 21) Week 5: Monday, September 21 Friday, September 25 Topic(s): The death penalty #1: The Death Penalty (TB): #2: Stephen Nathanson in An Eye for an Eye? (TB): #3: Ernest A Defense of the Death Penalty (TB): #4: Jeffrey H. Reiman in Civilization, Safety, and Deterrence (TB): #5: James Liebman, Jeffrey Fagan, Valerie West, and Jonathan Lloyd in Capital Attrition: Error Rates in Capital Cases, (TB): #6: Louis Pojman in A Defense of the Death Penalty (CR) There will be an in-class debate on Friday, September 25. More information to follow.

5 5 Week 6: Monday, September 28 Friday, October 2 Topic(s): Natural law theory and the doctrine of double effect; Sexual morality and marriage Monday: A Moral Theory Primer (TB): (Natural law theory) Monday: St. Thomas Aquinas in Treatise on Law (TB): Wednesday: Sexual Morality and Marriage (TB): Wednesday: Vatican Declaration on Some Questions of Sexual Ethics (TB): Friday: John Corvino in Why Shouldn't Tommy and Jim Have Sex? A Defense of Homosexuality (TB): There will be quiz on Monday, October 5 (in-class) Week 7: Monday, October 5 Friday, October 9 Topic(s): Sexual morality and marriage; virtue ethics Monday: Thomas A. Mappes in A Liberal View of Sexual Morality and the Concept of Using Another Person (TB): Wednesday: A Moral Theory Primer (TB): (Virtue ethics) Wednesday: Aristotle in Virtue and Character (TB): Friday: Raja Halwani in Virtue Ethics and Adultery (TB): Midterm exam assigned. Week 8: Monday, October 12 Friday, October 16 Topic(s):Sexual morality and marriage Monday: No Class Wednesday: Maggie Gallagher in Normal Marriage: Two Views (TB): Wednesday: Evan Wolfson in Enough Marriage to Share (TB): Friday: No Reading Midterm exam due. Week 9: Monday, October 19 Friday, October 23 Topic(s):Sexism, racism, and reparation Monday: Sexism, Racism, and Reparation (TB): Monday: Marilyn Frye in Sexism (TB): Wednesday: J.L.A. Garcia in The Heart of Racism (TB):

6 6 Friday: Tommie Shelby in Is Racism in the 'Heart'? (TB): No coursework Week 10: Monday, October 25 Friday, October 30 Topic(s):Affirmative action; the ethics of prima facie duties Monday: Louis P. Pojman in Why Affirmative Action Is Immoral (TB): Wednesday: The Moral Theory Primer (TB): (ethics of prima facie duty) Wednesday: W.D. Ross in What Makes Right Actions Right? (TB): Friday: Thomas E. Hill Jr. in The Message of Affirmative Action (TB): Short writing assignment on affirmative action (Due: Monday, November 20 Week 11: Monday, November 2 Friday, November 6 Topic(s): Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide Monday: Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide (TB): Monday: James Rachels in Active and Passive Euthanasia (TB): Wednesday: Philippa Foot in Killing and Letting Die (TB): Friday: No reading We will watch the documentary, Kervorkian (2010), on Friday, November 6 and Monday, November 9 Week 12: Monday, November 9 Friday, November 13 Topic(s):Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide; Monday: No Reading Wednesday: Daniel Callahan in A Case Against Euthanasia (TB): Friday: Michael B. Gill in A Moral Defense of Oregon's Physician-Assisted Suicide Law (TB): Short writing assignment on the euthanasia (Due: Monday, November 16) Week 13: Monday, November 16 Friday, November 20 Topic(s): The ethical treatment of animals

7 7 Monday: The Ethical Treatment of Animals (TB): Monday: A Moral Theory Primer (TB): (Rights-based moral theory) Monday: John Locke in Natural Rights (TB): Wednesday: Gaverick Matheny in Utilitarianism and Animals (TB): Friday: Tom Regan in Are Zoos Morally Defensible? (TB): Friday: Carl Cohen in Do Animals Have Rights? (TB): None Week 14: Monday, November 23 Friday, November 27 Topic(s): The ethical treatment of animals Monday: Alastair Norcross in Puppies, Pigs and People: Eating Meat and Marginal Cases (CR) Schedule: Wednesday: No Class (Thanksgiving Break) Friday: No Class (Thanksgiving Break) Short writing assignment on animal ethics (Due: Monday, November 30) Week 15: Monday, November 30 Friday, December 4 Topic(s): The ethics of abortion Monday: Abortion (TB): Monday: Mary Anne Warren in On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion (TB): Wednesday: Judith Jarvis Thomson in A Defense of Abortion (TB): Friday: Patrick Lee and Robert P. George in The Wrong of Abortion (TB): Quiz on abortion (Monday, December 7) Week 16: Monday, December 7 Topic(s): Review of course No Reading

8 8 Last day of class Review for final exam Reading Days: December 8 9 Final Exam: Saturday, December 12; 11:30-a.m.-2:30 p.m.